TORC: Rick Huseman Perris summary

Huseman's Monster Madness Entertains Thousands With Saturday Night Victory At Perris Auto Speedway

Saturday's Round 4 Victory Clinches 3rd PRO 4WD WIN in 2009!
RICK HUSEMAN Claims his 4th OAKLEY Bomb AWARD!

Riverside, CALIFORNIA - Rick Huseman and his Monster Energy/TRAXXAS/TOYOTA sponsored race team entered through the gates of Perris Auto Speedway with crosshairs locked on all competitors. With a couple hundred close family and friends in attendance, the Riverside, California native climbed into his #36 Monster Energy/TRAXXAS/TOYOTA PRO4WD and got to work. Teams from across the United States arrived to Perris Auto Speedway early Thursday in anticipation of the The Off Road Championship (TORC) show slated to be televised on ABC Sports on June 7, 2008.

Racing under the lights of the famed Perris Auto Speedway on both Friday and Saturday nights was the buzz of the off road motorsports industry as TORC arrived to Southern California for the first of two race scheduled weekends on the 2009 TORC season tour. The .48-mile racecourse challenged racers as the dirt track was short and technical and race truck set up was of the utmost importance.

Supported by his band of brothers, Monster Energy's Rick Huseman wasted little time as his crew got to work after the first practice of the weekend. "Set up was very important for us as there was little time to spare between the practice session and the race, but fortunately, we came out of the box in good shape and only had to make a couple minor adjustments. Of course, our race shop is only a few miles from this track, so it made it very convenient this race," explained Rick.

Friday night's Round 3 of the 2009 TORC Series started off well as Rick Huseman charged hard towards the front, but not before he was spun by Adrian Cenni. The unfortunate contact left the Monster Energy/TRAXXAS TOYOTA Tundra in the back of the pack and he was relegated to make up lost time. Pushing the Toyota TRD power plant to the extreme, Huseman was able to race back to finish in fourth place, just out of a podium position.

Racing under the lights with the beautiful Southern California weather on a Saturday night is what Rick Huseman dreamed about his entire life. As the sun set across water of Lake Perris, the bright lights of Perris Auto Speedway illuminated the capacity-filled grandstands of raging off road racing fans.

As the PRO 4WD race trucks made their way down the front stretch for the green flag, the fans rose to their feet for the final race of the night. Moments later, the noise level blasted the roof off the top of the stadium as the nation's elite drivers got down to business, the business of door-to-door racing.

Huseman drove his #36 Monster Energy/TRAXXAS/TOYOTA PRO 4WD with patience as he positioned himself for the final charge against fellow Monster Energy racer, Johnny Greaves. The two Monster Energy PRO 4WD's rallied around the tight and technical race course battling for position in making their final run towards the checkered flag. With the crowds cheering, Huseman turned to the bottom of Turn 3 at Perris Auto Speedway, jetting past Johnny Greaves for the run to the checkers. In the end, it was the local racer, Rick Huseman who came out on top, winning his third PRO 4WD race of the season.

After parading around in a victory lap, Huseman climbed to the top of his Monster Energy race truck and pumped his fists into the air celebrating an impressive victory over the nation's top PRO 4WD racers. Huseman has outperformed the competition in three of the last four races held thus far in 2009.

Jumping down from the top of the truck Rick commented, "TOYOTA TRD has been working very hard at providing us with the next generation motor and this TOYOTA powerplant runs very strong. TOYOTA TRD has given us an incredible engine package for the 2009 season and its definitely provided us with the power to run in the front."

The Monster Energy/TRAXXAS/TOYOTA sponsored racer has also earned three OAKLEY Bomb Awards for setting the fastest lap during three of the four rounds of racing so far this season.

With near perfect weather conditions, it was a classic Friday and Saturday night racing under the lights. Huseman had a couple hundred friends and family at the track as the Southern California native thrilled the Monster Energy army with his impressive moves.

"Any time you can race in front of your friends and family it's exciting. And, of course, there is more pressure because everyone is packed in the stands so I'm glad we could deliver and give our fans, friends and family an impressive win. It was very difficult to get around Johnny, but once we did, I never looked back. We're looking to win the PRO 4WD championship this season and it's a long season. We need all the points we can get," said the smiling Huseman.

Over the course of the first four races, Huseman has accumulated 96 total season points giving him solid fifteen point lead over Johnny Greaves who is at 81 points and Scott Douglas at 78 points.

The one-hour ABC Sports television show from the 2009 TORC Series Rounds 3-4 at Perris Auto Speedway is set to air on June 7th on ABC at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

In the one-hour ESPN2 television show that was shown on May 24, 2009, the Monster Energy / TRAXXAS sponsored Rick Huseman Racing was featured as he was victorious in both Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2009 TORC Series.

The next stop on the 2009 TORC race schedule is Crandon International Off-Road Raceway in Crandon, Wisconsin for rounds five and six. The action will take place over two days, June 20 and 21, 2009.

-credit: rhPR/romm