Dan Fisher joins Factory Can-Am X Team. Dan Fisher driver of record for LSR 910 Can-Am Maverick Turbo. Race 2: BITD UTV World Championship
The cat is finally out of the bag and I cannot be more excited to be part of the CanAm team. On Friday, we unveiled the new car and I cannot be more proud of my guys and the job they did. Garrick Lastra, Morgan Russell, and Shawn Fisher really put some hours in to get this complete and ready to race. Not only did we announce that I will be joining the CanAm racing team for 2016, but will also be joining Beard Seats by building a complete line of accessories available from CanAm. So, very soon you will start seeing Lonestar Racing products in the CanAm catalog.
So Friday was crazy busy, we did the poker run, announcement and then off to contingency. Contingency was a blast to see how everyone took to the new car. It was nonstop activity to the end. So jumping to race day with a new car and a dead engine start. Man I screwed up big time. We had a front row start and got there early to try and get the best spot possible. Everything seemed great, loved the spot and can’t complain. All strapped in letting the engine warm up and waiting for the two-minute mark to kill the engine. Everything is working like clockwork, killed engine, now time to set up for the dead engine start. Battery on check, key is turned to accessories check, foot is over the gas pedal check and finger is over the push to start. 30 seconds to go and my heart is pounding. Getting so excited to show what this motor can do. So, now my foot has the gas pedal to the floor and waiting for the flag to drop. Flag goes down, push the start button and nothing happens. Nothing at all, I cannot believe it. I am yelling to Morgan that it won’t start and everything is correct, no clue what to do. Watching everyone pull to the first corner and I am sitting parked on the starting line. I recycle the key, push the start again and we are off, not the way I wanted to start. I had no idea you only have a certain amount of time to start the car after the key is on. Well, this will not happen again that is for sure. Bad news is seeing we started in such a hurry and did not let the computer do its deal, we are not in sport mode this we found out later. Car drove nice but did not have the pull it had while testing. So, back of the front row we are off playing in the dust and not being in sport mode, we had a hell of a time trying to catch people.
We finished the first lap and the main group in the front row is putting time on me and at the time had no clue we were not in sport mode. So with the new car, I’m still feeling it out and wanted to play it safe on some of the jumps. I went off a jump wrong and landed on the front driver’s side tire pretty hard. Nothing happened instantly but once we left the infield I have no brakes. Apparently when I landed, I broke the front driver’s hub bearing. Made it a few miles but had to stop because the wheel was about to fall off. Morgan and I got out and tried getting it back together well enough to go 7 miles to the pits. Our little fix lasted a mile and stuck us in one of the fastest section of the track. We were stuck and could not get off the track. So some cool things about team Lonestar Racing is that we had guys on the track more than willing to help. We radioed the pit crew and placed an order for parts, which Garrick Lastra and Bobby Smith not only delivered but also gave us a hand on the repair. Bad news the axle we ordered was marked wrong and was a passenger side not the driver side we needed. So we had to be a little creative with parts and got the car working short a front driver axle and a front caliper, which got broken. This repair did cost us a ton of time but Morgan and I do not quit till the race is done. So we pushed on ahead and got a few more laps in with few problems. We did manage to complete 5 laps and made the best out of the situation with a 17th place finish. Not the way I wanted to thank everyone involved but that is racing. Sometimes it is the little things that just make big issues.
I really can’t thank everyone involved enough. The guys at CanAm for giving me this chance and the level of support they offer is incredible. The amount of support that we got from all the CanAm teams really makes us feel welcome. Murray Brothers, Crew at S3, all the guys on Sappington’s crew and Logan Gastel’s team have been super supportive and more than willing to go the extra mile for help. Its these things that really make off-road racing so great. Also all the guys at the shop that put time in on the car at the shop or the track. It is these friends and family that without them none of this would happen. Lastly, I can’t forget the sponsors that help support and build such amazing products.
Lonestar Racing
CanAm
Fox Shocks
Arisun Tires
DWT Wheels
Baja Design Lights
Rugged Radios
SDHQ
UTV Inc
Wolf Designs
UTV Underground
I’m truly thankful for all the support and help from all these friends and sponsors.
