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A Pair of Top Five Qualifying Efforts Have Casey Currie Ready to Go All In as LOORS Returns to Las Vegas

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CORONA, Calif. (September 20, 2013) – After a great start to the second-to-last weekend of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORS) competition, Casey Currie and the Monster Energy/General Tire team will carry a pair of top five qualifying efforts into the 13th and 14th rounds of the Pro Lite season. The action from the series’ second to visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2013 kicks off Friday night, followed by a second showing under the lights on Saturday.

Since the arrival of the Monster Energy/General Tire Jeep JK, Currie and his team have continued to step up their performance every time they take to the track. After logging laps for the first time on Thursday morning for practice, Currie and his team fine-tuned the truck for an all-out assault of the track in qualifying. At the end of two sessions, the Monster Energy/General Tire Jeep JK will line up fourth during each night of action.

“We’ve been where we need to be with the Jeep JK to challenge for wins, but luck just hasn’t always been on our side,” explained Currie. “But we refuse to put our heads down and we came out on Thursday gunning for the pole in each session. A top five spot is a good place to start for us and we’ll take advantage of it once the green flag drops.”

As the team inches closer to finally securing its first win of the season, a little history is also on the line in an effort to become the first Jeep to sit atop the podium in LOORS competition.

After a pair of top 10’s results at the previous stop in Reno, Currie currently sits fifth in the Pro Lite standings heading into Las Vegas. With four podium finishes to his credit this season, another strong and consistent weekend for Currie will undoubtedly make him a factor in the battle for the Pro Lite crown. Coincidentally, Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the site of Currie’s best weekend of 2013 back in April when he claimed back-to-back runner-up efforts.

“When we left here in April we walked away with the points lead, so there’s no doubt that the front of the field is where we need to be and where we expect to be,” added Currie. “I really enjoy the Vegas track and I’m looking forward to putting the momentum back on our side.”

This weekend’s return to “Sin City” is highlighted by the second and final night race of the season. Currie has an affinity for racing under the lights and it’s only adding to his anticipation to put the Monster Energy/General Tire Jeep JK on the line and make a charge to victory.

“We’re here to win. It’s a simple as that,” concluded Currie. “My guys have put in too much work to not have a chance to enjoy what its like to win, so it’s the only thing on my mind the next two nights.”

The first round of Pro Lite competition this weekend kicks off at 8:30 PM PST on Friday, and follows the same schedule on Saturday night.

Tickets for this weekend’s action are still available through the LOORS website for Friday, Saturday, or the entire weekend. Fans unable to make it out to the track can keep up to date on everything from Las Vegas Motor Speedway through Live Timing and Scoring.

To keep up with all of Casey’s racing visit www.caseycurrie.com

For More Information:
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949-365-5750

Casey Currie Motorsports

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Anaheim Hills, CA (April 25, 2012) – Loading up the Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan Pro Lite, off road driver Casey Currie and crew set out to conquer a new stop in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series—Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park—a track with big airs and even bigger energy in the crowd. With expectations high, and the truck and team in unison running strong, Casey and team knew this track would launch some drivers onto the podium, and send others back to the pits.

“Saturday’s race started off so strong,” explains Casey. “A 3rd row start, and moving to 2nd position quick, I battled for the lead the entire first half of the race. The second half turned rough once the track was watered down—going into the right-hander someone drove up my inside and used me as the berm, resulting in a flat tire and the end of my chance at a win or even the podium.”

That’s racing—no looking back, so the team pulled together and shifted focus to Sunday after Saturday’s disheartening finish. Casey and team made the necessary tweaks to the Pro Lite and took her back out on Sunday with confidence.

“Starting in 7th position on Sunday, I moved into 5th right away. The top 5 battled hard, and then once again, without fail, my bad luck struck again after the mid-way caution. I took the left-hander after the tabletop hard, and was struck by another truck sending me into the K-rail, having to then limp my way to the finish.”

It’s pretty clear that racing is in the Currie blood when weekends like this don’t get Casey down—they only fuel his fire. One thing about being born into racing: you tend to have many ways of doing things, and usually a secret weapon or two up your sleeve. Casey plans to have his secret weapon ready to romp before the next race, while we sit in anticipation wondering what Casey and his team could possibly be planning.

Stay tuned to see what Casey Currie Motorsports has up their sleeve for the next rounds of Lucas Oil Off Road in Surprise, AZ. Be there May 19-20, 2012 to see it for yourself. For more on Casey, become a fan at Facebook.com/OfficialCaseyCurrie or follow Casey on Twitter at Twitter.com/caseycurrie. Only like the pictures? Follow Casey on Instagram: @caseycurrie. Official website: www.caseycurrie.com



Racing dirt bikes at age five and off-road trucks by age 16, it’s more than a coincidence that Casey Currie became one of the youngest-ever team owners and drivers on the CORR circuit. Now putting his talents to work in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series, Casey joined the Pro Lite 2WD Truck class in 2006, scoring his first Championship in 2010 in the Traxxas TORC Series. Casey’s off-road resume is lined with wins on motorcycles, trucks and buggies in the desert—he is no stranger to dirt sports.
In 2012 Casey will race for the championship in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series in his No. 2 Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan Pro Lite truck, while mixing it up with UTV races and public appearances in between. When he’s not on the road, building off-road vehicles and drumming up side projects, he’ll take to the dirt with friends—dirt bikes, UTVs, or mountain bikes, he does it all. For more information on Casey Currie, visit CaseyCurrie.com.

Mitchell DeJong Wins LOORRS Rounds 1 & 2 in Pro-Buggy at Glen Helen Raceway

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Mitchell DeJong is a typical 14-year-old Temecula, California eighth-grade kid. Okay, just kidding. He might be a regular-Joe in the land of wunderkinder, but in the real world the force is exceptionally strong in this one. DeJong is quickly developing into the real deal possessing mad-skills and brains; he’s grounded, and he’s not allergic to hard work.

Not yet street-legal to drive, in 2011 DeJong collected his 8th championship title in only five years. This season the Traxxas/Red Bull athlete continued were he left off by winning round 1 and 2 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Regional Series at Glen Helen Raceway, setting a new track record of 47.6 seconds during the round 2 main event, besting the previous record by 0.3 seconds.
Coming off his impressive 2011 modified kart season, DeJong’s off-season was short, as his preparation to step up into the more competitive Pro Buggy Unlimited class started almost immediately. Having only enough time for two test sessions in his new Pro Buggy before the start of the 2012 LOORRS Regional Series, DeJong proved that was plenty good enough. During his very first practice runs around the infamous Devore, Southern California track, DeJong was already turning lap times comparable to the top-dogs in the class. To keep that in perspective, DeJong is the youngest driver ever to be given approval to compete this class.

There’s really nothing at all typical about being able to carry his kart success over into Pro Buggy, where new elements like turning brakes, foot pedal clutch, H-pattern shifting and open wheels need to be dealt with in precise proportions. Yet, this young straight-A middle school kid seems not to adhere to the same laws of physics as the rest of us.

“Well, first let me start by saying that the Pro Buggy is a blast to drive!” remarked DeJong. “I’d say the biggest challenge so far would be going from the sequential shifter to the H-pattern shifter and the floor clutch.”

When he’s not racing and his schoolwork is done, you can find him working with his dad prepping his race vehicles, which explains his keen grasp on the overall workings of his car. “I spend a lot of time at my parents business, DeJong Off Road Mfg.,” DeJong explains, “Where they design and manufacture some of the coolest off-road vehicles and develop components for the race, medical and aerospace industries in the machine shop.”

DeJong says his long-term goal is to become a race champion like his heroes, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Travis Pastrana and of course his dad, Vince.

So what sort of goals have you set for 2012?

“It’s funny you ask that question,” says DeJong, “Because the first time I went out to the track for a test I had set a personal goal to run the same times as the top competitors in the class,” he replied. It looks as though he may want to re-set the bar for the rest of the year.

What are you feeling about heading to the first round of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series in Arizona?

“I am really excited to get back on the track! We are still learning the car set-ups for the Pro Buggy, but just knowing I have some of the best products in the world on my Pro Buggy, like the K&N Air Filters, gives me a lot of confidence. Being the youngest driver to be approved to compete in this class is really awesome and I hope to earn the respect of the other competitors on the track.”
*All info and photos provided by K&N