TORC Bark River:
Jenkins Brothers Racing Takes 8 Podiums and
2 Wins With Mopar/RAM and Traxxas!

Jenkins Brothers Racing (JBR) dominated the action at Bark River Raceway as Rounds 7 and 8 of the TORC series came to Michigan's upper peninsula. JBR drivers Mike and Mark Jenkins, Andrew Caddell, and Samuel Hubinette earned podium spots with Caddell and Hubinette each taking a win in Pro Light. JBR Pro 2WD racer Rob MacCachren sat out the action in Bark River with a broken collarbone, but substitute driver Keith Steele made his mark in the no. 21 Mopar RAM with a second place finish in Sunday's Round 8 action. After a weekend of close competition, JBR drivers took home the hardware with eight podium finishes and two wins, as well as the overall points lead in Pro Light and Pro 2WD classes.

 

Pro 4X4 Podiums for Mike and Mark Jenkins
Mike Jenkins lead Saturday's Pro 4X4 race in his no. 47 Traxxas/Amsoil/BFGoodrich truck after the mandatory mid-race yellow, but fell to second after a less than ideal line in the "cemetery turn" presented the opportunity 2010 champ Johnny Greaves needed to take over the top spot. Second place was hardly secure, however, as 11-time champion Scott Douglas was not about to settle for third without a serious fight. From turn to turn, Douglas pushed and prodded but Jenkins stayed cool and drove smart to counter each move. Racing tough but clean, Jenkins kept Douglas' Amsoil Pro 4X4 in his rear-view all the way to the checkered flag for second place. "Hat's off to Scott Douglas – he's a real professional," said Jenkins after the race. "I was slowed up in a couple of spots and he never bumped me, never hit me. And we ended up putting on a real good show for everyone."
 

   

   
 

After bowing out of Saturday's race early with an alternator failure, a resurgent Mark Jenkins joined brother Mike in Sunday's Pro 4X4 action. Mike Jenkins raced into third place, but was unable to hold off Rick Johnson and fell to fourth by the mid-race yellow, with Mark Jenkins' no. 25 Traxxas/Amsoil/BFGoodrich truck behind him in fifth. While under yellow, Scott Douglas exited for the hot pit, moving Mike and Mark to third and fourth. The Bark River crowd readied for combat between leaders Johnny Greaves and Rick Johnson, and a brother-vs-brother battle for third between Mike and Mark. Mark's opportunity to move into podium position came as Mike's truck landed nose-high off Bark River Raceway's massive "ski jump." In the extra moment it took for Mike to recover, Mark was able to get his truck inside of Mike's and muscle into third place. In the battle for the lead, it appeared Greaves would hold off the nearly unstoppable Johnson until the penultimate turn. The race leaders made contact and Greaves caught the outer retaining the wall, stuffing his truck to a halt as Johnson went on to the win. It looked as if Greaves could still save second place, but his truck balked and the Jenkins brothers roared past in second and third place to both earn their places on the podium. An incredible end to an epic race!
 

   

 

 

Keith Steele Takes Pro 2WD Podium for Mopar/RAM
Despite a freshly broken collarbone, Rob MacCachren lined up for the start of Pro 2WD Round 7. Per TORC rules, MacCachren needed to turn only one lap before he would be allowed to turn the wheel over to substitute driver Keith Steele, but MacCachren endured seven trips around the tough Bark River circuit before finally pulling off for the driver change. Steele completed the race and finished seventh, salvaging 12 precious points for the no. 21 Mopar RAM.

Rather than repeat the switch for Sunday's race, TORC and the other Pro 2WD drivers agreed to let Steele take the green flag for Round 8 so MacCachren would not have to suffer through another start and potentially worsen his injury. Round 8 was a stunner, as race-leaders Chad Hord, Marty Hart, and Bryce Menzies were wiped off the track when Hord had a steering failure and stuffed his Boss Snowplow truck into the wall, collecting Hart and Menzies in a violent wreck. Jeff Kincaid avoided the carnage to take over the lead, followed by Steele and Mike Oberg. The new top-three held their positions to the finish, putting Steele on the Pro 2WD podium and keeping the no. 21 Mopar RAM truck on top in TORC Pro 2WD series points.
 

   

   

 

 

Andrew Caddell and Samuel
Hubinette Trade Wins in Pro Light
Round 7 of Traxxas Pro Light saw Andrew Caddell take the holeshot and the win in his JBR-built Ram truck, no looking back! Fellow JBR driver Samuel Hubinette held firm to second place in his Mopar RAM, as Casey Currie gave chase in third, then faded to fourth under pressure from Luke Johnson. The Caddell/Hubinette /Johnson running order held to the finish, giving Johnson his first Pro Light podium finish and $1500 in Traxxas purse money. Hubinette scored the $2500 prize, and Caddell earned $5000 for the win, plus a $1000 "Maxx Lap" bonus for posting the fastest lap of the race. "The team gave me a great truck and I had to take some chances to stay out front of Sam Hubinette ," said Caddell, who took over the 2011 Traxxas TORC PRO Light points lead from defending champ Casey Currie.
 

   

   
 

Round 8 of Traxxas Pro Light was Samuel Hubinette 's turn to shine. "The Crazy Swede" unleashed his Mopar RAM to take the lead in the first few turns, then kept JBR teammate Andrew Caddell at bay through the mid-race restart and on to the finish to win the $5000 prize. "This win puts us right back in the championship battle," said Hubinette, who now trails Caddell by eleven points. "I got behind Sam and he didn't make any mistakes. Hat's off to him," said Caddell. To underscore Caddell's efforts to beat Hubinette, Caddell earned Traxxas Maxx Lap $1000 fastest-lap bonus in addition to the $2500 second-place purse.
 

      

   

   

 

The next stop for Jenkins Brothers Racing and the TORC Series is Crandon International Raceway, September 3 & 4.

 

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