Rounds 1 and 2 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series kicked off in Chandler, Arizona, where Cory Winner debuted the new #67 Fabtech / General Tire Pro Lite to compete against some of the top names in the sport. The weather was hot and the track looked good, as the guys from Winner Motorsports Group setup shop trying to get ready for qualifying. “It’s going to be a battle out there this weekend. The new guys mixing it up with the veterans of the sport should make for some exciting racing. We are just glad to be here, and hope to put the #67 Fabtech / General Tire Pro Lite on the box. We have done some testing and so far and we like what we see. It should be good!” said Jerrod Wedell, Crew Chief of the #67.
With the drivers’ meeting out of the way, it was time to qualify. Only getting a couple of laps to qualify meant Cory Winner wasn’t going to have a lot of time to lay down a good lap with all of the traffic. With practice times near the top 10, that’s where Cory Winner would find himself for Saturday’s race. Cory would have the #67 inside row 7, just about a little over a second off the pole.
With some new Ultra Wheels with General Grabbers X3’s mounted, freshly tuned Dirt Logic shocks, and a new paint scheme, Winner took the green flag on Saturday’s race starting 13th. Mike Valentine got spun out in turn 3 and while he was recovering from the spin, he turned right into the side of Winner, spinning him out and sending him to the back of the pack. Some more carnage on the track would knock down the right rear tire, sending Cory to the hot pits. The team got the tire changed and got him back out on the track, but he was a lap down. Shortly after regaining the field, the team had another setback, with an ignition problem that would eventually take Cory out of Saturday’s race.
The team was hard at work Saturday night, diagnosing the problem and getting the truck the best it could be for Sunday’s race, where Cory would start 12th. Some major changes and an ignition repair had the team with some high hopes for Sunday. “We found the ignition problem and got it fixed. We made some changes to the #67 Fabtech / General Tire machine and think we have everything ready to go. We grooved a fresh set of General Grabber’s and hopefully I can go out and get the job done!” said Cory Winner.
The green flag dropped for Sunday’s race and Cory was already feeling the changes as he quickly moved up 3 places to 9th by turn three on the first lap. He would maintain that position while closing the gap between him and the truck in front of him. Again, bad luck struck the #67, as he would have a wheel bearing problem, which eventually put Cory upside down. The truck was unrepairable and was towed off the track, giving the team another DNF for the weekend.
“Cory got off to a good start and was making some passes. He was looking comfortable just as the bearing in the hub broke. It’s unfortunate but with a brand new truck there is always that chance of encountering a problem. We will get it fixed up and be ready for the next one.” said Dave Winner, Owner of the #67 Fabtech Pro Lite.
