Amarillo, TX (July 26, 2011) -- 18 cars came out for JFR's series opener at the Rodeo Raceway. After 70 laps it was the Crossville, Tennessee driver VLR_Shock taking the checkers over his teammate VLR_18 of Brookfield, Wisconsin in the matching orange NOS energy cars.

Shock started from the outside pole and took the lead on lap four from Doit 49, who made the long trip down to Canada for the opening race. A quick caution on lap 11 for BLS_00 bunched the field back up just as Shock pulled out to a three car length lead over VLR_18, who started third.

With the Delaware-file restart, VLR_Shock had the front row to himself and led the drivers off into the first turn with 59 laps to go. Shock nearly spun in turn four on the first lap and this would bunch the field up behind him as VLR_18's momentum on the high side was thwarted and he found himself sliding behind Doit 49 to third.

"I knew I had to get a good jump on that restart," said VLR_Shock, who's luck at Rodeo in other league races has been bad lately, despite him being an expert on the big flat D-shaped oval. "I thought it was over on the first lap of the restart when I got loose in turn four. It actually helped me though by stacking up the guys behind me so I was real fortunate there to get a little breathing room."

VLR_18 quickly moved back up to the second spot, three car lengths behind VLR_Shock, the same as it was before the caution came out. VLR_18 had 55 laps left to try to cut the margin down on VLR_Shock and get a win at one of his best tracks, but first he had to get close enough to sniff Shock's draft, and it was proving easier said than done.

"It's a little frustrating running in second like that, knowing you're so close to getting in the draft and making a race of it," said an exhausted VLR_18 after the race. "I was trying different lines but me and Shock are so even here that he would have had to mess up for me to have a shot once we got spread out."

One driver who was hoping for the two teammates in front of him to mess up was Wichita, Kansas driver Doit 5, who brought home a strong third place finish.

"It seemed like I could gain on VLR_18 at some parts of the track, but then at others he'd pull away a little. They didn't make any mistakes up there or I might have been up there battling for the win instead of talking about a top three."

At one point in the race the interval between first and second was stagnant at 3 1/2 car lengths for fifteen laps, showing the consistency that VLR_Shock and VLR_18 have at this legendary dirt track, as the cars were so even that one slip up could end it for either driver.

"I drive this track harder than I do any other one," a visibly shaking VLR_Shock said after climbing out of the car following the race. "Most tracks when I get a lead I can calm down and cruise, but when I'm at Rodeo with the 18 in my mirror I just clench the wheel and hope I can hang on.

"It's really intense when you got someone who is just as consistent and smooth as you at this track because it forces both of you to raise your game. I just happened to be on the good end of the deal tonight. It's great to win the opener here at JFR."

VLR_18, who won the VLR season finale at Rodeo a month ago on the way to his fifth championship in a row at VLR, was unable to do the same under the lights in the JFR opener.

"I was sweating like crazy trying to catch Shock but it seemed like everything I did was useless. It was like we were both on a rail and I couldn't catch him but he wasn't really pulling away either. He got away when the field stacked up a little on the start and I couldn't catch him after that."

VLR_Shock would go on to win after methodically pulling away over the finale laps, crossing the line seven car lengths over teammate VLR_18. Doit 5 went by the start/finish line in third, followed by Indiana's BLS_00, who brought out the first caution of the race.

Next week the drivers will head north for the second race on the JFR tour, with a trip to Farmer City, Illinois for the JFR Nationals. VLR_Shock will look to add to his payday by matching his victory at Rodeo, but the Farmer City track is a wide one with curved straightaways that make for exciting racing and close finishes in what should be another great show with the best online racers in the business.