Red Bull Cup Race | PRO2 vs PRO4

Fall Crandon | Inside Off-Road | Season 2 I Ep.6
Andrew Carlson and the entire Carlson Moto crew saved their best effort for the biggest races of the year, and they were doubly rewarded. With a truck that was perfectly dialed, and a driving effort that was near flawless, Carlson earned back-to-back second place finishes in the Crandon International Raceway PRO4 World Championship and the PRO2 vs PRO4 Red Bull Cup.
It was the final weekend of the Champ Off-Road 2022 series, and it was held at the sport’s most iconic venue, Crandon International Raceway in Crandon, Wisconsin. With an estimated 50,000 plus fans in attendance, the event is considered the pinnacle of short-course off-road racing. To finish well is testament to a team’s capability and a driver’s talent. To podium, instantly puts both in an elite, world-class category.
“There’s no question we’ve struggled at times this year, but I have to give credit to my team, they really had our PRO4 truck dialed in and ready for this weekend,” said Carlson. “It was fast and tuned perfectly for the track. I could feel it in practice, and it gave me the confidence to drive it in deep and lay down some fast, consistent laps.”
Carlson came up one deflated tire short of a triple podium weekend. He fell just a few laps short of the win in Saturday’s PRO4 final after charging to the front and taking the lead, only to experience a cut tire in the closing laps.
That kind of deflated effort didn’t happen Sunday, where a great starting position and consistent driving earned him a second-place finish behind eventual PRO4 year-end points champion CJ Greaves. Carlson’s talent truly earned him the podium after it was discovered he had only 70% throttle throughout much of the race.
It was the kind of finish that gave Andrew and his team the added confidence to perform well in the PRO2 vs PRO4 Red Bull Cup that punctuates the end of the season. With PRO2 drivers getting a significant early start, the race is designed to showcase the driving talent of some of the best off-road racers in the world.
With a strong start off the line, Carlson entered the first turn in second behind CJ Greaves, and the tandem eventually caught and passed the entire PRO2 field. From there, Carlson had two laps to work with in an attempt to overcome Greaves but was unable to do so. At the line it was Greaves, Carlson, and RJ Anderson all in PRO4 trucks, followed by Mickey Thomas in his PRO2.
Unfortunately, the success Carlson Moto enjoyed in PRO4 didn’t transfer to PRO TURBO SxS. Here electrical gremlins, deep field starting positions, and poor race-craft by competitors resulted in less than brag worthy finishes. Still, Andrew’s consistency throughout the season netted him a top-ten year-end finish in a field of nearly 40 drivers.