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Vanden Heuvel heads to Primm, NV for LOORRS racing Series

Appleton, WI (September 29, 2009) -After spending nearly three weeks in the greater Las Vegas area, first for the TORC Season Finale, then showing his race truck at the Maxxis Tire display at the SEMA show, Dan Vanden Heuvel got back behind the wheel of his 900 horsepower Chevy truck for the final weekend of racing in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series in Primm, Nevada. The opportunity to race the Primm event was due in part to the partnership the Flying Dutchman Off-Road Race Team created with Racing Plus, a Southern California based motorsports parts distributor.

The final rounds of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing schedule were held at Primm International Off-Road Raceway, just north of the California border along Interstate 15 behind the Primm Valley Resorts and Casino complex. It’s the ultimate back drop with mountains on each end of the track and the desert valley in the background. The track itself is a fast .9 mile layout complete with high speed jumps, a rhythm section, and a huge table top jump where trucks routinely fly over 150 feet every lap.

Friday afternoon saw the #77 Racing Plus Maxxis Tire AMSOIL Chevy take advantage of the practice session as the team was one of only a few that did not race at the facility earlier in the year. By the time qualifying came around, the Flying Dutchman was eighth fastest in the twenty truck Unlimited 2 field. Considering his limited time at the facility, crew chief R.J. Flanagan was quite happy with his driver’s performance.

Saturday - Round 11
The starting grid saw the red Chevy starting from the fourteenth position based upon a combination of qualifying time and series points. When the green flag was dropped for the sixteen lap event, the #77 Racing Plus Maxxis Tire AMSOIL Chevy stayed out of trouble all the way to the mandatory caution on laps 11 and 12. At that point the Wegner Automotive powered Chevy was in eleventh place. When the field went back to green for the final four laps, everyone got real aggressive. With three laps to go Dan went from eleventh to fourteenth to sixth. On the final lap Dan was looking to move into fourth place when he went very high on the Turn One berm when the soft dirt just pulled his truck over the edge and onto its side. Quickly track workers pushed the truck back on his wheels, but by then most the field had gone by. At the finish, Dan Vanden Heuvel took the checkered flag in fourteenth place.

With just minor body damage, R.J. had the crew performing the usual between round maintenance. While the chassis and driveline maintenance was taking place, Andy from Wegner Automotive made sure Dan’s powerplant ran at peak performance all weekend long.

Sunday - Round 12
The morning practice and qualifying session saw the Flying Dutchman improve his lap times, as the Maxxis Tires continued to put all the Wegner Automotive power to work. Again the #77 Racing Plus Maxxis Tire AMSOIL Chevy started from the outside of row seven. After an early full course yellow, Dan pressed on and into sixth place at the lap eight mandatory caution. When racing resumed, Dan had his eye on the podium, when on lap eleven the AMSOIL Chevy rubbed up against the outside wall between turns four and five. The contact bent the right front control arm, making the truck a handful to drive. Undaunted, The Flying Dutchman backed off his pace. bringing home the #77 Racing Plus Maxxis Tire AMSOIL Wegner Automotive powered Chevy in seventh place.

“We came to Las Vegas to race the TORC series and display our truck at SEMA. Then out of the blue I got an offer from Racing Plus to run the race in Primm. I can’t thank Harold from Racing Plus enough. AMSOIL kept our Wegner engine running strong and our ATD tranny running perfect, our Maxxis Tires are just awesome, and thanks to R. J. Flanagan and Andy from Wegner Automotive for all their work this past weekend. Our team worked hard, and it paid off. Late in each race we had opportunities for incredible finishes, but all in all our sixth place run was pretty darn good.”

Dan Vanden Heuvel offers a special thanks to Jerry Daugherty and his family for opening up their shop and home to the Flying Dutchman Off-Road Team to prep and store their race truck during the last few weeks.

You can watch Dan Vanden Heuvel and all the Unlimited 2 action from Primm on SPEED, Saturday December 5, at 3:00pm eastern.

The final event of the year for the Flying Dutchman Off-Road Team will be competing at the Rockstar Energy Drink Challenge Cup, December 11-12 in Lake Elsinore, California.

The Flying Dutchman Off-Road Racing would like to thank the following companies for their support during the rounds of racing in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Race Series.

Racing Plus
Independent Off-Road
Catco
Miller Electric
AirGas

Maxxis Tires
ATD
Mastercraft
HJC Helmets
Loctite

AMSOIL
Autometer
Jaz Products
Phil’s Inc.
MSD Ignition

Dan Vanden Heuvel Sr. and the Flying Dutchman Off-Road Race Team still have marketing opportunities available for the 2010 race season.

For more information about Dan Vanden Heuvel Sr. and the Flying Dutchman Off-Road Race Team, visit: www.flyingdutchmanoffroad.com or email: flydtmn77@aol.com