| TORC Series Rd. 10, Perris, CA, September 26 | |||||
| Pro 4x4 1. Rick Huseman 2. Kyle LeDuc 3. Scott Douglas | Pro 2WD 1. Rob MacCachren 2. Dan Vanden Huevel 3. Todd LeDuc | Pro Light 1. Jeff Kincaid 2. Marty Hart 3. Todd Cunningham | Sponsored by    | ||
| GNCC Round 7, Glen Helen, CA, September 26 | |||||
| Pro ATV 1. Jeremie Warnia 2. Beau Baron 3. Josh Frederick | Pro-Am ATV 1. David Haagsma 2. Garrin Fuller 3. Dillon Zimmerman | Sponsored by | |||
| GNCC Round 11, Yadkinville, NC, September 26-27 | |||||
| XC1 Pro 1. Paul Whibley (Kaw) 2. Josh Stang (Suz) 3. Charlie Mullins (Suz) | XC2 Pro-Am 1. Kailub Russell 2. Cory Buttrick 3. Scott Watkins | Sponsored by | |||
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Vernal, Utah - August 16-18 -- Rock, paper, scissors. On paper, it all works out. The numbers add up. Even the meek of the rock crawling world would seem to agree. Horsepower can be a workingman's checkmate on the elements or the elements' checkmate on a workingman's dream - to conquer the rocks. Horsepower is a thriller and a bone chiller. The carnage-craving crowds thrive on its relentless wrath on the human physique. It can break a man down or dig him from the depths of his humility. Thrill and chill, it is never one without the other. They are one in the same - rock crawling.
Reality Check Now, to many, you've scratched a soft spot in your head in attempts to figure this one out. Sure, such an entourage of words is excessive, but also is the gob of horsepower many are mounting between the framerails just to stay ahead of the game.
Fashion or Function What shall prevail in a contest of such measures, the heaping horsepower of a big block V8 or the slim and subtle trudge of an inline four cylinder? Well, in the case of the 2001 Utah Rockcrawling Offroad Championship in Vernal, Utah, it was sheer function, which put driver Brandon Gillen, and spotter Ken Shupe's (7th weekend/1st series) four cylinder, coil-sprung '91 YJ upon the podium.Opportunists The two attacked Friday and Saturday's courses with finesse and a keen sense of teamwork, conquering obstacles with ingenuity and sheer strategy rather than throttle. Rather than send Shupe (who swaps position as driver in the ARCA series) out to rover on the rocks and guide the Wrangler through the gates, the No. 55 team seized the opportunity of a negative score and chose to have Shupe sit shot gun. This tactic proved a vital tool when it came time to tally scores. Others made use of the same method and the competition heated into frenzy. Those with the skill to foot the bill turned it into a cakewalk to an negative score. Those that could not surmise the teamwork were left to hopping out of their rig and onto the course for the age-old art of rock stacking.The Numbers
The Course Friday's course layout was little more than a warm up in comparison to Saturday's. Though it wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, it just wasn't the kind of course that would rack your nerves and send the que ball barreling down for a breakdown or roll over. Friday was more of a qualifying round, weeding out would-be contenders that may not have made off too well with a round in Saturday's action. Course engineer and president of the host club High Country 4 Wheel Drive Association, Lehi Smith carved the course, using a lot of what he used for ARCA's event last year.
Friday The traction was relatively good. The obstacles had very few insane angles to contend with, although there were a few rollovers on Friday. It wasn't so narrow that the driver couldn't drive and the spotter had options other than knocking over cones, which UROC used to mark the parameters of the course. By many interpretations, it was fun - until Course 5 was attempted. After the first few rigs, the first obstacle, on top of which the entry gate rested, was impassible for a few and frustrating for many. The first few rigs dug out ruts with 44-inch tires beneath the approach of the five-foot ledge, making it a driveshaft doozy and a bottomless pit. Rock stacking became the norm. But, it wasn't good enough for Rick Wretburg and spotter Scott Hardy (20/20) in thier '71 Bronco, who dumped a U-joint of the Dana 44 front end. "I've always said, a Dana 44 just ain't enough for them big Broncos," said a spectator as he shook his head. "When you've got a rig like that, you're gonna' need something bigger." Course 5 was the toughest of the day and the longest. If a team made it past the first section, they were treated to long wash to the final obstacle. Then, it got tough. Many who made it through the entry gate with bragging rights, lowered their heads down and grabbed for the winch cable. It was steep, off camber, chewn up and wedged horribly up against an overhang, which caused many to call the cable for a round of pick-me-up. "Come to papa. Now son! Come to papa . . . That's it, now. Yes. Punch it!" The fifth team to make it through with a successful run at Course 5 was the father and son duo of Brent and Nathan Christianson (15/13), whose triumphal run ended in a pulled hamstring for spotter and father Brent. "Damn, he made it look easy after building that I-15 on ramp,"said an astonished spectator after watching the '92 YJ walk right up with 31 points after the engineering feat of Brent.Steep Stuff
The Omniscient Spectator The formatting of the event was welcomed refreshment to teams, spectators and the media. Each rig was required to complete each day's courses, allowing spectators to set up camp with the cooler on the nastiest courses and have the opportunity to watch every rig attempt it. To top it off, the nastiest of courses were clumped together in such a way that the spectator was omniscient all knowing, baking and basking beneath the 90-degree sun. It was a spectator's show and the admission was free. Saturday's crowds were awesome, equal to that of the courses and the competition. The ascents were downright ugly. The traction stifled by a permanent surface of sand on the rocks, which otherwise would have provided for phenomenal traction. But in this instance, the boulders turned to sand and the lack of traction turned to crowd-roaring action.Work Smarter Not Harder "Turn into the hill. Hit it! Hit it! Stop! Hard passenger into the hill. Hit it! Those with tunnel vision and eyesight of defeat soon realize that the only course of action is oftentimes impossible. Those who just don't give a damn about the way things are and assess a situation for what it's worth and not what constraints are upon their actions, tend to triumph when they have the vision to see otherwise. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Uhhhhh, (hole-a) (poop). (Hole-a) (poop). Oh, no. (Good) damn!"
Crack! In unison, the crowd roared in a monotone climax, "Driveshaft!" After the violent stabs with a certain lip-biting fear in his eyes, Sam Falkner said to spotter Keith Aldrich from the seat of his '84 CJ-7 and with a sigh of relief, "Good," with little concern at the fact that he had called it quits in rollover position and in need of some careful winching.Remove the Obstacles Dean Bulloch and spotter Karl Manford (9/10) had the right idea when they attempted Obstacle 6 in their '86 Suzuki Samuri. When it seems you can't overcome the obstacle, remove it. The team turned in with a broken steering box on Friday and was wise enough to toss a few cones aside, at 10 points a piece, to make it over an obstacle. Those who didn't toss them aside, more often than not, knocked them over anyway and worse yet, timed out.The Great Squirrel Caper "Well, you got your squirrel all warmed up and ready to go?" said a spectator to the Bulloch team, who was sizing up the final obstacle of the day, which had appropriately be named "The Sand Drag." It was a 100-odd-foot hillclimb made of deep dirt and a steep grade. A humble "yep" is the only response Bulloch conjured up before he put some fire beneath the feet of the squirrel and walked right up it with Manfor sitting shot gun for a negative five on the books. He crawled right up.Toto, We're Not In Kansas? "What gear do I use? I've never had to go balls to the walls before." queried Nate Chrisensen from the driver's seat of the YJ. Since his dad and spotter pulled a hamstring and rendered inoperable on Friday, Nate was now teamed up with friend T. R. Hurst. "Just drive it like you drive my car, drive," a woman interrupted from the crowd on the hill. "Well, I think I need a V8,"he responded. He made it up with little trouble.When the Levee Breaks "Look, he's got the tunes," they called from the hill. "Yeeaaaaaaa! Zeppelin." Lee Mattingly and spotter Dustin Linburg and their cherry bomb-piped '43 GPW were the stars of the weekend. Jamming music, rip-roaring straight pipes spitting fire out the ass end and one hell of an All-American karate kick to the thottle was a real crowd pleaser. It became a trademark for the team and their extended well base rig. It took them three attempts at the hill before they got it lowered down into the right gear, but the drag boat sounding '43 made the grade. The quick man to the top of "The Sand Drag" was none other than the '71 Toyota Land Cruiser of Parker Garrett and spotter Ryan Guelles with a time of 11:78 seconds, while Terry Howe made the grade as the second best in 15:32.Other Notes and Quotes - Friday 31 - (Obstacle 3) An IFS on the trail is rare, but an IFS in rock crawling competition is unheard of. Bryan Teague and Troy Bergstrum crawled their '84 IFS Bronco to a tie for 21st. "I'm loving this Craig (Stumph)," said the hometown entry. 145 - Lee Mattingly said after cruising through Obstacle 3, "This MF'er works!" speaking of his '43 Ford GPW with a 302 power plant mated to an MP 435. 32 - (Obstacle 4) "Come on bitch, get up there," said Marty George to his '79 CJ-5 as spotter and son T.J. yanked on the attached tow strap. It took the family three years to build. The power comes from a 360 AMC and transcends into a 727 tranny from a '79 Chevy. The suspension is a prototype Warn Black Diamond coil spring conversion kit. Marty's rig boasted the slickest paint and graphics scheme of the event. VB Auto Body 801-904-2074 and Action Graphics 801-541-6008 of Salt Lake City, Utah performed the work of art. Factory Tubular created the roll cage and the armor necessary to keep the paint from mating with the rocks. ? - (Obstacle 1) "Woohoo, we broke our perfect record. We actually finished one, with 35 points." 229 - (Obstacle 1) "We made one finally!" Other Notes and Quotes - Saturday 101 - Sam Falkner busted the front axle on Course 4. 140 - Dirty Dan Brown piloted his CJ-9 up Obstacle 5 after clearing a few cones out of the way.145 - "Yaaaahoooooo! I think the damn secondaries opened up on that one," said crowd pleasers Lee Mattingly after another one of his hallmark moments. 40 - Louis Shimshauser and pilot Gerret Mabey commandeered their 91 Jeep XJ to a 14th for the weekend and an 18th overall in the series. The XJ was an ex-grocery getter, which was purchased new for his wife Charlene. When XJs were not high on the list of after market performance parts, Louis pirated the XJ for his own purpose and turned it into a rock crawler. It crawls quite well with a set of 35s in the wheel wells and 187,000 miles on the original drivetrain. 11 - The father and son team of Nate Christensen plan to transplant a Dana 60 into the front end. This will give them a Dana 60 front and rear with an AMC 360 mated to a 737 tranny and a Dana 300 T-case. 3 - (Obstacle 6) Rick Wretberg said of his '71 Bronco to his wife who performs the body work on the rig, "It'll take a handyman hammer and a winch to fix this." "It'll have to wait till winter to fix this," she responded after considering the culmultive damage to the rig after the ARCA event and their weekend at Vernal.Promoter Craig Stumph - Donates a significant portion of the proceeds of every event to US-All.com, which is an organization dedicated to keeping our land rights ours. Goodyear - Plans to take their tire one size up to a 39-inch version. ARCA - Made a proposition to sanction the UROC series. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OffRoadDotCom
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