After opening the season in the tight quarters of Antigo, the stars of AMSOIL Championship Off-Road will switch gears and make their way to the longest track on the circuit: the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.
The Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run weekend began in 1994 on the heels of the success of Crandon’s Labor Day World Championship Races. The additional race went well, and 28 years later, it remains one of the most popular events on the circuit.
As always, the Brush Run weekend will conclude with the 29th Annual Forest County Potawatomi Community Cup race that pits PRO2s vs. PRO4s. The only active drivers with FCP Cup wins are Johnny Greaves, Keegan Kincaid, Kyle Kleiman, and defending race winner Jerett Brooks.
From the very first Forest County Potawatomi Community Cup Challenge in 1994 through the 2010 running of the event, a PRO2 only emerged victorious on four occasions. Since then a PRO2 has won the event six times, including four of the last six.
Pro Truck
The last time we were at Crandon, it was all Johnny Greaves in the PRO4 class as the 7-time class champion led every lap the PRO4s ran last fall. Greaves has won a record six Forest County Potawatomi Cup races and is always one to watch at the Big House.
The other 7-time PRO4 champion Kyle LeDuc dominated the Brush Run last June, sweeping the PRO4 races and challenging for the FCP Cup before experiencing mechanical issues. LeDuc will look to close the gap to points leader CJ Greaves as well as win his first career FCP Cup this weekend.
After winning the PRO2 season’s opening round, Mickey Thomas suffered a DNF in Round 2 and hopes to bounce back this weekend. Thomas’ track record at Crandon reads very well, having won the PRO2 World Championship last year as well as a race under the lights on the Crandon short track in 2020.
Jerett Brooks won the 2021 Forest County Potawatomi Cup race and has won at least one race at Crandon in every season he has competed there in a PRO2. He enters the weekend 3rd in the PRO2 points following finishes of 2nd and 9th at Antigo, despite having the fastest lap of the race both days.
Just like last season, 2021 PRO LITE champion Brock Heger opened 2022 with a weekend sweep at Antigo. The Big House wasn’t especially kind to him last season in PRO LITE however, as Heger won only once in four Crandon races last season compared to winning six times in eight races at other tracks.
Making his 2022 PRO LITE debut this weekend will be 2019 champion Christopher Polvoorde. Polvoorde won every single midwest PRO LITE race contested in 2019, including 4 at Crandon, and will be joining the tour for the two Crandon dates this season.
Pro SXS
Just like in the PRO LITE class, Brock Heger opened his championship defense in Pro Stock SxS with a weekend sweep at Antigo. Heger won every Pro Stock race at Crandon last season, beating out CJ Greaves in 2nd on each of those four occasions.
Rodney VanEperen won the 2021 Pro Turbo SxS championship using his consistency and opened the 2022 season the same way, coming into Crandon with the points lead. Crandon is his best track with 7 Pro Turbo wins, 8 Super Buggy wins, and even 2 PRO2 podiums on his résumé at the Big House.
Four-time Pro SxS champion CJ Greaves spent the opening weekend of the season learning his two new Polaris machines to varying results. Greaves earned runner-up finishes in both Pro Stock rounds, but suffered a flat tire in Round 1 and another mechanical issue in Round 2 in Pro Turbo.
Despite being the fastest driver for most of the 2021 Pro Turbo season, Kyle Chaney had more DNFs than wins. That trend continued into the opening round of this season, as Chaney had a DNF in Round 1 before putting on a dominant display in a Round 2 win. Chaney did not podium in any SxS races at Crandon last season.
No track has been kinder to Owen VanEperen in his Pro SxS career. VanEperen won his first career Pro Stock race in the 2020 World Championship race, his first Pro Turbo race during last year’s Brush Run Races, and last year’s Pro Turbo World Championship. He enters the weekend 2nd in Pro Turbo points and 5th in Pro Stock.
Andrew Carlson brought a new Pro Turbo SxS to Antigo for the 2022 season, but mechanical issues hindered the Polaris driver’s weekend. Crandon is a good place for Carlson to turn things around, as he’s won a Pro Turbo race there in each of the last two seasons
Amsoil Championship Off-Road can be streamed this weekend via FloSports/FloRacing. For a full weekend schedule, be sure to visit the Championship Off-Road website.
