Ross Hoek Motorsports Crandon Season Finale Race Report
Looks Back on Sophomore Season in PRO-4×4
Holland, Mich. (September 4, 2014) – The final weekend of racing for Ross Hoek Motorsports at “The Big House” in Crandon, Wisconsin capped a constructive and solid race season for the sophomore PRO-4×4 racer. Despite not taking the checkered flag during the Labor Day weekend event, the #10 Nitto Tire/TR Beadlock/Shop-Vac PRO-4×4 continually improved its performance on the track and finished on the podium twice during the twelve round race season. With that in mind the future continues to look bright for Ross Hoek.
The final two rounds of racing actually became one round of racing, as torrential rains hit the Wisconsin Northwoods Friday night and Saturday morning. By the time the Sportsman racers took to the track for the first time it was mid-afternoon and as the PRO classes were about to race, the sun had set causing the cancellation of Round 13.
The next morning TORC officials declared Round 14 to be a double points race in an effort to make up for the cancellation of the previous day of competition.
The early Sunday afternoon eight lap season finale saw the #10 Nitto Tire/TR Beadlock/ Shop-Vac PRO-4×4 get a great holeshot exiting Potawatomi Turn One in third place. Early into the run, Hoek had contact from a couple of his competitors which damaged the truck’s steering system. Then just past the halfway point of the race the truck became uncontrollable and Hoek retired from the race.
Quickly the crew went to work replacing cracked and broken steering components hoping to make the line-up for the last race of the day the AMSOIL CUP.
When it came time to stage the nineteen trucks for the $45,000 AMSOIL CUP, the #10 Nitto Tire was ready to take a run at the big money. The first half of the race saw Hoek having a solid run moving up into the top ten. Then on lap seven of the ten lap race, front driveline pieces began spitting out the bottom of the race truck causing another early retirement.
Afterwards Ross Hoek reflected on his second season driving a nine-hundred horsepower four wheel drive TORC PRO-4×4.
“Our first year in PRO-4×4 was all about getting the team familiar with the race truck and me comfortable behind the wheel. I believe we reached that goal. This year it was about getting our program up to speed and competitive. We still need to improve the speed of our truck, but we are definitely competitive as we finished on the podium twice, once in Crandon and once in Bark River. So we met our second of three goals. Hopefully with more financial support, year three could see the Ross Hoek Motorsports PRO-4×4 competing for the podium race after race. This year I have to thank my partners, Nitto Tire, TR Beadlocks, Shop-Vac, Auto Trans Design, Motive Gear, Allstar Performance, and all my other product sponsors for their support in our goal of becoming a top PRO-4×4 race team.”