03/29/2010
LAS VEGAS - (March 29, 2010) - In one of the most difficult contests ever seen in desert racing, Team General drivers Baldwin, Johnson and Kroeker prevailed to reach the podium when the dust settled on the 2010 General Tire Mint 400.
BJ Baldwin took second place in Unlimited Truck and third overall; and Rick D. Johnson took third in the class. Baldwin's finish was even more amazing in that he finished the race in teammate Bobby Baldwin's truck after a breakdown early on in the race. So the podium is credited to Bobby Baldwin's truck.
"This was an unbelievably tough course, and when the truck went down, I thought it was over for me," Baldwin said. "I really owe this finish to my dad Bobby for giving me the wheel in his truck so I could finish. It was teamwork at its best!"
The course took its toll on a number of Team GT drivers, including Kent Kroeker, who debuted a new truck in Class 8, only to blow the transmission just four miles from the start. Kroeker came back to finish second in the class.
"This had to be one of the toughest courses," said Terry Smouter, manager of events, General Tire. "Out of 27 drivers registered in Unlimited Truck, only 15 completed the race. So it took sheer grit and fortitude for anyone to reach the finish line. We are very proud of BJ and Rick for persevering under grueling conditions to bring home these great finishes for General Tire."
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For more than 90 years General Tire has offered a complete quality line of ultra-high performance, passenger, light truck, off-road and commercial tires to meet all your needs. General Tire is a proud supporter of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing, Chili Bowl, Pro-Pulling, Late- Model Dirt Series, Drag Boat Series, Boost Mobile FreestyleMx.com Tour, Spec Tire of Trophylite and Pro Truck. Team GT supports off-road and short course teams including BJ Baldwin, Carl Renezeder, Rick D. Johnson, Jerry Zaiden/Jason Campbell, Jason/Rich Voss, Scott Steinberger, Ed "Clyde" Stout, Ted Hunnicutt, Marc Burnett, Kent Kroeker, Mikey Childress, Carey Hart, Josh Merrell, and Robby Woods.
General Tire is part of Continental Tire the Americas, LLC. (www.generaltire.com). CTA, based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, is a company of Germany-based Continental AG.
With sales of approximately €20 billion in 2009 Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently employs approximately 134,500 in 46 countries.