It has been a historic year for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORS), with the last two events taking place at brand new tracks in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.  For Rounds 9 and 10, LOORS went to the legendary Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California.  Best known for its epic motocross races, Glen Helen Raceway carved a new eighth-mile short course into the hillside of the San Gabriel Mountains, complete with a triple table top, banked turns, and aggressive rhythm sections.
 
The Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita Tools team of LeDuc Racing was looking to make a little history of their own in front of a sold-out capacity crowd at Glen Helen on this  idyllic weekend in August.  Kyle LeDuc qualified 4th in a field of 17 talented drivers in the Pro 4 Unlimited class.  Kyle was 5th in season points following his 2nd place finish at Miller Motorsports Park in the last round of racing.  He picked up right where he left off, leading the field in the No. 99 Ford F-150 until he caught a rut and bicycled his truck mid-way through the race.  Fortunately the traction from the Toyo Open Country M/T tires allowed Kyle to regain control and he battled for the win the rest of the race.  In some of the fiercest competition we have seen all season, Kyle LeDuc finished the race in 2nd place, less than a second behind the winner!  Family patriarch, Curt LeDuc, remained the model of consistency that he has been all season; he currently sits in 4th place in season points and qualified 9th on Friday in his 800-horsepower Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita Tools Ford.  Curt used his years of experience to work his way to the front of the crowded Pro 4 Unlimited field, finishing 9 seconds behind Kyle for 4th place.
 
Todd LeDuc came into Glen Helen in 7th in season points in Pro 2 Unlimited following two 2nd place finishes in Utah.  On Friday Todd qualified 13th in his Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita  Tools Ford due to transmission issues, requiring him to start at the back of the pack.  By the mandatory caution at the mid-point of the race, he had moved up to 6th place, and as the race was coming to a close Todd threw caution to the wind and attempted to thread the needle between the two trucks ahead of him on the huge table top jump.  Unfortunately mid-air contact with another truck caused Todd to spin out, resulting in a 7th place finish.

On Sunday, Kyle started on the first row in the Pro 4 Unlimited race and never looked back.  The only person to challenge his win was Carl Renezeder after the mandatory caution, but Kyle raced past Renezeder on the last lap to take the checkered flag for Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita Tools Team LeDuc Racing.  Unfortunately, Kyle’s father Curt experienced some bad luck in the No. 43 truck, and had to pull into the hot pits early in the race.  A violent rollover brought out the caution and kept Curt on the lead lap, and he was able to set the fastest lap time for the race.  Unfortunately he barrel rolled trying to work his way up through traffic and eventually finished in 7th place, earning valuable season points in the process.
 
The Pro 2 Unlimited race was the night’s finale on Sunday, and it was full of carnage.  Todd started on the inside of the 4th row in the No. 8 Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita Tools Ford and was picking off competitors until a spectacular crash brought out the red flag, requiring him to move back to his original starting position.  “That was tough enough, but then shortly after the restart I got punted into the wall by another truck and ended up at the back of the field.” Never one to quit, Todd once again continued working his way through traffic until wheel-to-wheel contact with Rob Naughton caused them both to spit out their drive-shafts, resulting in a 13th place finish for Todd.

With just three weekends of racing left in the season, the first family of short course racing is well poised to make a run at series championships in both the Pro 2 Unlimited and Pro 4 Unlimited classes.    The next stop on the LOORS circuit for the Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita Tools LeDuc Racing Team will be a return to Speedworld in Arizona, a venue where Kyle finished in 2nd place and Curt took two 4th place finishes earlier this year.   In the meantime, check Speed Channel listings for coverage from this weekend’s racing at Glen Helen.
 
Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita Tools Team LeDuc Racing is Sponsored by:
 
Rockstar Energy • Makita Tool • Toyo Tires • KC HiLites • KMC Wheels • King Shocks • MSD Ignition • K&N Filters • MasterCraft Safety • Simpson • Leatt Brace • Ford Trucks • Beco Radiators • Kalgard
 
Photography by: Art Eugenio