Nic Granlund

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Nic Granlund podiums at round 5 and 6 of the WORCS series Round 5 Coming off of his round 4 win at Speedworld Nic was excited about repeating his performance for round 5 at Race Town 395. Eager to try out his new Lone Star suspension and upgraded Fox Shox, Nic bolted on a new set of STI tires and headed down to California for the race. After getting his car dialed in to the track he was ready for the race. Managing a second place hole-shot Nic quickly made some moves and got into the lead before the end of the MX section. As Nic set a good pace out front maintaining a significant lead and keeping an eye on his nearest competitors, Nic cruised to what everyone thought was a solid win. After the results were posted Nic noticed he had finished in second place due to a time correction of a competitor coming off the second row that started a minute behind. In the end Nic never knew there was anyone competing for the lead as he could have pushed the pace to secure the victory. Still, second place was very acceptable considering this was only Nic's fourth ever UTV race. Round 6 Round 6 at On The Edge Raceway in Utah was quickly approaching and Nic was doing some final testing when he noticed a crack in the rear differential. With the help of Got Tools Racing's Mike Geiger and Ted "Shred" Kovacevich putting in long hours, they were able to get Nic's car ready to go the night before heading to Utah. The WORCS crew had laid out a challenging course with lots of trees, an amazing amount of rocks and two water crossings that made the course resemble a cross-country race more than a off-road race. After some adjustments to the Fox Shox, STI tires, checking the nuts and bolts on his Dragonfire exhaust and a liberal dose of Torco fluids, Nic was now ready to tackle the rough Utah WORCS course. Considering it was Father's Day weekend, Nic was excited to have his son and parents there to cheer him on. Nic's pit crew, Mike and Ted had also brought their families to Utah, making it a complete family weekend. As the green flag dropped Nic came out of the first turn in third place. After turn two was a tough rhythm section. Nic was pushing for second place heading toward turn three through the rhythm section when another competitor hit Nic, forcing him over the berm and off the track. As Nic made his way back onto the course he was now battling for seventh place. Settling into a good pace Nic was trying to keep the mistakes down as the dust made it very difficult to see the trees and rocks that lined the edge of the challenging WORCS course. Nic made some strategic passes on his competitors and that combined with the rough course claiming some victims, Nic now found himself in second place. By the time Nic had made his way around to the third lap, the leader had over a 30 second advantage. Nic was now barely able to see the dust of his first place competion and that was when Nic decided to push the pace and started to make up time. Each lap Nic was able to gain time on the leader and by the time the time white flag was displayed, Nic had closed the gap to 7 seconds. With one lap to go, Nic was pushing even harder and started to make up more time on the leader. Coming out of the second water crossing Nic was right on his tail and continued to push it as hard as he could knowing the finish line was getting close. With three turns to go the leader and Nic had caught a lapper, making things interesting. Nic kept trying and pulled alongside the leader several times in the last few turns making what was certainly the most exciting race of the weekend. When the checkered flag dropped Nic was less than half a car from taking the win resulting in a second place finish. With two more rounds remaining, Nic is planning to stay on the podium and rounding out the season in the winners circle. Nic would again like to thank his pit crew Mike and Ted for their dedication and hard work. Without sponsors Nic would not have the opportunity to be competitive, so at big thanks goes out to. Fox racing shocks, STI tires and wheels,Torco oil, NGR, Got Tools Racing, Swick racing products, Dragonfire racing, Moto Active, Triumph Motorsport, Lone Star Racing, Weller racing, CT racing, Holtz, AME grips,QuadTech, Fasst, All photos by Tedshred . Nic Granlund back on top In only his third ever SXS race Granlund claims his first victory beating 17 other competitors in the super competitive SXS production 850 class at Round four of the Worcs racing series in surprise Arizona. As Nic is beginning a new venture into the SXS world he has chosen the Worcs series to hone his driving skills. The Worcs series has grown tremendously in the UTV market, At round two it was almost a total of 70 entries between the classes. After not competing in round one due to not having a UTV to race, Nic chose to begin at round two in Primm Nevada. Beginning by complying to all the safety rules including a pro-armor five point harness and racing a completely stock RZR's with the exception of a set of Fox's 2.0 racing shox, Nic was ready to go racing . After finishing an impressive fourth place in his first ever SXS race Nic was looking forward to the new challenge. As round three at crazy horse campgrounds in Lake Havasu came around Nic was still learning about the car. At this point Nic was pleased to start working with STI tires and wheels as it will be a great relationship for the season. After breaking a belt in testing Nic decided to upgrade the clutch system. After some broken parts Nic drove to round three with a car in pieces. Thanks to some fellow competitors and the great crew at Dragonfire racing allowing Nic to borrow some parts from them so that he could compete in the race, Nic's pit crew, Mike G and Ted K worked feverishly to get the car ready for the race. As the race started Nic was running in fifth place and made some moves and managed to get into third place. As the first lap was coming to an end Nic got caught in a unexpected rut and rolled a car over on its side. While other competitors drove by some spectators came to assist and rolled the car back onto its wheels. At this point Nic put the hammer down and drove as smooth and hard as he could making up time and finishing a respectable fifth place. As round four was getting closer Nic decided to do some engine upgrades to be more competitive. Nic contacted longtime sponsor CT racing to come up with a game plan, Between NGR ( Nic Granlund Racing) and CT a great package was selected. To finish it off a Dragonfire exhaust system was installed. In the week prior Mike G with got tools racing was an incredible help in getting the car ready for round four of the works racing series. Heading to the race with some brand-new STI tires and bead- lock wheels and fresh Torco synthetic oil in the engine Nic was excited for the weekend. During Friday's practice Nic was geting the car dialed in and with the great help from Rick at the Fox shox trackside support did some final tuning on the shocks. "Race day" When the green flag drops Nic goes into the first turn in fourth position, Then within the next few turns Nic moves in to third place. The course was over 6 miles with lots of tight turns and fast straightaways, In the back section the leader made a mistake and sliped back to 3rd . Nic was now in second the as new leader pulled a slight advantage, Nic put his head down and made up some great time, coming into the MX section Nic was right on the rear bumper of the leading car, A short while later Nic made a move and took over the lead. At that point Nic's Dragonfire racing teammate in the 999 drove hard and aggressively to take over the lead. As the leader was pushing hard, Nic was keeping a steady and controlled pace. Coming back into the MX-section the 999 car had pulled a few seconds advantage but then suffered a mechanical failure and Nic assumed the lead again. Over the next few laps the Fox 2.0 Shox and STI Black Diamond tires worked great as Nic drove mistake free and had a great flow going. As the final lap was ending Nic made no mistakes and cruised to take the win. To finish off a great weekend Nic decided to race his quad in the 40+ A/Expert ATV class on Sunday. The race went off without a hitch and Nic took first place in the 40+ class, Also managing to beat all of the 30+ A riders whom started 30 sec ahead. All photos by Jill Teixeira Nic would like to thank Mike Geiger for all his help before, during and after the races. Nic would also like to thank his sponsors. NGR , Fox racing shox, STI tires and wheels, Torco oil, Dragonfire racing, Lone Star racing, Got tools racing, CT racing, Motoactive, Swick, Skat-Trak, Weller racing, Triumph motorsports,Quad tech,Hinson,

Greg Stuart and Nic Granlund Go Into the Record Books with 3 Peat Win at BITD Vegas to Reno

Greg Stuart and Nic Granlund prepared for the 2010 Best in the Desert Vegas To Reno with some final testing in Barstow. With Nic just coming off an injury, they were both eager to see how the test would go. After a few hour of tuning the Fox Racing Shox on the CT powered desert quad it was apparent that It, Greg and Nic were ready for action. After Tech and the drivers meeting on Thursday evening the team headed to Beatty to get ready for the race on Friday. Greg left the start 3rd in line at 6am. As Greg set out for the 534 mile race he made quick work of the teams in front of him. When Greg had worked up a 5 minute lead when he got to pit 2 where he handed the quad off to Nic.

Greg Stuart coming in to pit 2

Nic Granlund Working through traffic

As Nic grabbed on to the AME grips he was back in action for his first race in 6 months. Nic set out for a 2 pit section and within a 1\4 mile it was full speed ahead. At this point the only dust was from the dirt bikes that started in front of the quad class. Nic slowly and cautiously passed several bikes and had a solid run to pit 4.

When Nic gave Greg the quad at pit 4 they had extended the lead so Greg could continue a fast and safe pace to pit 6. Nic got back on at pit 6, but just before pit 8 there was some extremely rocky sections that caused a slight vibration from the rear of the quad. When Nic hit pit 8 the great pit crew did a double rear tire swap mounting a new set of Maxxis tires on DWT beadlock wheels that would last the remainder of the race.

Greg Stuart on the gas

Nic Granlund catching some air

Greg left the pit and every thing was perfect again. At this time there were no other quad teams in sight. It was business as usual picking their way trough the dirt bikes. Swapping briefly to Nic for a short run and then Greg got back on at pit 13 for a 69 mile run past a remote pit. When Greg got to pit 14, Our pit crew of Mark and Mike filled up the IMS tank, gave the quad a quick once over, checked the Torco oil, gave Greg thumbs up and he roosted away.

When Greg handed the Skat-Trak race quad over to Nic at pit 15 for the final 76 miles to the finish, the CT powered quad was still pulling strong. At this point the team was unsure of how big the lead was because they had not seen another quad team for hours. Leaving pit 15 was a fast 29 miles to the last pit with no problems.

Nic Granlund bringing it to the finish

This was the first time in the race that they did not catch or pass any bikes as they had moved pretty far up in the overall standings. Coming into pit 16 Nic was greeted by Alan and after a gas and go, everything looked great for the final 46 miles to the finish. Up to that point most of the race course had been grated and was fairly smooth, but the last 46 miles was probably the roughest and rockiest part of the race course. As Nic climbed over the final mountain pass also known as the “rock garden” he was thankful of the Fox Racing Shox and the Fasst Flex handle bars smoothing out the ride.

When Nic pulled in to the finish he was greeted by Casey and Diane from Best in the Desert congratulating the team on the win. It was an exciting day announcing a 3peat Vegas to Reno victory! It is the first time in the history of the race that someone has won 3 years in a row.

In conclusion, it was a flawless race as Nic Granlund and Greg Stuart completed the 534 mile race in 10:26 minutes averaging over 51mph, 35 minutes ahead of the second place team of David and Cody. Granlund and Stuart made their way to 8th overall of bikes and quads. A special mention goes out to Greg as he stopped to help a severely injured rider for almost 10 minutes while leading the race, Giving up several positions on the course. The Ken Stuart prepared Skat-Trak quad held together perfectly. Greg Stuart and Nic Granlund would like to thank their pit crew for all the hard work they put in to make this a successful race.