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Four Time Pro 4 Champion Kyle LeDuc is Again Consistently on Top of the Podium
Four Time Pro 4 Champion Kyle LeDuc is Again Consistently on Top of the Podium
21 Aug 2017
The brand new K&N Filters-sponsored Pro 4 of Kyle LeDuc named Evvo
The dominance continues in 2017 in the Pro 4 class of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series with four-time Pro 4 Champion Kyle LeDuc on the podium for the majority of the season. Even with selling his 2016 championship winning truck to a fellow racer and not having a truck ready to go before selling it, Kyle has managed to stay on top. During the offseason, Kyle and his team designed a new truck with Battle Born Engineering and built the truck right before the start of the season. With last-minute finishes, it didn’t allow for much testing, but you would think that with the way Kyle started the season he had been testing the new truck during the offseason. The new design has a low-profile stance to the truck, with a chopped top Ford Raptor body which gives it an aggressive look to it.
K&N-sponsored Kyle LeDuc's brand new truck that came out and got on the podium right away
Right away you could tell that Kyle enjoyed driving the new truck, and with that confidence, he was able to get the truck to the front during the first race to finish on the podium in second. Not a bad way to work out the bugs of a new truck. After that first weekend, Kyle turned up the heat on rest of the competition in Mexico. There was no one that could catch him, and the only ones that got close to him were his old trucks. He battled with Doug Mittag, who is the driver who bought his 2016 Championship truck, and Greg Adler who bought Kyle’s 2015 Championship truck. Having the top three trucks in Mexico all being built by Kyle shows that his creativeness in building better and faster trucks is always evolving. “Feels crazy to think we brought out another brand new truck and it’s an instant winner, and a solid truck out of the gate,” said Kyle. He would sweep the weekend and take the points lead early in the season.
Kyle LeDuc getting some K&N Filters sponsor exposure while driving to win the race
This season so far is what Kyle did last year to win his championship; he stood on the top of the box almost every race for the last two-thirds of the season. Entering into Utah, this is what Kyle is looking at doing again this season starting from the beginning. The first round in Utah Kyle would qualify first which allowed him to start on the front row. From the very start, Kyle would pull ahead and start to pull away from the trucks battling behind him. There wasn’t a single truck out there that was able to have anything for him. But with the trucks battling and crashing behind him, there were several cautions that came out during the race. The other drivers were happy to see it each time, giving them another chance to try and catch Kyle. One after another Kyle would have perfect starts and be able to separate himself from the other drivers. He did this all the way to the end, winning the race with a perfectly clean body. Kyle said, “Restarts are awesome. People love them or hate them. I like them either way. I like busting out a banger lap or two and getting a gap, then just run the pace to stay ahead.”
Kyle LeDuc dominated the Pro 4 race in Utah by consistently pulling away from the other trucks
On Sunday, Kyle was towards the front once again with him qualifying in second, but with the inversion, Kyle would start on the third row. He would start charging to the front right away, working his way up to third for a few laps till he would be able to capitalize on a mistake by the third place driver Carl Renezeder. Now in second, he would put a great deal of pressure on the leader Rob McCachren. With this pressure, Rob would over rotate and Kyle would have to slam on his brakes mid turn to not smash into him. Eric Barron, who was right behind Kyle, had to do the same and slide sideways but the drivers behind him did not stop in time. It resulted in Carl’s truck sitting on top of Eric’s roof. This brought out the caution. With the restart, Kyle and Rob would battle with Kyle making the pass on him to overtake the lead on the outside line of the turn. With just a lap left Kyle made a small mistake allowing Rob to get back by. Kyle would do everything and make up the time and get right next to Rob to try and take the lead but just ran out of time when the checkered flag waved.
K&N Filters sponsored driver Kyle LeDuc on top of the podium with his kid after his strong win
A weekend of great driving and a fast truck ended with his third win in a row, and another second place isn’t quite what Kyle was hoping for. Knowing how fast he was all weekend he should have been on top both days. That is why racing is so exciting; things happen that you can’t predict or control, but can still be a great weekend for points, podiums, and confidence. With three wins and two second place wins in only six races, Kyle is on track to be up for his fifth championship. The next race is in Wheatland, Missouri at a new track built at the Lucas Oil Speedway that will display some Supercross features with an over under and other new challenges. Kyle said, “I think it is good they are building something new. I feel I learn tracks very fast and can adapt very well to new stuff. So I guess that means we are gonna rip there!! That’s always the plan at least.” So watch for Kyle to be on top of the box and continue his winning ways.
