LeDuc Wins in Utah
Team Toyo’s Kyle LeDuc earned his second consecutive Pro 4 Unlimited class victory during Round 7 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series (LOORS) race at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. That win came on Saturday, when he qualified Second and squeezed by Carl Renezeder with just a few laps left in the race to take the checkered flag. Kyle qualified in First position for Sunday’s race, but contact with a K-rail early on slowed his Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Tools Ford F-150. Still, he was able to bring the truck in for a Second Place finish.
Another member of Team Toyo, Jeremy McGrath driving his Monster Energy/Ready Lift Ford truck, made it to the podium on race weekend by finishing Second in Saturday’s Pro 2 race.
New Ram News
There are no huge product announcements from the Ram truck brand for the ’12 model year, mostly just refinements. For example, the half-ton trucks now have six-speed automatic transmissions with Electronic Range Select, so drivers can manually shift through all six gears. The automatics are backed by more efficient torque converters to improve fuel economy. On the heavy-duty side, you’ll be glad to know that the Power Wagon remains. The HD trucks receive a new six-speed automatic, and a new Max Tow package brings the towing capacity for the 3500 trucks up to 22,750 (though that figure is likely for a 2WD truck). That Max Tow package is also available on the 4500/5500 chassis cabs, bringing their GCVW up from 26,000 to 30,000 pounds.
Win This Bronco!
The Colorado Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs is raffling this ’73 Bronco and donating the proceeds to various good causes, including the association’s land use fund and a scholarship fund. The Rock Solid Offroad Club built the Bronc, fitting it with 51⁄2-inch coil springs, a cage and custom dash, Warn Lock-out hubs, KC lights, a Bestop soft top, 37-inch Xtreem Mud Terrain tires, and way more goodies than we can list here.
The drawing will be held December 3 at Southside Johnny’s in Colorado Springs, but you don’t have to be present to win. Tickets are $3 each, or you can buy a pack of 10 for $25. To find out more details about the Bronco and buy tickets, stop by www.hightrails.org and click on the Raffle Vehicle link.
Rob MacCachren
Hall of Fame Inducts Off-Road Racers
Rob MacCachren and Ron Bishop, two longtime off-road racers, are the latest inductees into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. During a three-decade racing career, MacCachren has won in just about every off-road racing series there is, amassing a record of more than 175 event wins and 20 championships. He recently earned his first Trophy Truck victory in SCORE’s San Felipe 250, and he’s also currently competing in both the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing series and the Traxxas TORC racing series.
Ron Bishop
Bishop is well known in the motorcycle racing community, both as a successful rider—he is the only motorcycle racer to have competed in every Baja 1000 since the first race in 1967—and as a pioneer in adapting halogen race lights to motorcycles back in the ’70s. His San Diego–area dealership, Ron Bishop Motorcycles, has been a mainstay of the sport since 1980.
MacCachren and Bishop will be inducted on October 8 in a special ceremony that takes place in conjunction with the Off-Road Expo in Pomona, California. A silent auction open to the public will also be held immediately after the event and will feature off-road memorabilia. More information about the ceremony can be found at www.ormhof.com.