E3 Spark Plugs News

Kyle LeDuc (center) swept the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series season opener this past weekend, with Adrian Cenni and brother Todd LeDuc taking second and third places.

This past weekend marked the season opening of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at the Firebird International Speedway in Chandler, Arizona, sponsored in part by E3 Spark Plugs. When the dirt settled, it was Kyle Leduc who took the top podium position, opening the 2012 season in grand style.

Driving for Team Associated, LeDuc came out of the gate throwing blows in Round 1 on Saturday, handily taking the checkered flag and nabbing the N-Fab Fastest Lap award. Adrian Cenni and brother Todd LeDuc took second and third place.

LeDuc continued his merciless on-track rein the next day, snatching up the top qualifying spot and the second row starting spot once an inversion was pulled in Sunday’s Round 2. During the race, he again battled it out with Cenni, at one point eyeballing nothin’ but track dirt out his side window. The podium was a repeat of the day before, with LeDuc loud and proud in first place, Cenni and Todd LeDuc in second and third again. Kyle ended the weekend with a double win and double N-Fab Fastest Lap bragging rights.

Marty Hart, Rob MacCachren and Leduc teammate Robby Woods took the top three spots, respectively, in the Pro-2 class. Team Associated’s Carl Renezeder nabbed the N-Fab Fastest Lap award, but that would be the highlight of his day. Mechanical issues sidelined him afterward.

Twenty-eight trucks took to the track in the Pro-Lite class, setting a record for the class’ largest field to date. Mud flew, metal crunched and smoke billowed. When the chaos cleared and the checkered flag dropped, it was R.J. Anderson, Chris Brandt and Cassie Currie took the podium spots.

Next stop for the LOORRS is the new Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Complex in Lake Elsinore, California April 21-22. E3 Spark Plugs, makers of the patented DiamondFire racing spark plugs, congratulates the season’s first winners and looks forward to the next track battle.

Carl Renezeder and Kyle LeDuc dominated in the Round 6, Pro 2 and Pro 4 classes of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports and co-sponsored by E3 Spark Plugs.

If ever there was an epic short course race, it happened Sunday at the Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA. Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports and co-sponsored by E3 Spark Plugs had fans either on the edge of their seats, or out of their seats altogether – standing and cheering as Carl Renezeder and Kyle LeDuc battled it out in one of the most contentious races we’ve seen all season.

The Round 6 Pro 4 Unlimited started with Adrian Cenni in front, followed by LeDuc, Renezeder, Todd LeDuc and Rick Huseman following. Huseman spun out on lap two and Cenni exited the race by the end of lap three when his truck suddenly slowed. At the competition yellow, it was Kyle LeDuc, Renezeder, Huseman, Todd LeDuc, and Curt LeDuc in the top five and the leading three soon began to separate themselves from the rest of the pack and start a heated battle for the finish line. Of the three, it seemed Renezeder (who won both the Pro 4 and the Pro 2 in Round 5 the day before) and LeDuc who wanted that checkered flag most. The two ran neck-and-neck for the remainder of the race, each man making mistakes that momentarily him the lead, but catching up quickly. Finally, it was LeDuc who won by just a half-truck length ahead of Renezeder. Huseman, Todd LeDuc and Kent Brascho rounded out the top five.

“This was a great race because nobody was on the sidelines,” LeDuc said from the podium. “We were all up here battling, giving it everything.”

The Pro 2 Unlimited provided fireworks of its own. Renezeder again started on the front row alongside Brian Deegan, followed by Rodrigo Ampudia, Robby Woods and Greg Adler. By lap three, however, Adler had forced his way up the track to second place and, like a man possessed, was hot on Renezeder’s heels. Just after the restart, a nasty pileup claimed several would-be contenders and soon, the race was between Renezeder, Adler and Rob MacCachren who was making up time lost to an early spinout. Adler and MacCachren traded places a few times, but a broken driveshaft slowed MacCachren as he approached the finish line. Renezeder made it back-to-back Pro 2 wins with Adler finishing second and MacCachren third. Deegan had rebounded nicely from an earlier collision with Woods to take fourth place. Fifth went to Geiser.

E3 Spark Plugs congratulates all of the weekend’s winners. Next stop for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: Miller Motorsports Park in the Salt Lake City, UT suburb of Tooele for Rounds 7 and 8 raced on an all-new track June 25 and 26. See you there!

Round 5 of the 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series paid tribute to the late Jeff "Ox" Kargola.

Round 5 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico and co-sponsored by E3 Spark Plugs got underway Saturday at the Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California. Fans were loving the sunny springtime weather and the excitement got kicked up a notch with the presence of off-road legend and NASCAR star Robby Gordon competing in the weekend’s Pro 2 Unlimited field.

Before the engines revved, racers, staff and fans paid tribute to the late Jeff “Ox” Kargola, who passed away April 29 after sustaining a head injury on the second day of the Desert Assassins’ Rip to the Tip motocross event in Baja, CA. Kargola was among the rising stars of the series and is deeply missed.

In Saturday’s Pro 4, Rick Huseman was a marked man, having won the first four races. Sure enough, he bolted out front, followed closely by Adrian Cenni and all three LeDucs – Kyle, Todd and Curt. But, that didn’t last. Cenni ended up in the hot pits on lap six with an unknown issue. Todd LeDuc suffered a shredded left rear tire compliments of a determined Carl Renezeder.

When the green flag dropped after a competition yellow, Renezeder charged past Huseman. The on-track upset didn’t set well with Huseman, who over-jumped the tabletop into turn two of lap 14, planting his front bumper and nearly sidelining himself. The result was a broken shock that kept him from catching up with Renezeder, who gradually increased his lead all the way to the checkered flag. Huseman managed second place followed by Kent Brascho, Josh Merrell and Todd LeDuc.

The Pro 2 Unlimited provided some serious fireworks – literally. The race began with Renezeder and Robby Gordon starting side by side. Renezeder quickly took the lead with Gordon charging hard behind in the first lap, but pulled off the track and out of the race before completing the second lap. The race continued with two red flags for fires onboard Robby Woods’ and John Gaston’s machines. Robbie Pierce’s rollover in turn three brought full course caution. Flat tires for Brian Deegan and Rob Naughton, plus a scary-looking crash that involved Rodrigo Ampudia over-jumping into turn five and landing on Naughton’s side added to the suspense. When the dust and smoke cleared, it was Renezeder who held on for a clean sweep of the two big truck classes. Rob McCachren took second followed by Deegan, Ampudia and Naughton.

E3  Spark Plugs racing fans, be sure to check our next blog for Pro 4 and Pro 2 highlights from Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

As the final group of trucks pulled out of the pits for the Lucas Oil Off Road Truck Championship at Glen Helen Raceway, a sold-out crowd were on their feet for the start of the very popular Pro 2 Unlimited class. Round 10 saw the MasterCraft/Rockstar Ford of Robbie Pierce starting on the front row alongside the E3 Spark Plugs Racing truck of multi-time champion Kevin Probst. This was the best starting position of the season for the #9 Chevrolet of Probst who has been plagued with gremlins and mechanical woes throughout 2010.

E3 Spark Plug's Kevin Probst put his #9 Chevrolet truck on the front row for Round 10 of the Lucas Oil Off Road championship series event at Glen Helen Raceway outside San Bernardino, CA. Photo courtesy of Lucas Oil Racing http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucasoil.

Robbie Pierce would grab an early lead but lots of lap-one action and a very rough track would leave the MasterCraft/Rockstar Ford on its roof in the track’s rhythm section bringing out a red flag. Emergency workers attended to Pierce who was visibly shaken after his spectacular flip and was taken to a local hospital for precaution. The Canidae Chevrolet of Jeff Geiser grabbed the lead on the restart but points leader Rob MacCachren wasted no time in working past Geiser. When the mandatory competition yellow flew, it was MacCachren, Ricky Johnson, Bryce Menzies, Carl Renezeder, and Geiser in first through fifth.

The #7 Bully Dog Ford truck of Menzies got by Johnson on the restart when the former AMA motocross champion pulled his Traxxas/Red Bull Ford off track with a mechanical failure. Johnson’s retirement would be the sign of things to come as trucks were crashing and breaking all the way around the rough San Bernardino track. In fact, Menzies would pull off just before the white flag leaving only six trucks to finish the full 20-lap race distance. Renezeder took second behind MacCrachren, with Greg Adler in third and Rogero Ampudia in fourth.

The E3 Spark Plugs racing team has a few weeks off to regroup before heading to the Speed World Off Road Park in Surprise, Arizona, for Rounds 11 and 12 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing series on September 25-26. There are only five championship rounds remaining before drivers compete for the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Challenge Cup scheduled for December 12 at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, AZ. If you are looking for championship performance from your truck, insist on E3 Truck Spark Plugs. Our patented DiamondFire technology delivers the Energy, Efficiency and Ecology both on and off road.

(more…)