Nissan Race Trucks Add to Victory Totals at CORR Chula Vista Event

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 1, 2007) – Just one week after wrapping up the PRO Light Pickup Championship in the inaugural year of the Midwest-based Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) series, Chad Hord and his 310-horsepower Frontier-bodied racing machine traveled West to grab first and third place trophies in two rounds of competition at the Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) Series event in Chula Vista, Calif. September 29 – 30, 2007. The win Sunday was the first in CORR this year for Hord, of Felch, Mich., in his return as reigning 2006 CORR Pro-Lite Champion.

Nissan Motorsports-sponsored Carl Renezeder also had the long tow back to his home base of Southern California with his pair of Nissan Titan-bodied PRO 2 and PRO 4 race trucks after a WSORR PRO 4x4 win the previous weekend in Wheatland, Missouri. Renezeder produced another stunning flag-to-flag victory at Chula Vista International Raceway’s treacherous track, nicknamed “The Quarry,” in Sunday’s Pro-2 event after qualifying on the pole, his second of the weekend. Crowds for the two-day race event were estimated at nearly 15,000 per day.

“Both Chad Hord and Carl Renezeder and their outstanding teams had great momentum coming off the WSORR season finale the week before,” said Nissan Motorsports Marketing and Operations Senior Manager Ron Stukenberg. “We knew that throwing them into the challenging, hyper-competitive environment at Chula Vista without any time off would be a real challenge, but they really came through with exciting, crowd-pleasing victories.”

Race Reports

Saturday, September 29 – One Pole, One Podium
In Saturday’s Pro-2 qualifying, Renezeder took advantage of his short course expertise (he’s won 61 short course races to date, through the weekend) and his Titan’s powerful race-prepped Nissan Endurance 5.6-liter V8 engine to establish fast time on the track known for its tight turns, fast straight-aways and number of elevation changes. In the race itself, Renezeder experienced suspension problems and finished out of the money.

In Pro-Lite qualifying, Hord set the second fastest lap time but lined up in the third row of the rolling start due to the inverted start format. Hord powered his Nissan Frontier-bodied race truck into the fifth position by the mandatory caution on lap 7. By lap 9 he picked up two spots to move into third, but ran out of time and laps and settled for third in this ultra competitive division.

Sunday, September 30 – One Pole, Two Wins
Sunday was a gorgeous day for racing in front of another enthusiastic crowd of race fans. In Pro-2 action, Renezeder again had the fast truck and knew exactly what to do with it, taking his second consecutive pole. In a race filled with exciting fender-to-fender action, vehicle roll-overs and the like, Renezeder stayed out front and out of the fray the entire time, leading to a flag-to-flag victory.

In Pro-Lite, Chad Hord had to earn his first place finish in a highly competitive battle that went right down to the closing laps. After suffering a flat tire in qualifying, which put him seventh on the starting grid, Hord used the unique rolling start to his advantage to quickly take over sixth in the first few corners. He moved into third after four laps, and into second by lap 6. After the competition caution on lap 7, Hord applied the pressure on the leader and kept it up for the next five laps. On lap 12, Hord found his opening, getting side-by-side with the leader. Then the drag race was on. Hord made it to the corner first and held the inside line to make the pass.

On the next turn, the now second place runner attempted to retake the front spot but flipped his truck instead, leaving Hord a clear path to the checkered flag three laps later. It was Hord’s his first win in CORR this year.

“In 2007, Nissan teams have found the way to win – whether flag-to-flag or pounding their way to the front fender-to-fender,” said Stukenberg. “Nissan Motorsports once again salutes all the hard work and sportsmanship by Chad, Carl and all the Nissan teams in bringing exciting racing action to our Titan and Frontier fans.”

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.

Source: Nissan

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