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Old 07-18-2007, 01:00 PM
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Arrow Nissan Titan And Frontier Dominate at WSORR Bark River Event

-- Nissan Motorsports-backed Race Trucks Take Four Wins and Six Podiums in WSORR; Carl Renezeder in PRO 4x4 and PRO 2WD, Chad Hord in PRO Light Pickup Lead Team Effort -- NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nissan Motorsports reasserted its closed-course off road racing dominance at the Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) Island Resort and Casino presents the BOSS Snowplows Off-Road Shootout on July 13-15, at the Bark River International Raceway in Bark River, Mich. Championship pilot Carl Renezeder took first place in both Saturday's Round 5 and Sunday's Round 6 in his PRO 2WD Nissan Titan-bodied race truck, and ran strong in PRO 4x4 WSORR competition with a second-place finish on Saturday in his new four-wheel drive Titan-bodied race truck.

It was a hometown race for Chad Hord of nearby Felch, Mich. and his new- for-2007 310-horsepower PRO Light Pickup Nissan Frontier-bodied race truck. He swept both of his races on Saturday and Sunday and is now leading the hotly contested PRO Light Pickup class. Art Schmidt, driving another Frontier- bodied race truck, joined Hord on the podium Saturday with a strong second place finish.

"This was a dream weekend for Nissan, Nissan Motorsports, our teams, drivers and especially the powerful Nissan race trucks," said Nissan Motorsports Marketing and Operations Senior Manager Ron Stukenberg. "Our goal for 2007 has been to take closed-course off road racing by storm, and we're well on our way to multiple championships."

2007 has been a landmark year for Nissan Motorsports, with Nissan playing a pivotal role in the newly-formed WSORR racing series as official vehicle and with the debut of Renezeder's 715-horsepower 4-wheel drive Titan race truck, which he's driven to podium finishes in four of five WSORR races in which it has competed. Race Reports Saturday, July 14 - Two Wins in Two Classes, Podiums in Three Classes

Rounds 5 and 6 of the inaugural WSORR season started off with much excitement at the Bark River, Mich. course.

In Saturday's Round 5 PRO 2WD action, Renezeder was running third at the end of the first lap, second by lap two and first by lap six. But the race was no run-away as Renezeder and Kevin Probst batted back and forth until a lap and a half to the end when Probst's spin gave the big two-wheel drive Nissan Titan race truck enough of a cushion to cruise to the finish line in first place.

Renezeder returned in PRO 4WD action in Round 5 for his second podium appearance of the day, taking second to winner Johnny Greaves. Renezeder got off to a fast start in his new 4x4 Nissan Titan racer in second place, slipped to third and eventually reclaimed the number two position on lap eight - but ran out of race laps before he could catch Greaves who had built a sizeable lead.

In the always exciting PRO Light competition, Saturday's Round 5 competition was the start of a beautiful weekend for hometown favorite Chad Hord and his Nissan Frontier race truck. A multi-truck battle raged for the first half of the race, looking more like a Los Angeles freeway during rush hour than a wide dirt race course in Michigan. Hord finally separated himself from the field, moving into the lead on lap seven, with Art Schmitt's Nissan following in third. A lap later, with Hord still out front, Schmitt moved into second and they held those positions to the end of the race.

"With two firsts and two seconds in three races, Saturday was a very dominant day for Nissan at Bark River," said Stukenberg. "Most importantly, our trucks and our drivers put on a good show for the fans, showing the never- back-down spirit that has characterized our efforts in 2007."

Sunday, July 15 - Two Wins To Cap Off The Event

In Sunday's Round 6 action, Carl Renezeder added another win to the record books for the two-wheel-drive Lucas Oil BFG Titan in PRO 2WD. After a wild first lap, Renezeder emerged from a three-truck-wide, door-to-door-to-door shootout coming out of the first turn on lap two to take the lead. For the remaining nine laps, the only real drama was whether Renezeder would have enough gas to make to finish. Running nearly wide open for much of the race to keep the strong competitive field at bay, he ran out of fuel just as he crossed the finish line. But with the checkered flag in hand, the push to the winner's circle was as good as driving there under power.

In PRO 4WD, Renezeder's good fortune finally came to an end. Renezeder was enjoying a great on-track battle with eventual winner Scott Douglas when the motor suddenly began to lose power on lap five while running in second place, giving the big Nissan Titan race truck its first DNF of the year.

In Round 6 PRO Light competition, it was deja vu all over again for Hord with his second consecutive WSORR victory. Hord again showed patience at the beginning of the race, pulling into second on lap six, but this time following fellow Frontier driver Art Schmitt. The two Nissans ran one and two for another couple of laps, until mechanical issues slowed Schmitt, who would eventually finish just off the podium. From lap eight on, it was Hord all alone to the checkered flag and his familiar spot in first place in the driver's points standings.

The Lucas Oil World Series of Off Road Racing (WSORR) and Nissan

WSORR is the newest short course off-road racing sanctioning body in the United States. Based in the Midwest, WSORR features a high-speed, high-impact off-road racing experience for racers and fans at key tracks in Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. All races will be shown on the SPEED Channel during prime time viewing hours.

Nissan is the Official Vehicle of WSORR, with Nissan trucks serving as official WSORR pace vehicles as well as extensive vehicle displays and special events during WSORR weekends. Nissan Motorsports is concentrating their off- road racing efforts on this challenging series, not only as the Official Vehicle of the series, but also offering contingency awards to Nissan race truck drivers.

About Nissan Motorsports

Nissan has a long heritage of Motorsports success, both off-road and on the track. Nissan's Contingency Awards Program offers more than $200,000 in available awards to qualifying Nissan drivers in 2007, including those competing in Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR), Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR), Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), Grand Am KONI Challenge Series, Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series, NOPI Drag Racing Association (NDRA) and the Formula Drift Championship. Nissan Motorsports offers a comprehensive 110-page parts catalog, available through Nissan Motorsports at nmc.race@nissan-usa.com or 888/833-3225.

Source: [url=http://sev.prnewswire.com/auto/20070717/CLTU13717072007-1.html]PR Newswire[/url]
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