Andrew Carlson to Make His TORC Pro-Lite Truck Debut
Andrew Carlson to Make His TORC Pro-Lite Truck Debut
Elk River, Minnesota (September 5, 2014) – It was complete “baptism by fire” for the rookie debut of Andrew Carlson in The Off-Road Championship (TORC) series race in Crandon, Wisconsin, August 30-31, in front of 35,000 fans. Racing in his first ever Pro-Lite event aboard the AMSOIL, FXR, Best Western adorned truck, Andrew faced a final field of 27 trucks on a rain marred track with barely one-full practice lap under his belt…all from the very last spot on the grid.
“It was crazy,” said Carlson after completing the second race of the two-race format main event. “The start is an all-out land rush to the first turn. I think I went through seven tear-offs between the starting line and the first turn!”
Carlson made his TORC truck debut despite gaining little valuable practice time due to heavy rain and a mechanical. With Saturday turning into a complete rain out, the TORC organization stuffed both feature events into a single day, no qualifying, two feature races on Sunday. Despite these setbacks, Carlson demonstrated he has a definite future in short-course off-road racing.
With speeds reaching nearly 100mph, Andrew gained a feel for the course and incredibly powerful trucks by rolling through the course on the opening lap of Sunday’s first feature. From there, Carlson engaged the throttle and started to pick-off other racers, demonstrating the same driving skills that have earned him numerous wins in both professional snocross and Terracross competition.
Running as high as 14th, a cut tire, which also took-out a rear brake line, came just as the mandatory competition yellow emerged at mid-race. Andrew rolled into the pits for repairs and returned to the track to finish a respectable 19th. In the second feature of the day, Carlson’s confidence was growing as he worked his way up to mid-pack with driving skills beyond his rookie status. However, incidental contact and a rookie spinout dropped him back prior to the finish.
“The TORC series and Crandon is a first class event,” said team owner and manager Chris Carlson. “We learned a ton this weekend and Andrew had a blast…we will be back.”
While Carlson Motorsports will now shift focus towards the upcoming national ISOC AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series, where Andrew will be a favorite to win the Pro-Lite Championship, the team is committed to racing TORC next season.
“The Crandon event was amazing,” said Chris. “The crowds were huge, with great fan interaction including a pre-race parade in downtown Crandon. It’s going to be a great opportunity for our organization and our sponsors moving forward.”
Andrew Carlson and the Carlson Motorsports crew will be at this weekend’s Haydays event in North Branch, Minnesota. Andrew will be competing both days in Terracross, which will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network on September 28th at 5:00pm central and October 5 at 7:00pm central. Fans are also invited to stop by the Carlson Motorsports trailer throughout the weekend. You can follow Andrew Carlson and stay abreast of all the happenings at Carlson Motorsports through their website www.carlsonmotorsportsllc.com or follow them on Facebook. You can also follow Andrew Carlson via Twitter @151Carlson.
PHOTO BY: GARY WALTON
- This entry was posted in Carousel News, Racer News, Scroller News by admin. Bookmark the permalink.
