Team Toyo’s off-road racers were working hard throughout the Labor Day weekend, lapping up several victories during the 40th Anniversary BorgWarner World Championship in Wisconsin.
In addition to setting new track records at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway in Pro 2WD and Pro 4X4, Toyo-sponsored drivers won the headline events, including the World Championship for Pro 2WD on Saturday, and the BorgWarner Cup on Sunday.
Known as the “Big House,” Crandon’s TORC (The Off-Road Championship) series event had 40,000 fans in the stands and was broadcast live on ABC television.
Beginning with Friday’s qualifying for Round 11; Robby Gordon set a new Pro 2WD track record of 1:25.96 driving his No. 007 Polaris/Toyo Chevrolet Silverado truck. “Gordon’s effort was super-human, as he was injured earlier in the week during a high-speed testing crash with his desert racing Hummer in Parker, Ariz.,” reports Stan Chen, Toyo’s manager of events and motorsports. Gordon also ran in a NASCAR race in Atlanta on Saturday, and then returned to Crandon on Sunday to compete in Pro 2WD.
“Our 35X12.50R17 Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires proved dominant, adding to our list of race victories,” Chen points out.
“All of the Toyo guys had clean races,” says driver Kyle LeDuc. “Toyo is definitely the tire to beat at Crandon.”
Shattering the overall Crandon track record by more than two seconds on Friday was Rick Huseman, piloting his No. 36 Monster Energy/Traxxas/Toyota/Toyo Tundra with a time of 1:20.16. Huseman maintains the No. 1 spot in the Pro 4X4 championship points while Kyle LeDuc remains in second with only a few race weekends remaining.
During Saturday’s Round 11 race, Todd LeDuc drove his No. 3 Rockstar/Makita/US Air Force/Toyo Ford F-150 to victory in the prestigious BorgWarner World Championship for Pro 2WD and received a check for $10,000. In addition, he captured an “Oakley Bomb Run” award for setting the fastest lap time. This put LeDuc into the Pro 2WD championship points lead for the first time this year. Due to a fourth place finish on Sunday, LeDuc wound up the weekend in a close second, leaving him within striking range for the championship.
“I wanted to leave Crandon with the championship points lead,” says Todd LeDuc. “I was on the radio with my brother Kyle before the start of the race and told him I wanted to put a ‘holeshot’ on everyone. My Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires helped me do just that, as I had the preferred outside line and went into the lead by the first turn.”
Sunday’s Pro 4X4 race had Toyo’s sponsored drivers sweeping the podium by the end of the day. During the first start of the race, a crash took out six of the 13 trucks. Once the field restarted, Kyle LeDuc, piloting his No. 99 Rockstar/Makita/Ford Trucks/Toyo F-150, dominated the race while nearly lapping the field in the process.
For his victory, LeDuc won the weekend’s top prize, the BorgWarner Cup and a check for $40,000. He also took home an Oakley Bomb Run award. Finishing in second was Huseman followed by Curt LeDuc and his No. 43 Rockstar/Makita/Ford Trucks/Toyo F-150.
Kyle and Todd LeDuc have dominated short course racing for three consecutive race weekends. During the TORC race in Bark River, Mich., Kyle swept the event while Todd also scored a victory. Prior to that race, both brothers swept the Lucas Oil Off Road Race Series in Lake Elsinore, Calif.
Two more race weekends remain in the TORC series to decide the champions. Sept. 23-24 is the next event at Perris, Calif., with the finals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Oct. 23-24.
For more information, visit www.torcseries.com and www.toyotires.com.
