Truett Racing 2019: MidEast Stranges Ranch and AXCC in Park City Race Report
We at OTR Wheel Engineering are proud to be sponsoring Truett Racing. Truett Racing is a racing family with Collin competing with the brand new Polaris RZR XP Turbo and Mitch the Polaris RS1 1000cc single seater both equipped with a set of OTR Wheel Engineering Tires, our Wizzards and HP-009. Collin and Mitch Truett make up the family PRO Class UTV racing team. They are sponsored by are OTR Wheel, Polaris, Walker Evans Racing, G-Force Suspension, Powerhouse Fab, 100% Moto, RCV Performance, Sparco, TireSpine, Keller Performance, SuperATV, OMF Wheels, and Shorai.
This is the third round of of MidEast Racing for the 2019 season, you can see the upcoming schedule and past results on their website.
Below is a race report on the weekend from OTR’s very own sponsored racer Collin Truett:
We started our double header weekend with a trip down to Laurens, South Carolina for our 3rd round of MidEast Racing. With me in the class points lead our whole objective for the rest of the MidEast season is to just finish every race. Since we had to miss Round 1 its really hurt us in points so keeping everything in line is extremely important, that includes driving at a slower and safer pace as to not mess anything up on the car.
Dad and I walked the track separately, since were competition now, and found our own routes and passing lines, that way its fair game if I bust through some bushes this time to pass him just in case… When we sign up we have to draw spoons to get our position for picking our spot on the start. Dad drew a 9th place spoon and I pulled a 14th. All that was left was waiting for the race to start.
The start of the race was finally coming around. We suited up and headed to the starting line way early. Once all the pros had pulled up to our waiting spot they started to call us out for lining up in our spots…. I was still last to line up but for some reason the inside line, my preferred line, was left open so I snagged it up. I was on the deep inside just where I wanted to be and before ling it was go time. Ricky dropped the green flag and dad and I had an almost dead even start but I had the inside so I pushed in wide and grabbed a holeshot!
I lead the field into the woods with dad right on me heels. As soon as we hit the dust it was a different story. Dad does not do well in dust and I knew that so I used it to my advantage. I dusted him out quick and put a fast first lap in. After that first lap I relaxed a bit and eventually I wouldn’t see anyone that close behind me so I slowed down to a very slow and safe speed and just focused on finishing the race. I didn’t get the fastest lap by no means but I did walk away with the win and extended my points lead! Keeping OTR on top!
This is the third of the AXCC races for UTVs for the 2019 season, you can see the rest of their schedule on their website for the upcoming year.
After the podium we quickly loaded up our cars and hit the road, we had 6 long hours ahead of us to get to Park City, Kentucky… Jamie and I left early Sunday Morning and started our bike around the track. We found a lot of awesome passing lines and missed a few more but we were very confident none the less. I felt great about the track, it was tight woods and gnarly roots and rocks and my car was perfect for it and I knew my OTR Tires would not fail me. Everything looked great until the very end of the track… They had included a 2 mile field section with extremely fast straights. With me being in a Naturally Aspirated XP1000 running in the Pro Turbo class, I was pretty disappointed to see fields this big and advantageous for Turbos. Nothing I would do about it so I just put my head down and got ready for the race to start!
Due to my victory at the 2nd round of AXCC I was starting on the front row even though I completely missed the first round. I knew the start would be massively important and I needed to get in the woods fast and try and put a gap on the rest of the field. It did not go as planned. My car did not start as fast as it normally does and it left me battling hard to the first corner. I thought I could squeeze the car on the far outside out using the inside but he was moving so fast he drove completely in front of me and there was nothing I could do but slam on the brakes and slide into his tree kicker. This slowed me down a lot and I put me straight in the middle of the pack. I had 2 cars completely drive around me and by the time we entered the woods I was in 6th place out of 10.
I battled very hard the first lap breaking out 2 of my passing lines and popping out in 4th. I pushed as hard as I could to put a slight gap on the driver behind me but it was too late in the lap and he was able to keep me in sight just enough for the field section where he would just drive right around me. All the hard work I did in the woods was completely erased when we hit the fields and it partially defeated me. I slowed down my pace and stopped pushing the car as hard. I resorted to a fast survival pace and it cost me. I finished 7th place in class and 10th overall. It kept me 5th place in points but due to schedule conflicts I’m not sure we’ll make the rest of the AXCC races. The OTR Wizzards survived the race and are ready to be put to the test again! As well as me. I don’t like losing and this does nothing- Collin Truett (follow collin on instagram @CollinTruett)
Photo cred to Harlen Foley with Dirt Nation Magazine
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