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Today had to be the most remarkable day of rock crawling
competition ever. It not only set a new standard for technique and
talent on the competition end, but also for showmanship and sheer
excitement. |
Amy Bulloch on a flawless run with her father to
guide her. |
And, to say that RCAA's overall orchestration of
today's testament had nothing to do with it would simply be an
unfathomed falsehood by those who were not there to experience it
first hand. Just ask the crowd that gathered for the finale.
The drivers and spotters were on parade. Their
rigs hammered. Their faces dirty. Their clothes ripped, torn,
tattered and laced with the remains of their rigs and the earth
that nearly defeated them. Tension and relentless determination
spilled from every ounce of sweat that bled from their brows. And
then there was the bond between both driver and spotter that became
the calm blessing of the moment.
There was
no other driver and spotter who better hallmark this relationship
than that of driver Amy Bulloch and her father and spotter Jim
Peterson. Obstacle A-7 was downright treacherous. Many failed to
make its final climb with any ease. In fact, many fell victim to
back flips and body slams, testing the limits of their roll cage's
integrity. But the father and daughter team did not fight fire with
fire in their attempts to overcome treachery. They approached it
with grace and their relationship's assurance. |
Shupe and The Moose heading for the sky. |
"Don't let me roll over dad. Don't let me go dad.
Don't let me down."
The rig throttled
effortlessly up the wall and through the cones. The two went on to
be the first to flawlessly overcome the obstacle's wrath. And to
the briskly waving Red, White and Blue mounted on the tail end of
her She-J, the crowd honored.
Then, there
was the amazing feat of will and endurance. Sitting on top of the
world after yesterday's performance, Ken Shupe and spotter, The
Legendary Moose, appeared to have their lead cinched in such a way
that it was nearly a permanent fixture for the weekend. But it was
that very notion which was premature. As they say, it ain't over
until The Moose sings. And today, he didn't sing - at least any
form of a victory song.
Late in the day,
their Jeep succumbed to shift linkage failure, which struck a
costly blow to their efforts on Obstacle A-5. They proceed on to
the final two obstacles of the weekend with a major blow to their
point lead. Again, it was A-7 to build upon the finale. |
As Shupe says, "Never Give Up!" Team Moose secured
sixth after a remarkable first day of competition. |
The Authoritive Bullfighter
Shortly after the uproar of the father/daughter
performance, The Moose was sent forth upon a mission to navigate
the hill. "Come on up!"
As expected, Shupe
put some foot into it, but to the crowd's dismay, it just wasn't
enough. The Jeep slid backward with the tires still churning. And
to add to the crowd's dismay, the team took a backup point. The
heckling began. They chanted, "Moose, Moose, Moose, Moose . .
."
"Get that damn thing up here. I want to
hear that peddle hit the metal," The Moose sang to the crowds
audible delight. |
Mike Shaffer pilots the Summit Truck Style crawler
down the slope of victory with Lance Clifford guiding the
way. |
"It is cousin. It is," Shupe fired back from the
left seat. He then let into it. The throttle became his master.
Rocketing forth, Shupe began a drag race to the top, laying tracks
toward the sky. The mountain yielded like an authoritative
bullfighter. This time it wasn't The Moose on the loose but instead
it was Shupe's fiery. The Jeep overshot the hill and toppled down
the other side in defeat.
"Moose. Moose.
Moose. Moose," they chanted, again. Moose slid down from off the
hill to the rescue.
On its side, the rig
was still running and the tires still spinning. It squirmed and it
roared, trying to right itself. Moose lifted. He lifted again and
again. Shupe hopped out. They lifted, Shupe yelling, "Don't give
up. Don't give up. Brother, don't give up."
Their faces turning blood red with determination; the two
lifted. With everything left in them, they finally forced the Jeep
just shy of the gravity's clutch. And that was all they had.The Summit Steam Rollers
OK now; let's take a quick stab at what went down,
who won and how those that didn't faired. It's time for
celebration. |
Joel Randall eases into second. |
Once again, Summit Truck Style's Mike Shaffer and
spotter Lance Clifford were called upon for victory. Today, they
earned their second consecutive victory of the season for this
series and their third consecutive victory of the year, which
refers to last week's victory in Reno at the CalROCS Moon Rocks'
event.
"We were full of dread. Then coming
down off that last obstacle, when we cleared that wall, we knew it
was ours," said Clifford, adding that their win streak began with
the addition of their BFG tires and finished up here in Vernal with
the Krawler T/A KX prototype tire. |
Tracy Jordan pitches it into the Valley of Death,
otherwise known as The Hell Hole. If not for this, we would have
managed much better than a fourth place for the weekend in
Vernal. |
Joel Randall finished up second in his Currie
Jeep. Jason Paule finished third in his Twisted Customs Jeep. Tracy
Jordan, who suffered a rollover several feet from the end of his
day, finished fourth. Chris Forenbarher finished fifth, Ken Shupe
sixth, John Gilleland seventh, Don Robins eighth, Chris Durham
ninth and Jason Bunch 10th. Department
of Appreciation
We'd like to send out
our sincere appreciation to the millions who are dedicated to
supporting our coverage, namely Off-Road.com's Devout Readers,
Skyjacker
Suspension (by far a superior suspension) Goodyear Tires (a great tire with the
versatility to win in the desert and on the rocks), Beard Seats
(for comfort in the rough) and Trackside
Photo (for all your photographic needs). If you'd like
prints or reproduction rights to any of the photos seen here,
please contact them by clicking the link. |
