CORR: Crandon Shootout summary

CRANDON, WI -- Chevrolet 4x4 pickup truck driver Carl Renezeder, Newport Beach, CA, did what no other driver has ever done in winning the $100,000 BorgWarner Shootout at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway -- he won it from the pole position.

Renezeder thrilled the over-capacity crowd at Crandon with a decisive win in his powerful Lucas Oil/BF Goodrich Chevy Silverado, passing six trucks in the annual 10-lap race over Crandon's fast but punishing 1.75-mile track.

Renezeder won more than $23,000 for the win in the feature event during a weekend of racing at the BorgWarner World Championship Off-Road Races, August 29-31 over Labor Day weekend. Two days prior to the race, Renezeder had earned the pole position in the annual NISMO Time Trials for the BorgWarner Shootout. He turned a fastest lap time of 1:25:12 for the field of 22 trucks entered in the race.

The BorgWarner Shootout pits high performance 800 HP 4x4 pickup trucks against similarly configured 2-wheel drive (2WD) pickup trucks in a extremely high speed, rough and tumble sprint race over the Crandon track. The five fastest 2WD pickups receive a 1/4-mile handicap start on Crandon's famous Oklahoma Land Rush Start.

Scott Taylor, Belvidere, IL, last years' Shootout winner in a 2WD Ford truck, surged to an early lead from the LeMans start. He was followed by a quartet of 2WD trucks. The balance of the field, led by pole sitter Renezeder, left the starting line. Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, CA, was first in to Crandon's notorious Potawatomi Turn One in Skyjacker Ford 4x4, earning the $250 Summit Truckstyle "No Bluff Award". Renezeder was right behind LeDuc. Three trucks were involved in a first turn collision, including the Rancho Ford 4x4 of race contender Scott Douglas, El Cajon, CA, immediately eliminating them from the race and bringing out the yellow flag on the first lap.

Taylor led the race for five strong laps. Meanwhile, LeDuc and Renezeder had worked their way through the field to reach second and third positions on the track. By lap six Taylor, LeDuc and Renezeder were bumper to bumper. At the beginning of the next lap, Renezeder made a move to pass LeDuc after the American Axle chicane to take second and finally passed Taylor. Renezeder took the checkers, followed by LeDuc and Taylor.

In Crandon's Victory Circle, Renezeder accepted the Snap-On victory wreath and congratulations from Tim Manganello, chairman and chief executive officer of BorgWarner Corporation, Chicago, IL. Manganello presented the winner a check for $20,000, the $100,000 BorgWarner Shootout Cup and the $7,500 BorgWarner "King of Off-Road Racing" World Championship Driver's Award to an exhausted but jubilant Renezeder. The winner had raced two additional events earlier in the day. "Carl put in over 60 miles of high-speed driving in high speed traffic all day long on our track," said Cliff Flannery, track president. "It is a great tribute to his off-road racing skills and we congratulate him, Lucas Oil, BF Goodrich and Chevrolet".

Renezeder also received congratulations and the "Victory Roulette Award" of $1,500 from Gus Frank, chairman, Forest County Potawatomi. The BorgWarner Shootout, sponsored by Fabtech, will be tape-delayed broadcast on Speed Channel later this fall. In other race action, the weekend featured Championship Off-Road Racing series racing, also sponsored by Lucas Oil, and other amateur off-road racing promoted by Crandon Raceway.

Renezeder's win in a Chevrolet broke a streak of six consecutive Shootout victories by Ford Trucks. Chevy Trucks will be presented the $100,000 BorgWarner Cup. The 2004 BorgWarner Shootout will be the all-important 10th Anniversary of the event. It coincides with the 35th Anniversary of Crandon International Off-Road Raceway next season.

In 2004, the track will host three big events. These include the Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run Races June 19-20. The Crandon race opener will be followed by the 2nd Annual "Thunder Valley Biker Rally". The event is projected for July 16-18, 2004. Crandon caps off the 2004 season with the all-important 35th Annual BorgWarner World Championship Off-Road Races over Labor Day Weekend, September 3-5, 2004. This weekend will include the Forest County Potawatomi Friday Night X-treme Thunderfest, September 3.

The 10th annual BorgWarner Shootout will be held Sunday, September 5, 2004. Renezeder, a graduate of UCLA, reigns as the mythical "King of Off-Road Racing" until the green flag for that event. ###

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