Well it is almost time for the Mint at I am just now getting around to writing this recap as we finally ran out of parts and are waiting for one more load from UPS to finish prepping the car.
Wow – what a learning experience for our new team. In our second race we went in with high hopes of performing well having addressed the issues we had at Parker 250. Boy were we wrong and soon found ourselves fighting to just finish as the parts and cars accumulated on the course lap after lap.
Let me start by saying we are 18 hours from Laughlin in northern Wyoming and unable to test much at home due to snow on the ground. In fact, we held a customer demo ride event on the mountain the weekend before the race where we rode Polaris snowmobiles, RZRs with tracks and Timbersled snow bikes. A good time for sure but forced us to plan time for testing when we arrived in Laughlin.
We rolled in Thursday evening and received a call from Adam at Airdam indicating he had a test site and would work with us in the dark vs. waiting for Friday afternoon. We were anxious to meet him and compare as we had changed clutching slightly from Parker and installed a belt temp gauge to track results in an effort to avoid blowing another belt. We made methodical changes and documented step by step until we had a clutch set up that we would sell to our customers for play riding as well as a race set up that was faster accelerating and top end as well as 20 degrees lower belt temps. We did not leave the test site until 5AM. Yes – 5AM! And Adam worked with us (and other racers) until all were happy with our cars. I cannot say thank you enough for his innovation, professionalism and commitment to our sport. We are now working with him to sell Airdam components through Peak Powersports in the future. Most importantly we ran the race with ZERO belt issues…but plenty of others.
Friday pre-run and tech per normal then back to the test site to confirm ECU worked properly and tweak clutching one more time (one can never be “done” clutching). While there we double checked everything on the car after putting 30+ miles of testing. We found a leaking valve stem which appeared to be from installation of Tire Blocks at the shop. Having a tire issue in Parker, we signed up to be a dealer for Tire Blocks and installed the product in our car. They are a bear to install and add some rotating mass but definitely do their job as we cut a tire this race when we hit a big rock in a rutted up corner in heavy dust. The tire has a 4” gash in the sidewall and I we drove several laps on it trying to finish. For anyone interested in the product we can offer advice or assistance with installation as we have the special tools needed for the job.
Saturday came and we were in the second row near the outside. This was our first dead engine land rush start and we were mid pack to the corner. To my surprise the whole field pushed towards the RH side as no one was lifting. Several racers were pushed over the berm and stayed on the throttle so we followed suit and found our place in line as we headed into the desert. The rest of the first lap is a bit of a blur as we diced with a number of cars – picked off a few and watched a few top names come by. The Redlands car passed us in a rough section and I commented to my co-driver that they are a good customer of ours – buying lots of Polaris parts for their awesome new build. Next came Johnny Angal passing us in a turn. We took the opportunity to follow him to compare car performance as well as line selection/driving style. I was pleased that our car was equally as fast but learned a lot about suspension and chassis set up variance as we struggled to drive as deep into the corners while the UTV Inc. car pulled away a little in each corner. More on that later.
After one lap we were settling in and feeling decent about our pace. We were surprised how rutted the infield had become and how fast the braking bumps had formed. Then we started hearing a grinding noise from the rear. We assumed the worst and backed off the pace a little. We seemed to have decent forward drive so we kept going at a modified pace and replaced the RR axle in the pits on lap two. The crew made short work of the job and the team from the neighboring pit jumped in to assist. I am always amazed to see the comradery in the pits thank our new friends from southern UT for the help.
In the next few laps the carnage began as cars were stopped alongside the track every few miles - some being worked on and some drivers enjoying their trackside view of the race as their battle had ended for the day. We began the race dodging rocks in the course and now were avoiding spare parts that were falling off cars – really. Muffler, tires, rims, belts, belts, belts and then a screw jack. Hey! I lost one of those $400 jacks in Parker! Should have stopped to pick it up but we were focused on finishing not collecting parts. At one point we came around the corner on the hill before the pits to see Johnny Angal on his side diagonal and in the middle of the rutted turn. It was a blind corner and bad spot to be vulnerable. As we veered off the back of the turn I saw his co-driver getting out of the car starting to direct traffic. It must have just happened as Johnny was still hanging in place behind the wheel. I later read his story of the situation and frustration over no one stopping to help while he stood with a tow rope in hand. We were ahead of that group of racers…and will gladly offer a tow if given the opportunity in the future as I am sure we will need someone to return the favor before this season is over!)
A few more laps go by and we are working through the infield and over the big jump just behind and to the LH of a slower car. To our surprise, a cameraman had decided to run across the course on the downhill side of the jump timing his near death experience with the rear of the slower car. We missed him by less than 20 feet and I am not sure who shit themselves worse. Could have been a bad deal but no harm no foul…we pushed on beating our guts out in the massive braking bumps of the infield.
By now it is mid race and we hear another grinding sound from the rear of the car. I assume it is the LR side as it was fatigued while we drove a partial lap on the damaged RR side early in the race. We again slowed our pace and tried to make it to the pits. As we caught McVay on the back side of the course we noticed his LR upper radius rod was bent allowing the tire to tip inward on the top. We commented that he must know of the issue as he was off the pace. To my surprise he picked up the pace once he felt our presence. We chuckled as we thought about what we were about to witness as the rod slowly bent more and more and the tire came closer and closer to the engine. At one point I realized that even with his condition he was beating us! We stopped chuckling at his bad fortune. We attempted to pass a few times but each time we got close we could envision his car going hard right or left when the radius rod finally gave way. We waited for a WIDE spot to sneak past and continued our own efforts to finish. About then we found some deep braking bumps and were hard on the brakes. All at one time we hear a pop, smelt the belt burning and lost forward drive. We coasted off the course and assumed we blew a belt. We both exited the car and I pulled the clutch cover while Todd wired up the broken axle (luckily it had not poked a hole in the transmission). To my surprise the belt was fine. I scratched my head for a minute and checked the other rear axle. It too was broken but would catch intermittently. As we watched the leaders pass us for the second time we got back in the car and played with the gears until we got things moving. We gingerly worked our way around the course. We were relieved to see the pits as we knew we were on borrowed time. As we rounded the last corner on the hill before the pits the axle gave way entirely. We again coasted to a stop and wondered if the transmission was now toast. We rocked back and forth as we had reverse but no forward gear. After a few minutes of guessing we decided we were not about to give up – WE WERE GOING TO FINISH THIS RACE. Todd shimmied sideways in his seat as I backed off a steep embankment and started onto the course in reverse. We were not very graceful driving in reverse and I wondered if this was legal as we ran over the sign indicating the pits were just around the corner. I decided that while we were going backwards we were still going in the direction of the course and Casey would surely understand. Around the hill and towards the pits we rolled…knowing there would be a round of laughter and some “Ricky Bobby” comments to follow. The flagman who normally made us stop to enter the pits chuckled and waved us through. After some diagnosis, the crew determined that we needed two rear axles and we should be good to go again. I was not convinced and assumed the front differential was not working as well…but hey, we were committed to finishing this race! They installed two new rear axles while we chugged some water and we were off again.
By this time I was not sure how long it had been or how many laps we had completed. We were just happy to be on course and moving again. We noticed everyone had slowed the pace in the rough infield and our bodies were glad we followed suit. We ran several clean laps until we hit a rock in the course on the back side. We were unsure of the damage but the steering felt good so the front must be fine…but soon the back was a little squirrely and we assumed we had a RR flat. As we approached the pits and asked the crew to check it visually but it looked ok to them so we kept rolling. I believe we were running on the Tire Blocks and able to keep moving trying to preserve as many laps as possible.
A few laps go by and the crew radios that we were nearing the end of the time limit. We were on the last 1/3 of the course and running hard along the power lines. I asked Todd how we were doing on fuel as we would like to get one more lap in IF we could make it to the start/finish line ahead of the leader. Within 200 yards I found out our fuel situation as the car died and we rolled to a stop. In all the commotion we had added a few gallons of fuel early per the plan but not checked again assuming our calculations were right. As we sat waiting for our fuel can from the BITD support crew we counted cars passing us. Some were on the pace and others limping along hoping to be done soon. In total, eight cars passed and the worst sight was the Cognito car going by. I knew that were would not get another lap and the cars that passed would finish ahead of us.
Finally, fuel arrived and we were rolling again. The race was over and we waited in line to learn that we finished 14th in our class. More importantly, we finished 8 laps which I was amazed at given the issues and time out of the car.
So we have a new list of things we are working on for the next race as we continue our efforts to learn all the hard lessons in our first year of racing (and pass them along to other new teams). In preparation for the Mint we replaced a LONG list of parts (some due to failure, some due to wear) – all 4 axles, front differential, transmission, tie rods and ends, wheel bearings, brakes, two bent wheels and one tire and both seat bases. We also had some long discussions with Fox which led to revalving our shocks (we have all tools necessary at Peak Powersports) and increasing spring rates on all four corners. The only new item is a 360 Fly camera to capture all the chaos as no one back home believes we call this fun!
Thanks to BITD and UTV Underground for a great event and another lesson in desert racing.
A big thank you to Mike and Dustin in the pits and to all of our supporters – Peak Powersports, Southside Racing, Lonestar Racing, Western Powersports, Sedona Tires, Raceline wheels, Open Trail lighting, Tire Blocks, Airdam clutches, Rugged Radios and Wasatch Trailer Sales.
See you all at the Mint!
Matt
Wow – what a learning experience for our new team. In our second race we went in with high hopes of performing well having addressed the issues we had at Parker 250. Boy were we wrong and soon found ourselves fighting to just finish as the parts and cars accumulated on the course lap after lap.
Let me start by saying we are 18 hours from Laughlin in northern Wyoming and unable to test much at home due to snow on the ground. In fact, we held a customer demo ride event on the mountain the weekend before the race where we rode Polaris snowmobiles, RZRs with tracks and Timbersled snow bikes. A good time for sure but forced us to plan time for testing when we arrived in Laughlin.
We rolled in Thursday evening and received a call from Adam at Airdam indicating he had a test site and would work with us in the dark vs. waiting for Friday afternoon. We were anxious to meet him and compare as we had changed clutching slightly from Parker and installed a belt temp gauge to track results in an effort to avoid blowing another belt. We made methodical changes and documented step by step until we had a clutch set up that we would sell to our customers for play riding as well as a race set up that was faster accelerating and top end as well as 20 degrees lower belt temps. We did not leave the test site until 5AM. Yes – 5AM! And Adam worked with us (and other racers) until all were happy with our cars. I cannot say thank you enough for his innovation, professionalism and commitment to our sport. We are now working with him to sell Airdam components through Peak Powersports in the future. Most importantly we ran the race with ZERO belt issues…but plenty of others.
Friday pre-run and tech per normal then back to the test site to confirm ECU worked properly and tweak clutching one more time (one can never be “done” clutching). While there we double checked everything on the car after putting 30+ miles of testing. We found a leaking valve stem which appeared to be from installation of Tire Blocks at the shop. Having a tire issue in Parker, we signed up to be a dealer for Tire Blocks and installed the product in our car. They are a bear to install and add some rotating mass but definitely do their job as we cut a tire this race when we hit a big rock in a rutted up corner in heavy dust. The tire has a 4” gash in the sidewall and I we drove several laps on it trying to finish. For anyone interested in the product we can offer advice or assistance with installation as we have the special tools needed for the job.
Saturday came and we were in the second row near the outside. This was our first dead engine land rush start and we were mid pack to the corner. To my surprise the whole field pushed towards the RH side as no one was lifting. Several racers were pushed over the berm and stayed on the throttle so we followed suit and found our place in line as we headed into the desert. The rest of the first lap is a bit of a blur as we diced with a number of cars – picked off a few and watched a few top names come by. The Redlands car passed us in a rough section and I commented to my co-driver that they are a good customer of ours – buying lots of Polaris parts for their awesome new build. Next came Johnny Angal passing us in a turn. We took the opportunity to follow him to compare car performance as well as line selection/driving style. I was pleased that our car was equally as fast but learned a lot about suspension and chassis set up variance as we struggled to drive as deep into the corners while the UTV Inc. car pulled away a little in each corner. More on that later.
After one lap we were settling in and feeling decent about our pace. We were surprised how rutted the infield had become and how fast the braking bumps had formed. Then we started hearing a grinding noise from the rear. We assumed the worst and backed off the pace a little. We seemed to have decent forward drive so we kept going at a modified pace and replaced the RR axle in the pits on lap two. The crew made short work of the job and the team from the neighboring pit jumped in to assist. I am always amazed to see the comradery in the pits thank our new friends from southern UT for the help.
In the next few laps the carnage began as cars were stopped alongside the track every few miles - some being worked on and some drivers enjoying their trackside view of the race as their battle had ended for the day. We began the race dodging rocks in the course and now were avoiding spare parts that were falling off cars – really. Muffler, tires, rims, belts, belts, belts and then a screw jack. Hey! I lost one of those $400 jacks in Parker! Should have stopped to pick it up but we were focused on finishing not collecting parts. At one point we came around the corner on the hill before the pits to see Johnny Angal on his side diagonal and in the middle of the rutted turn. It was a blind corner and bad spot to be vulnerable. As we veered off the back of the turn I saw his co-driver getting out of the car starting to direct traffic. It must have just happened as Johnny was still hanging in place behind the wheel. I later read his story of the situation and frustration over no one stopping to help while he stood with a tow rope in hand. We were ahead of that group of racers…and will gladly offer a tow if given the opportunity in the future as I am sure we will need someone to return the favor before this season is over!)
A few more laps go by and we are working through the infield and over the big jump just behind and to the LH of a slower car. To our surprise, a cameraman had decided to run across the course on the downhill side of the jump timing his near death experience with the rear of the slower car. We missed him by less than 20 feet and I am not sure who shit themselves worse. Could have been a bad deal but no harm no foul…we pushed on beating our guts out in the massive braking bumps of the infield.
By now it is mid race and we hear another grinding sound from the rear of the car. I assume it is the LR side as it was fatigued while we drove a partial lap on the damaged RR side early in the race. We again slowed our pace and tried to make it to the pits. As we caught McVay on the back side of the course we noticed his LR upper radius rod was bent allowing the tire to tip inward on the top. We commented that he must know of the issue as he was off the pace. To my surprise he picked up the pace once he felt our presence. We chuckled as we thought about what we were about to witness as the rod slowly bent more and more and the tire came closer and closer to the engine. At one point I realized that even with his condition he was beating us! We stopped chuckling at his bad fortune. We attempted to pass a few times but each time we got close we could envision his car going hard right or left when the radius rod finally gave way. We waited for a WIDE spot to sneak past and continued our own efforts to finish. About then we found some deep braking bumps and were hard on the brakes. All at one time we hear a pop, smelt the belt burning and lost forward drive. We coasted off the course and assumed we blew a belt. We both exited the car and I pulled the clutch cover while Todd wired up the broken axle (luckily it had not poked a hole in the transmission). To my surprise the belt was fine. I scratched my head for a minute and checked the other rear axle. It too was broken but would catch intermittently. As we watched the leaders pass us for the second time we got back in the car and played with the gears until we got things moving. We gingerly worked our way around the course. We were relieved to see the pits as we knew we were on borrowed time. As we rounded the last corner on the hill before the pits the axle gave way entirely. We again coasted to a stop and wondered if the transmission was now toast. We rocked back and forth as we had reverse but no forward gear. After a few minutes of guessing we decided we were not about to give up – WE WERE GOING TO FINISH THIS RACE. Todd shimmied sideways in his seat as I backed off a steep embankment and started onto the course in reverse. We were not very graceful driving in reverse and I wondered if this was legal as we ran over the sign indicating the pits were just around the corner. I decided that while we were going backwards we were still going in the direction of the course and Casey would surely understand. Around the hill and towards the pits we rolled…knowing there would be a round of laughter and some “Ricky Bobby” comments to follow. The flagman who normally made us stop to enter the pits chuckled and waved us through. After some diagnosis, the crew determined that we needed two rear axles and we should be good to go again. I was not convinced and assumed the front differential was not working as well…but hey, we were committed to finishing this race! They installed two new rear axles while we chugged some water and we were off again.
By this time I was not sure how long it had been or how many laps we had completed. We were just happy to be on course and moving again. We noticed everyone had slowed the pace in the rough infield and our bodies were glad we followed suit. We ran several clean laps until we hit a rock in the course on the back side. We were unsure of the damage but the steering felt good so the front must be fine…but soon the back was a little squirrely and we assumed we had a RR flat. As we approached the pits and asked the crew to check it visually but it looked ok to them so we kept rolling. I believe we were running on the Tire Blocks and able to keep moving trying to preserve as many laps as possible.
A few laps go by and the crew radios that we were nearing the end of the time limit. We were on the last 1/3 of the course and running hard along the power lines. I asked Todd how we were doing on fuel as we would like to get one more lap in IF we could make it to the start/finish line ahead of the leader. Within 200 yards I found out our fuel situation as the car died and we rolled to a stop. In all the commotion we had added a few gallons of fuel early per the plan but not checked again assuming our calculations were right. As we sat waiting for our fuel can from the BITD support crew we counted cars passing us. Some were on the pace and others limping along hoping to be done soon. In total, eight cars passed and the worst sight was the Cognito car going by. I knew that were would not get another lap and the cars that passed would finish ahead of us.
Finally, fuel arrived and we were rolling again. The race was over and we waited in line to learn that we finished 14th in our class. More importantly, we finished 8 laps which I was amazed at given the issues and time out of the car.
So we have a new list of things we are working on for the next race as we continue our efforts to learn all the hard lessons in our first year of racing (and pass them along to other new teams). In preparation for the Mint we replaced a LONG list of parts (some due to failure, some due to wear) – all 4 axles, front differential, transmission, tie rods and ends, wheel bearings, brakes, two bent wheels and one tire and both seat bases. We also had some long discussions with Fox which led to revalving our shocks (we have all tools necessary at Peak Powersports) and increasing spring rates on all four corners. The only new item is a 360 Fly camera to capture all the chaos as no one back home believes we call this fun!
Thanks to BITD and UTV Underground for a great event and another lesson in desert racing.
A big thank you to Mike and Dustin in the pits and to all of our supporters – Peak Powersports, Southside Racing, Lonestar Racing, Western Powersports, Sedona Tires, Raceline wheels, Open Trail lighting, Tire Blocks, Airdam clutches, Rugged Radios and Wasatch Trailer Sales.
See you all at the Mint!
Matt
