The inaugural season of the Lucas Oil Off Road Series has concluded with a spectacular challenge of the sport’s top drivers dueling for large cash purses. With so much prestige on the line, many individuals and programs strategized and geared up with any available advantage to better their efforts. For some, this meant entering extra classes and vehicles for a chance at additional winnings. For others, it came down to cut throat and over-the-edge aggressive driving. One thing is for certain, the 2009 short course season will go down in the records books as a memorable turning point when the sport could rest on the stability of organization, excitement, growth, and competition.

Premiere Motorsports Group made the big gamble in 2009 and invested considerable resources when there was nothing but uncertainty in the future of short course racing. Not even a full year down the road, the operation has completely transformed into the “not your average” race team. Wise alliances, choice planning, and a whole lot of dedication has positioned Premiere Motorsports Group to help solidify the future of racing with a healthy dose of mainstream exposure and name brand talent. In Ryan Busnardo’s words, “We strive to deliver an accomplished track record and high performance entertainment value.”

The Challenge Cup can easily be considered the most entertaining race weekend of 2009. Not only was the racing charged with intense competition for the sports largest awards, but the division rivalries and class verses class smack talk made for crazy action on the track. It was truly amazing to watch and the Mav TV Hart and Huntington Race Team was up in the mix of it all.

Chris Brandt, the 2009 LOORRS Driver Of The Year displayed his expertise by qualifying 1st and then later led 26 Unlimited Buggies and U-L competitors for a good portion of the 15 lap event. Robert Naughton and Brian Deegan both raced hard and it looked like Brandt could fight off the buggies and take the win. Deegan thought otherwise and forced his way in ultimately taking himself out and shredding Brandt’s left rear tire along with any shot at a podium. Team mate and champion buggy driver, John Fitzgerald finished his first Unlimited Lite truck race as the 2nd truck to cross the line while Brandt hung on with the flat tire and crossed right behind. Later in the day, Chris stepped into the K&N Unlimited-4. Maintained by Carl Renezeder’s crew, the #82 U-4 was plagued by rear end issues all weekend and had to drop out early of the U-2 vs. U-4 event.

Earlier in the day Fitzgerald had one shot to gain off season bragging rights, John had nearly captured the 2009 Limited Buggy Championship and was the dominant driver in the division. Expecting the usual walk in the park race where Fitz makes his way to the top of the field and then peels off a big lead before taking the checkered flag, John was right on track up until Bruce Fraley tried to bogart Turn #2 and rode up inside and locked wheels with the #314 Mav TV Buggy. Both cars attempted several more laps and succumbed to mechanical failure resulting from the contact.

Chad Leising, the 2009 SuperLite Runner-Up is a serious personality rising through the ranks of short course racing. He was thought to be one of the contenders to take a fair share of the $35,000 up for grabs during the Super-Lite season finale. Even big name drivers like Robert Naughton and Todd Leduc were throwing their hat in, however in this division, they were on Chad Leising’s turf. Right from the start, an intense battle ensued with Ricky James and Chad George going 3 wide and sandwiching newcomer Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg. Leising drove the #17 Hart and Huntington SuperLite with reserve to avoid damage but soon tasted opportunity and followed Naughton up through the field. Leising charging to the front found himself door to door on the back stretch. Flying high off the main jump, the #88 made contact with Chad as he was landing. Forced off the line and off the elevated obstacle the #17 went barrel rolling into a cart wheel. With the front steering arms sheered off, Chad safely crawled out of the wreckage and accepted a devastating DNF.

Premiere Motorsports Group will be back in force for the 2010 season just a few short months away. In the mean time, make sure to catch the killer December issue of DirtSports Magazine for a very insightful article on the inner workings of the Hart and Huntington Off Road Team. You can catch all the Challenge Cup action on a special edition of NBC Sports airing on January 2nd 2010.

So much effort and dedication went into the development and maintenance of this adolescent race series and every employee deserves recognition. PMG would like to recognize the Lucas Oil Off Road Series staff for all the extraordinary hard work and for the tremendous opportunity to participate in such an exciting motorsport.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Super Team Of The Year has positioned one of their best weapons to step up and challenge the Unlimited Lite Truck Class. John Fitzgerald, as a Limited Buggy Driver has proven to be a dominating force in the 2009 short course scene. Taking control of not only the Lucas Oil Off Road Series, John also competed in the Traxxas Off Road Championship simultaneously leading two separate race circuits.

Fitzgerald finished off the 2009 season with a monumental twenty podium finishes, fourteen 1st place victories, one TORC Championship, and a 2nd overall Limited Buggy Title in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series. This impressive single season track record has afforded John the opportunity to step up into the Unlimited Lite Class with Hart and Huntington team mate, Chris Brandt, and challenge his peers for $35,000 cash. This Challenge Cup event features Unlimited Lite Trucks verses open wheel Unlimited Buggies. This will be a great test for John to brandish his quick shoot to the front driving style. With Brandt being such a seasoned and consistent driver and Fitzgeralds domination of the buggy field, the Premiere Motorsports Group should do well with two trucks working together.

John will also be sporting the #314 Limited Buggy where he is expecting to clench the victory and redeem a last 16th round upset. The Hart and Huntington race cars will be displaying Mav TV as the title sponsor for PMG during the Challenge Cup. Competing in 4 divisions with 5 race cars, the MAV TV Hart and Huntington drivers will be giving the rest of the field a run for the money. It is going to be an epic weekend powered by Chronic Tacos, Flawless Vodka, and Weekend Warrior Water. Premiere Motorsports Group is looking forward to closing out 2009 on top of the podium. We could not get it done without the additional support provided by Lucas Oil, General Tire, , K&N Filters, and some of our newest sponsors Blue C and AllTrade Tools.”

The Lucas Oil Off Road Series has served motorsports fans a nice fix of intense short course racing all year long. Fueling the scene and pumping life into the industry, the debut 2009 series was well rounded and completely successful for all participants. To cap it all off, a unique “Challenge Cup” has been developed to contest counterparts of equal performance for big money.

For Chris Brandt, there are no championships on the line. This single weekend of competition is all about challenge and redemption. The greatest adversity will be racing in the Unlimited-4 verses Unlimited-2 event. With only 1 race down in the U-4 division earlier in the season, it will be extremely difficult to go door to door with the seasoned class veterans. Brandt will be piloting a championship winning Carl Renezeder built truck, the very same truck that Alan Pflueger earned several podiums and Rookie Of The Year honors with.

The #82 Unlimited-4 will feature American Flier and K&N as the title sponsor for the weekend. Focused and on the hunt, Brandt will also be looking for redemption from a technical loss of the Unlimited Lite class championship. The Driver of the Year has the skills and equipment to take the win, however, Premiere Motorsports Group approaches this event with double the presence and power on the track. Each of the Lite Trucks in PMG’s Stable present Mav TV as the title sponsor. Chris described the opportunity to race in the Challenge Cup, “This is an awesome deal Ryan Busnardo from Premiere Motorsports Group has put together with Mav TV. I am really excited to get out there and go race at the top level.”

Taking place in Lake Elsinore at the Lucas Oil Motorsports Complex on December 18th and 19th, there will be two full days of practice, qualifying, and racing. Challenge Cup racing will be taking place on Saturday.

Premiere Motorsports Group will be on hand and in force. MAV TV has joined Lucas Oil Off Road’s “2009 Super Team Of The Year” as the title sponsor for PMG during the Challenge Cup. Competing in 4 divisions with 5 race cars, the MAV TV Hart and Huntington drivers will be giving the rest of the field a run for the money. It is going to be an epic weekend powered by Chronic Tacos, Flawless Vodka, and Weekend Warrior Water, Premiere Motorsports Group is looking forward to closing out 2009 on top of the podium. We could not get it done without the additional support provided by General Tires, K&N Filters, and our newest sponsors Blue C Communications and AllTrade Tools.”

We are proud to announce that ChadLeising.com has gone live. Most cannot confidently say that they are familiar with Chad ’s career. The new website is the key to changing that. Easy to navigate, ChadLeising.com is heavily geared towards activating fans and a youth following.

“Take a few minutes to read through my bio. It is not the story you’d expect and it was difficult to compile how I got into the short course scene. My goal with the website was to present that story while keeping enthusiasts interested and entertained. To fill in all the blanks, and that’s exactly what we did. I was not always a driver, and for the longest time I could only be a fan of the sport of which I am a big part of today. I remember being so excited after the races that I’d run home to check out my favorite driver’s websites. I looked up to these guys, they were my hero’s. I always wanted to learn more, but unfortunately many were outdated and just did not translate the action from the track. To this day, I am still a fan of this sport. Without the loyal fans we have, our sport wouldn’t exist. The fans are everything to me and when I say everything, I really mean it. I built this website for them.”

Produced by Built By Media, the dynamic web formula is marketed towards attracting enthusiasts and converting them into fans. This cutting edge website integrates direct feeds of media and social networking such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and RSS. Each function and component drives ChadLeising.com with constant activity.

The website users can access a full media gallery, participate with an interactive blog, meet each individual team member and find out what is going on at the Hart and Huntington Race Shop. For more of the day to day antics you can follow Leising’s Twitter at www.twitter.com/chadleising or view the latest twitter messages right on the sight.

“Take a few minutes and check out my new site, I’d truly appreciate it” Chad Leising

www.ChadLeising.com

The Challenge Cup is certain to be an action packed event full of all out racing. For this single weekend of competition taking place in Lake Elsinore at the Lucas Oil Motorsports Complex on December 11th and 12th, there are no championships on the line. Just large cash prizes and a title that crowns the best of performing drivers. The Challenge Cup is poised to be a truly unique event and will pair up several divisions against a comparable counterpart.

Unlimited-4 versus Unlimited-2, I do not really have to say much about this sure to be spectacular event. A stacked field of the very best off road racers maneuvering 2wd and 4wd 800+ Horse Power Trucks going all out for the label of top elite driver in short course. Big money, big power, and big egos, can you say carnage?

Unlimited Lite versus Unlimited Buggy. It is finally time for all the buggy dorks to back up the years of smack talk. Open wheels buggies putting it all on the line to beat out the 4 cylinder Lite Trucks. The only thing I have to say about this is, “Keep it rubber side down and the speed up.

Two full days of practice, qualifying, and racing starts on Friday. Challenge Cup racing is on Saturday. By no means a filler, the Limited Buggies and SuperLites will also be on hand to dual it out for significant cash purses.

Premiere Motorsports Group will be on hand and in force. MAV TV has joined Lucas Oil Off Road’s “2009 Super Team Of The Year” as the title sponsor for PMG during the Challenge Cup. Competing in 4 divisions with 5 race cars, the MAV TV Hart and Huntington drivers will be giving the rest of the field a run for the money.

“We are really excited to welcome MAV TV as a new Premiere Motorsports Group Partner,” shared PMG Team Leader, Ryan Busnardo. “We have some aces up our sleeve and one of them is a championship winning 4wd, not to mention a little doubling teaming with a pair of Toyota Unlimited Lite Trucks. It is going to be an epic weekend powered by Chronic Tacos, Flawless Vodka, and Weekend Warrior Water, Premiere Motorsports Group is looking forward to closing out 2009 on top of the podium. We could not get it done without the additional support provided by General Tires, K&N Filters, and our newest sponsors Blue C Communications and AllTrade Tools.”

About MavTV

MavTV, one of the fastest growing new HD channels in the US, carries a variety of programming themes targeting men 18-54, including sports, sports analysis, gaming, comedy, women and relationships, health and fitness, finance, gadgets, and movies. Launched on October 1, 2004, MavTV is available across the U.S, in Canada, the UK, and Australia. With a variety of original programming that includes series like: “AMA Motorcycle Racing”, “American Tailgater”, “Rad Girls”, “Ultimate Combat Experience”, “The Single Life with Sam Phillips”, and “Lucas Oil Motorsports Events”.

Follow us on Twitter at @hartoffroadteam for all the teams latest news and events.

For more information on Premiere Motorsports Group and the Hart and Huntington Offroad Team go to

www.hartandhuntingtonracing.com

This professional motorsports organization is the product of numerous individuals and support of strong companies brought together to create an offroad racing powerhouse. The brands like Hart & Huntington, Lucas Oil, Geico Powersports, General Tire , Liquid Graphics, Alltrade, Chronic Tacos, Flawless Vodka, Weekend Warrior Water, K&N Air Filters, and Simpson Race Products will ensure a number of achievements & results throughout the 2009 season. Additional support from King Shocks, VP Racing Fuels, KMC Wheels, Gator Wraps, JSTAR Motors, National Concrete Cutting, Century Collusion Center , NRGX, Screen Works, Corona Millworks Racing, Blurred Motion, and constantly through the season compounds the sustainability of racing.

Corona CA
The championship closing rounds of Lucas Oil Off road Racing served up bitter cold temperatures and gusty winds at the Primm Valley Motorsports Complex. What most off road fans consider freezing, did not hinder thousands of enthusiasts from enjoying a fantastic finale to the inaugural 2009 season of Lucas Oil Off Road Racing.

For the Rockstar Hart and Huntington Premiere Motorsports Group, at best it was a fair showing of performance and results. However, Brandon Vermillion earned his best finish in Modified Trophy Kart scoring a 5th place finish. It is awesome to see both Anthony Busnardo and Brandon having a great time out on the track and developing their skills in Off Road Motorsports. Officially the Premiere Motorsports Group earned 3 podiums on the weekend. Chris Brandt finished 2nd on Saturday and placed 3rd on Sunday. This was enough for Brandt to take the 2009 Unlimited Lite Championship, but a last minute technical discrepancy has put the title and Sunday’s finish in jeopardy. Premiere Motorsports group has submitted an appeal on Lucas Oil’s decision and we are expecting the matter to be resolved soon.

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Corona CA
Premiere Motorsports Group aligned with Rockstar Energy, Hart and Huntington, along with a host of supporting partners, began the season with a goal and initiative to develop a top notch professional motorsport organization and race competitively in all divisions of short course off road racing. Since day one of the 2009 season, this professional motorsports team has claimed their programs as contenders for victories and championships. Backing up the pitch with consistent top 3 finishes, Rockstar Hart and Huntington Racing has achieved 42 podiums so far in 2009. With two more rounds of Lucas Oil Off Road Racing to go and the championships to be decided, plus the Rockstar Challenge Cup, you can be certain that this off road powerhouse will have even more to celebrate at the close of the season.

Premiere Motorsports Group posses two powerful weapons and has aimed them both to take down the competition in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series and Traxxas Off Road Championship Racing. Chris Brandt is a tried and true Pro Light truck driver with one of the most consistent race resumes in the record books. John Fitzgerald is an impressive young gun and is showing great potential by dominating the Limited Buggy division in the world of short course racing.
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Corona CA
Saturday’s Round 9 did not going according to plan at all. The #17 SuperLite broke a drive axle right after Turn 1 on the very first lap. Leising did all he could to push his truck around the track for the remainder of the race and was able to pick up a finish earning him 34 points. Back in the Rockstar Hart and Huntington Pits, Chad met with his PMG Crew Members to assess the situation, prepare for the next round, and put their best foot forward. Chad commented, “The pressure is on and it is up to me to make up for the lousy finish on Saturday. I have to do well in this next race or we can kiss the championship goodbye.”

On the restart, Chad launched off the line perfectly, catching Ricky James in Turn 1, however another restart was called due to some shenanigans and a black flag waved on another competitor. Once again, Chad blasts off on the green and conservatively takes 2nd. By the last lap, it was time for Leising to make his move. Ricky dived down for the inside line in Turn 2 while Chad took his momentum and speed wide outside on the slower line. The aggressive maneuver paid off and Rockstar Hart and Huntington was awarded their third 1st Place victory of the day and fourth of the weekend.
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October 23rd 2009, Corona CA
Striving to overcome and a never give up attitude, the Rockstars of Premiere Motorsports Group rise to the surface whenever there is work to be done. From all nighters to power outages the key personnel show up and power through. Showing great resilience, Eric Anderson, Crew Chief for the #46, led the way on the all night prep session repairing the U-2 while Bill Smith from Pro Fab Motorsports and Crew Chief for the #22 U-4, Blake Wilkey, had their hands full preparing the Unlimited-4 for the following day’s battles. Bill Smith is highly trained in every aspect of motorsports. His technical knowledge and professional experience has been a welcome addition to the Rockstar Hart and Huntington pit area.

By early Sunday morning, the trucks were buttoned back together & body panels fastened, the pits were very much alive with action. Although Sunday’s temperatures were warm, it would not reach the scorcher experienced on Saturday. The Rockstar Hart and Huntington Unlimited-4 once again adorned the #22 number plates which meant Josh Merrel would return to the driver’s seat. During a quick group meeting the team gathered to strategize and hear the game plan. Ryan Busnardo summarized it quickly; “OK guys, Saturday is for working, Sundays are for winning races. Let’s go out there and get it done.”
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October 8th 2009, Corona CA

The 2009 Off Road Expo is taking over the Pomona Fairplex this weekend on October 9 through Sunday, October 11. As the Industry’s largest consumer trade show focusing on all disciplines and genres of off road motorsports & recreation, the show features everything off-road including new vehicles, thousands of parts and accessories, unbeatable on-site show deals, ATV test rides, freestyle motocross action and more. You can count on checking out hundreds of high performance vehicles as well as top of the line and championship winning race cars, trophy trucks, and buggies from all manufactures.

Rockstar Hart and Huntington Premiere Motorsports Group is joining in and rolling up in a big way. Located in Building 6 the Rockstar PMG Compound will be the spot to come and get in on the action. Multiple Promo models will be directing you to our location and more girls on hand doing their thing. Enthusiast will be able to get up close and inspect Carey Hart’s #46 Unlimited 2 800 horse power Ford race truck. Also on display is the Hart and Huntington Freestyle Bike and a special edition Rockstar Haro BMX bike which is up for grabs in a Premiere Motorsports Group featured promotion. Chad Leising and his #17 Lucas Oil SuperLite will also be featured in the show. Come by the booth, enter the contest, grab some posters, and pick up some official team merchandise at discounted prices. You can be certain on going home with a bag full of swag and looking like a Rockstar.
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