July 12-13, 2024 (Elk River, MI)–Elk River Motor Park, in the heart of the Midwest, was the site for the mayhem called short-course off-road racing this past weekend for rounds 7 and 8 of the Champ Off Road Series. The Greaves Duo participated in some of the craziest racing action ever seen. Friday, rain showers put a damper on the early racing, but the sun came out and turned the track into a perfect race surface for the evening’s pro class races. CJ started the Polaris podium sweep in his Monster Energy/ Toyo Tire/ Polaris Pro Stock SXS with a win on Friday and Saturday. He followed that up with 2nd place finishes on Friday and Saturday in Pro Turbo SXS behind fellow Polaris racer, Andrew Carlson. The Pro-4 class races were nothing short of total chaos. On Friday, both CJ and Johnny overcame the mayhem and finished 3rd and 4th. In Saturday’s Pro-4 race, it looked like no trucks would make it to the finish line. At one point it looked like CJ was the only truck on the track. He survived and took the win by a huge margin. Johnny finished the race in 5th with no right front tire!
Pro Stock SXS
Friday: After morning rains, the day turned beautiful and perfect for the pro class races. CJ qualified first in his Gen 2 Pro Stock Polaris. He started on row 2 due to the inversion. Greaves cruised the first half of the race in 5th, studying the track and getting ready for a charge following the competition caution.
Bootle was in the lead and CJ moved up to 3rd when Letourneau spun out. The top three stretched their distance from the rest of the field as CJ began to make his charge for the leaders. He went wheel to wheel with Truett and pulled an inside move in the turn to take 2nd. He had a great burst of speed run on the leader and made the pass for the lead in the Talladega Turn on the final lap to take the win.
Saturday: CJ was again the top qualifier but had to line up on row 3 due to an inversion. As the field began to sort itself out, CJ settled-in at 4th, and showing patience. Just before the first half was over, several cars got bunched together in the Talladega Turn allowing CJ to move up a position. He passed Kosmecki into 2nd as they took the yellow flag for the competition caution.
On the restart, Greaves got a great start and shot past the leader, Owen VanEperen. From that point, he checked out and took the win by 3-seconds.
Pro Turbo SXS
Friday: CJ Greaves rolled his Monster Energy Polaris off from the pole position and quickly jumped to the lead. However, a massive pileup involving several top drivers brought racing to a stop. Two of the cars took a while to untangle. This caused a complete restart of the race. On the restart, CJ had the inside line and held the lead, with Andrew Carlson right behind him. CJ got crossed up in the rhythm section and Carlson took the lead. The two Polaris were nose to tail as the put more than 4 seconds between them and the rest of the field.
Following the competition caution, CJ and Carlson stretched their lead from the rest of the field. CJ grabbed another gear and applied pressure to Carlson. They went wheel to wheel but CJ ran out of time and settled for the 2nd place spot on the podium.
Saturday: CJ Greaves qualified first and started on the front row beside Friday’s winner, Andrew Carlson. Carlson took the lead and CJ landed in 3rd behind Baker. Baker’s spot was short lived as he landed so hard off a jump that he completely lost a rear wheel. CJ was comfortable in 2nd as Carlson’s Polaris was way out front.
The 2nd half of the race was much like the first, with Carlson taking a big lead. CJ crossed the line in 2nd to complete the Polaris sweep for the weekend’s side-by-side racing.
Pro-4
Friday: Ten trucks lined up for the 2-by-2 rolling start. CJ started on row 2 while Johnny started behind him on row 3. Johnny made a quick charge to the front and made a great move in Talladeg Turn. But, Cenni tagged him and sent the number 22 Monster Energy Toyota into the berm. Johnny watched as the rest of the field passed him. CJ was in 5th. RJ Anderson was in the lead but Henderson was battling hard with him. CJ passed Adrian Cenni to move up to third. The top 3 went side-by-side as they took Taladega Turn on their way to the competition caution. Henderson would prevail and took the lead.
On the restart, CJ shot ahead with a great run only to over rotate in the turn causing a big pileup. When things sorted out, everything started to fall apart. Henderson biked his machine and went over the k-rail. Cenni, AKA the Wild Man, took the lead. Johnny Greaves moved into third as trucks began to fall apart. CJ was also on the move and eventually passed his dad to take third. Meanwhile, Cenni had a 12 second lead. CJ ended the race in 3rd with Johnny coming in a close 4th.
Saturday: If you thought Friday’s race was crazy, Saturday’s Pro-4 race was nothing short of mayhem. CJ Greaves was the top qualifier and started on row two of the 10-trucks on the grid. Johnny started on row 4. The first half of the race was the normal bumping and grinding. The Wild Man had a problem and slowed dramatically which caused Johnny to run into him adding more fiberglass fenders to the race surface. The top-3 spread out as the first half of the race ended.
Johnny made a move on the restart to pass Carlson to quickly move up to 4th. RJ Anderson held the lead as the tightly grouped Pro-4’s converged on the left hand turn. RJ was sideways in the lefthand turn and Jimmy Henderson hit RJ hard in the turn. Anderson went around and also collected CJ and Johnny who were running in 3rd and 4th. Henderson emerged in first but soon developed a left front flat. He was black flagged due to the contact with RJ. Holtger was in 2nd at the time and assumed the lead when Henderson served his penalty. Jimmy didn’t pull-in to the hot pits immediately, so race officials also put him a lap down. Meanwhile, Baker crashed making his contribution to the mayhem. Holtger also crashed putting Wolff in the lead with Carlson in 3rd. Carlson and Wolff got together that allowed CJ to take the lead. Johnny developed a right front flat and eventually completely lost all the rubber but he continued, hobbling along as the end of the race was in sight. CJ was still in the lead but Andrew Carlson was right with him but he also had a flat. At one point, it seemed like CJ was the only truck on the track. When the white flag flew, he had more than a 12 second lead over the next contender. He survived to take the win. Carlson came in 2nd on a flat tire that was shredded and Johnny came in 5th with almost no wheel at all.
Champ Off Road series will begin the 2nd half of the season at the Dirt City MotorPlex Off-Road National in Lena, Wisconsin on July 27-28th.