In a competition considered by many hard-core off-road enthusiasts as the most grueling race in North America, Shannon Campbell relied on his Goodyear Wrangler tires to carry him to victory in the recent 2011 King of the Hammers event in Johnson Valley, Calif.
The event is a combination of desert racing and rock crawling, at times sending racers at speeds over 100 mph across a dry lake bed, then requiring them to precariously navigate through an extensive chute of boulders and sharp-edged rocks. Two 60-mile laps were necessary to complete the race, and Campbell took the checkered flag on Feb. 11 with a time of six hours and 11 minutes. He actually began the race in the 62nd starting position and proceeded to pass all others ahead of him in the field of 100 qualifiers. It was also Campbell’s second time as King of the Hammers champion, and the only competitor to achieve that distinction.
Also running on the Goodyear Wrangler tires was second-place finisher Tony Pellegrino, who finished the race nearly 31 minutes behind Campbell. The one-two overall finish by the Goodyear-equipped competitors helped give credibility to the performance of the innovative tires.
Rogers & RBR Team Leave Daytona With Points Lead
It was excitement at its best Friday night under the “Full Moon” Daytona sky. In their first race together, Team RBR and Clay Rogers started the NextEra Energy Resources 250 in the 19th position. The action on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway was stronger than ever and kept the fans standing for most of the 250-mile event. In the end, Michael Waltrip took the victory making a last lap pass on Elliott Sadler. Rogers brought the #92 fleetHQ/Action-Gator Tire/BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors Chevrolet Silverado home third in the teams’ debut at Daytona. Rogers got some help from Kyle Busch on the last lap to help move the #92 up to a strong top five finish. Rogers and team also left Daytona with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points lead.
“We are extremely excited to leave Daytona with such a strong finish and we want to thank Action-Gator Tire for marketing with us during this event,” said Ricky Benton, RBR Team Owner. “We have won championships at all the other levels we have raced in but to run this strong in Daytona is definitely as great a feeling as any. We feel we have a winning combination with Clay and our crew chief, Michael Hester. We have a strong, team focused organization that is ready to take it to the next level.”
Toyo Signs on With Kyle LeDuc in Pro 4 Unlimited and Pro Lite Unlimited Classes
Toyo Tire USA Corp. has extended its sponsorship of popular short course off-road racer Kyle LeDuc for a sixth year. LeDuc, a member of Team Toyo since 2006, will compete in two race truck classes in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series with his familiar #99: Pro 4 Unlimited on Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires and Pro Lite Unlimited on off-the-shelf Toyo Open Country M/T rubber. This marks LeDuc’s return to the highly competitive Pro Lite class. Hefinished second overall in the 2010 Pro 4 Unlimited class championship in LOORS, winning the biggest race at season-end, the 2010 Rockstar Energy Challenge Cup – the Pro 2 Versus Pro 4 Cup Race. He has won countless races in Pro 4 with his 800+ horsepower Rockstar/Makita/Toyo Tires Ford F-150, including the 2009 Borg Warner Cup in the TORC series.
“We are excited to have Kyle LeDuc competing on Open Country tires in both the Pro Lite Unlimited and Pro 4 Unlimited classes in 2011,” said Stan Chen, Toyo’s manager of events and motorsports. “Kyle is an intense competitor and is a great representative of the Toyo Tires brand in short course off-road competition.”
IndyCar Series Offering $5 Million to Season Finale Winner
In an unusual move, the IndyCar series is offering a $5 million bonus for any driver from outside the series who can come in and win the season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16. The event, known as the Izod IndyCar World Championships, will welcome entries from NASCAR, Formula One, NHRA, World Rally Championship – any legit race series.
Bahrain Canceled, Bernie Wants to Make it Rain
The unrest in the Middle East has claimed another victim: the 2011 Formula One season opener that had been scheduled for Bahrain on Mar. 13. The 2011 season will now kick off Mar. 27 in Melbourne, Australia.
The Bahrain race may be rescheduled for later in the year, though, and a decision on that is expected soon. Meanwhile, as if transitioning teams to all new race tires wasn’t enough, F1 uberboss Bernie Eccelstone thinks it would be fun to add sprinklers to races. On-going concerns over boring, pass-free races led to Eccelstone’s idea.
"There are race tracks that you can make artificially wet and it would be easy to have such systems at a number of tracks," Ecclestone told the official F1 website. “Why not let it 'rain' in the middle of a race? For 20 minutes or the last 10 laps? Maybe with a two-minute warning ahead of it. Suspense would be guaranteed and it would be the same for all."
Eccelstone apparently forgets the not-at-all exciting German GP two years ago when a downpour overwhelmed man, machine and tire, turning the race course into a dangerous skating rink and forcing many top racers off into the gravel. Still, Pirelli motorsport chief Paul Hembry, who has been busy deflecting errant criticism of his firm’s F1 race tires, reportedly responded: “I thought Bernie Ecclestone's comments were quite interesting. Straight after our recent wet-weather Abu Dhabi test I saw him and said, ‘Why don't we do an artificial wet race?' The technology is such that you can wet a circuit with a sprinkler system, so the idea is not as daft as it sounds. At the end of the day you want people to watch what you are offering. F1 ultimately competes for entertainment space with other sports – so people need to see something that is interesting. From that point of view, an artificial wet race would add to the show – and you want something people will watch.” True, but will anyone willingly want to race in them?
IndyCar Hatches Texas Twins Plan
IndyCar Series officials have added another twist to the Firestone Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speedway. Scheduled for June 11, the twin races will be identical in every way. Well, not exactly. Seems the field for the second race will be set by blind draw, and each race will pay half the points and half the bonus prizes of a regular event. The first full-field race on the 1.5-mile oval will have regular oval qualifying. The blind draw to set the field for the second race will be held immediately after the first race ends. The teams will get a one-hour break between races.
Pirelli P Zero Tires Ready For a Second GP3 Season
The GP3 Series was launched last year as a feeder category to GP2, which has been driving talented young drivers directly into Formula One for the past six years. Pirelli supported the inaugural season of this one-make single-seater championship with its13-inch P Zero control tires. The 2011 GP3 season will feature eight rounds supporting the Formula One Grands Prix in Europe, starting at the beginning of May and ending in mid-September. During each race weekend a practice and qualifying session will take place, followed by two races.
Throughout 2011, Pirelli will supply over 10,000 tires to the GP3 Series, including all the official test sessions. As was the case in 2010, three types of dry weather compound (hard, medium and soft) and one type of wet weather compound will be produced. At races, three sets of control slicks will be allocated to each car per event, along with two sets of wet tires if necessary. Together with the championship organizers, Pirelli will nominate in advance the single dry-weather compound that will be brought to each race for competitors to use.
General Kicks Off Miss Mint 400 Competition
The General Tire Miss Mint 400 competition is back for its third consecutive year. The General brand is turning up the heat for the 2011 Mint 400 race by kicking off the event with the Miss Mint 400 competition which started on Feb. 28.
Girls from across the country compete for the Miss Mint 400 crown, which brings with it the prestigious Miss Mint title, a prize package, national exposure and a General photo shoot. The contest is open to women 21-years-of-age and older who are legal U.S. residents (void in New York, Florida, Rhode Island, and U.S. territories and possessions, including Puerto Rico, and where prohibited). The contest runs through Mar. 15. For details, visit
generaltire.com.