St. Johns, MI – The season finale of the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway was a very busy time for the B & L Sand Toys Off-Road Truck Race Team. Both drivers, Gerrit Bancroft and Dan Baudoux were scheduled to compete in three races during the Labor Day Weekend event. Both drivers ran strong throughout the weekend, as Dan Baudoux completed with weekend as TORC Sport 4 Champion.

The biggest weekend on the short-course off-road racing calendar is the Labor Day Weekend event in the small town of Crandon, Wisconsin. The town normally has a population of 1,900 residents, but Labor Day Weekend, over 30,000 fans of the sport arrive to witness the three day event known as the Crandon Off-Road World Championships.

The weekend begins with a huge parade downtown on Friday morning. Then after a couple of practice sessions back at the track, thirty Sportsman race trucks from four different classes lined up for the inaugural B & L SAND TOYS Sportsman Trophy Race. The race would have three delayed starts in order to even the playing field of all the participants of the eight lap race. Of course both B & L Sand Toys trucks were entered and were looking to take home a piece of the prize money from their sponsor’s race.
Unfortunately both trucks experienced different problems. Baudoux had carburetor issues on the opening lap and Bancroft suffered steering issues, as both finished well down in the finishing order.

The crew had to work overtime to get both trucks ready for the penultimate race of the season. Saturday’s races at Crandon have special meaning as not only a TORC points race, but the winning is also given the title of Off-Road World Champion, which includes a one of kind World Championship ring.

The Super Truck race was an up and down experience for Bancroft. The second year racer was running as high as second place in the opening lap, but a spin in Calamity Corner moved him back in the running order. Later on he worked his way back to third, but mechanical issues on the final lap ended the race with a sixth place finish.

Later in the day the Sport 4 group lined with the PRO-4×4 racers. The land rush start saw the Sport 4 field assembled behind the PRO-4×4 drivers. When the green flag was dropped Baudoux quickly took the lead in his class. The BFGoodrich Tire equipped Ford F-150 led flag to flag giving the team its sixth win of the season and was named Sport 4 World Champion for the second year in a row.

Sunday’s final race of the TORC Sportsman season saw Bancroft have a solid podium run only to have steering issues slow the pace of the truck. At the finish Gerrit “Pop Tart” Bancroft finished in sixth place.

After all the racing and the season long points battle was tallied, Gerrit Bancroft finished third in the TORC Super Truck Championship. The season long performance included five podium finishes, including the team’s first career win, as well as one runner-up finish and three third place finishes.

The final race of the TORC season for Baudoux was another dominating performance as the B & L Sand Toys BFGoodrich Ford F-150 won its seventh race of the season and winning the TORC Sport 4 Championship.

B &L Sand Toys also congratulates Jeff Villemure for his two podium finishes, a third on Saturday and a win on Sunday, in the Single Buggy division, during the Labor Day Weekend event.

The TORC Sportsman season is now complete and look for Dan Baudoux to move up to the PRO-4×4 category, for the 2014 season. Gerrit Bancroft will be back next year behind the wheel of the #217 Super Truck looking to improve on his 2013 season. For more information regarding B&L Sand Toys, visit www.bnlsandtoys.com.