CRANDON, Wisc (June 2, 2008) — The 2008 Sponsor of Crandon Raceway's Skybox Facility and the Official Truck of the track is the Built Ford Tough Truck Division of Ford Motor Company. Ford Trucks are coming off a big year at Crandon in 2007 where PRO racing standouts Scott Taylor, Belividere, Ill., and Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif., both captured World Championship Titles in Ford F-150 Trucks. Taylor won the PRO 2WD Truck World Championship, while LeDuc claimed the PRO 4x4 World Championship. Both racers competed in Ford F-150’s sponsored by Skyjacker Suspensions.
Announcing their presence at Crandon in a big way is large Ford Trucks lettering on the Raceway's VIP Skyboxes roofline. "The skyboxes are the background for the fastest stretch on our track," said Cliff Flannery, president, Crandon Raceway. “Ford Trucks always seem to perform well there,” he said.
The Crandon 1.5 mile circuit is considered by off-road motorsports observers to be the finest facility of its type in the nation. It is certainly the oldest and most well-known. The track combines punishing gravel, dirt and rocks with extremely high speed banked turns and straight-aways -- the perfect environment to show that Ford Pickup Trucks are "Built Ford Tough," noted Flannery. Crandon features a pair of off-road races this year including the upcoming Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run Races June 21-22 and the BorgWarner World Championship Off-Road Races® over Labor Day weekend, August 29 - August 31.
At Crandon, no brand of light-duty pickup truck has dominated the action like Ford Trucks. “If you take your off-road racing seriously, Crandon is the place to be and the place to win,” said Taylor, a 25+ year veteran of the off-road wars at Crandon. Taylor, a long-time racer for Ford Trucks in the PRO 2WD class, was the first and only competitor to win both the BorgWarner Shootout and the FCP Chairman's Cup races in a 2-wheel drive pickup.
LeDuc, a two-time FCP Chairman's Cup Heavy Metal Shootout champion and BorgWarner Shootout winner in 1998, holds the record for the single fastest race in a Ford F-150. Ford racer Scott Douglas, Kaukauna, Wisc., is also a two-time winner of the BorgWarner Shootout Cup.
Ford Truck holds many more records in various PRO and SRT Sportsman classes at Crandon, including records by Dan Baudoux, Hemlock, Mich., and Ross Hoek, Holland, Mich., both in Ford F-150 pickup trucks. Champion off-road racer Carl Renezeder, Newport Beach, Calif., is also racing Built Ford Tough trucks this coming season.
2008 marks the fifth consecutive year for Ford as Official Truck at Crandon Raceway, although Ford has been involved in various sponsorship capacities at the track since 1995. The industry leading Dearborn, Michigan, based truck manufacturer has a long and successful history of involvement with motorsports and off-road racing. Ford Trucks has been the best selling truck for 31 years running.
Once again, Ford Truck is posting a $3,500 contingency prize for any Ford Truck racer winning either the FCP Chairman's Cup race or the BorgWarner Shootout. The June Chairman’s Cup race will be the 15th annual while the 14th annual BorgWarner Shootout will take place at the Labor Day weekend event. "Ford Trucks has been a successful participant at our track and we thank them for their support," said Flannery. “They have been a great partner over the years,” he said.
As Official Truck of Crandon Raceway, Ford will provide on-track vehicle services with capable vehicles like the new 2009 F-150 for the off-road events to be conducted at Crandon this season. Partner with Ford Truck Division is Bergstrom Ford of Rhinelander, Wisc. Bergstrom Ford is the Official Ford Truck dealership at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. More information about Ford Trucks is available at www.fordvehicles.com. Web site addresses for Bergstrom Ford and Crandon Raceway are www.bergstromauto.com and www.crandonoffroad.com.
