Freeman remains hot CORR racer

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PRIMM — Bryan Freeman has never met a patch of desert — or dirt — he hasn’t liked, or a race vehicle he hasn’t wanted to ride or drive.

He won in bicycle motocross and go-karts as a kid. He graduated to dirt bikes, quads and mini-sprint cars before becoming a full-time, third-generation desert rat.

He has won class and series buggy and truck titles in the Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts, Best in the Desert and SCORE series. He won five of six races last year in SNORE and won the overall championship.

Now the 28-year-old Henderson native is dominating the Single Buggy category of the Championship Off Road Racing series.

Freeman won for the fourth consecutive time Sunday on the challenging 1-mile Primm circuit before an estimated crowd of 6,000.

"I go to bed thinking about how to make the car go faster," he said after his latest victory.

"I’ve learned a lot about how to set up the car. Success in this sport is 80 percent preparation and 20 percent driving ability."

Freeman won his fourth pole in his VW-powered, single-seat buggy. He started in the fifth row after the top 10 qualifiers were inverted. He was undaunted.

Freeman, who works for his family’s Freeman Carpet Services, passed eight buggies on the first lap then took the lead on the second circuit and went on to win by 1.98 seconds over Sean Kennedy of Huntington Beach, Calif. Henderson’s Brock Krahenbuhl, one of Freeman’s teammates at Menzies Motorsports, was third.

The only driver more dominant through two CORR events this year is Rob MacCachren, one of six drivers on Las Vegan Steve Menzies’ seven-vehicle team.

"We just have a great team," MacCachren said. "We have everything we need to build first-class cars and great guys working on them."

Because of that commitment by Menzies, Freeman shuns credit for his streak.

"I hate to say this, but it’s been pretty easy," said Freeman, whose dad, Kenny Freeman, placed 13th out of 33 Single Buggies.

After Freeman’s victory, MacCachren, won the Pro 2 truck title for the third time in four rounds and then finished second despite a gear-shifter problem in Pro Buggy after winning the season’s first three rounds.

MacCachren is 15 years older than Freeman, but they share a passion for the sport that places it second only to their families among their priorities.

"There are probably only around 20 guys out here that are dedicated to working on their cars when they’re not at the track, and Bryan’s one of them," MacCachren said. "And that’s what gives him an edge."

Freeman opened the season three weeks ago by winning two CORR rounds at Pomona, Calif., and followed by sweeping both races over the weekend behind Buffalo Bill’s.

In Pro 4, Rick Huseman of Riverside, Calif., got his first win of the season in the four-wheel-drive truck class. Reigning Pro Lite champion Robert Naughton won his class.

Greg George of Alta Loma, Calif., won Pro Buggy after finishing runner-up to MacCachren in the first three races.

• NOTES — Jimmy Stephensen, 32, of Las Vegas underwent successful surgery Saturday at UMC to repair a spinal injury sustained during a Friday practice crash in his Pro Lite truck. He is expected to fully recovery. …

This weekend’s racing from Primm is scheduled to be televised at 4 p.m. Saturday on Speed (Digital 329) and June 15 on NBC (Channel 3).

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.