Renezeder Rushes Past the 100-Win Milestone

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – In just under 14 complete seasons of racing, Carl Renezeder has been building a short-course off-road racing legacy that will highlight the history books forever. This past weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he brought his win record full circle by earning his 100th win in the same place he earned his first one back in 1999. And in classic Renezeder fashion, he went on to win numbers 101 and 102 before the weekend was over.

"Outstanding! He's back." Those words were an email response from Ron Stukenberg of Nissan North America, and there couldn't have been a more accurate reaction to the weekend. The Renezeder of old seemed to have slipped into the shadows in the first half of the 2012 season, where he experienced some of the worst results of his short-course career. The 100-win milestone appeared to be a jinx on the season, but in the true fashion of an eight-time champion, Renezeder found the magic and emerged into the spotlight in Vegas.

"I did not want that race to end," commented Renezeder over the radio after career win number 101, which was the Friday night Pro-2 race. The truck was flawless and the track suited the set up perfectly. Renezeder started the race from the third spot after qualifying second with a four-truck invert. By the time he hit the tabletop jump out of turn one on lap one he took the lead and never looked back. After the race he continued, "I was kind of hoping that someone would catch me and make it a battle, but it's so much fun driving a truck like that, it doesn't matter if you're battling ten trucks or out there on your own. There's no other feeling like it."

The 100th win was just as uneventful as the 101st - he grabbed the lead on lap three and drove a flawless race to the checkered flag. It was actually win number 102 that left fans, drivers, crew, sponsors - just about everyone in attendance - shaking their heads in admiration of an amazing drive put together by an amazing driver.

It was the last race on the docket for the weekend, and Renezeder was lined up in seventh place with the eight-truck inversion. He had a lot of work ahead of him on a track that hadn't proven to have a lot of places to pass. Renezeder seemed to prove the laws of physics wrong on several occasions, working his way around four trucks in four different places before the halfway point of the race. At the restart of the mandatory yellow, he had just Brian Deegan and Robert Naughton between him and another mark in the win column. Again, he made it look like a driving clinic, passing both drivers in four laps, leading the final two laps of the race for a well-deserved victory.

"The truck was flawless. You guys are awesome," commented Renezeder, with a distinct mark of awe in his voice, on his way to victory lane for the third and final time of the weekend. He wasn't able to make the clean sweep when the right front hub on the Pro-4 sheered off on lap three of Saturday night's race. But that didn't dampen any spirits.

A milestone was accomplished, celebrated and then quickly surpassed, which is exactly how anyone who knows Renezeder would expect it to happen. While a 100th win is a rare and amazing accomplishment, it's simply a marker on the timeline of an incredibly prolific career, one that is far from over. Renezeder is hungrier than ever for more wins, more battles, more innovation and more championships. The date and place were written on the bottom of the trophy, and some time was taken to reminisce about the 99 wins that proceeded that incredible moment, then the line was drawn in the dirt and the team went back to work. It's the formula of a champion - one that the off-road industry is so incredibly lucky to call its own.

Summary of results for Carl Renezeder at Las Vegas Motor Speedway - N Las Vegas, Nevada - September 21-22, 2012:
Pro-2: Rnd 13 - Qualifying: 2nd, Race: 1st; Rnd 14 - Qualifying; 2nd, Race: 1st   
Pro-4: Rnd 13 - Qualifying: 1st, Race: 1st; Rnd 14 - Qualifying: 1st, Race: 11th (broke)

Follow the team and 8x champ Carl Renezeder all season:
http://www.facebook.com/teamrenezeder
http://www.twitter.com/teamrenezeder

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