San Bernardino, Calif. — Dawson Kirchner captured his first win of the 2011 SuperLite Championship Series in dominant fashion, and SuperLite points leader RJ Anderson tightened his grip on the points lead in rounds 5 and 6 of the SuperLite Championship Series at San Bernardino’s Glen Helen Raceway May 21 and 22.
Saturday’s race before a standing-room-only stadium began as a fierce battle that turned into a war of attrition as truck after truck succumbed to the demanding San Bernardino racetrack and the fender-to-fender aggression of SuperLite’s hard-charging young drivers.
As the dust settled, a familiar face emerged from the mayhem, as points leader and podium regular RJ Anderson of Walker-Evans Racing and SoCal Super Trucks motored to a first-place finish in front of Patrick Clark and Jessie Johnson.
Chad George, who had been battling with RJ Anderson at the front of the pack, rolled, and Dawson Kirchner lost a lap with a flat tire. The carnage did not stop there — Austin Kimbrell, Jacob Person and several other racers piled up in a race-stopping wreck that thinned out the race field.
Anderson’s win was his fifth podium finish in five races, and solidifies him as the points leader in the championship series. Anderson’s remarkable consistency in the unpredictable sport of SuperLite racing is a tribute to his talent bred from deep roots in the off-road racing world and his canny avoidance of race-ending wrecks.
But in Sunday’s race, Anderson’s luck ran out, as he found himself rolling over in one of Glen Helen’s tight turns. Dawson Kirchner, piloting a truck wrapped with new sponsor Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems and long-time sponsor Speed Technologies, had been running the fastest times in qualifiers over the weekend. He took full advantage of the opening, and raced flawlessly, leaving the rest of the field in the dust for his first SuperLite win of 2011.
“It was the first time that my truck ran without any problems all year,” said Kirchner, who had transmission problems in the first races of the season. “I ran a clean race. It was as clean as it can be.”
Kirchner’s win was all the more gratifying since it came at his hometown track, in front of a stadium peppered with friends and family.
Jessie Johnson grabbed second place, his second podium of the weekend, and Austin Kimbrell (Yokohama/Kimbrell Racing) took third.
Kirchner dedicated his win to fellow SuperLite racer and motocross rider Jeff “Ox” Kargola, who died only weeks before the race in a motorcycle accident in Baja California. After receiving his first-place medal, Kirchner walked over to Kargola’s brother, Tanner Huffer, and presented him with the medal in honor of his brother.
Kargola was honored before the race in a touching tribute by his family and a video that highlighted Kargola’s generous smile, fun-loving nature and high-octane talent.
Kargola’s close friend and fellow Metal Mulisha motocross competitor Trigger Gumm piloted Ox’s General Tire truck during the weekend as a tribute to Kargola.
The SuperLite action picks up again June 25 and 26 in Tooele, Utah at Miller Motorsports Park. From more information on the SuperLite Championship Series, visit: www.superlitechampionship.com