ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 12, 2016) – 2015 SST Champion Sheldon Creed ran away and hid from the field on the way to his third SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS victory of the young 2016 season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Saturday.
Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia driver Matt Brabham driving the United Fiber and Data No. 83 and SST newcomer Tyler McQuarrie of Walnut Creek, Calif., in his SafeCraft Saftey Equipment TRAXXAS truck put on show of the 8-lap race battling side-by-side for the capacity crowd that lined the 14-turn 1.8 mi (2.9 km) temporary street circuit.
The two raced each other clean alternating positions for multiple laps. The battle for second was fierce, however no one was going to catch the 18-year old Alpine, Calif., native as he drifted corners smoking his Toyo Open Country A/T II tires the last few laps much to the delight of the roaring crowd en route to his 16 win of his SST career.
Brabham would beat McQuarrie to the line to finish second, while McQuarrie would capture his first podium in his first ever SST race.
Crandon, Wisc., driver Keegan Kincaid would rebound for a early race spin to regroup his TRAXXAS backed entry to finish fourth, while Orange, Calif., racer Robby Gordon rounded out the top five in his Arctic Cat Wildcat/ Toyo Tires/ SPEED Energy TRAXXAS truck.
Norwell, Queensland, Australia driver Paul Morris making his first SST start on North American soil would finish in the sixth position driving the No. 67 with United Fiber and Data/ Think Loud Development livery this weekend.
Augie Lerch of Tucson, Ariz., would show strong signs of competing for the win, battling for the lead early in the event with the quick pace McQuarrie and Brabham, but would spin his Royal Purple Synthetic Oil backed entry on Lap-7 loosing multiple positions and finishing in seventh.
Making his first Stadium SUPER Trucks start, and first ever race on asphalt Inver Grove Heights, Minn., driver Dustin Scott would run the Cobra Transportation Services No. 20 in third spot for three laps running a consistent conservative pace prior to spinning on his own. Scott would regroup at the half way caution to finish his first SST race in the eighth position.
United Fiber and Data/ LIVE driver Bill Hynes of Nazareth, Penn., would go on to finish the eight-lap event in the ninth position ahead of SST newcomer and early leader Pat O’Keefe of Pleasant Hill, Calif., driving the Safecraft Saftey Equipment/ Golden Gate Petroleum No. 14 truck.
The side-by-side battle between Brabham and McQuarrie was one for record books as it brought the already enthusiastic crowd to its feet, as many of the fans have never experienced the flying trucks in person. As Creed, Brabham, and McQuarrie conducted post-race interviews and signed autographs, fan after fan thanked the drivers from the exciting show they put on, many of them expressing that the SST race’s were the most enjoyable race of the 3-day weekend.
The second and final round of the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS at the 2016 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will take place Sunday at 11:15 AM local time just prior to the green flag of the IndyCar Series season opening event.
SST Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
March 12, 2016
SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks by TRAXXAS
Race 1 Results
1. Sheldon Creed; No. 1; Alpine, Calif.; TRAXXAS
2. Matt Brabham; No. 83; Gold Coast, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development
3. Tyler McQuarrie; No. 83; Walnut Creek, Calif.; SafeCraft Saftey Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum
4. Keegan Kincaid; No. 47; Crandon, Wisc.; TRAXXAS
5. Robby Gordon; No. 7; Orange, Calif.; Arctic Cat/ SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires / TRAXXAS
6. Paul Morris; No. 67; Norwell, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development
7. Augie Lerch; No. 30; Tucson, Ariz.; Royal Purple Synthetic Oil
8. Dustin Scott; No. 20; Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Cobra Transportation Services/ Kraft Fitness/ KBC Graphix
9. Bill Hynes; No. 57; Nazareth, Penn.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development
10. Pat O’Keefe; Pleasant Hill , Calif.; SafeCraft Safety Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum
About SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS
Influenced by the former Mickey Thompson Stadium Off-Road Racing Series, where drivers such as Gordon, Casey Mears and six-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson got their start, Gordon created SST in response to the public’s overwhelming interest in trucks and off-road racing. His plan to re-launch the former stadium series has led to exciting racing on both asphalt and dirt, while producing one of the most extreme forms of action sports today.
Other than the trucks launching 20 feet in the air covering distances more than 150 feet, what sets the SST program apart from other series is the fact that all the SST trucks are identically prepared and delivered to drivers in race-ready condition. Race winners are decided by driver skill rather than individual team engineering and budgets. Drivers and their personal mechanics are assigned specific SST mechanics who together tune and make minor adjustments to the 600-horsepower trucks.