E3 Spark Plugs News

You know it well – the #9 E3 Spark Plugs/Lucas Oil truck driven by pro racer Kevin Probst throughout the 2010 off road racing season. Soon, you can take it home with you. Sort of. X-Factory RC model car makers have teamed up with Probst Motorsports to create replicas of the famous #9 for sale at select fine hobby stores and on the X-Factory website.

Replica of the Kevin Probst-driven #9 E3 Spark Plugs/Lucas Oil truck made by X-Factor RC. Photo courtesy of X-Factory RC, Radio Control Car Action (www.rccaraction.com).

The replica kits for Probst’s Pro-2 short course truck will feature an SCX-60 conversion kit with a professionally painted Pro-Line Silverado body and a huge die-cut decal sheet from BC1 Graphics – the same graphics supplier for the actual #9 truck. The result is an exact, small scale replica of the real thing.

To celebrate, Probst Motorsports will bring the #9 E3 Spark Plugs / Lucas Oil truck to the ROAR National Championship race in Joliet, Ill. for at least three days of the race, which runs August 19-22 at the Leisure Hours R/C Raceway. Kevin Probst, a 35-year veteran of the short course truck circuit with more than 200 wins to his credit, will attend the ROAR race for a day in person to meet the R/C drivers and sign autographs for fans.

Drivers hold an R/C S.C. truck race in the pits at all the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series races and Probst has been using an SCX – 60 during the 2010 season. This season, several SCX – 60s will contest the ROAR Championship, including a Probst Special Edition in the hands of Kevin Probst’s nephew, Jon Probst.

X-Factory distributes its products via dealers throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, Singapore, Russia, North Cyprus, Japan, Germany, France, Finland, China, Canada, Belgium, Austria and Australia. Get your #9 while they last. And if you’re looking to boost performance under the hood of your own ride, make sure you pick up a set of E3 truck spark plugs, outfitted with our patented DiamondFire technology that promises a stronger, cleaner drive.

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.

E3 Spark Plugs recently announced another season’s partnership with Probst Motorsports in the Lucas Oil Off road Racing Series presented by GEICO Powersports. E3 Spark Plugs will remain a major sponsor of the champion off-road truck racing team throughout the 2010 tour.

This year marks the third year for the Team Lucas-E3 Spark Plugs partnership with Illinois-based Probst Motorsports, featuring longtime racer Kevin Probst, a 30-year veteran of the sport. Probst will spend the 2010 season behind the wheel of a newly built Chevrolet Uweld Unlimited 2 chassis, specially designed for the Lucas series and assembled in just over six weeks, which debuted earlier this month at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s new off-road race facility.

Probst Motorsports is a family-owned-and-operated off-road racing company led by Kevin Probst and nephew Jon Probst, who began racing in 2006 and is quickly becoming a favored name on the off road truck racing scene.

Based in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL E3 Spark Plugs manufactures and markets patented spark plugs for everything from chain saws to champion powersports vehicles. Developed to help customers increase power, improve fuel efficiency and reduce engine emissions that contribute to global warming, E3 spark plugs are engineered to completely and more efficiently burn the fuel/air mixture in the spark plug cylinder.

Lucas Oil, a leading manufacturer of high-quality automotive oil and additives, is based in Corona, CA with offices in Taiwan, Korea, Australia, Poland and the United Kingdom. The company has been involved in off-road racing as well as NASCAR, NHRA and the Indy Racing League for years and each year creates new and improved automotive products via its state-of-the-art laboratories.