Multiple titles highlight BFGoodrich Tires 2013 motorsports season

Armed with a performance tire portfolio designed to conquer the hard corners of road racing to the grueling desert terrain of the Baja peninsula, BFGoodrich Tires closed out its 2013 motorsports season with 20 season championships and placed drivers on their respective podiums at a higher rate than a year ago.

Using its industry leading engineering and trackside support programs, BFGoodrich unveiled new race products and an unprecedented race support program in 2013. A new DOT legal race tire, the latest 37 and 39 inch desert race tires and revolutionized customized grooving–from slick to race ready- of its Mud-Terrain KR2 for short course racing, brought continued success to those racing with the brand.

“BFGoodrich Tires prides itself on providing product and support to our racing community that produces champions – we succeeded in that this year,” said Peter Calhoun, motorsports manager for BFGoodrich Tires. “Our wide range of products, from off road to pavement, provided the performance needed by professional and grassroots racers to stand above the competition. We will continue to lean on our vast experience, engineering, production and support to maintain and improve our performance in the coming year.”

On the club road racing circuit, which includes the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and National Auto Sport Association (NASA), BFGoodrich Tires claimed three National Championships. Add to that multiple podium finishes in each series championship events and throughout the regular season.   

New this year for grassroots racers was the BFGoodrich g-force RIVAL a street legal race tire with its extreme grip and consistency, which helped drivers bring home six class wins at the 2013 SCCA Solo National Championships and claimed 68 total wins on the national event calendar.

At the pinnacle of amateur sports car racing, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, two racers took home titles. Chad Gilsinger (T3) and Charlie James (B-Spec) earned championship titles on the strong performing DOT R-compound tire, the BFGoodrich g-Force R1-S.

BFGoodrich also brought home the NASA Spec Z Championship with  David Dirks and  continued its partnership in the SCCA Pro Mazda MX-5 Cup series, with the BFGoodrich  R1 as the sole tire supplier. Christian Szcymczak and Kenton Koch winning their respective classes and earning a chance to move up the Mazda development ladder in 2014.   

In addition BFGoodrich partnered with Honda Performance Development and MAZDASPEED for their assaults on the grueling NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill.  At the end the HPD Acura ILX won the E1 class, with BFG equipped cars taking 5 of the top 6 positions in the class and all 5 cars completing the entire 25 hour distance.

When moving from pavement to dirt, BFGoodrich continued to declare itself as the tire of choice for a multitude of classes at short course and desert racing venues.

In short course off road racing, the company provided tires and support for a wide array of drivers at every level of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) and the The Off Road Championship (TORC) series.

Class championships in the Pro 2 and Pro Buggy class in each series highlighted a season that included Team BFGoodrich members Bryce Menzies (TORC) and Rob MacCachren (LOORRS) both claiming Pro 2 titles and a dominating season in Pro Buggy by Luke Johnson (eight wins) in the TORC series.  While Steve Grienke beat a very deep field, winning seven races, in LOORRS to take the west coast Pro Buggy title.
This year, BFGoodrich has claimed 20 class wins and 65 total podium spots in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and 33 wins and 102 podium spots in the TORC Series pro classes.

The combined LOORRS and TORC winning percentage of 42% in the four pro level classes is highest of all tire manufacturers in the series.
When including the sportsman series, which the company provides a strong tire solution for, BFGoodrich Tires claimed more than 100 wins on the season.
Desert racing came with similar success supporting BFGoodrich Tires’ claim of owning the washes and grueling terrain of desert racing. With nine overall wins on the year and 25 podium spots in SCORE, HDRA, and BITD sanctioned events.

The season began with wins at the Best in the Desert Parker 250 race (Jason Voss) and at the venerable Griffin Ultra4 King of the Hammers race where Randy Slawson took his BFGoodrich Baja T/A KRT-B tires through the rock and desert terrain of Johnson Valley, Calif.

Highlights of the traditional desert racing season included securing the overall win at every Best In the Desert Race including dominating podium sweeps at the Mint 400 (Menzies) and Vegas To Reno (Jason Voss) races. Voss went on to win the overall Best in the Desert title with his two series wins.

Demonstrating its support for the widest range of racers in the desert, BFGoodrich Tires were key to bringing 15 class wins combined at the Baja 500 and 1000 this season, BFGoodrich Tires claimed 14 of the top 20 finishes and 15 class wins. This included a second consecutive win for the BFGoodrich Tires Baja Challenge team at the Baja 1000.

BFGoodrich Tires Championships
SCCA Pro Mazda MX-5 Cup (BFGoodrich g-Force R1)
Cup                Christian Sczymczak, Palos Verdes, Calif.
Skip Barber        Kenton Koch, Glendora, Calif.         

SCCA National Championship Runoffs
T3                  Chad Gilsinger, Marysville, Ohio, Acura TL SH-AWD, BFGoodrich g-Force R1-S
B-Spec                 Charlie James, Joplin, Mo., Mini Cooper, BFGoodrich g-Force R1-S

BFGoodrich SCCA Solo National Champions:
ASPL                Christine Grice, Redondo Beach, Calif. - Mitsubishi Evolution IX, BFGoodrich g-Force R1-S
DSL                 Gwen Baake, Bahama, N.C. - Audi TT, BFGoodrich g-Force R1-S
STF                Eric Sienkiewicz, Charlotte, N.C. - Mazda3, BFGoodrich g-Force Rival
STFL                Katelyn Johnson, Plano, Tex. - Toyota Corolla, BFGoodrich g-Force Rival
RTA                Ron Williams, Topeka, KS, Audi TT, BFGoodrich g-Force Rival
RTF                Adam Barber, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. - Dodge SRT-4, BFGoodrich g-Force Rival
RTR                Michael Heinitz, San Diego, Calif. - Mazda MX-5, BFGoodrich g-Force Rival
RTRL                Teddie Alexandrova, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Honda S2000 CR, BFGoodrich g-Force Rival
NASA National Championships
Spec Z                David Dirks, Loveland, Colo., Nissan 350Z, BFGoodrich g-Force R1
NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill
E1- HPD, Santa Clarita, Calif., Acura ILX, BFGoodrich g-Force R1
Rally America
David Higgins, Trefeglwys, Wales, BFGoodrich TZ
The Off Road Championship (TORC)
Pro 2                        Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, Nev., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KR2
Pro Buggy                Luke Johnson, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2
BFGoodrich All Terrain KO/Commercial Traction T/A
Stock Truck                Cory Marquardt, Lena, Wisc., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2
Super Stock Truck        Dan Beauchamp, Escanaba, Mich., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2
Super Truck                Bob Gremler, Merrill, Wisc., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2
Light Buggy                Derek Tilkens, Depere, Wisc., BFGoodrich Winter Slalom
Classix                        Dale Chestnut, Verona, Wisc., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2
Formula 4x4                Brad Lemarche, Stanley, Wisc., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2
Single Buggy                Mark Steinhardt, Muskego, WI, BFGoodrich Winter Slalom/All Terrain KO

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS)
Pro 4                Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Nev., BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KR2
Pro Buggy        Steven Greinke, Orange, Calif., BFGoodrich Radial T/A/Long Trail T/A
Ultra 4 King of the Hammers
Randy Slawson, Grand Terrance, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KRT-B
SCORE International
Class 1                Cody Parkhouse, Garden Grove, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Class 3                Donald Moss, Sacramento , Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A
Class 5         Kevin Carr, San Diego, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A
Class 7                Dan Chamlee, Summerland, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Class 7sx        Elias Hanna, San Diego, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Class 10        Brad Wilson, Long Beach, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Lites                Leonardo Rayos, Mexicali, Mexico, BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR

HDRA/SCORE World Champions of Desert Racing
Class 1                        Cody Parkhouse, BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Class 7sx/7s                Elias Hanna, San Diego, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Class 7200                Josh Quintero, El Centro, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Trophy Truck Spec        Clyde Stacy, Bristol, Va., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR

Best in the Desert
Overall                 Jason Voss, Cupertino, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
1400                Jason Voss, Cupertino, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
1500                 Jon Walker, Tamuning, Guam , BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
2000                Hank Winter, Tucson, Ariz., BFGoodrich Baja T/A/Traction T/A
6100                Jason Ruane, Lancaster, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR/KR2
7200                Al Hogan, Columbus, Mont., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KRT
8100                Tim Casey, Brea, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KRT