SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/602700
per hour. All those cumulative little things add up and then you just gained a minute on the guy ahead of you." "Use every advantage," says LeDuc. "If you are close to somebody, but there is no one to tell them you are close, it does you no good. You stay out of their dust until you are close to a spot with pitters and chasers and then you really get on them. He was running where he is comfortable, but now he knows you are there and it pressures him and forces him into a mistake." Knowing the dangers of a FROM HIS EARLY JEEP COMMANDO TO A MODERN UNLIMITED TROPHY TRUCK, CURT LEDUC HAS COMPETED IN BOTH SCORE AS WELL AS THE DAKAR RALLY AND MANY SHORT COURSE RACES OVER HIS LENGTHY CAREER. race course also comes with experience. "After a race people always ask me what GPS unit I have. When there is a ditch or washout coming up, the co-driver will call it out and the driver lets off, and they are looking for the danger. When I see a danger on the GPS I charge. They are going slow looking for the danger and I pull up behind them and give them a bump. I know exactly where the danger is because it's been there for 30 years. Now they are rattled because they didn't see you coming, they pull over and you drive right on by. You can't substitute experience," says LeDuc. LeDuc is very thankful to all the companies that have sponsored him over the last 30 years. "My sponsors over the years have been amazing. I think a lot of them helped me because they knew I was not going to buy a boat or get a new kitchen for my river house. They knew I would spend their money making dust trying to get the front." "The great thing about our sport is it takes people from different levels of income, intelligence, and opportunities, and puts them all on the same playing field. You could sit down in Valley T and have a taco with a billionaire and a guy that works at McDonalds," says LeDuc. "You are all smiling and talking about what you did that day or what happened on your pre-run. It brings everyone to the same level." LeDuc still races competitively these days and he will take on the SCORE Baja 1000 in the number 84 Vanderway Unlimited Trophy Truck with Nick Vanderway and his son Kyle. "I am looking forward to my next SCORE Baja 1000, and much more after that," he says. "When you think it can't get any better, it does!" SJ 014 SCORE JOURNAL