July 27-289, 2024 (Lena, WI)–Dirt City Motorplex played host to rounds 9 and 10 of the Champ Off-Road Series. Beautiful weather made racing fast and furious, although there was a threat of rain on Sunday evening which prompted officials to minimize track prep. The Greaves Duo was strong in qualifying and looked to be a force in all classes. CJ was the top qualifier in side-by-side and Pro-4 classes. He turned in a dominating performance in the Pro Stock and Pro SXS class by taking his Monster Energy/Toyo Tire/ Polaris RZR to the top podium spot in all 4 races. The Greaves Pro-4 took a bad luck turn that made for a tough weekend. CJ squeezed out a 3rd place podium on Saturday which was the best they could muster. He still has a comfortable lead in the points standings but Johnny dropped a couple spots.
Pro Stock SXS
Saturday: Sunny skies and a pumped crowd set the stage for another exciting Pro SXS race. CJ Greaves’ Polaris was raring to go and continue his momentum after his sweep at ERX. He made a quick move to the outside line as soon as the green flag flew but landed in 4th while the dust settled. He passed Kosmecki early to claim 3rd as he continued his march to the front. He pulled one of his motocross moves, making an inside-out pass in the corner to take 2nd from Truett. He set his sights on the leader, but couldn’t make the pass before the halfway point, competition caution.
On the restart, CJ beat Bootle to turn one and took the lead. From there, he checked-out to a 4 second lead. Greaves went on to take his 3rd win in a row.
Sunday: CJ Greaves qualified first for Sunday’s Pro Stock SXS race. He had a narrow 4-point lead over the 2nd place contender, Owen VanEperen and needed another win to give him some breathing room. When the green flag flew, he patiently road around in 4th. When Bootle and Truett began to play bumper cars up front, CJ began to make his move. He battled Colin Kernz with Owen VanEperen also applying pressure. CJ set his Monster Energy Polaris up and made the pass for third just ahead of the competition caution.
The leader began to fade as the 2nd half of the race got underway. CJ started looking for a way around Truett who was now the leader. He tried several lines but couldn’t make it stick until 2 minutes to go in the race. He finally found away around and checked out to complete the sweep and make it four wins in a row and stretched his lead in the standings to 14 points.
Pro Turbo SXS
Saturday: CJ Greaves and Andrew Carlson rolled their Polaris SXS’s off from row 2 in Saturday’s Pro Turbo Side-by-Side action. CJ got a great start and quickly took the lead before the 2nd turn. However, an overturned car brought out a full course caution. CJ held his lead on the restart which he maintained unchallenged up to the mandatory caution.
The 2nd half of the race was filled with crashes. CJ stayed out of trouble although Jeb Bootle remained close. Greaves continued to hit all of his marks and cruised on to take the win.
Sunday: CJ Greaves was once again the top qualifier for Sunday’s Pro Stock SXS race. Bootle took the lead early while CJ battled with fellow Polaris driver, Andrew Carlson. Carlson drifted wide in the corner and CJ took advantage. Carlson troubles continued with a flat tire which he was able to change during the competition caution.
Just like Saturday’s race, CJ worked hard to get around Bootle. When he finally did, he checked-out. As the cars behind him began to mix it up, Greaves stretched his lead with every passing lap. His Monster Energy/Toyo Tire/Vision Wheel/Polaris took the checkered flag with a more than 7 second lead and claimed his 4th side-by-side win of the weekend.
Pro-4
Saturday: The Pro-4 races lately have been wild and crazy. The crowd anxiously awaited the 4-wheel drive feature event. CJ continued his top qualifying bonanza but lined up on row 2 due to the inversion. Jimmy Henderson was beside him with Johnny Greaves on row 3. Unfortunately, Johnny had a mechanical problem early and had to pull out. CJ was did a slide job on Baker to move into 3rd and began to apply pressure to Kyle Chaney. He went inside of Chaney for 2nd as more trucks began to fall off the track. Henderson was in the lead at the competition caution.
On the restart, CJ went to work on Henderson. He was setting up to make his move when something in his transmission broke with less than 4-minutes to go in the race. He was able to continue but considerably off pace. He limped in to take the third place spot on the podium.
Sunday: The Pro-4 craziness continued into Sunday’s race. With both Monster Energy Toyotas repaired, Johnny and CJ took the gloves off and ready to participate in the mayhem. Johnny had to start at the rear of the field. CJ was in third when Henderson got into Baker, collecting CJ in the process. Both CJ and Henderson to stalled in the corner. The incident shook-up the running order. Johnny was now in 4th and CJ dropped back to 6th. Johnny also stalled, moving him to the back. A full course caution came out when Johnny Holtger stalls. He was eventually able to refire his machine and continue.
On the restart, CJ had the inside line going into the turn. Carlson made contact with him, turning the younger Greaves into the tractor tire barrier, taking him out of contention. In a rare occurrence, neither Greaves landed on the podium. In spite of the bad luck, CJ still has a commanding lead in the points standings. Johnny, however, dropped a few spots.
The last racing weekends will be at the large track in Bark River and Crandon. The next race will be in Bark River, Michigan, at the Off-Road Rumble in the U.P. on August 10th-11th.
Photos by Mike Roth Photography