Nic Granlund podiums at round 5 and 6 of the WORCS series.

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 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