Red Lands Racing 2016 Mint 400 Race Report

Red Lands

New Member
Oct 15, 2014
18
10
3
Pleasant Grove UT
Race Day:

4:30 a.m. could not come soon enough. I had finally called it a day at 2 a.m., but couldn’t sleep so I laid there totally exhausted with my eyes wide open for what seemed like forever. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning just praying for dawn to come. At 4 a.m. things started moving outside and I turned off the alarm I had set for 4:30 a.m. By 5 a.m. we were in the car fully geared up with the motor running. One last radio check with our pit and we were off winding through the pits heading to the staging area.

The sun wasn't up yet, but I was glad it was light enough we wouldn’t need lights. We pulled up alongside the #1918 Cognito car at the start and Casey gave us each the thumbs up and we signaled back to let him know we were ready. Time stood still while we waited for the signal, and then the green lights flashed and I stood on the gas. The car flew forward and we were airborne over the first jump, and as soon as we touched down we were launching off the second jump. We hit the ground and the ITP Ultracross tires dug in and gripped the well-watered and muddy course, rocketing us forward into a hard left turn. We had just beaten Lambert off the line!


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Photo Credit: Cole Sprague colespraguephoto.smugmug.com

Photo Credit: Cole Sprague colespraguephoto.smugmug.com


Lambert was on our tail as we worked through the short course section and across the 25 mph bridge. Eric was calling out our speed, practically shouting 25, 26, SLOW DOWN, 25, 24. Finally we hit the open desert and as I mashed the gas the adrenaline was pumping as we tore down the course. Lambert started to disappear with each turn and after a few miles we couldn't see him anymore. We started catching some of the class cars that had left the line before us. The soil was moist from rain the night before and as the course made its way up a natural wash there was no dust.





We passed several cars from other classes and battled for miles with one guy who apparently couldn't handle getting passed by a “golf cart”. After getting sick of the drone of our own siren and riding this guy's bumper for what felt like miles, I jumped on the gas and went in for a love tap, but at that moment his co-driver threw his hand up and we backed off so they could get out of our way for a clean pass. To our frustration, instead of moving over they hit the gas! That's when I got pissed because I tried to be a good sportsman and the guy takes advantage of it. I throttled up like we were in the local crash-up derby and set a course to remodel his rear bumper. Eric knew exactly what I was thinking and started yelling, “Give him a chance to get out the way!” Finally he gave us just enough space to blast around them. Once we were past them they grasped for us but couldn’t hold our pace. As we drove on, the realization dawned on us that we were actually leading the UTV classes at the Mint 400, what an awesome feeling!



Photo Credit: Cole Sprague colespraguephoto.smugmug.com


Eric constantly checked “our 6” for miles and with no sign of another UTV we tried to run what we thought was a fast and smart pace. We may have even got a little too comfy as we really backed it off for the nasty rock sections. We worked our way out of the rocks and back out into the open desert and Eric shouted “Sims is on us! Sims is right on our tail!” I plowed my right foot into the floor, but he was still all over our bumper. I swerved to the right and Sims navigated around us. There was no way we were going to just let him have it, so we stayed with him. Negotiating our way through his dust we moved up for a pass right as we hit the Fox Proving Grounds. The Fox Proving Grounds are one of the roughest sections on the course. It's like motocross jumps sprinkled with boulders just waiting for you to get sloppy. We were bombing through the course, blasting over the massive whoops covered in football sized rocks. With each car catching 3 to 4 feet of air off every huge bump and even doubling some. We were dangerously close to Sims' rear bumper and were working hard to not wreck into him and at the same time let him know we weren’t backing off. He battled with us but couldn't shake us off, so he moved over and we slipped past him. I was on the gas hard and we began to pull away. The helicopter was chasing right above us and we were hauling the mail. I hope it looked as awesome as it felt because I’d like to see that one on video. We put enough distance on Sims that we couldn't see him behind us anymore and we kept charging forward. We were back in the lead! I kept the hammer down and we were able to maintain the physical lead for about the first 200 miles of the race.





On our second lap, a few miles before Pit B, I began to feel the belt starting to slip. I knew it wouldn’t last long pushing as hard as we were so I backed off the pace while Eric watched the belt temperature like a hawk. We’ve had so few problems with belts on this car we almost didn't worry about it...a foolish mistake. We didn't even give our crew at Pit B a spare drive belt and we only had one used belt on the car for back up. Our crew at Main Pit had several new belts and had practiced a few belt changes so we made the decision to try to make it back to Main Pit and have them change it. That turned out to be a choice we would soon regret.

About 15 miles outside of Main Pit, the belt was deteriorating fast and we were nursing it along. As I looked back on the course I could see the dust being kicked up by Sims gaining on us. As we pushed on, the course was deeply rutted in an area of thick brush, rocks, and cactus. Suddenly, the infamous clatter of the disintegrating drive belt confirmed our worries and I took the best line I could over the berm and into the brush. Eric grabbed the tools and jumped out the window before we were fully stopped and rushed to change the belt. The car came to rest with the clutch cover right over a huge bush which didn't help the situation and he struggled to remove the shredded pieces of the old belt. We were down for almost 10 minutes with the belt change, which felt like an eternity. Once the cover was finally buttoned up we got back on the course and charged forward. As a result of the mishap we had fallen to 4th place in the Turbo Class and 5th overall. To add insult to injury the GPS flashed “LOW POWER” at us and after looking closer it had only 6% battery remaining with no input charge. The power wire behind the dash had vibrated loose! We knew that the final lap would be a game of memory and that we would be flying blind in the dust. We shrugged it off, a little nervous without the GPS, but determined to regain the lost ground. Pulling into Main Pit we took fuel, strapped on a spare belt, and raced forward at a pace that made our first lap feel like a Sunday drive. The course was torn up and rough and shook us like rag dolls, but we powered ahead and a few miles after making our way through Main Pit we picked off Rahders in his #916 turbo car...3rd place...and blasted on.

We came through Pit A and saw #971 Matlock (2nd place) stopped in the pit with his crew racing to get him back on course. We smiled a little as we rolled by at a cool 25 mph, and just like that we had reclaimed second place in the Turbo Class. From there we were on a mission to hunt down Lambert and Sims. Over the 60 miles since the belt change we had made up a lot of lost time and were closing in on the leaders. I was hammering the car and the used belt we had put on was running hot. I would back off a little to try and keep it in a safe temperature range, yet the desire to catch up pushed me to rip through the desert at a wild pace. Eric was shouting out belt temps as I pushed the car to its limits. The pace must have been too much or there were chunks of the broken belt obstructing the clutch exhaust because about 10 miles after we passed Matlock in Pit A the second belt gave way and the car came to a halt once again.

We were discouraged, but Eric jumped out like his suit was on fire and got the belt changed as fast as he could. About the time he was running the new belt onto the secondary, we heard the buzz of another UTV approaching and Matlock blew past us, faint laughter seemingly rising with the choking dust. Just like that, we had fallen back into 3rd place. We had not taken the time before the race to properly adjust the submarine strap on Eric's harness—another simple mistake—which made it very difficult for him to get buckled. In a panic, he fought with the buckles for over a minute and another car passed us. We knew we would not have time to catch the lead anymore and we rolled back up to speed a little less enthusiastically but with a determination to finish the race without loosing another position or belt. After we lost the 2nd belt we backed off the roaring pace, having become slightly gun shy from the short mileage we had got out of the second belt and without a spare on the car. We knew if we blew it again it would be a DNF.





About 10 miles before Pit B we radioed our crew and told them what happened. They said they would see if they could track down a spare turbo belt. The Jagged X Team was kind enough to lend us a belt (Thank you, you are a class act!) which our crew literally pitched to us through the front window at 25 mph as we turned the last corner on Pit B. With Eric holding the spare belt in hand we were back hard on the gas. We were unsure whether the car that had passed us after Matlock had been a turbo car or not, but we were on a mission to overtake them before the finish line. We charged hard and started to hit their dust after a few miles. The rain from the night before that had kept the dust down in the morning was long gone and the wind blew the dust right in our faces. With no GPS to guide us in the heavy dust we were almost totally blind. We had to take our time to make the pass. We would charge forward with each turn as we would catch a little clean air and we would edge our way closer to the car in front of us. We were hot on their tail as the course opened up into a long sandy section with multiple lines and massive whoops. I took an alternate line, buried the gas pedal, and grinned as the undeniable Fox Internal Bypass shocks and PAC Racing Springs went to work. We flew past them, doubling the big bumps and skipping across the tops of the rest. We were back into clean air and the belt was running cool again. We rallied the car to the finish line for a 3rd place in our class and a 4th overall.



Photo Credit: Sara Wyatt


I’d be lying if I told you we weren’t a little bummed to have led the race for long only to be set back by simple mistakes, but that’s racing. At the same time, we are overjoyed to have taken 3rd in our class at the Mint 400, the Great American Off-Road Race. The experience of a podium finish at such an amazing event is a memory we won’t forget. We want to say an emphatic “Thank You!” to BITD, Mad Media, and Polaris RZR for jobs well done with the 2016 Mint 400. And as always, we feel it a privilege to race with such a great group of friends and competitors within the UTV classes. Thank you to UTVUnderground.com for helping bring it all together!

We couldn’t have done it without all the support from our wives and families, the Red Lands Team, and our amazing pit crews, ///AIRDAM Clutches, Fox Shocks, and PAC Racing Springs. I can’t say enough about our Turner Axles, OMF Wheels, and ITP Tires. We ran almost 350 miles as fast as possible over some of the harshest terrain on the planet without a single failure!

Now that the dust has settled, how’s your race prep coming? Ours is in full swing...bring on the Method Race Wheels Laughlin Desert Classic! See you in May.
 

badassmav

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2013
1,379
182
63
60
Jamul
Man, I just love seeing that rear arm pushed way out there. it just amazes me how afraid builders are of changing the location and motion ratios of the rear shocks. I guess they don't feel the benefit of it is worth the testing time needed to revalue and dial in the shock. Sure is nice giving the shock some breathing room from the exhaust, but more importantly, the loads on the radius rods are so nuch more manageable. Your car has a badass stance.
 
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Red Lands

New Member
Oct 15, 2014
18
10
3
Pleasant Grove UT
Thanks for the compliments Reid! Honestly I'm not surprised a lot of builders don't change the motion ratios or shock locations. I think from the builders perspective it brings up the old argument of "Trick Custom Parts" vs "Tried and True" off the shelf. There is potential benefit, but there is also lots of potential risk, re-inventing components within the limitations set by the rules. My brother and teammate Eric designed and engineered our rear suspension set up and did an amazing job! It wasn't easy, and it takes time--a commodity that many builders don't have. A solid build takes months without designing and building a one-off custom suspension.
 

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