Kyle LeDuc

Kyle LeDuc (July 29, 1981 – November 11, 2023) was an American professional racing driver. He mainly competed in short course off-road truck racing, where he had seven Pro 4 class championships, six of which came in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS), and over 100 career wins.

LeDuc had also raced in Championship Off-Road Racing, Stadium Super Trucks, and TORC: The Off-Road Championship.

Racing career After growing up in mountain bike racing, during which he won various downhill championships, LeDuc switched to desert racing. In 1999 and 2000, he ran the SCORE International Laughlin Desert Challenge and scored the Baja 2000 Class 8 win during the latter. In 2002, he began short course off-road competition; at the age of 20, he was the youngest driver in active off-road competition at the time, which gave him the nickname "The Kid".

LeDuc made his Pro 4 debut in 2008, winning three times in his first season. In 2009, he began racing in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and Traxxas TORC Series, finishing second in the latter's championship. the latter is a race between Pro 2 and Pro 4 trucks. He also won his second Challenge Cup. He debuted in the series at the 2013 finale in Las Vegas; he won his heat race but finished last in the final after being involved in an accident. Two years later, LeDuc returned to SST for the Grand Prix of Long Beach and X Games Austin 2015. He finished tenth in Long Beach after starting fourth. At the X Games, he set the second-fastest time in qualifying, followed by finishing runner-up in his heat and ninth in the main. In 2016, he ran the SST weekend at the Sand Sports Super Show; after finishing seventh in the Friday night race, he was involved in a crash in the Saturday heat race that resulted in Tyler McQuarrie flipping onto his roof, which was followed by placing on the podium in the feature in third.

From 2014 to 2017, LeDuc won four consecutive LOORRS Pro 4 championships. The 2014 season saw him win 11 of 14 and receive LOORRS Driver of the Year honors; he also won the TORC World Championship Ring and AMSOIL Cup. In 2015, he set the LOORRS record for most Pro 4 wins in a row at ten and he ended the year with 12. LeDuc battled with Carl Renezeder for the 2016 championship and the two finished the year tied in points, with LeDuc claiming the tiebreaker as his eight wins outweighed Rezender's two. The fifth title came as part of a five-win campaign.

A sixth LOORRS Pro 4 title and fifth Challenge Cup came in 2019. Low entry numbers forced LOORRS to cancel the 2020 Pro 4 season, which prompted LeDuc to join the newly formed Championship Off-Road series in the same class. He won five of ten races, including the final weekend at Crandon, and the COR championship for his seventh title in Pro 4. When he swept the COR weekend at ERX Motor Park in July, he scored his 100th career win.

Shortly after his 100th race victory, Chip Ganassi Racing signed LeDuc for the first Extreme E season in 2021, sharing an electric SUV with fellow off-road racer and X Games athlete Sara Price.

Personal life LeDuc grew up in Cherry Valley, California. Father Curt competed in short course and desert racing while older brother Todd has also raced in LOORRS and Monster Jam. He also had a sister Valerie.

LeDuc lived in Fairhope, Alabama, and had two children with his wife Amber (née Mader). Kyle proposed to Amber prior to a 2008 CORR Pro 4 race at Las Vegas International Off-Road Raceway, where he eventually finished second. He died on November 11, 2023, after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 42.

Motorsports career results Career summary

Stadium Super Trucks (key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.) Stadium Super Trucks results Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Pts Ref 2013 PHO LBH LAN SDG SDG STL TOR TOR CRA CRA OCF OCF OCF CPL 22nd 23 2015 ADE ADE ADE STP STP LBH DET DET DET AUS TOR TOR OCF OCF OCF SRF SRF SRF SRF SYD LVV LVV 23rd 33 2016 ADE ADE ADE STP STP LBH LBH DET DET DET TOW TOW TOW TOR TOR CLT CLT OCF OCF SRF SRF SRF 24th 35

Extreme E (key) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 2021 Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing Spark ODYSSEY 21 DESQ DESR OCEQ OCER ARCQ ARCR ISLQ ISLR JURQ JURR 8th 2022 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing Spark ODYSSEY 21 DES ISL1 ISL2 COP ENE 5th 55