Falken Tire fields competitors at Glen Helen Grand Prix

July 15, 2014

Team Falken, manufacturer of high performance on-and off-road tires, had a full complement of Falken racers at the Ultra4 4 Wheel Parts Glen Helen Grand Prix which paid off with strong results in five classes including three first place finishes.
 
More than 120 cars ran in those five classes – the Ultra4 4400 Unlimited Class, 4500 Modified Class, 4600 Stock Class, 4700 Spec Class and 4800 Legends Class – (there were a total of six classes including UTV Sportsman) at the Ultra4 National Championship Series event held Saturday at the historic Glen Helen Motorsports Park in San Bernardino, outside Los Angeles.
 
With temperatures approaching 100-degrees and competing for two hours on the three-mile course, which featured massive hill climbs, huge jumps and high speed straightaways, the Falken teams in the 4400, 4500, 4700 and 4800 classes ran on Falken’s WildPeak M/T tire (All the 4700 Spec Class cars run exclusively on Falken Tires), while the 4600 Stock class utilized the WildPeak A/T tire.
 
Dominating marks were scored by the Falken-shod teams:
    •    The top four finishes were earned by Falken in the 4700 Class, as Falken regular Jessi Combs in the Falken teal and blue livery spec car, who suffered a rollover early in the race, rallied to come in second.  She called her class “loaded with talent,” but she was able to persevere despite the loss of her rear driver side brake.

    •    Chris Ridgeway, an Extreme Games champion and X-Games Gold Medalist, took third in the 4700 class.

    •    Falken regulars Jonathon and Jordan Brenthel qualified second in 4700, but after overcoming overheating issues, returned to finish fourth.

    •    And Red Bull X-fighter and extreme motocross rider Wes Agee took first in the 4700 class, citing Falken’s incredible traction and durability.  “I hit some spots where I thought for sure I had a flat, but the tires never failed and I just kept pushing on,” Agee stated.

    •    Savvy Off Road/Currie Enterprises’ John Currie – running in the 4500 Class – stood on the podium in second place.

    •    Taking home first place in the 4800 Legends class was Falken veteran driver Richie Carter – one of the first Ultra4 teams supported by Falken – his first podium and victory.

    •     Another Falken veteran team – VP Racing, driven by Jacob Pacheco and Ben Varozza – earned first place in the 4600 Class, and is currently leading the points in both the National and Western Series Championships in the Ultra4 Stock Class.

    •    Coming in third place in 4600 was Poor Boy Racing team driver Shawn McNamara, who stated he became convinced that Falken was the tire to use based on the brand’s “tremendous KOH Every Man Challenge successes.”

    •     Finally, Jason Blanton – another Falken regular – earned a sixth place in the Unlimited Class, 4400.