Eagle River, WI (April 25, 2012) - Mike Oberg headed to the first
race of the 2012 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL with a
new look for the #80 PRO-2WD Chevrolet Silverado. The off-season
saw AMSOIL extend its support of Oberg Motorsports for another
year and the addition of a new partnership with tire manufacturer
General Tire. With marketing partners in place, the team was
looking to a stronger 2012 race season.
The opening weekend of the 2012 TORC season was hosted by the Dirt
Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The temporary circuit made its
way on and inside one-third mile banked dirt oval. The track was
.9 mile in length, using practically every inch of the one-third
mile dirt oval. The TORC track builders created a layout that
consisted of high speed jumps, moguls, whoops, and a table top
jump that really created a true "chunk of Baja."
The early practice session saw Mike and his crew experiment with
different grooving patterns on the newly acquired project tires
from General Tire. During the final practice session a rear brake
hub broke putting the crew "against the clock" to get the
AMSOIL/General Tire Chevy ready for the Friday qualifying
session.
The quick work of Matt and Brian had the all-black bodied #80
PRO-2WD truck ready for its qualifying run. After the six laps
were complete, Mike Oberg was sixth fastest PRO-2WD truck. Thanks
to the starting inversion, this put Mike on the front row for the
start of the eighteen lap race.
The excitement that comes with anticipation of the first race of a
new season was heightened as the evening's racing would be
broadcast live on SPEED. The first race of the year would have one
of the largest audiences of the year thanks to the coverage of the
premier motorsports television network.
Friday - Round One
Starting from the pole position, Mike Oberg was optimistic about
his chances to finish on the podium. When the green flag was
waved, it was an all out sprint to the first infield turn.
Immediately Mike realized the truck needed more forward bite
coming out of the tight infield corners. With that said Mike
persevered through the eighteen lap race, stayed out of trouble
and finished in sixth place.
"We didn't have any time to test with our new tire supplier
General Tire before tonight's race, so we are still learning how
to tune the truck to the tires," noted Mike Oberg. "The tires from
General Tire are proven winners; we just need a little more track
time."
With that said, Oberg Motorsports went to work the next morning
making shock adjustments.
Saturday - Two
Once again the starting grid had Mike Oberg on the pole position
due to TORC inverting the top six finishers from Friday night.
This time when the race started the #80 AMSOIL/General Tire Chevy
grabbed the early lead. Then on lap thirteen while battling with
CJ Greaves for the third spot, the General Tire Chevy got sideways
in the whoop section and eventually rolling over landing on its
roof. A small fire broke out, but the USAC and Charlotte track
safety crews were quickly on the scene putting out the fire and
getting Mike safely out of the truck without any injury.
"The truck was hooking up much better tonight and after the
first lap I knew we could run up front all night," commented Mike
Oberg. "I just got crossed up going through the whoops and ignored
my better judgment and didn't let up. I'm fine. The truck's fine.
We'll just get back to Wisconsin, get some testing in, and prepare
for Red Bud."