Lovell Ends TORC Season on the Podium

Colorado Springs, CO 10/20/2011 - The 2011 Traxxas TORC Season is in the bag. Brad Lovell had high hopes for the series finalie the Cycle Ranch near San Antonio, TX. The weekend not only featured two rounds of regular season racing, but also the inaugural $15,000 Traxxas Pro Light Cup. The newly constructed permanent track at the Cycle Ranch was alive with heavy equipment when the teams showed up. Over two dozen brutal jumps chopped up the zig zagging course challenging the nerve of Pro-Light drivers in particular.

"The pro-lights are most sensetive to rough courses," commented driver Brad Lovell, "We played it real safe in practice to protect the truck." Lovell was back in the seat for the first time since a hair-raising rollover in Chicago only weeks before. The conserative plan worked well and Lovell avoided disaster to qualify in 3rd place. Saturday morning would bring bad luck however as the truck unexpectedly spit out a driveshaft in the last practice round. "Well, we were pretty puzzled," crew cheif JT Taylor added, "We guessed the shaft was long and fixed it." The team soon found out in harsh terms that they had not found the problem. On lap 6 of the race, the #44 AMSOIL / Torchmate Nissan again spit out the driveshaft and this time erupted in flames. Luckily the fire went out but the team had broken their only spare shaft and faced heavy repair work.

The all volunteer team of racers stayed up most of the night making repairs and with some borrowed spare parts hit the track for a successful practice session. Brad explained, "It looks like I made a blunder in the shop after Chicago. It felt great to go out and not come back on a tow strap!" Lovell started 9th in the final points race of the year and fought all the way to 4th place before the checkers flew. "It wasn't what we wanted but a lot better than our previous 3 races. Every lap was faster and I was only a handful of seconds behind the leader. We ended up 5th in points after 6 DNF's. We get the prep work under control and we'll have a championship." 

The only thing left for the battle worn team to face was the inaugural Traxxas Pro-Light Cup. With only 9 of the original 13 pro-lights still operational, Lovell took the track in pole position. Fellow Nissan driver Casey Currie jumped the flag and took the lead while Lovell gave chase but was soon tangled with CJ Greaves and RJ Anderson. the battle went on as the four trucks seperated from the rest of field. When the dust settled Lovell had put the #44 AMSOIL / Torchmate Nissan in 3rd place for his 6th podium finish of the year. "It felt real good to get back up on the box. We were working with BFGoodrich all weekend on tires and they were perfect for the cup race. I owe thanks to a vast group of sponsors and supporters across the country that made it possible for me to race. We have a lot of confidence going into the off season and look forward to having a top team in 2012."