JCRI and Kyle LeDuc give fans of Utah a race to remember

| July 6, 2013

LOORRS Rounds 7&8 Tooele, UT

Tod Leduc 1For rounds 7&8 JCRI and the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series packed up and headed north to the outskirts of Salt Lake City, Utah. For their fourth year racing at Miller Motorsports Park, LOORRS once again had a race weekend packed with action and stands full of eager fans.

The #98 Pro2 truck was ready for the weekends events and driver, Kyle LeDuc, was ready to prove that the JCRI built Pro2 deserved to be running in the premier class. The weekends events started off with 2 practice runs on Friday. As the 8th fastest in practice the team made a few minor changes to the truck for the second session. The minor changes proved to benefit the driver as Kyle bettered his times and left the track Friday afternoon as the fourth fastest Pro2.

There is no way to predict what the outcome will be on race day. Setting yourself up for a solid qualifying run though, will help in the odds of making the podium. Saturdays qualifying results weren’t what the team and Kyle expected, they would start round 7 in the eleventh starting position. The last race of the day had fans lined at the fence and up on their feet before the green flag dropped. 16 trucks, each with over 800 horsepower, lined up bumper to bumper as they anticipated the start of the race. “Green green green” swept over the intercom and the drivers began to race down the front stretch.

Barreling into turn one a spun out truck from the front of the pack would cause numerous trucks to break and steer out of the way. While the leaders were pulling away from the rest of the class, Kyle was setting himself up to start making his way from the back to the front. It didn’t take long before the #98 Pro2 started picking his way passed slower trucks. Clean Passes and a fast truck would get Kyle back up to a 4th place finish after 16 laps of non-stop racing.

Tod Leduc 2Kyle and the JCRI team may not have walked away with a podium on Saturday, but they were pleased when they took the trophy for the fastest lap. “Getting the fast lap trophy solidifies that we have a truck that can run with the top guys in the class. Now it’s only a matter of time before that truck gets a win.” stated crew cheif, Sean Hodgdon. Kyle broke the record for the fastest lap on the Miller Motorsports Short Course track in round 7.

Sundays round 8 had packed stands and a packed fence line, yet again. The Pro2’s took to the track as their names were announced to the fans for one last time. The final race of the weekend was underway. Not only did the fight for the lead start early on, numerous trucks would battle one on one just to gain another position. Kyle found himself going door to door with Rodrigo Ampudia, Bryce Menzies and long time rival, Robby Woods. As full course cautions and yellow flags over took the track many times, every restart of the race was another opportunity to gain a new position. As the laps were winding down a heated race for 5th place was taking place between the #98 and #99 truck. LeDuc and Woods both raced the final laps, LeDuc looking for a clean pass and Woods trying to not make a mistake and let Kyle slip by. Woods held his lines and LeDuc crossed the checkered flag in 6th place.

Rounds 9 & 10 will take place back in Southern California at the Glen Helen Raceway. Team JCRI will be racing under the lights in hopes to gain their first Pro2 win.

Words and Photos by Jenn Hellstrom

 

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