12/18/2008
CHARLOTTE – (December 17, 2008) – Louis Chamberland, lead driver of Agave Motorsports, was crowned champion of the 2008 KMC Wheels TROPHYLITE Championship Series Presented by KC HiLiTES. Chamberland and co-drivers Mike Childress and Craig Malloy wrapped the season with a 3rd place finish in the final round at the Glen Helen Baja Cup on December 12-13 in San Bernardino, CA.
Chamberland started the season with a win at the Best in the Desert Blue Water Gran Prix back in May, and backed up that win in August with another at the SNORE 250 Midnight Special night race in Las Vegas. The team returned to Las Vegas in October for the Best in the Desert 150, hoping to make it three in a row, but problems with the truck held them to 5th place. Coming into the final round, Chamberland had to finish 6th or better to win the championship.
“We played it smart and drove around having zero problems and finished 3rd,” he said. “I would like to thank Team Agave for making this all possible. I would also like to thank Trophylite for the awesome series. Also thanks to all the people at General Tire for supporting me all year!”
General Tire’s Grabber AT2 tire was the spec tire for the 2008 TROPHYLITE series. The series included five races that combined both desert and short course settings.
“We are very proud of Team Agave for their stellar performance in this race series,” said Tony Talbert, General Tire product manager. “This series has been a great venue to introduce our line of Grabber tires not only to to the desert racing community but to off-road enthusiasts as well.”
The Grabber AT2 features a five-row lug pattern with strategically-placed sipes that result in many biting edges. This seemingly traditional pattern excels when taken off-road. Building on General Tire’s legacy of desert racing, the Grabber AT2 has been chosen as the spec tire for the 2008 Trophylite racing series and proven itself through many victories.
General Tire also has a complete line of Grabber tires for the passenger and light truck market, including the new Grabber DOT-approved off-road tire; the Grabber HTS, which delivers the perfect synergy of comfort, durability and performance; the Grabber UHP, which sets a whole new standard in performance and ride quality for SUVs, light trucks and crossover vehicles; and Grabber AT2, designed for aggressive all-terrain traction in all weather conditions.
TROPHYLITE is an affordable spec racing concept which provides the average off-road enthusiast the chance to step from the sidelines into the driver’s seat. TROPHYLITE offers not only a very affordable high performance spec race truck, but also the chance to compete in a real racing series. TROPHYLITE-manufactured trucks are based on a light duty two-wheel drive production Chevrolet truck, with a TROPHYLITE LLC chassis, approved drive train, and approved suspension components. Chassis, drive train, and suspension components also must be spec TROPHYLITE LLC components.
For additional media information, visit www.ctnamedia.com.
General Tire is part of Continental Tire North America, Inc. (www.generaltire.com). CTNA, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a company of Germany-based Continental AG. With targeted annual sales of more than €26.4 billion ($40 billion US) for 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for the powertrain and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global climate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Today, the corporation employs approximately 150,000 people at nearly 200 locations in 36 countries.
