E3 Spark Plugs News

Before Round III of the 2008 World Series of Off-Road Racing’s (WSORR) Pro 2WD series at the Big House, the Crandon Raceway in Crandon, Wisconsin, Team Lucas/E3 Spark Plugs sponsored driver Kevin Probst decided he was going to take the race from the very beginning. Kevin, in his E3 Spark Plugs/Dixie Choppers/Lucas Oil/Toyo Tires Chevrolet Silverado, pulled a hole shot around the famous Potawatomi turn one and never looked back cruising to a 8-second win in front of a very fast field.

“Probst absolutely had this field covered,” said Doug Davis, general manager of WSORR. “He was the fastest off-roader on the planet today, nobody from Guam to Dakar to Baja to California was going to catch him.”

After his spectacular crash in Round I at the E3 Show-Me-State Showdown in Wheatland, Missouri on June 1st, Kevin was able to drive his yellow and white truck to a second place finish in Round II. After his win in Round III on Saturday Kevin was able to finish second again in Round IV on Sunday, putting him tied for the points lead for the Pro 2WD season championship.

“The new truck is working great,” said Kevin. “Our truck last year was good too but the one this year seems to be running even better and I definitely think I can contend for the championship this season. Who knows, maybe it’s just the recent paint scheme with the huge E3 logos. I’m definitely getting used to the look and hope I can take it to the end.”

“We couldn’t be more proud of Kevin and the way he is representing our company on the track,” said Todd Arey, President and CEO of E3 Spark Plugs. “This is our fist year as a sponsor of Team Lucas and we are so happy to have Kevin carry our logo and run so well with it. At E3, we continuously strive to achieve excellence through innovation. Kevin has that same kind of drive while he is out there racing and it is evident every time he get’s behind the wheel of that truck.”

WSORR Rounds V and VI are up next at The Island Resort & Casino/Boss Snowplow Off-Road Challenge in Bark River, Michigan on July 12th and 13th.

Kevin Probst is the owner of Probst Motorsports and has over 190 career victories and 16 Class Championships during his thirty-year career. He finished third in the overall points championship in the Pro 2wd division in 2007. Kevin’s nephew, Jon, also a Probst Motorsports Driver, is competing in his first full season in the PRO-Light division of the WSORR.

For advance tickets to the The Island Resort & Casino/Boss Snowplow Off-road Challenge, visit www.upoffroad100.com or www.wsorr.com. For more information about Probst Motorsports, visit www.probstmotorsports.com. For more information about E3 Spark Plugs, including performance and emission test results, visit www.e3sparkplugs.com.

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Before Round III of the 2008 World Series of Off-Road Racing’s (WSORR) Pro 2WD series at the Big House, the Crandon Raceway in Crandon, Wisconsin, Team Lucas/E3 Spark Plugs sponsored driver Kevin Probst decided he was going to take the race from the very beginning. Kevin, in his E3 Spark Plugs/Dixie Choppers/Lucas Oil/Toyo Tires Chevrolet Silverado, pulled a hole shot around the famous Potawatomi turn one and never looked back cruising to a 8-second win in front of a very fast field. (more…)

Let’s face it, long-time off-road driver Kevin Probst is unstoppable. During the opening race of the 2008 World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR), the E3 Spark Plugs Show-Me-State Showdown in Wheatland, Missouri last month, Kevin had a spectacular crash resulting in a series of flips causing damage to his Chevrolet truck. The team was able to get the truck going again for a second place finish in Round II of the action.

“There were lots of reasons that I wanted to run well,” said Kevin. “I was driving my new E3 tagged truck in the first E3 title race of the season, and I just felt like I could win. I was starting on the 4th row inside and wanted to get to the front of the pack right at the start. Once the race got going, I pulled a hole-shot and passed the first row of trucks immediately. My truck was drifting in the mud and I slid in front of another truck and made slight contact. It was enough to cause me to spin out of control and barrel roll 3-1/2 times. I’m glad the truck was new because that meant there was a new seat and neck restraint. Otherwise I might have gotten seriously hurt.”

Kevin Probst was driving his brand new Pro 2wd E3 Spark Plugs/Dixie Choppers/Lucas Oil/Toyo Tires Chevrolet Silverado for the first time in the practice laps on Friday evening. The truck ran great and pulled out the fastest lap of the day. On Saturday, intermittent rain forced the race to be cancelled. Sunday saw a shortened schedule to pack two days of action into one. The Pro 2wd Round I race was the last race of the morning.

“I didn’t feel a thing when it happened,” said Kevin. “But the truck looked really bad. After we got into it, we realized that the damage wasn’t as bad as we thought so we decided to try and make the second round later in the day. With help from the Uweld team and parts from Carl Renezeder, Ron Schreiner, Dan Vandenheuvel, and Jerry Daugherty, the #99 was ready to rock for Round II, only three hours after my crash!”

Kevin arrived just as round two of the Pro 2wd race was about to start. Except for the right side panels, most of the truck body was gone and there were no more body mounts left to use. Kevin started in last place. The truck seemed to handle well, so he increased the pace and started passing. With no bumper or body, the #99 looked like a vehicle from the famous Mel Gibson movie The Road Warrior. Lap after lap, Kevin gained on the leader. By the end of the race, he finished in second place with the crowd going nuts. No one believed that the truck, or the driver, would make the next race, let alone finish on the podium.

“This was a great effort from the team and I want to give a special thanks to those that helped us make the race,” said Kevin. “That’s what’s great about this sport and this series. Your fellow racers are always there to help you whenever you need it. I was also glad that I was able to pull through for the E3 guys. The race was titled the E3 Spark Plugs Show-Me-State Showdown and I was driving the E3 truck so I wanted to make them proud.”

The E3 colors will fly proudly once again this weekend as Kevin Probst climbs into the E3 Spark Plugs/Dixie Choppers/Lucas Oil/Toyo Tires Chevrolet Silverado to compete in the WSORR Round III and IV events at off-road racing’s BIG HOUSE, the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway in Crandon, Wisconsin, for the Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run Races (June 21-22). Kevin is one of the all-time winningest drivers in the history of Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.

Kevin is the owner of Probst Motorsports and has over 190 career victories and 16 Class Championships during his thirty year career. He finished third in the overall points championship in the Pro 2wd division in 2007. Kevin’s nephew, Jon, also a Probst Motorsports Driver, is driving under the E3 Spark Plugs logo this weekend and competing in his first full season in the PRO-Light division of the WSORR.

For more information or to purchase reserve seats for the Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run Races online, go to www.wsorr.com or www.crandonoffroad.com. For more information about E3 Spark Plugs, including performance and emission test results, visit www.e3sparkplugs.com.

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Let’s face it, long-time off-road driver Kevin Probst is unstoppable. During the opening race of the 2008 World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR), the E3 Spark Plugs Show-Me-State Showdown in Wheatland, Missouri last month, Kevin had a spectacular crash resulting in a series of flips causing damage to his Chevrolet truck. The team was able to get the truck going again for a second place finish in Round II of the action. (more…)

Jason Patison and his new E3 Sparkplugs/Dixie Chopper team traveled to Irwindale this past weekend to debut their #17 Super Late Model in a pair of 40 lap races at Toyota Speedway. After spending most of the Friday night session working all of the “bugs” out of the recently finished car, the team knew they had their work cut out for them to get up to speed on Saturday. After making the most of the 35 minute practice session, Patison qualified at a time of 18.48 around the half mile oval, missing the pole by .06 but still good enough for second quick.

After the invert Patison lined up 3rd row outside for the start of the first of two main events. When the green flag dropped Patison navigated the high-line until he had an opening on the bottom of the track. Once on the bottom, Patison began making up ground on the lead pack. Halfway through the race Patison was up to fourth but the number 17 developed a push in the center of the corners and was having a hard time getting by the leaders. With a straightaway lead on 5th and knowing that there was a second race to come, Patison decided to save his tires and cruise to 4th place finish.

During the intermission crew chief Steve Teets went to work on the car to help it rotate, knowing that as it cooled down the tight condition would only worsen. Patison lined up in the 5th spot for race 2 and went to work when the green flag dropped. With a much improved racecar Patison worked through traffic and cleared second place on lap 22, and was running down the lead when a caution came out on lap 30. Over the final 10 laps Patison had a great battle with race leader Nick Joanides, getting underneath him several times in the corners but Joanides’ number 71 machine was strong in the outside groove and drove back by Patison coming on to the straight-aways. When the check flag flew Joanides edged Patison by 2 tenths of a second to take the victory.

“I think this was a great debut for our new team, to get as little of practice as we did and to be able to run up front was just awesome. This E3 Sparkplugs, Dixie Chopper, Lucas Oil machine worked great around the bottom and I had a lot of fun racing with Nick. I also want to thank Idiaz Label for all of their support, I forgot to thank them during the post race interview and they have been a big part of getting this team together.” Said Patison

Patison’s next event will be the NASCAR Camping World West Series race at Infineon Speedway on June 21st. Patison would like to thank all of his sponsors for their continued support: Lucas Oil Products, SuperClean, Dixie Chopper, E3 Spark Plugs, Jim Beam, K&N Filters, Idiaz Label, Jasper Engines, and Fatheadz Sun Glasses.

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Jason Patison and his new E3 Sparkplugs/Dixie Chopper team traveled to Irwindale this past weekend to debut their #17 Super Late Model in a pair of 40 lap races at Toyota Speedway. After spending most of the Friday night session working all of the “bugs” out of the recently finished car, the team knew they had their work cut out for them to get up to speed on Saturday. After making the most of the 35 minute practice session, Patison qualified at a time of 18.48 around the half mile oval, missing the pole by .06 but still good enough for second quick. (more…)