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ITP Racers Notch Seven Wins at Inaugural Tomahawk GNCC

Wolfe Tallies Afternoon’s Top Amateur Finisher Award With ITP Tires

Ontario, California, May 13, 2015 – The ITP tires off-road racing team competed at the maiden Tomahawk Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) in Odessa, N.Y., compiling seven class wins, the afternoon session’s Top Amateur Racer award and five additional podiums.

“Seven wins and 11 podiums at an all-new GNCC track is great,” said Pat McGuire, Public Relations / Race Support. “You really never know what the conditions will be like on any given weekend, especially at a new course, but our riders did very well in the varying conditions. Downed trees, roots, rocky creeks and also thick dust didn’t make it easy on anyone, so earning a podium was certainly impressive.”

ITP racers competed in three different sessions at the Tomahawk GNCC. Angel Knox finished fourth overall and won the WXC (Women’s) class aboard her Honda 450R outfitted with ITP Holeshot GNCC tires. It was her third win of the year and second straight podium. She’s currently fourth in the class standings. GNCC veteran and defending Super Senior (45+) champion Dave Simmons finished a few spots behind Knox, taking the eighth spot overall in the 10 a.m. session and another victory in his class. Simmons has now won all six Super Senior class events this season and nine consecutive races dating back to 2014 while using ITP Holeshot GNCC tires on his Yamaha ATV.

A third-straight victory by Masters (50+) class reigning champion Kenny Rich Sr., has pushed him into the points lead after six rounds of racing. The Suzuki racer got off to a slow start, but has heated up the last four rounds, notching four podiums. Cameron Abee, another Yamaha rider who runs ITP tires, also tasted victory in New York, posting the Schoolboy Jr. (13-15) class win. Fellow Schoolboy racer Tanner Talbott joined Abee on the class podium, taking third place. Both racers have two wins this year, but Talbott currently holds a 14-point advantage in the class point race.

The afternoon session also saw ITP racers do very well, as team riders earned five podiums. Westley Wolfe continued his recent string of wins in the College A (16-21) class, earning his third straight victory using ITP tires on his No. 741 Suzuki. Wolfe also scored the GT Thunder ATV Amateur Overall Award using his ITP Holeshot GNCC / ITP QuadCross XC tire combination. Mark Batson (Media All-Stars / ITP) won the Senior A/B (38+) on his Yamaha dressed in ITP tires. It was Batson’s third win of the year and fourth straight podium.

College A (16-21) racers Steven Covert (No. 701 Yamaha) and class competitor Kristian Meyer (No. 48 Honda), each trimmed with ITP tires, finished second and third, respectively, in their class. Brayden Schick also tallied a College class podium, earning second-place in the College B (16-21) ranks on his Yamaha. Junior A (22+) class racer Justin Paul earned fifth at round six.

In the youth session, ITP racers posted one win (Damien Hawkins, 90 Limited 8-12), a second (Parker Henderson, 90 8-12) and two fourth-place runs (Jordan Digby, 125 Sr. 13-15; Marti Lantz, Girls 8-15).

The next GNCC race, the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Mountaineer Run, will feature both ATVs (round seven) and UTVs (round three) and be held May 23-24 in Masontown, W.Va. For more information on the AMSOIL GNCC series, visit www.gnccracing.com.

About ITP
In business for more than 30 years, ITP has become the world’s #1 ATV/UTV aftermarket tire and wheel source. ITP utilizes its experienced staff of engineers, designers and technicians at its two American tire facilities in Clinton, Tenn., and Jackson, Tenn., to develop award-winning tire-and-wheel designs for virtually all ATVs and side-by-side vehicles. Numerous outlets distribute ITP tires across the United States and in more than 25 countries worldwide. For a full-color ITP catalog, call toll-free: 1-800-889-7367. www.itptires.com

May 13, 2015
JIMCO Racing’s Jason Voss Wins the BITD Silver State 300

Three JIMCO Vehicles in the Top Five Overall

The Silver State 300 racecourse is run in the Eastern part of Nevada and can be considered one of the fastest racecourses of the series. Three hundred miles is all there is to muscle your way to the front. After earning top starting position, Jason Voss never surrendered his track position and took the overall win to close the gap in the 2015 overall points race.

Though clean air is an obvious advantage on fast roads that produce blinding dust, a flawless race is still required to take an overall as each race becomes closer and closer. Jason Voss did just that and won Silver State +00:02:24 over second place finisher, Rob MacCachren. The win marks Voss’ second consecutive Silver State 300 victory. After taking four BITD wins (Parker 425, Silver State 300, Vegas to Reno and Henderson 250) in 2014, Voss is now proving he owns one of the most reliable and consistent trucks in off-road and currently sits fourth in the overall points chase.

Two other JIMCO vehicles landed in the top five, including the brand new #1549 buggy of Sam Berri and current Class 1500 points leader, Cody Parkhouse. One point separated the two heading in to the race. Parkhouse missed out on the class win +00:00:38 behind 1500 winner CJ Hutchins. He was the first Class 1500 to finish line but Hutchins, having started eleven spots behind, won on corrected time. Though Parkhouse is yet to win in 2015, he is proving consistency can also give you the edge in overall points halfway through a season.

Despite his huge win at the Mint 400 earlier this year, Berri sits four points behind Parkhouse in the overall points lead. Berri was +00:02:35 off Hutchins’ pace and continues to astonish the class in his single seat JIMCO buggy. Just missing the top ten was JIMCO’s #1599 Todd Tuls. #1547 Pat McCarthy did not finish.

#92 Kevin Curtis powered through numerous issues all day and salvaged points as the last finisher of the race.

#94 Steve Strobel was sixteenth overall qualifier and was up front with the leaders through the fifth pit but ended up not finishing the race. At race mile 187, a mechanical failure in a remote, narrow part of the race track left the #94 stranded with chase crews unable to get the truck and make the necessary repairs needed to finish the race. Justin Lofton’s day ended almost as quickly as it began.

Sixteen miles in to the race rolled the #41 JIMCO Trick Truck cutting their day short. “Both John and I are doing well after our flip at Silver State. Big thanks to our Sparco Full contaminate seats, neck restraints and Jimco Racing Inc for building a safe truck. We will rebuild and be back faster than ever,” said Lofton.

Class 10 has been shaping up to be one of the most competitive classes in off-road racing. Twenty-one 10 cars started the race, including the #1025 and #1071 of Chad Dohrman and Jason Coleman. Fifty miles in to the race, the two led the field and were separated by only ten seconds. The run out front was short lived when Dohrman eventually dropped out due to mechanical issues.

Coleman pushed on but sat +00:04:55 off Class 10 leader and eventual race winner Cody Robinson at race mile 150. Coleman made strides to close the gap throughout the second half of the race but never enough to take the top spot from Robinson. Coleman seized the second place spot on the podium and now sits in second place in overall points in Class 10.

Racing will resume South of the border for the 47th Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 from June 3rd – 8th.

About JIMCO Racing Inc.
Jimco Racing Inc is the largest off-road race car builder in the world. From American desert races to Baja races to the Tatts Finke Desert Race to the Dakar Rally, JIMCO has been manufacturing top of the industry off-road race vehicles since 1975. Twenty time SCORE Chassis Builder of the Year, JIMCO’s Trophy Trucks, Class 1, Class 10, Class 12, Class 1/2-1600, Pre-Runners, Pro-Lite, Pro 2 and Rally Raid vehicles are the industry standard that continue to produce wins and championships across all mediums of off-road.

About Mad Media:

Mad Media (www.madmedia.com) is a San Diego based marketing and creative agency, with in-house film and television production. We craft authentic, culturally engaging brand messages, and deliver them across print, web, photography, and film platforms. Mad Media has been leading the online content revolution since 1995 producing major commercial, television, online content and viral film projects such as The Gymkhana Series and XP1K Series.

May 13, 2015
Banning Motorsports Overcomes Hardship at the Silver State 300

Phoenix, AZ (May 11, 2015)– Banning Motorsports have been faced with some rough races this season, but the Best In The Desert Silver State 300 has proven to be the most difficult by far for the team. A race that runs through beautiful Nevada scenery. didn’t end so beautifully for the Arizona based team.

The team would arrive to Las Vegas, NV early on in the week as they had to qualify the #6155 truck for their starting position for race day. Not having the quickest qualifying run, Banning Sr. would be starting the race 14th Class 6100 off the line. The race started at 9:30am and would only take the Trick Trucks an estimated 5 hours to complete the 275 mile course.

Once off the start line, Banning Sr. and Chris Godfrey immediately faced the dust that hung in the air from the faster vehicles. They had 13 competitors in front of them that they needed to pass and another 7 behind them just waiting to capitalize on any mistake they may make. Banning Sr. was charging hard from behind the wheel and by pit 1 it was reported that they were up to 10th place. By pit 2 they had made up another position just 72 miles into the race. It was looking to be an easy day but just 10 miles up the road the #6155 would battle for another position when they would be blinded by the dust and clip a rock that would cause them to roll over. The damage to the truck was repairable with time, but with over 2 hours to get the truck back on all 4 wheels the race was already to far gone for the team to continue in the #6155 truck.

Banning Motorsports would continue to chase their points lead in the #2488 car with Bryan Folks and Adam Warren starting the race. With a great run through the first 80 miles of the race and staying in first, the #2488 car would find itself on its side at race mile 84. After hitting a big berm in a right hand turn that would stop them from keeping the car upright. After waiting for help to get it back on the wheels, they had lost several positions and were back running the race looking to at least get to the finish. Making it to pit 4 the team did a drivers change and Rick Graf would get behind the wheel with Tim Sullivan in the co-rider seat. Some more clean miles of racing would bring them up to teammates in car 1023 where the Melton team had slid off course and damaged the front end of the car. Graf and Sullivan helped the #1023 car back on course and then they continued to the finish line where they would surprise themselves with a 2nd place finish.

“Today our team showed that no matter what happens, you have to push to the finish. It was a great day for the team after overcoming the roll overs and other obstacles that were thrown our way.” Said team owner Lee Banning Sr.

The Banning Team still supports the #1023 car ran by Melton Motorsports and as the 1023 car started the race, they would mid pack with Steve Melton and Jake Dewitt in the car. Running fast through the dust with minimal issues just major dust. Passing several cars and trucks before arriving at pit 4 would have them around 7th on the road. Quick fuel and a drivers change would have them back on the course quickly. Hayden now behind the wheel and continuing the fast pace up to and thru pit 5. Shortly after pit 5 near rm 180, Hayden clipped a tree on the left side as he was coming down the steep grade. Breaking a lower arm and the steering rack, it took several hours before they were able to get the car so they could limp down the mountain 32 plus miles to pit 6. The chase crew did a quick lower arm swap out and got them back on the road but a short 5 or so miles down course the injured steering rack gave up ending their day. After a hard fought race earlier in the day the team was disappointed but they knows it’s all part of racing.

Again the Banning crew did a awesome job supporting all the cars and truck this race giving proof that our teams middle name should be “tough.” A huge thanks to all our loyal crew and partners for everything they do to keep us on course in the desert.

May 13, 2015
King Shocks Racers Shine At Silver State 300 Winning 7 Classes And The Overall Victory

May 8th, 2015 – Garden Grove, CA – The Best in the Desert Silver State 300 is not your typical desert race. It’s not covered in whoops or miles of washed out cross grain; it’s mostly fire roads with some silt beds thrown in. The terrain not only tests a shocks performance it tests the racers ability to maintain control of their vehicles. Racers battle on narrow twisty trails lined with trees that hold the dust in place. They have to make split second decisions while running at high speeds with limited visibility that creates treacherous race conditions. In such a high stakes environment, King Shocks racers achieved impressive results.

Leading the way was Trick Truck defending champion Jason Voss. He earned the number one qualifying spot after Dale Dondel, (also on King Shocks), clipped a cone. The 15 second penalty ended Dondel’s eight straight number one qualifying streak. “Dale is tough to beat during qualifying,” says Voss, “I feel for him, the same thing happened to us at Vegas to Reno.”

2015 BITD Silver State 300

After starting first off the line, Voss ran out front all day; never seeing another vehicle out his windshield. It was up to the rest of the field to chase Voss down but they just could not catch him. It was the second straight Silver State 300 win for Voss who has taken back to back Trick Truck championships since switching to King Shocks in 2013. “I think a lot of racers underestimate how important suspension set-up is for the Silver State race,” said Voss, “We don’t see miles of whoops but increasing forward bite out of the corners and controlling body roll is crucial. We test with King Shocks before every race to adjust our suspension to race conditions. When we tested before this race, we hit the whoops to get the balance right but we also spent time on gravel roads to get our cornering speeds up. This win puts us in a great position to take our third straight victory at Vegas to Reno. We will have our suspension dialed in perfectly for the race.”

2015 BITD Silver State 300

Jason Voss took full advantage of starting up front while the King Shocks racers came from the pack to outrun their competition. Class 1500 winner CJ Hutchins started 7th in class, 18th off the line. He maintained his speed all day and when elapsed times were tabulated he was the fastest. Four cars crossed the line ahead of CJ but his time bested them all. CJ was first in class 1500 and third place overall.

Class 10 winners Cody Robinson and Kyle Conlon left nothing to chance. They started 10th in class with Conlon behind the wheel. By mile 80, Conlon had passed them all to be physically first and first on corrected time. Robinson took over at mile 150 continuing the pace that Conlon established. In the late stages, Cody lost power steering but still managed to take the victory and finish in an amazing 15th place overall; beating a long list of unlimited cars and trucks.

2015 BITD Silver State 300

All the way through the field the results were the same. In 7200, King Shocks racer Troy Messer came out on top. Class 8000 saw Don German outpace everyone in his King Shocks clad Chevrolet truck. Class 2400 was won by John Hsu and Bob Mamer won Jeepspeed Cup class 3700 in his turbocharger Comanche Pick-up.

The King Shocks advantage was clearly demonstrated at the Silver State 300. “King Shocks congratulates Jason Voss on his imposing Silver State 300 victory,” said Ramses Perez, director of marketing, King Shock Technology Inc. “With seven class victories and the over all win, I am thrilled to say King Shocks is the shock choice of Off-Road champions.”

Racing, prerunning or just having fun, whatever your application; King Shocks has the shock for you with the performance, reliability, precise tuning and adjustability you need. King Shocks, The Leader in Off-Road Technology!

About King Shocks
King Shocks makes world-class desert racing shocks for trucks, buggies and UTV’s. King manufactures and hand assembles all of their shocks in Southern California. King Shocks has been the industry leader for over a decade and continues to leave the competition in the dust by providing the level of quality, performance and customer service that champions demand.

May 11, 2015
BFGoodrich(R) Tires and The Enthusiast Network To Crown The Nation’s Top Amateur Performance Driver

Fifty participants compete for title in “Driver Enough Challenge”

GREENVILLE, S.C., May 7, 2015 ― BFGoodrich^® Tires, manufacturer of products designed to handle any adventure, has challenged automotive enthusiasts across the country with a two-day competition to answer the ultimate automotive question: “Are You Driver Enough?”

Through an integrated partnership with TEN: The Enthusiast Network, the world’s premier network of enthusiast brands, BFGoodrich has invited drivers to prove they are “Driver Enough” through a series of on- and off-road driving challenges.
(more…)

May 11, 2015
Hutchinson’s DOT Compliant Dual Beadlock Rims

Over ten years ago, three sets of tires, and well over 75,000 miles, the Hutchinson beadlocks have proven themselves countless times. These DOT-compliant street-legal rims are built to last. Keep in mind that many of those miles were under a fully loaded 80 series Land Cruiser tackling some of the hardest terrain we could find. The only casualty being some minor scrapes around the edges.

Hutchinson’s design incorporates an inner spacer that securely clamps both the inner and outer bead at lowered or zero pressure. This increases traction, keeps debris out of the tire, improves braking, and makes the vehicle safer by reducing the risk of rollover.

A fear of mine was wheeling with a lot of weight up high, running low pressure, and losing a bead. Losing a tire on an off camber side hill being the worst situation I could imagine. That is no longer an issue running these and the peace of mind was more than worth it.

On one trip a pinch flat destroyed a Toyo Open Country MT, said to have one of the toughest sidewalls, without any damage to the Hutchinson. Having these allowed me to drive to safety without the fear of separating a tire.
Through Rocks…

Mud…

Sand…

and snow.

They have performed flawlessly. Torqued to the recommended 100 +/- 5 FT-LB [136 +/- 7 NM], they have never leaked and required zero maintenance.

Specifications:
Hutchinson P/N WA-0567
Size 17 x 8.5″
Bolt pattern 6H – 139.7 mm BCD
Lug style M12 shank nut (hub piloted)
Hub bore diameter 4.18″ (106.2 mm)
SAE rated load 2,750 lbs. – 60 psi
Backspacing 4.51″ (114.3 mm)
Construction Cast aluminum alloy

May 8, 2015