Crandon, WI (Sept 3-4, 2016 — A massive crowd of more than 50,000 off-road fans converged on the legendary 400 acres of Crandon International Raceway this past weekend to witness the 47th running of the Off-Road World Championships. The TORC Series would hand out championship titles including Pro-2 and Pro-4 as the 2016 season came to a dramatic end. CJ Greaves wrapped up the Pro-2 championship in Charlotte a few weeks ago, but the Pro-4 title was still up in the air with only 6 points separating CJ from his dad, Johnny Greaves. When the dust settled, CJ had claimed yet another multi-class championship-taking Pro-2 in three-peat fashion and back-to-back in Pro4. Johnny won Saturday’s Pro-4, but CJ came in a close 2nd which gave him enough points to squeeze out his 2nd consecutive Pro-4 championship by 4 points. CJ also landed a 2nd place finish in Pro-2 and finished out the year with 9 wins and having podiumed in every race.
In addition to his Pro-2 and Pro-4 podiums, CJ won his Pro Stock UTV debut aboard his Yamaha YXZ1000R. He did it by beating out a massive field of 32 UTV’s in a 12 lap race that was filled with flips, red flags and multiple cautions.
Sunday, the Crandon World Championship Races were held as part of Red Bull’s Signature Series that will be televised on NBC, October 8th. Drivers from the West Coast joined the TORC drivers for the “Daytona 500” of off-road racing. CJ claimed victories in both the Pro-2 and Pro-4 races. Johnny suffered an incredible crash that took him out of the race.
Pro2
Saturday: 13 trucks lined up for the Pro-2 race on Saturday. Having already clinched the championship, CJ Greaves was not holding back, and ready to win big for his sponsors Monster Energy/Toyota/TRD/Maxxis Tire and a host of others that help make Greaves Motorsports so successful. CJ started 6th, in the middle of the pack for the land-rush start. Keegan Kincaid got the hole shot, but CJ was right with him in 2nd up to the competition caution. The top 2 checked out in the 2nd half of the race and CJ was unable to find a line around Keegan. Kincaid took the win with CJ coming in a close 2nd.
Sunday: In Pro-2 class on Sunday, Keegan Kincaid got the holeshot with CJ right in his tracks. CJ and Keegan accounted for every win in Pro-2 in the 13 rounds of racing with CJ winning 8 of them. The top 2 quickly pulled away to a 6 second lead over the 3rd place running truck which they carried all the way to the competition caution.
Following the restart, Kincaid experienced a race ending mechanical problem and CJ cruised on to the checkered flag and claimed the first Pro-2 Crandon World Championship.
Pro4
Saturday: Johnny and CJ Greaves lined up side-by-side in Pro-4 in a much anticipated race that would determine the 2016 champion. 10 trucks made the mad rush to the FC Potawatomi turn one holeshot, reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour. Johnny’s black and green number 22 Monster Energy/Maxxis Tire Toyota emerged from the pack in the lead as the field roared along the front stretch lined with thousands of screaming fans. Keegan Kincaid, filling in for Mike Jenkins was in 2nd, and CJ made a move on Chad Hord to take 3rd. On lap 5, CJ passed Kincaid to take 2nd at the competition caution.
Johnny and CJ put on a show in the 2nd half of the race as they have been doing all season long. CJ pressured Johnny all the way to the finish line, making a last chance move on the final turn to pass his dad, but Johnny was able to hold on to take the win. Johnny won the battle, but CJ won the war–clinching the Pro-4 championship with 4 points to spare.
Sunday: Sunday the Greaves Duo were prepped and ready to take on the West Coast boys in the first Crandon World Championship Races as well as the annual Amsoil Cup race.
With no concerns about points or the championship, Johnny and CJ lined their Pro-4’s up with 12 other trucks including West Coast and fellow Monster Energy sponsored driver Kyle LeDuc, along with Doug Fortin and others for a chance to claim the first Pro-4 Crandon World Cup. When the green flag flew, the field made the nearly quarter mile mad dash for FC Potawatomi turn one. Kyle beat all the trucks to the holeshot but as the field hit the front stretch, Keegan Kincaid made contact with Scott Douglas in the middle of a jump, sending him sideways in the middle of the track, causing several trucks to crash, bringing out a full course caution and a full restart. Chad Hord, Ross Hoek and Jeff Kincaid were all victims of the mayhem although both Keegan and Douglas were able to continue. CJ had landed in 2nd and Johnny in 3rd before the yellow flag flew. Race officials went with a rolling 2×2 restart.
When racing resumed, CJ Greaves was able to move his Maxxis Tire Toyota in to 2nd while Johnny was mired in traffic back in 6th.
After the competition caution, CJ was battling for the lead when something broke on LeDuc’s truck causing him to exit the race and handing the lead over to CJ. On the next lap, Johnny was trying to find a different line around Douglas when the rear of his Toyota caught the wall going through turn 2 causing him to careen down the track, flipping several times, and coming to rest on top of the K-rail. The race was stopped while track crews worked to get Johnny’s truck off of the wall and off the tack. 14 started the race, but only 5 remained in the race with only 2 laps to go.
When the green flag flew once again, CJ continued to hold his lead. Douglas slid into Keegan Kincaid in the gravel pit turn causing a flat in Keegan’s left rear tire. Douglas was black flagged for the incident. CJ took the win while Keegan was able to stay on the track and manage to get the 3rd place spot on the podium.
Amsoil Cup – Pro2 vs Pro4
Sunday: The AMSOIL Cup was the final race of the weekend which brings a special format race that pits Pro-2’s against Pro-4’s. 8 Pro-2’s lined up on the front row with 10 Pro-4’s behind them. The Pro-2’s were given a 27 second head start. Keegan Kincaid took the lead of the Pro-2’s and Doug Fortin was in the lead of the Pro-4’s. The Pro-4’s began to overtake the Pro-2’s with only 2 laps to go and had the leader, Keegan Kincaid, in their sights as the final lap rolled around. CJ tried everything he could to get around Fortin in order to go after the leader. Kincaid took the checkered flag first and CJ passed Fortin to claim the runner up spot and the 1st Pro-4 just ahead of the finish line.
Season Wrap-up
The Greaves Duo put together an amazing 2016 TORC Series campaign pulling off some incredible victories. There was a Greaves on every Pro-2 and Pro-4 race of the season. CJ’s Pro-2 season was nothing short of amazing. He was on the podium in every race this season that included an incredible 8 wins–6 of them in a row. He also had 4 second place finishes and 1 third. CJ captured the first Pro-2 Crandon World Cup race. He laid claim to his 3rd consecutive Pro-2 championship. CJ started the year off slow in Pro-4, but poured it on as the season progressed. At one point, he won 5 races in a row to propel him to back-to-back Pro-4 championships. He ended up with 6 wins, 3 second place finishes, a 2nd place in the FC Potawatomi Cup race, a 1st place in the Crandon World Cup race, and a 2nd place in the AMSOIL Cup race. Johnny also had a great year and was on the podium in all but 3 Pro-4 races. He had 4 wins, 4 second place finishes, 2 third places and a third place in the FC Potawatomi Cup race. He finished the season second and only 4 points behind CJ.
We at Greaves Motorsports had another phenomenal year and we could not do it without all of our great sponsors and partners who help us out each week to put the most competitive trucks on the track. Monster Energy; Toyota and TRD, Maxxis Tire; Yamaha Racing; Method Race Wheels; Forest County Potawatomi; AMSOIL; MasterCraft Safety; Fox Shox; Boatec; Liquid Force; VP Racing Fuels; Aeromotive; AKA; Team Associated; Troy Lee Designs; and Rigid Industries.