Rising to the Challenge

When faced with times of challenge, many people recall the household saying “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Few have taken that advice closer to heart than 7-time winner of the Pro 4 Championship Off-Road (COR) series Kyle Leduc – a lifelong pursuer of high-stakes competition and grueling exertion.

The realm of off-road racing has long been a proving ground for driving legends, with origins in desert races such as the Baja 1000 and the best in the desert races from Vegas to Reno. Specially-modified vehicles built for speed and rugged endurance feed the intrigue of a rough & tumble crowd, where participants and fans alike are riveted by the act of pushing vehicles to their utmost limits. Holding an edge means intense pressure and superior performance.

If an equiveillance for hot-blooded thoroughbreds exists in the off-road arena, it’s found with the riders & vehicles of short-course off road races…more specifically, the Pro 4 COR series.  Labeled as “short course racing’s holy grail” by Racer.com, the Pro 4 COR stands as the ultimate test of man & machine pitted at high speeds against both the elements and fellow racers. For the last 10 years, Kyle Leduc has dominated the series with 7 wins including his latest victory in September of 2020.

No stranger to earning success through hard work and perseverance, Kyle started out with his brother Todd racing downhill mountain bikes and learning to build, maintain, and repair high-performance machines in his father (Curt Leduc)’s racing shop. With a mind bent towards engineering, Kyle decided to craft his own vehicle and enter off-road racing…claiming his first victory title only one year along with his early-career moniker, “the Kid.”

Today, Kyle and his team still build and maintain the vehicles he races. His partnership with WD-40 Company stands as testament to the quality & care with which he treats his machines, as the WD-40 Specialist_® line of products is scientifically designed for superior performance in cannot fail situations. The #99 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires / WD-40_® / Ford Raptor Pro 4 Truck driven by Kyle continues to dominate the competition because of this diligence and the unflinching resolve to rise to new challenges just as “the Kid” exhibited two decades ago.

2020 has been a crazy year. For some, merely getting out of bed and getting through the day presents significant challenges. Inspiration to rise up against the odds can come in many forms, but Kyle Leduc has one strategy: persistence. In addition to clinching his seventh Pro 4 COR victory, Kyle continues to inspire those who follow his journey by taking on new challenges and projects on and off the track. Together with a team from WD-40 Company, Kyle and his crew traveled to McCloud, California to showcase the capabilities of his superior-performance machine “through the quiet, empty streets and buildings of a small mountain town…with full permits of course.”

1,000 horsepower of automotive fury needs some special TLC, and Kyle & his crew know just how to deliver. As seen in the YouTube video, maintenance efforts for #99 include not only the vehicle itself but also the tools and equipment necessary to conduct repairs and build new parts. WD-40 Specialist Dry Lube is used on a metal grinder and drill press to reduce wear on metal components, and applying WD-40 Specialist Gel Lube to the operating mechanisms keeps them protected from rust & corrosion while on the road or back in the shop. Other formulas such as the penetrant, degreaser, contact cleaner, and more also match the needs of the team for, as Kyle says, “We use WD-40 Specialist to guarantee performance out of this race car.” After earning win after win on the track, Kyle Leduc now helps WD-40 Company vividly demonstrate products that offer Superior Performance, Born from Rocket Science^™.

Pro Tip: Don’t let stuck bolts slow you down during automotive maintenance. WD-40 Specialist Penetrant acts fast to break rust and has an 8-inch flexible straw to reach tight places and save time when working on your vehicle.