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Race Updates from July 10th, 11th & 12th Off Road Races in Bark River
One last update and then we'll sign off for this week. We updated the race results from all of Sundays action for the PRO Racers with information directly from Traxxas. You can find it here.
I talked with Race Chairman Richard Ault briefly. And he seems confident that a record was set for attendance to a July race event. I already mentioned that I thought this would be the case. There were just so many things going right for the Lions Club. Good weather, more pro drivers than 2008, Jeremy McGrath racing, local racer Ben Wandahsega jumping two classes and racing with the pro's this season (along with the only other local pro driver - Chad Hord), the brand new racing series (TORC) as well as major media coverage of the races in general from ABC & ESPN.
Definitely a successful event and we're looking forward to covering the August races as well!
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 4:39EST)
A great race finish to the July version of the 2009 Bark River Off Road Races! In the PRO 4 Class, Johnny Greaves took 1st place, Scott Douglas took 2nd, Rick Huseman took 3rd and Steve Barlow took 4th.
A couple of side notes, the winner of the 50/50 raffle on Saturday got $1,500 and on Sunday, the lucky winner got $1,400. Pretty impressive. The crowds were strong as well, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that this turns out to be a record attendance year for a July race. August has always historically been better attended.
We will have a few more updates later tonight or Monday morning to conclude the races.
Send any comments, suggestions or questions to us any time at [email protected].
Hope you enjoyed our coverage on Kool 105.5, Magic 97, Moose Country 102.5 as well as right here on RRNSports.com!
Thanks and have a great Sunday night!
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 4:39EST)
I know there are a lot of Jeremy McGrath fans around because of the Moto Cross races. Since he took a 2nd place finish in todays race I was able to take a couple of pictures of him while at the winners circle with the Monster Girls.
Enjoy and stay tuned for the last update...
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 4:16EST)
Just finished watching the PRO 2 Drivers. Dan Vanden Heuvel was leading for a good portion of the race until he had to pull off to the side to change a tire. Not sure where he ended up finishing, but it was somewhere near the bottom. The race featured several jumps of 200 yards (plus or minus). 1st place went to Rob Maccachren, 2nd place was Jeremy McGrath, 3rd place was Todd Leduc, 4th place was Scott Taylor, 5th place was Ricky Johnson, 6th place was Mark Jenkins, 7th place was Evan Evans and local driver Ben Wandahsega finished 9th or 10th after finishing 3rd place yesterday.
One more BIG race to go, stay tuned...
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 3:54EST)
More great racing this afternoon...in the Super Buggy Class, Doug Fortin placed 1st, John Mason placed 2nd and Tim Lemons placed 3rd place.
The first pro race of the day was extremely exciting. Marty 'the one man party' Hart was leading the entire race. On the last lap he started blowing smoke and as he was taking the very last turn before the finish line, the truck caught on fire. Fortunately he jumped out of the truck quickly and they had the fire extinguished in a matter of moments. But that event allowed Jeff Kincaid to finish 1st place, Chris Brandt 2nd place and Casey Currie was 3rd place.
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 3:19EST)
Some of the sights from the race weekend so far...just click on the image to make it larger...
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Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 3:01EST)
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 Got a chance to talk with Rod Wells today as he stopped by the Mobile Broadcast Center (MBC) to chat for a few minutes. There is still a chance he could have his truck ready to race this year. If everything goes perfectly, he may make it to the August races in Bark River as well as possibly the 40th Anniversary races in Crandon. Stay tuned, once we have a final decision, we will be sure to let you know. I would expect to know one way or the other in the next couple weeks.
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 2:51EST)
Wow, what great racing this weekend! The battle between Brad and Steiny was classic. Brad Erickson prevailed and hung on for 2nd place. Like I said before, when these guys start to dial it in they can run well. Jaime pulled the hole shot and held first for a while but wound up second. Adam from his crew said they will get new tires next week and that should help them when trying to reel in the first place leader. Still an incredible run for both Brad and Jaime. Congrats to Brent Smith in the Enduro for pulling second place. Thanks to all of the Bark River Lions for their help and support. Thanks to Glenn White who always works so well with RRN.
Updated by TJ Ryan (Saturday at 2:43pm EST)
Just got done with Stock Truck Races and 1st place went to Eric Ruppel, 2nd place went to Craig Metz and 3rd place went to Al Konitzer.
Stay tuned...
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 2:12EST)
Need to give another special thanks to the businesses that are providing coverage is brought to you by the following sponsors:
Perronville Pub
P-S Locker Plant
4 J's Family Restaurant
Wards Auto Body
White's Grocery
Mr. Rental
M & T Auto Detailing
Adams Grocery
M & J Trucking & Excavating
Ault's Truck Repair
Discount Marine Parts
Bergman Insurance
Papa Murphys
 And don't forget to test your knowledge of Bark River Off Road Trivia and you could win tickets to Michigan International Speedway August 14th, 15th, and 16th. Question changes weekly, so come back each week for a new question! CLICK HERE to register
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 2:05EST)
Brad ALWAYS has great race weekends when he's at home in Bark River. Once again enjoyed a trip to the winners circle with today's 2nd place finish! Here he is being interviewed...great job Brad and Jaime!
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 1:59EST)
 Just updated information that comes right from Traxxas for the Pro Races. Click here to see all the up to date information from Saturday, July 11th.
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 1:53EST)
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It's been a great weekend for Jaime Kleikamp and the RRN Racing Team. Here are some pictures of Jaime on the winners circle. Just click the image to enlarge. | | Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 1:47EST) |
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What an exciting race in the Single Buggy Division. 1st place went to John Fitzgerald and 3rd place went to Jeff Villemure. And it's been a great weekend for the RRN Offroad Race team as our very own Brad Erickson took 2nd place. Hope to have pictures soon!
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 1:35EST)
Lot's of great racing action so far on this Sunday morning/afternoon. In the Grassroots Classix, 1st place went to Robert Weiland, 2nd place was Dale Chestnut and 3rd place was Eric Chernetski. Quick note about Dale Chestnut is that of the 4 races so far this season, he has three 1st place finishes and one 2nd place finish...pretty impressive.
In the Formula 4 X 4, David Demaigd took the 1st and Dave Miah took 2nd.
In the Grassroots Enduro Truck class, 1st place went to Bob Birkholtz, 2nd place went to Brent Smith (sun of Karaoke Contest stand out Sherry Smith and brother of Brock Smith) and 3rd place went to Chris Bowser.
In the Limited Truck class, 1st place went to Keith Steele (four 1st place finishes in 4 races this season), 2nd place went to Dave Bayer and 3rd place went to Luke Johnson.
And as we mentioned, in the 1600 Light Buggy, 1st place went to Greg Stingle, our very own Jaime Kleikamp went 2nd and Brian Clime went 3rd place.
Off to watch Brad Erickson...
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 1:15EST)
Sorry we're getting a late start today. TJ has been on the 3 FM's stations since 11am. Keep listening to him for updates. We've got lots of information that we need to get updated right here. In yesterday's PRO 4 X 4, Johnny Greaves took 1st place, Curt Leduc took 2nd place, and 3rd place went to Kyle Leduc.
On a quick note, Kaime Kleikamp had an excellent race and took 2nd place just recently!
Updated by Jesse (Sunday at 1:08EST)
 Brad Erickson just paid us a visit this afternoon and did an interview with TJ. He had a good race today and is looking forward to a successful Sunday.
The Pro 2 race was again very exciting. 1st place went to Dan Vanden Heuvel, 2nd place was Bob MacCachren and 3rd place went to local hometown hero Ben Wandahsega and his brand new truck. Ben mentioned he would have been happy to finish in the middle of the pack...much less finishing 3rd with the new truck is definitely an accomplishment! Not sure where Jeremy McGrath finished. But he wasn't talked about too much during the race...maybe we'll have more on him tomorrow.
Keep listening on our stations for updates of the PRO 4 race. Otherwise we'll be back here tomorrow with more updates.
Stay tuned... Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 4:34EST)
 The Pro Light races just completed and it's always nice when one of the local drivers takes a first place. And Chad Hord seems to always take a 1st whenever he is in Bark River. He came into todays race at 2nd place in the points standing trailing only Jeff Kincaid. And Jeff didn't even finish todays race...so Chad should be leading the points standings after finishing 1st this afternoon. Chris Brandt took 2nd place and and Marty Hart took 3rd place.
If you want to learn more about Chad...you can visit his official racing page at www.HordRacing.com. Chad is from Felch and always represents the sport of Offroad Racing with professionalism
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 3:52EST)
 Jaime Kleikamp stopped down to the Mobile Broadcast Unit to talk with us just now. Sounds like if he didn't get off to a slow start at the land rush starting line, he would have been even better than 4th place. However, 4th place is consistent and will keep him in the running for the points race as the years moves on. Good job Jaime!
The pros are racing right now...stay tuned...
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 3:22pm EST)
 Another great race just finished in the Super Buggy division. 1st place went to Doug Fortin, 2nd place was Tim Lemons and 3rd place went to Scott Schwalbe.
The pros are getting read to start...stay tuned...
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 3.02pm EST)
Really exciting racing action during the Stock Truck Race. 1st place went to Al Konitzer, 2nd place was Don Demeny, 3rd place was Craig Metz, 4th place was Mitch Dorr who is the points leader coming into the weekend and 5th place was Scott Beauchamp from Bark River.
The race went right down to the final turn in the final lap...lots of fun!
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 2:10pm EST)
Just finished the 1600 Buggy races. Brad Erickson had a great race...holding 2nd place for several laps at the beginning. He did lose 2nd place about halp way through, but ended up finishing a strong 3rd. 1st place went to John Fitzgerald and 2nd place went to Mike Seefeldt.
Stay tuned...
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 1:39pm EST)
Here are some sights from the Offroad Races. The picture on the far left is the brand new beer building that the Lions Club had built this year. It's still not completed, though they expect it to be done before the August races. Just click on any of the images for a full size version.
Off to watch Brad Erickson!
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 1:25pm EST)
 Just finished with the 1600 Light Buggy races! Definitely an exciting race with a long battle between 1st place Jeff Virnig and 2nd place finisher Matt Gerald. 3rd place went to Steve Oman who had to battle with several other drivers throughout the race to hold on to his position. Jamie Kleikamp, one of our very own RRN drivers had a good race as well finishing in 4th place.
Also had a chance to talk with Allison from the Crandon International Raceway about some of the exciting things they have planned for their 40th anniversary coming later this summer. We hope to have her on the air later this weekend!
Brian Adams from the Bark River Lions Club also stopped by to chat with TJ and I. He does a lot of work for the community and the Bark River Lions Club. He's also involved his business, Adams Grocery, as an official sponsor of Racing Coverage on Radio Results Network.
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 1:07pm EST)
Just got done with another fun race with the Sportsmen Limited Truck race. Keith Steele continued his steak of 1st place finishes by taking 1st place again today. Ross Hoek took 2nd place, 3rd place went to Luke Johnson and 4th place went to Don Williams. As TJ mentioned, we are both anticipating Brad and Jaime and their races coming up!
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 12:35pm EST)
Welcome to another Off road weekend! Shortly Brad Erickson will be taking the track, I spoke with him earlier today and he hopes to have the bugs out from Crandon. Drivers are always making adjustments right up to race time and if they get dialed in can make the difference between winning and losing. I also spoke with Jaime Kleikamp who felt his car was running real well at last nights practice. The start is important, the drivers try to get the"whole shot" which can only be described as a mad land rush which often can take many drivers out of race. Good luck to Brad and Jaime and all of the drivers. We have more pro drivers than we've ever seen, so you still have time to come see some great racing!!
Updated by TJ Ryan (Saturday at 12:32pm EST)
Racing just finished for the Midwest Grassroots Enduro Trucks. Lots of exciting action! 1st place went to Larry Manske, 2nd place was Bob Rinehart and 3rd place went to Brock Smith (local guy from Bark River and the son of Sherry Smith who performed last night during the Karaoke contest). 4th place went to Shaun Bruski who probably would have finished in 2nd or 3rd if they raced an extra lap.
Last weeks 1st place winners in Crandon, Matt Ives and Jesse Wagner, didn't finish in the top 4.
Stay tuned... Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 11:55am EST)
Just got done with the first race of the weekend. The Grassroots Classix and Formula 4 X 4 raced at the same time.
Taking first place for the Formula 4 X 4 was David Demaegd (he took 2 first places finishes in Crandon). Second place was Jim Ridderbush. First place in the Grassroots Classix was Justin Keehner.
Once again, we want to make sure and thank our sponsors who are providing coverage here on RRNSports.com as well as on-air on Magic 97, 102.5 Moose Country and Kool 105.5.
Perronville Pub
P-S Locker Plant
4 J's Family Restaurant
Wards Auto Body
White's Grocery
Mr. Rental
M & T Auto Detailing
Adams Grocery
M & J Trucking & Excavating
Ault's Truck Repair
Discount Marine Parts
Bergman Insurance
Papa Murphys
Stay tuned for more updates...
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 11:29am EST)
Here we are again this morning ready to bring you all the coverage of the U.P. Offroad Races in Bark River. The weather is going to be absolutely perfect. The sun is shining and it feels like temps could end up being in the 80's today!
Opening ceremonies are planned to start around 10:50am this morning and racing starts around 11am. The fun thing about the races is that they keep going right through almost 6pm. So some people like to come out early and enjoy the entire day. Some like to come out more towards the middle of the afternoon and catch all the pro drivers. Either way, tickets are just $20 for the day, and $30 for the entire weekend. Kids 11 and under are FREE!
Updated by Jesse (Saturday at 10:21am EST)
Well it was another fun and exciting Friday night Big N Rich Karaoke Contest in Bark River! As always, it's amazing to see the amount of talented people that we have right in our area! We had 18 people participate and as of right now, the plan is to have everyone come out and participate in the August finals!
Here are a couple highlights from the event:
- We were treated two very good performances from one young lady. What was so unique about her? She is a cheerleader for the Green Bay Packers! Very good performer...and very fun attitude.
- We had 2 young ladies that were both 15. They were both excellent and were definitely at the top of the performance list in my estimation.
- And something I will never forget is the scene of TJ Ryan dancing up on stage and even role playing with one of the singers for a part of the song. You definitely had to see it in person!
- Glenn White from Whites Exxon won the 50/50 raffle...I think it was $250!
- I was happy to sit with Mindy Wills at the judges table. And you would not believe how many people stopped by the table just so they could meet her and say hi. She definitely has a following.
Overall the attendance was very good. The competition ran until around 11 - and now we are in the middle of open mic until about 12midnight. There was over $1,700 raised for Bay Cliff from Friday night ticket sales. That is more than $100 raised compared to August of 2008. Definitely an accomplishment in these tough economic times.
Racing action starts in the morning. There are reported to be over 30 drivers that will be here this weekend. That is compared to around 10 drivers in 2008. The action should be exciting.
Be sure to listen as TJ Ryan will have updates from 11am until 5pm on Magic 97, 102.5 Moose Country and Kool 105.5. And keep checking back here as I will post updates as time allows. For now...have a great night!
Updated by Jesse (Friday at 11:54pm EST)
We're getting ready to start the Karaoke and Talent show shortly. One of the other highlights of the evening is Scott Murray and Sick Air performing on the track. The crowd looks promising for the July races. People are still steaming through the front gate. Fun and entertainment will be going on for several more hours, don't hesistate to take a short drive to enjoy the party!
Also had a chance to talk with Kevin Oslund who is one of Ben Wandahsega's pit crew members. He mentioned that Ben's truck ran extremely well during warm ups...better than it's run in several years. Sounds like Ben and his crew are aiming to have a big weekend!
Updated by Jesse (Friday at 6:56pm EST)
 The weather looks like it's going to be absolutely perfect this evening! It going to be a great night of fun and entertainment.
Starting shortly, we will be hosting the Big N Rich Karaoke and Talent show. TJ is stretching out his vocal chords as we speak so he can be sure to do a good job emceeing the event. Plus judging the event will be myself (RRN), Mindy Wills (RRN), Jay Fisher (RRN), Glen White (White's Exxon) and Tony Kern (Paradise Promotions). There is still time to come out and get registered to participate! Or if you're just looking for a night of entertainment...you will be sure to have a blast!
Food and drinks are always available. Some of the pits are starting to open up even though some are still setting up. What a great time of the year...a beautiful summer night and it's Offroad Race Weekend! What could be better!?!?!
Updated by Jesse (Friday at 6:13pm EST)
 Monster Energy Drinks is a major sponsor of the races this year! They are giving away free Monster drinks this weekend. Plus the lucky ones with VIP passes get to watch from the top of the tower...very cool!
There are big things happening tonight on the hill! Scott Murray is planning to perform sometime this evening, I heard it will be about 7pm! It is definitely going to be worth coming out!
Friday nights are free if you have purchased your weekend passes! If you just want to come out and enjoy this evenings activities, tonight will cost just $5 and all the money will be donated to Bay Cliff Health Camp!
Plus happening right now, the buggies and trucks are on the tracks running warm up laps!
Updated by Jesse (Friday at 6:04pm EST )
Check back here all this weekend as we give you complete updates of everything that's happening at the Offroad Races in Bark River!
And be listening all weekend long on WGKL, WGLQ & WCMM as TJ Ryan keeps you up to date of all the exciting race action!
Coverage is brought to you by the following sponsors:
Perronville Pub
P-S Locker Plant
4 J's Family Restaurant
Wards Auto Body
White's Grocery
Mr. Rental
M & T Auto Detailing
Adams Grocery
M & J Trucking & Excavating
Ault's Truck Repair
Discount Marine Parts
Bergman Insurance
Papa Murphys
Test your knowledge of Bark River Off Road Trivia and you could win tickets to Michigan International Speedway August 14th, 15th, and 16th. Question changes weekly, so come back each week for a new question! CLICK HERE to register
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