Cancer battle sidelines Kyle LeDuc for 2023

With the 2023 Championship Off-Road season on the horizon, Kyle LeDuc will not be present as he battles stage IV head and neck cancer. He publicised his diagnosis on Sunday, having been fighting the cancer since November.

A seven-time Pro 4 truck champion, LeDuc came up short in his quest for an eighth in 2022 when he finished runner-up to C.J. Greaves. He scored three wins in the class that year, including a sweep at Dirt City Motorplex.

Outside the Midwest, he contested his second Extreme E campaign for Chip Ganassi Racing alongside Sara Price, and the duo scored theirs and CGR’s maiden victory at the first Island X Prix. However, RJ Anderson replaced LeDuc for the finale in Uruguay due to what was publicly stated as a scheduling conflict, which turned out to be the cancer as the race took place in late November following his diagnosis. Anderson has since become CGR’s full-time driver for 2023.

“We had hopes that (son) Reed and myself and the whole family and team would be in the Midwest and able to compete but the way treatments and plans have changed we will not be able too,” wrote LeDuc. “I just wanted to let our fans, followers and friends know what my little family has been battling and that we’re giving it everything we have to come out the other end of this.”

Stage IV cancer is the most difficult to defeat as the cancer has spread from its starting point to at least one other organ, though it is not always terminal depending on how the body reacts to treatment and one’s age and lifestyle. According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results programme, head and neck cancer’s five-year survival rate can range from forty percent for metastatic throat cancer to over ninety percent for the mouth, though the numbers decline in later stages.

LeDuc is 41 years old, and Cancer Research UK states that head and neck cancer mortality rates “rise steadily” within the 40–44 age range, especially for males. Of course, as a motorsport athlete, he lives more actively than those who do not play sports.

“I sit here with the tears of a father,” began a comment from his father and off-road legend Curt. “He would not let me do this but here I go. He started chemo this week, it’s not good. He’s young and in great health so he has a chance. He has insurance but it is never enough. We as a family can only do so much, so I ask you all to share this post and help. YOU the racers,fans can make a difference in his life. If you ever stood up and cheered watching him back that pro 4 into the lead do not hesitate, he did it for you! Let’s all show him what this sport is about. So I ask you to please share this plea for this gravel throwing,over jumping,backing it in,high side, inside,outside,passing them clean Hero of Mine.”

LeDuc’s team shop is selling 99 Strong merchandise to support his treatment. The logo for his effort displays his Pro 4 truck and the burgundy/white ribbon for head and neck cancer awareness.