The last time the LeDuc team visited Speedworld the course was not kind to them, particularly the brutal stutter bumps. While the latest weekend of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) was not free of carnage for the LeDucs, they were rewarded for their never-say-die attitude. Fans braved triple digit temperatures to see Kyle LeDuc qualify first on Friday, with his father Curt qualifying fifth in the No. 43 Makita Tools / Truxxx Lift and Level Ford. Todd LeDuc tossed a driveshaft in practice, which forced him to start at the back of the pack for Saturday’s main event.
Meanwhile Kyle grenaded the high strung four cylinder engine in the No. 99 ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / Makita Tools / Toyo Tire Pro Lite Unlimited truck in practice on Friday, and then the replacement engine let go during Saturday’s race. “A crate V8 engine would be more cost effective,” Kyle conceded, “but until they are mandatory I am not convinced that they can be competitive with the four cylinders. I don’t race to finish, I race to win.” Kyle’s words proved to be prophetic when the Pro4 Unlimited took the field for Saturday’s race.
When the green flag dropped Kyle quickly leapt into second place behind Adrian Cenni. On the third lap Kyle dove inside of Cenni on Turn 4 and put his ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / Makita Tools F150 into the lead. Any racer worth his salt will tell you that the longest race is one that he is winning, and the checkered flag could come out soon enough. Even after Kyle’s sizeable lead was cut down by the mandatory caution, he was able to rebuild a several truck cushion ahead of second place on his way to his third victory of the season. Curt LeDuc’s Pro4 Unlimited race was much shorter; it came to an early end after his driveshaft parted ways with his truck. Todd LeDuc solved his own driveline issue from practice, but his No. 4 ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / Makita Tools Ford had no body panels left when he crossed the finish line in fifth place! You would have thought there was a bull’s eye on the back of Todd’s No.4 truck during Saturday’s race after all the contact he received.
The Makita power tools were buzzing in the LeDucs’ pits as the sun set on Saturday night in preparation for another day of racing. Out of four cylinder engines, Kyle parked his recently completed Pro Lite Unlimited and the team focused their energy on repairing the three Pro4 Unlimited Fords. Todd’s truck in particular received plenty of attention, since he was scheduled to start on the pole on Sunday. When the race started Todd held off all comers and ran clean through the first nine laps of the race. Meanwhile Kyle was slicing and dicing through the competition to move forward in the pack whenever the opportunity presented itself. With limited places to pass, both Kyle and Curt had to be patient and wait for opportunities instead of forcing them. By the competition yellow, the ‘Duc boys were running first and second in their ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / Makita Tools Fords.
Blood might be thicker than water, but dirt is thicker than blood, and Kyle wasn’t about to just hand the race over to his big bro. When Todd bicycled through the rutted Turn 2, Kyle went low and slipped into the lead. With the entire field bunched up after the competition yellow, Todd saw his lead evaporate and had to work his way back through the pack. Then the action really heated up… when Curt LeDuc’s Makita Tools / Truxxx Lift and Level Ford caught fire in front of the grandstands as he passed Greg Adler who was behind the wheel of Travis Coyne’s No. 5 Pro 4 Unlimited for the second time this season. The fire brought out the red flag, which ended Curt’s day but allowed Todd to be the benefactor of the bunched up field. Only two laps remained, leaving Todd little time to work. While Kyle opened the gap between himself and second place Carl Renezeder, Todd managed to pick off all but the top two trucks in the final laps to land himself on the podium next to his brother, racking up even more hardware for the ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / Makita Tools team. Kyle’s back-to-back victories give him a huge bump in season points as he makes a push towards the series championship with three races remaining.
To relive the experience at Speedworld without the heat stroke, check your local listings for door-to-door LOORRS action on CBS, the Speed Channel , Versus, and MavTV. There are three rounds of racing left in the 2011 season and the exciting, big money Challenge Cup, with the next stop in Las Vegas on November 5th and 6th. If you are a Vegas resident or in town for the SEMA show, you will not want to miss the door-to-door short course action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / Makita Tools LeDuc Racing Team will continue their three-truck assault on the competition in Pro4 Unlimited. You can get the latest information on Team LeDuc on their Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002206672633
Kyle LeDuc is sponsored by:
Todd LeDuc is sponsored by:
Curt LeDuc is sponsored by:
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