Kincaid kicks off season with a bang -

The 2010 Traxxas TORC Series presented by Amsoil was slated to kick off the season at off-road racing’s “Big House,” Crandon International Raceway, June 18th-20th. With an extra long off-season, Jeff Kincaid Motorsports used the extra time before the season to make the team’s new Pro 2 program prepared to battle for a championship in the highly competitive Pro 2 class. The power behind Jeff’s top notch team comes from the support of Traxxas, Forest County Potawatomi, BFGoodrich, Amsoil, Fox Racing Shox, Simpson, Goodwin Competition, and newcomer Oakley. Crandon Raceway is located only about 4 miles from Jeff’s home, so JKM made the short haul to the track to setup the new race transporter, and get the truck tech teched in. Saturday morning brought a practice/qualifying session to decide the Round 1 starting positions, in which Jeff had the 2nd fastest time, which would have placed to him next to top qualifier Ricky Johnson for Crandon’s famous staggered land rush start. After the session, Kincaid passed through post tech to find out his tires were wider than the allowed limit, disqualifying his time, and placing him in the 9th starting position. Kincaid was not informed about any problems with the tire before the session. The crew gave the truck a thorough check over to ensure a flawless race later that day.

Later that afternoon, Jeff staged in the 9th position for the start of Round 1. Once the 9 Pro-2s were checked off, the green flag dropped, launching the 900 horsepower trucks towards turn 1. Kincaid come down the front stretch in front of the crowd in the 8th position, setting his sights on Mike Oberg. By lap two Jeff made his way around Oberg, and went on to pass Jeremy McGrath for 6th by the Mandatory Caution on lap 6. The Pace Truck bunched up the field on the back stretch, and brought them back to the green. Ricky Johnson led the trucks as the 2nd half of the race got underway. Heading into turn 3, also known as the gravel pit, McGrath was able to get back by Kincaid, but Jeff was able to maintain 6thposition, as Dan VandenHuvel rolled exiting the corner. Jeff continued to race hard, and was able to get past Chad Hord as he rolled of the track, and also Scott Taylor was slowed by a flat tire allowing Kincaid to get by. Jeff would maintain 4th position for the remainder of the race, following Ricky Johnson, Rob MacCachren, and Jeremy McGrath respectively. Kincaid would enter Round 2 in the 4th position in points, giving him the 3rd starting position with a 6 truck inversion.

After the race the crew went to work, checking everything over and cleaning the truck for Sunday action. Sunday morning, TORC officials allowed drivers to make a shakedown lap, to ensure all was well. With Jeff happy with the setup, the crew performed a quick check over on the truck and prepared the truck for Round 2. Kincaid headed to the staging, and took his position on the start line. The trucks revved up, awaiting the green. When the flag dropped, Jeff rocketed off the line, barreled towards turn 1. Kincaid pulled off the hole shot by over 2 truck lengths over Scott Taylor. Jeff kept the pedal down, and began to stretch his lead out to 10 truck length’s by the halfway caution. The field bunched up behind Kincaid in the back section, as Jeff lead them around to the green. Back underway, Jeff took his Traxxas/ Potawatomi Ford, and continued to dominate the race, again stretching out to over 10 truck lengths, over second place Rob MacCachren. Jeff went on to win his first career Pro 2 race in only 6 attempts. MacCachren finished second, followed by Ricky Johnson in third. Kincaid also had won the Oakley fast lap award with a 1:22:224, which is a track record, beating the old record by a half of a second. Kincaid leaves Crandon tied for 2nd in points with MacCachren, 2 points behind Johnson.

JKM’s final race of the weekend was the 17th annual Crandon Cup race. The cup race fields the Pro 2’s against Pro 4x4’s, with the Pro 2’s getting a 12 second head start. Kincaid qualified second for the race, and felt confident he could get a good jump on the competition. The field lined up for the drivers introduction parade lap, and then lined up on the line. The Green flag dropped, sending the 5 Pro 2’s jockeying for the hole-shot. Kincaid nearly got to turn 1 first, but veteran Scott Taylor beat him out to lead the field down the front stretch. Jeff chased Taylor in a close 2nd, while the Pro 4x4’s got underway. On the end of the first lap, Taylor went up on two wheels, allowing Kincaid to take over first place. Kincaid led for 2 more laps, and then allowed Ricky Johnson, to take the lead. It looked like Johnson was starting to pull away, until on the back stretch on the 6th lap, Jeff was able to pass a slowing Johnson. Kincaid came to the finish line with 3 laps to go, leading Scott Douglas, the first Pro 4x4 by about 25 truck lengths. Jeff continued to push hard, but the traction advantage of 4x4 allowed Douglas to consistently gain on Kincaid. Coming around to the finish line with 2 laps remaining, Kincaid also got up on two wheels, but was able to save it, still losing more time to Douglas. Finally the white flag came out with Douglas about 10 truck lengths behind. By the time the two veterans reached the front stretch Douglas was within a second of Jeff, and closing the gap fast. All Kincaid had to do was hold his line in the last corner, as Douglas tried squeezing inside in the final corner. Jeff carried his momentum through the corner, and beat out Douglas by .259 of a second, taking home his first Crandon Cup win in his first attempt. With the cup win Kincaid won over $20,000 in cash and products, including a Miller Welder and a Mastercraft race suit.

The Traxxas TORC Series will take over Bark River, MI for Rounds 3 and 4, July 10th and 11th. Jeff looks to keep his momentum going forward in Bark River, as he tries to claim a championship in the Pro 2 division. Rounds 1 and 2 will be the series premier of the 26 hour Traxxas TORC Series TV show, starting September 2nd on Discovery Channel’s HD Theatre, and continuing for 26 weeks every Thursday night. Hope to see you in Bark River!