Chandler, AZ (March 29, 2013) The
Tilted Kilt / Optima Batteries #18 Pro 4 truck
and team of Corry Weller had a successful first
weekend in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series,
in a class where just finishing a race is
considered a good day.
Taking on the challenge of owning her own truck,
and with her husband/crew chief, Jason Weller
(Weller Racing) in charge of their first Pro 4
race team, the brand new #18 crew came into the
first weekend of the 2013 short-course season
fully prepared and ready to race. Sporting a
similar design to last season's Tilted Kilt
themed truck, there was an obvious change noted
with the addition of new co-sponsor Optima
Batteries, as the #18 rolled out onto the front
straight for opening ceremonies during Round 1.
"We bought this truck from Carl Renezeder about
a month before this first race weekend,"
explained Weller. "This is the truck that I
raced all last year, so when it comes to me
going out there and feeling comfortable right
off the bat, this was the best choice for our
program. This season, we are taking what we
learned last year, and adding in some of the
stuff we want to try this year in order to
customize the truck a bit more to my driving
style. This will be our year to learn what
setup works best for me, what the truck can and
can't handle, and for me to get out there and
really push it."
She added, "We couldn't have done any of this
without the Tilted Kilt coming on board for
another year, and without Optima Batteries
choosing to co-sponsor me this year. When I
think about the faith these companies have in me
and our program, as well as Maxxis, LoanMart,
AIRAID, and all of
my product sponsors, it really makes all of us
want to work even harder to make them proud."
Weller
certainly started her 2nd season in Pro 4 off
well, as she was in the mix and working her way
up through the field from a third row start
within the first few laps of Round 1. Despite
some damage from some early race contact, Weller
drove hard and came away with a top 5 finish for
the day!
Sunday's Round 2 race saw Weller with another
third row start, and she was looking to use the
lines she had found in qualifying to get her to
the front as quickly as possible. When the green
flag dropped, she surged into turn one with the
field, and kept on pace until her truck suffered
another crippling blow from a competitor. With
a quick trip to the hot pits to see what the
damage was, she was back out on the track and
drove her truck to an 8th place finish, putting
the cap on the first race weekend of the 2013
season.
"For our first race weekend doing it all on our
own, we consider it a successful weekend." said
Corry's crew chief/husband, Jason Weller. "We
finished every practice, every qualifier, and
every race - we had a ton of fans, sponsors, and
media in and around our pits all weekend, and
when it comes down to it, it's that interraction
and exposure that we are working so hard for.
The speed and the wins will come - it's the
ability to market our sponsors and connect with
our fans that allows us to be here and race and
go get those future wins."
Watch for Rounds 1 and 2 on CBS, CBS Sports, NBC
Sports, SPEED and MavTv in the coming weeks, as
Corry Weller and her team get the #18 ready for
Rounds 3 and 4, to be held in Las Vegas, NV on
April 27-28th.
