Art Schmitt Racing Starts Season With Three Strong Rounds At Antigo Kiwanis Championships

June 15, 2004 With the Antigo Kiwanis Off-Road Championships and the first phase of the Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) season behind them, both the Art Schmitt Racing team and Nissan are in great shape in the hotly contested Pro-Lite Class.

In the three-round weekend of racing, Schmitt piloted his competition-prepped Nissan Frontier to a Pro-Lite runner-up finish in the first round, held in ideal track conditions on Saturday at Langlade County Fairgrounds. On Sunday, a steady downpour throughout the morning changed the track from dry to muddy, yet despite the sloppy surface, Schmitt brought his Nissan Frontier home with third and fourth place finishes in the day's two rounds.

The three top-five finishes were enough to start Schmitt off within reach of a season-end Pro-Lite points championship. Schmitt finished the weekend second in point standings, while teammate Mark Krueger finished a strong fourth in point standings, giving the Art Schmitt Racing team two spots in the point standings' Top-Five.

But there was more good news for Nissan at Antigo. Chad Hord, Nissan's newest factory representative, had an impressive first outing in his new Frontier, leading the field in the first race before flipping and eventually finishing fifth. He returned to the track on Sunday with an impressive second place finish in round two. A sixth place in the final round was enough to land Hord third in the Pro-Lite points standings, right between Schmitt and Kruger.

The Nissan trio's excellent weekend results put Nissan solidly in second place in the Manufacturer's Championship Standings.

"Beyond putting a lot of points on the board, we're extremely pleased with the performance of the Frontier trucks this weekend under a variety of race conditions," said Ron Stukenberg, senior manager, Nissan Motorsports marketing and operations. "Chad Hord showed the field that he can be fast right out of the box with his new Nissan and we're proud of the showings of all three of our drivers."

The race weekend was originally scheduled to include only two rounds, but was changed to three after the Memorial 4x4 Total Off-Road Rally at Trollhaugen ski area on May 29 and 30 was cancelled due to rain. Rounds four and five of the CORR Lucas Oil Series are scheduled to be held at the Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run Memorial at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway on June 26 and 27.

Schmitt, Krueger and Hord race 2004 Frontier Pro-Lite chassis with Nissan 2.5-liter, 16-valve, 4-cylinder racing engines rated at nearly 300 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque.

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