TORC Round 6: Mike Jenkins WINS Pro 4X4!

Oshkosh, WI: Record rainfall greeted the Jenkins Brothers Racing (JBR) crew as they arrived in Oshkosh for Traxxas TORC series racing under the lights, but the weather did not damp the team’s enthusiasm as Mike Jenkins and JBR went to work, overcoming obstacles in Round 5 to take the win in Saturday’s Round 6 Pro 4X4 event. Read on for the full story—and be sure to catch every holeshot, pass, and crash in eye-popping High Definition starting Thursday, September 2 on Discovery HD Theater!

Round 5 was over before it even began for Mike Jenkins, who took one lap of practice before exiting to the hot pits with drivetrain trouble and did not return for green-flag racing. Mark Jenkins was left to carry the Traxxas/BFGoodrich/Amsoil colors, and started from the inside of row one in prime position for the start. Mark took the holeshot with Scott Douglas in tow, but was taken out of the race when Mark was forced to turn deep inside of turn three and against the K-rail, breaking his truck’s left-front suspension.

Mike and Mark Jenkins’ bad luck in Round 5 only fueled their desire to put in a powerful performance in Round 6. Due to the inversion of Friday’s top-four finishing order, Mark Jenkins again had the inside of row one, flanked by fellow Traxxas-sponsored driver Rick Huseman. Steve Barlow and Johnny Greaves followed in row two, with Scott Douglas and Mike Jenkins in row three, and Al Drews in the final spot. As the green flag unleashed the pack, Rick Huseman jumped out to the early lead with Mark Jenkins and Johnny Greaves close behind. The field settled through the sweeper as Douglas, Barlow, and Mike Jenkins fell in behind the leaders. Going into turn three, Mark bicycled high onto two wheels, allowing Greaves and Douglas to pass but recovering in time to stay shiny-side up. Steve Barlow applied pressure to Mark Jenkins and the drivers traded positions in the infield, dueling as they had in Bark River. Barlow made his final pass stick as the mandatory yellow slowed the field, and the drivers slotted in for the restart with Greaves leading out Douglas, Huseman, Barlow, Mark, and Mike Jenkins.

Greaves, Douglas, and Huseman retained their spots at the front of the field as the race went green, but all eyes were on Mark Jenkins and Steve Barlow as the two rivals resumed their battle, trading positions and pouring everything onto the track to get a shot at a podium position. As it had so many times that weekend, turn three proved treacherous. Mark pitched his Traxxas Pro 4X4 into the corner that he had taken on two wheels earlier in the race, but this time Mark’s truck snap-rolled violently, coming to rest on the driver’s side as brother Mike took over his spot.

As the yellow flag came out to clear Mark’s truck from the track, the running order was Greaves, Douglas, Huseman, Barlow, and Jenkins. The racing action went up another notch at the restart, with Barlow pressuring Huseman hard for third position. The two drivers raced side by side on the back straight, then made contact over the straight’s second jump. Barlow’s truck bounced out of control and barrel-rolled violently as Huseman sped away. Huseman quickly collected Greaves and Douglas as they traded positions with some banging that resulted in damage to Greaves truck and let Huseman move into second and Mike into third as the track went yellow to clear Barlow’s truck from the track.

On the green, Huseman leapt to the front, running side-by-side with Douglas down the back straight and edging him out in turn three. As Huseman tucked in, his truck spun, forcing Douglas to take an extra wide line as Mike Jenkins passed both trucks on the inside to take the lead. Douglas and Huseman throttled their trucks hard to close the gap on Jenkins, but he countered with wide, fast lines (his fastest laps of the race) that maintained his momentum and kept him up front. Like a replay of their duel at Bark River, Mike Jenkins and Scott Douglas were dogfighting for the win. From corner to corner, Douglas threatened to pass but couldn’t make anything stick as the Jenkins powered out of each turn with a gap on Douglas. Huseman was still a factor as well, pressuring Douglas for second place and ready to pounce on any mistake by the leaders. After being outpaced for four laps, Douglas and Huseman made a final all-out effort to reach Jenkins, but the no. 47 Traxxas/BFGoodrich/Amsoil Pro 4X4 would not be caught. Huseman spun in the final corner and Douglas could only watch as the checkered flag waved and the crowd went wild for Mike Jenkins as he notched his second Pro 4X4 career win.

 

The Traxxas TORC Series and Jenkins Brothers Racing return to Bark River, WI for Rounds 7 and 8, August 14 and 15. You can watch all the action online via live streaming video at TORCseries.com, and be sure to program your DVR for the premier of the 26-episode Traxxas TORC Series TV series! Programming begins September 2 on Discovery HD Theater, and continues for 26 weeks every Thursday night. Check your local listings for channel and time information.

For more information about Traxxas, The Fastest Name In Radio Control®, visit Traxxas.com.