E3 Spark Plugs News

Picturesque views and lots of action-packed off-road racing greeted fans over the weekend as Miller Motorsports Park hosted Round 7 and Round 8 of the 2010 Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. This was the first year the off-road vehicles raced in the salt desert just west of Salt Lake City near Tooele, Utah. In Saturday’s Pro2 Unlimited class final, Lucas Oil/Tecate Ford driver Rodrigo Ampudia claimed his first ever series win and, on Sunday, E3 Truck Spark Plugs driver Kevin Probst posted a solid seventh-place finish in the Pro2 final for Round 8 of the championship.

Pro2 Unlimited driver Carl Renezeder rebounded to finish 3rd in Sunday's feature event after taking a spectacular end-over-end tumble in the Lucas Oil offroad truck on Saturday at Miller Motorsports Park outside Tooele, Utah. Photo courtesy of www.teamrenezeder.com.

Rockstar Makita’s Todd Leduc finished second to Ampudia in Round 7 of the Pro2 Unlimited off-road trucks class just ahead of former NORBA pro downhill mountain bike racer Robert Naughton. In Sunday’s final event, Leduc would again finish in the runner’s up position this time behind series points leader Rob MacCachren. AMA multi-time national MX champion Ricky Johnson brought his Red Bull truck home in third but was later disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. Johnson’s indiscretions moved Carl Renezeder to third overall. Good luck came late in the weekend for Renezeder who flipped his Lucas Oil-sponsored truck end-over-end in Saturday’s feature.

In the Pro Lite Unlimited class on Saturday, Hart & Huntington/Rockstar truck driver Chris Brandt took the checkers ahead of Monster Energy’s veteran ace Marty Hart with Jimmy Stephensen, Jacob Person and Adam Wik rounding out the top five. On Sunday, Hart claimed the win in a battle with former X-Games freestyle gold medalist Brian Deegan. Jacob Person and Adam Wik moved up one spot each from Saturday’s round finishing third and fourth respectively. Brandt could only manage a sixth place overall in Round 8 behind Anthony Verdone.

The E3 Spark Plugs team of Kevin Probst heads to San Bernandino, California, for Round 9 and Round 10 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Truck Series on August 7 & 8. The popular Glen Helen Raceway is always a favorite of diehard off road racing fans. Whether you’re cruising across town or testing your skills in the salt desert, E3 Car Spark Plugs with our patented DiamondFire technology offer you energy, efficiency and ecology for your ride. Remember to bookmark our website and check often for the latest results from the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series.

Hope all of our truck racing fans caught Speed Channel’s coverage of last month’s Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. Strong winds and a slick track sent teams scrambling as everyone searched for traction in the Las Vegas desert. Whether you’re cruising’ the “Strip” or testing your skills off the pavement, E3 Truck Spark Plugs with our patented DiamondFire technology offer you energy, efficiency and ecology for your favorite ride. Remember to bookmark our website and check often for the latest information about advancements in truck and car spark plugs.

Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series – Round Five

The Pro2 Unlimited Class of the E3 Spark Plugs Off-Road National, saw Todd Leduc in his Toyo Tires/Jagermeister Ford truck take an early race lead over fast qualifier Rob MacCachren and Rodrigo Ampudia runing second and third, respectively. Red Bull’s Ricky Johnson finished the day two laps down with a disappointing end to his attempt at winning his third Lucas Oil event in a row at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson clipped the outside wall on the opening lap and quickly found himself sidelined with mechanical problems. Once MacCachren got around Leduc, there was no looking back as his Ford truck outpaced the field to the checkered flag.

Lucas Oil/Tecate Ford driver Rodrigo Ampudia had a series high 2nd overall finish with a last lap, last jump pass on Leduc who was nursing his Ford truck home in third place with a bad transmission. Veteran racer Jeff Ward had a steady drive through the pack in his Speed Technologies/Goodyear Tires truck and gave Chevrolet a fourth overall finish on the day. The 4 Wheel Parts/Magnaflow Exhaust Ford of Greg Adler is “Leaving Las Vegas” with fifth place points from Round Five. The win at Las Vegas gave MacCachren a commanding 36-point lead over off-road truck series rival Ricky Johnson.

In the Pro Lite class of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Truck series from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, veteran racer Marty Hart grabbed the lead when inverted pole-sitter Adam Wik rolled his truck in turn one after the start. Wik landed on all fours but Jacob Person and defending class champion Brian Deegan slipped by for second and third behind Hart. When Rockstar/Metal Mulisha’s Deegan tried to pass Person’s Geiser Bros Ford, contact would leave Deegan sidelined with mechanical woes and out of the points. Later in the race, Matt Loiodice and Person would tangle allowing Adam Wik to recover from his lap one rollover and finish second overall on the day.

Kevin Probst #9 R/C Race Truck

Got a little race fan in the family? Look for a new toy truck just like the one racer Kevin Probst takes on the tracks.

E3 Racing Spark Plugs driver Kevin Probst had a disappointing seventeenth place in Round Five of the Pro 2 class finishing 11 laps down after getting caught up in another truck’s crash. The E3 race team would rebound the next day for a 6th place overall finish in Round 6. A little something for the youngest race fans: Over the weekend, Probst Motorsports announced two new partnerships with X-Factory R/C Cars and BC1 Graphics to create and market a toy truck just like the one he races. The Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series heads to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, for rounds 7 and 8 next weekend. Best of luck to Kevin and the rest of the E3 truck racing team. Catch all the action from Salt Lake City on June 26 & 27.

E3 Spark Plugs-sponsored racer Kevin Probst is no newbie on the tracks. He began his racing career in 1978 at just 16 years old and since has landed upwards of 230 wins and 18 class championships. In fact, he is one of the all-time winningest drivers in the history of the famous Crandon International Off-Raceway in Wisconsin.  But his racing experience goes even further back than the start of his 32-year professional racing career.

E3 Spark Plugs-Sponsored Off Road Racer Kevin Probst

“My dad started racing the old fiberglass dune buggies back in the late 60’s,” Kevin recently told EPN Newswire. “All of us on the team got our start racing buggies. One year, my brother and I raced every buggy class that was available. Sometimes we would run nine races a weekend between the two of us.”

Fast forward 30 years, and Kevin is still running the tracks hard, recently debuting his custom-built Pro 2 Unlimited truck at the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series in Las Vegas in March.  It’s the third consecutive season of the Probst Motorsports team being sponsored by E3 Spark Plugs. Kevin and his brother Jeff (no, not the Jeff Probst from CBS’ “Survivor”) own Probst Motorsports and Probst Collision Center in their hometown, New Lennox, IL. There, the family team including dad Steve, wife Vickie, son Ryan, daughter Kara and nephew Jon (a promising young racer himself) work tirelessly to create racing excellence. The Probst Collision Center is a GM-certified collision center and ASA and I-CAR certified repair facility. So, racing isn’t just a profitable hobby – it’s in the Probst blood.

“Probst Motorsports is a racing business we started for the love of off road racing,” Kevin says. And as all the greats in any sort of venture do, Probst is still learning the racing biz.

E3 Spark Plugs-Sponsored Kevin Probst's new Chevy UWeld Chassis truck developed for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

“That season was a learning curve,” Kevin said of the Lucas Oil 2009 season which featured a new off road-style racing facility. “I had to learn how to race the motocross style tracks that the series developed. We had only three days notice to come out and start the season, so we played catch up all year just trying to get up to speed and learn the system.”

The Probst team has since responded by developing the new truck, a Chevy UWeld chassis, specifically for the 2010 Lucas Oil series, and early indications point to a promising season. E3 Spark Plugs is excited to sponsor Kevin for the third consecutive season. Check the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series TV schedule on CBS Sports, SPEED TV, Versus and MavTV and stay tuned for some spectacular racing action.

Kevin Probst, driver of the E3 Spark Plugs #9 race truck, survived a crash-filled round four at the May 8 Magnaflow Exhaust Off-Road Nationals to finish 14th overall in the Pro 2 Unlimited class. The Surprise (Arizona) off road course had a few surprises for the talented field which included past off-road truck racing champions Rob MacCachren and Carl Renezeder plus former AMA motocross champions Ricky Johnson, Jeff Ward and Jeremy McGrath. Probst qualified the E3 racing truck inside row six and was methodically working his way to the front of the pack when another truck’s flip resulted in the race being stopped due to a red flag.

After the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series event was restarted, MacCachren and Renezeder battled with off-road champ Ricky Johnson for a 1-2-3 finish. Former Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year Jeff Ward continued to show the talent that has earned him championships in AMA Motocross, Supercross and Supermoto as well as a pair ESPN X-Games Gold Medals. The 2009 Lucas Oil Off-Road rookie of the year finished the day in 5th place overall. In the dusty melee that ensued, Probst brought his E3 Pro 2 truck to the checkers to maintain his 11th position in the overall championship hunt.

In the popular Pro 4 class, the current points leader Rick Huseman held off a hard charging Carl Renezeder for the top spot on the podium. The Pro Lite class of the Lucas Oil Off-Road event saw Chris Brandt outlast former series champion and freestyle motocross rider Brian Deegan for the win. Don’t forget to catch Kevin Probst and the E3 Spark Plugs race team in action on July 11th at 2 p.m. EST when CBS Sports Spectacular broadcasts the Magnaflow Exhaust Off-Road National from famed Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, about 45 minutes west of Salt Lake City.

Catch E3 Spark Plugs on SPEED and CBS on May 8th, 2010. Starting at 9:00 A.M. EST on SPEED, watch the hit DIY show Stacey David’s GearZ and host, Stacey David, walk you through five things you can do to any vehicle, installing E3 Spark Plugs included, to take it from clunker to daily-driver. Then at 5:00 P.M. EST on CBS you can catch E3 Spark Plugs as a part of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series action. Highlighting action from Round Four of the Magnaflow Exhaust Off Road Nationals in Surprise, Arizona, the mile long course at the Speedworld facility features challenging terrain and action at every turn. Then at 7:00 P.M. EST turn it back over to SPEED to catch the season opener of 2010 Nitro Jam, with another episode immediately following at 7:30 P.M. EST. The huge debut will feature the Palm Beach Nitro Jam in West Palm Beach with the Mardi Gras Nitro Jam from Baton Rouge immediately following. All of the shows will showcase IHRA’s three nitro classes along with the Elite 8 Top Sportsman and Top Dragster shootouts and much more. With four different opportunities to catch E3 Spark Plugs, you can’t miss it!

The E3 DiamondFIRE spark plug design features an open, diamond-shaped electrode that offers fuller flame growth and more complete fuel combustion, thus providing reduced emissions, increased horsepower and better engine durability. Whether it’s a motorcycle, snowmobile, ATV or jet-ski, E3 has you covered with the advanced technology your machine needs.

For more information about E3 spark plugs, including performance and emissions test results, or where-to-buy, visit www.e3sparkplugs.com.