Falken Tire sweeps Modified Class in Ultra4 Discount Tire Rocksport Challenge
Falken Tire, the manufacturer of high performance on- and off-road tires available for a wide array of popular cars, trucks, off-road vehicles and crossovers, swept the podium in the Modified Class at the Ultra4 Discount Tire American Rocksport Challenge race run Saturday at Miller Motorsport Park in Tooele, UT.
Led by Driver John Currie, the winner of the Every Man Challenge at King of the Hammers running Falken tires, the Savvy Off Road/Currie Enterprises Jeep JK-R took first place. Jordan Townsend and his Jeep Wrangler took second, while Shawn Rants, competing in a vintage Jeep Willys, finished third. All drivers ran Falken WildPeak M/T 37x12.50R17 tires.
Weather also became a competitor to the event, offering up rain on Friday during practice which turned the short course into a mud bath, and made surrounding rocks extremely slippery, demanding superb traction that the Falken WildPeaks delivered. It was part of the difference that allowed Falken-shod teams to dominate and other teams lacked.
In the Spec Class, which features Jeep Wrangler-bodied tube chassis vehicles fitted with factory-supported Hemi motors with the goal to offer a true driver’s challenge, all entries run Falken WildPeak M/T tires. Jessi Combs, who has proved extremely competitive all season driving the Falken Tire-liveried race car, finished a respectable third place while suffering mechanical problems.
Bailey Cole, who also competes in the Stock Class with a Toyota 4Runner, earned second place in his first-ever race in a spec car series. Jeff Rector, who has competed in the Ultra4 Class in the past, took the win.
Taking the weather into consideration, Modified Class Winner John Currie said “we played the conservative role today. Seeing that the race was generating a lot of carnage, we played a very smart race and came out on top.”
Falken continues to support the Ultra4 events and many teams competing within the series because the teams and their drivers focus on preparation and adeptness at managing the courses. The Falken WildPeak M/T tire raced by the teams in these two Ultra4 classes – 37x12.50R17 – is now available through Falken retailers and helps make the difference at the track and on- and off-road. More sizes will be for sale in the first quarter of 2015.