POMONA, Calif. (Aug. 16) – Pro 4 class rookie Kyle LeDuc got his first win and Pro 2 class contender Todd LeDuc finished a strong second Saturday on what team leader Curt LeDuc called “a great day” for the Rockstar Makita team at Pomona.
“I told everybody the theme for today was ‘dream come true,’” Curt said after round nine of the Championship Off-Road Racing series on a man-made, .7-mile course at the Los Angeles County Fairplex.
The series will conclude its third, and final, visit to Pomona with round 10 this afternoon.
“Kyle got his win and I ran second for a while (before finishing third in Pro 4). Todd just had one little glitch and (Pro 2 winner) Rob MacCachren made the most of it, and Brian Deegan got another top 10 (in Pro Lite). Rockstar and Makita are excited and Toyo Tires are really excited because they swept (the top three places in) Pro 4 for the first time.”
Kyle, 27, a former Pro Lite champion, had demonstrated on the opening weekend that he would have no trouble making the transition to the heavier, faster Pro 4 by bringing his Rockstar Makita Ford home fifth and ninth in the two rounds at Pomona and was third and 11th in the second visit in early June. This time, he’s going to try to emulate older brother Todd, who swept the Pro 2 races here in June.
Kyle, of Beaumont, Calif., started on the front row and took the lead at the start of the 18-lap event with defending class champion Carl Renezeder in pursuit. Kyle held the lead until Johnny Greaves and Renezeder got by him in the final turn on lap 9, just as the mandatory caution flag waved. He got second back when Renezeder was black-flagged to the end of the lead lap for rough driving and stalked Greaves until regaining the lead with four laps to go. Greaves got bumped by another truck and Curt took over second until Rick Huseman got by him with a lap to go.
The checkered flag waved with Kyle almost 4 seconds ahead of Huseman, with Curt another 2 seconds back.
“It was a dream come true,” Curt said. “We knew it wasn’t a matter of if he would win, but when.”
Kyle said he was “blown away. I won a Pro 4 race. This is unbelievable.”
Todd, however, can blame a stuck throttle for not getting his third straight win here. He started on the pole and led every lap until an apparent bobble entering Turn 5 on lap 11 allowed MacCachren to move into first and . Todd, who said the problem had been caused when the throttle in his Rockstar Makita Ford stuck wide open, regrouped and stayed in pursuit of MacCachren, but was still a little over two seconds back at the end of the 18-lap contest.
It was Todd’s fifth straight top 4 finish and his seventh in the nine rounds.
“The changes we made to the trucks (after round 8) helped,” Curt said. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
In addition to Rockstar Energy Drink, Makita Industrial Power Tools, Ford Trucks and Toyo Tires, the team is sponsored by Kal-Gard Racing Lubricants, K&N Air Filters, KC Hilites, KMC Wheels, Precision Gears, Mogi Transmissions, Ringers Gloves, Automatic Transmission Design (ATD), MSD Ignitions, Sign Pros and Dragon Optics.
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About Makita: Dedicated to Quality.
Makita owes its reputation for building outstanding quality power tools to the drive and determination for excellence that began over 90 years ago as a manufacturer of electric motors. In 1958, Makita introduced its first electric tool. Today, Makita is one of the world’s largest power tool manufacturers with seven manufacturing facilities globally and a selection of over 350 superior, innovative tools and well over 4,500 accessories.
