Oberg Motorsports CORR Finals Report

Oberg Motorsports CORR Finals Race Report



Eagle River, WI (November 7, 2007) ? The defending champion of the  
Jason Baldwin Memorial Cup made his way from Texas to Primm, Nevada  
looking to retain his title. This would be the final weekend of racing  
for the team that competed in twenty rounds of racing, across six  
states, while competing in two race series.

The venue at Las Vegas International Off-Road raceway in Primm, Nevada  
was just less than one mile in length. The track consisted of high  
banked turns, two table top jumps (one that was fifteen feet high and  
a few hundred feet long), a long high speed rhythm section, and  
several jumps. This would be a layout that would keep the fans on  
their feet all weekend long as the racers competed for the final time  
in 2007.

Friday Qualifying
Mike Oberg stopped the timers with a lap of 58.144 seconds, twelfth  
quickest in the nineteen truck field.

Saturday
Jason Baldwin Cup Last Chance Qualifier
Mike Oberg and his #80 AMSOIL Kumho Tire Chevrolet Silverado, the  
defending Baldwin Cup Winner, needed to enter the LCQ, due to the  
team?s limited CORR schedule, to make the field for Sunday?s $66,000   
winner take all event.

After running a conservative first half of the race, Mike ?got up on  
the wheel? as the field took the green, after the mandatory yellow  
flag. Quickly, the AMSOIL Kumho Chevy moved up from sixth place in  
fourth. With two laps to go, Mike made his final pass of the race,  
finishing the qualifier in third place.

?We knew all we needed was a sixth place finish,? stated Mike Oberg.  
?After the first yellow, I knew I had to step it up to safely make the  
Cup field.?

PRO-2 Championship Points Race
Starting in the back half of the field, Mike Oberg new he had an  
uphill battle ahead. After a few laps, Mike realized there was a  
problem with the truck?s suspension, after moving up to ninth place,  
with three laps to go, a shock failed ending his day. Officially Oberg  
Motorsports finished fifteenth.

Afterwards Mike Oberg commented, ?We had another shock failure, that  
kind of thing we can?t control. Gilly and the guys will get it fixed  
and we will be ready to defend our Baldwin Cup Title. That?s the  
reason we are out here in Vegas. Put our name on the trophy again, and  
of course, the money.?

Sunday Qualifying
Mike Oberg ran a qualifying lap of 56.413 seconds, an improvement of  
almost two seconds since Friday?s qualifying session.

Jason Baldwin Memorial Cup
This winner takes all event for $66,000, saw twelve PRO-2 and eleven  
PRO-4 competitors looking to take home the money and put their name on  
the $125,000 trophy. The starting grid had all the PRO-2 trucks in  
front of all the PRO-4 trucks. This put the #80 AMSOIL Kumho Chevrolet  
in the middle of third row.

When the green flag fell on the sixteen lap event, the twenty-three  
truck field kicked up huge amounts of dust going into the first turn.  
The long opening ceremonies allowed the track to dry out and now the  
dust made if difficult for the drivers and spectators to see. CORR  
officials, on lap three, issued a full course yellow allowing the  
water trucks to put some moisture into the desert valley track. When  
the watering trucks got off the track, the field went back to green  
flag racing.

On the restart #22 Greaves spun on the front straightaway, hitting the  
concrete wall and tearing up the retaining fence. The race was red  
flagged while repairs were made to the fence. During the red flag  
stoppage, teams were not allowed to work on their trucks. Refueling  
was allowed, but no other work could be performed. Unfortunately one  
team ignored the rule and was penalized. About a half hour later,  
racing resumed.

On lap nine, the mandatory caution came out; bring the field close  
together once again. Several PRO-4 trucks had made their way past many  
of the PRO-2 trucks. Meantime Mike and his #80 AMSOIL Kumho Tire Chevy  
stayed clear of any serious contact and was ready for a push towards  
the front. After battling with #55 Ed Herbst and trying to chase down  
#23 Daugherty (both PRO-4) in the closing laps, Mike crossed the  
finish line eighth place overall and the third highest finishing PRO-2  
truck.

PRO-2 Final Championship Points Race of the Year
The last race of the day, as well as the year, began during the final  
hour of daylight. When the green flag dropped, the thin layer of  
clouds and the setting sun made the PRO-2 race, a race against man and  
nature.   Since daylight was at a premium, track officials couldn?t  
water the track, which created a dust cloud over the track, as soon as  
the green flag was dropped. Somehow Mike kept his AMSOIL Chevy out of  
any serious trouble and finished the race in eighth place.

?You couldn?t see a thing the last half of the race,? commented Mike  
Oberg. ?For awhile you could use the track?s warning light system to  
judge where the corners were, but after awhile most of them were  
knocked down. Heck for all I know I might have hit one, but I couldn?t  
tell you for sure. It was pretty scary out there. Somehow we came out  
of this without tearing up the truck. Then during the Baldwin Cup race  
we had some contact that slowed us up, but again Gilly and the guys  
gave me a strong truck and we battled all the way to the flag. The  
engine and drivetrain ran perfect thanks to AMSOIL and Kumho gave us a  
great tire for these desert type conditions. We didn?t have quite the  
finishes we were hoping for, but it was a solid weekend for the AMSOIL  
Kumho Tire Chevy. Just look at the number of competitors we ran with  
and the majority of these guys have a legitimate shot at the podium  
every time out. Now it?s time to get back home so I can watch my kids  
play hockey over the next six months.?

NBC Sports will broadcast the Baldwin Memorial Cup on December 8,  
1:30pm -3pm eastern time.

The PRO-2 races will be aired on SPEED on a date to be announced.

Oberg Motorsports would like to thank all their supporters:
AMSOIL,
Kumho Tires,
Alloy USA, Precision Gear, KC Hilities, American Racing, Raceline Oil  
Pumps, Mastercraft Seats, Stewart Warner, J & H Transmissions, Fox  
Shox, Lund International, Ringers Gloves, Hawk Performance, Howe  
Performance, Pro Power Racing Engines, and Millwright Services.

For more information or schedule an interview you can contact Mark  
?Gilly? Gelhausen ? gilly@obergmotorsports.com

-Mike Reusche, marketing - MTG


Mike Reusche, MT Graphics
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