Curt LeDuc and his Rockstar/Makita/Kal Gard Lubricants/Toyo Tires Ford F-150 truck team have proven to be a dominant force in off-road racing in 2008. The team won Class 8000 this past weekend at the Henderson's Fabtech Desert Classic in Henderson, Nev.
By doing so, they have won the 2008 Best In The Desert off-road series Class 8000 championship for the second year in a row on 37X13.50R17 Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires. To make the year even more remarkable, the team won 100% of the desert races they entered in 2008 (both BITD and SNORE series) for a perfect season and for a second consecutive BITD championship on Toyo tires.
Curt LeDuc, from Cherry Valley, Calif., had accumulated enough championship points by the time of his last race win to only need for his truck to start the Henderson race for a championship win. He handed the driving duties over to sons Todd and Kyle, and team member Macrae Glass of Kingman, Ariz.
The 400-mile course consisted of four loops, course
conditions deteriorating during each lap. Kyle LeDuc drove the first two laps,
followed by Glass for the third, and then Todd LeDuc for the fourth and final
lap after the sun went down.
"That was a treacherous and extremely rocky course mixed with bushes, then silt beds," said Kyle LeDuc. "At one point, I was driving into the sun in the worst dust I have ever experienced and could hardly see. In order to win, we make sure the products we run are the best, and our Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires had no flats during the race."
"Just like in CORR, the Toyo Open Country M/T-R is the best tire to be on in desert racing. Toyo has done their homework, and testing… they are the tire to beat!" said Curt LeDuc. "We also pre-run on Open Country M/T D.O.T. tires."
Curt LeDuc has now finished every mile in every race he has entered for the past seven years of desert racing. LeDuc relies on the toughness of Toyo’s Open Country M/T to continue his dominance in the desert.
"Toyo Tires congratulates Curt LeDuc and his team for winning a perfect season and the 2008 Best In The Desert championship," said Stan Chen, manager of events and motorsports, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. "This is a truly remarkable accomplishment for any team in any form of motorsports. We are proud this is our second consecutive championship with LeDuc."
Also having a strong finish at the Henderson’s
Fabtech Desert Classic was the team of Chuck Dempsey, John Armas and John
Harrah piloting their Speed Technologies/Toyo Tires/3D Class 1500 open
wheel HMS Avenger racer equipped with 35X13.50R15 off-the-shelf Toyo Open Country M/T tires. The team finished second in class and third
overall for the grueling race.
To learn more about the Open Country family of tires
from Toyo Tires, log onto www.toyo.com.
