"Old Glory" flew high above the crowd of more than 10,000 spectators as they came to witness the carnage at Farmington, NM.
Obstacle B-7 was a favorite spot for spectators as drivers struggled to gain a foothold on the slickrock. Johnson Valley, California - February 15 - 17, 2001 This weekend produced more broken parts than you'll find in a junk yard (Chris Durham was snapping Dana 60's like they were toothpicks). You can credit Phil Collard, ARCA's course designer, for the gnarly obstacles in JV. Jason Bunch performed his notorious "Triple Lindy"rollover. Craigh Stumph mowed over his son and spotter Dallas during one of the obstacles, bringing world-wide recognition to the father and son team. Since then, Dallas is on a mission for the church and will be back in action and ready to pilot his own rig sometime next year.

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Johnson Valley seemed like the beginning of the end of Chris Durham's reign as Rock Crawling King. In attemtping one extremely difficult obstacle, his aluminum-bodied Jeep body-slammed spotter "Moose" Nalley on one of the nastier obstacles. All who witnessed thought it was the end of the Moose, who was out like a light for more than 5 minutes before coming to and ultimately helping the team to a 15th overall for the weekend. Jason Paule, winner of the Sports-In-The-Rough event in Montrose, CO. prior to the first 2001 ARCA event, finished in ninth place at Johnson Valley - and never finished lower than 11th place all year. Talk about consistency! We're sure to see more of Jason next year.

Teams Currie/Waggoner and Campbell/Flores battled hard on day 1 as ARCA's overall title was up for grabs.Las Cruces, New Mexico- May 3 - 5, 2001 Pure danger! They called it a "litterbox on the slippery slopes" and canyon walls of Las Cruces. Falling rocks came littering down from the cliffs, making it a wise idea to wear a hard hat throughout the entire weekend. Walking along the course was equally dangerous, as the footing was slippery enough to cause a mountain goat to go over the edge. Scuffed shins and bloody elbows were common. For Las Cruces, ARCA changed their rules around a bit to overcome some of the problems and potential problems they encountered at prevous events. First, ARCA adjusted the "Forward Progress" rule. They dropped the time from six seconds to four seconds - the amount of time allowed before an official could call a stop of forward progress and assess penalty points. Reading the terrain had to be done quickly so as not to accummulate stopping points. The other change to the rules was the "No pushing" rule, which restricted the spotter from pushing a rig from the downside of the vehicle. This rule was more than likely created in response to the body-slam that floored "Moose" in Johnson Valley. Patzcuaro's Revenge and Rocotillo Rapids. The canyons of Las Cruces made for an exciting weekend of rollovers and breakage, as the teams struggled to gain a foothold in the loose gravel.

Tow straps come in handy in just about any situation. Unfortunately, Cathy rolled. A good spotter will do whatever it takes to keep his rig on all fours. The order of the day was finnesse. Matt Burkett, not one to go heavy on the gas pedal, demonstrated this by taking first place. Jason Paule, Joel Randall, Don Robbins and Currie/Waggoner rounded out the top 5 positions. The "foot-through-the-floor" drivers paid the price of their ways, breaking any hopes of a top finish. Cedar City, Utah - July 12 -14, 2001 Ahhh, Cedar City, site of the now famous "Burgers 'N Brew" hosted by ORC's own Fidel Gonzales and yours truly, Eddie Perez.

Ken Shupe, doing a little victory dance at the end of a successful run for the top spot.
When Marc Milner isn't breaking, he does pretty good. Under the scorching heat of an unusually-hot summer in Cedar City, the ORC crew manned the grill and the ice chest for the inaugural Burgers 'N Brew bash, handing out hundreds of hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages and enough beer to send a brewery into overtime just trying to keep up with the crowd's demands. Some say it will be our last ever, but you can be sure, Fidel and I will pitch one past our attorney and host another one next year. We're shooting for a Cedar City reunion next year! The Rock Walker Desert racing legend Walker Evans manuevered his hydraulic, rear-steer Chevy S-10 to first place for his second-ever rock crawling victory (his first came in Vernal, Utah last year). Steve Rumor of Avalanche Engineering brought home the second spot aboard the Assassin. Cedar City quickly became known as the toughest course of the year. The slick rock and big boulders were hell on ambition. A sudden rain during the first day's event caused more than its share of frustration as driver and spotter alike fought for traction. The hunt for the overall title was taking shape as the consistent drivers began their break-away from the pack and up to the Top Ten positions. Farmington, New Mexico - September 27 - 29, 2001 The final event of the year made for the long haul to Farmington, NM (It's not the middle of Nowhere, but you can see it from there). Despite it being a long road to Farmington, it is by far the best "overall" location for rock crawling. Those that disagree, feel free to Respond and give us your reasons why. We'll post them in an upcoming issue. The slick rock and steep drop-offs give all drivers a healthy challenge, as well as make it the most spectator-friendly course on the ARCA circuit. It showed in the spectator numbers. The event boasted an estimated 10,000 spectators on hand to witness the pursuit for ARCA's 2001 overall championship.

Damage happens. Kathy Crook rolled her aluminum-body (more than once) and only dented the hood - the aluminum was unbent and unbroken.
Bill Rowlette spent 6 years in the Navy as a welder and does all the work on his Toy. The 2001 title quickly became a shootout between Currie/Waggoner, Don Robbins, Walker Evans, Shannon Campbell, Jason Paule and Joel Randall, who were separated by a slim 16 points. On the surface, Driver's Check In was sedate, but beneath the surface trembled the ambition to take the season's top slot. The back drop of the entire event was the patriotism shown by the participants. The red, white and blue of "Old Glory" was flying high on each and every rig. Day one was the back-breaker for most of the contenders in the Top 5. They saw their title hopes slip away as the slick rock of Farmington, coupled with Phil's course design began taking its toll on those that weren't 110% focused on the task at hand. Shannon Campbell, usually the sure-footed driver had his share of troubles with unnecessary points for flags that seemed to be clinging to his long wheel-based rig like magnets. His score of 94 booted him from contention early on.

Catching air is common in rock crawling, it's how you come out of it that counts. Craig couldn't pull out a safe landing on this one. Amy showed 'em how it's done. Walker Evans too, had problems - rollover problems that cost him dearly as he finished day one with a score of 108 and little if any, chance of overtaking Currie/Waggoner during day two. Don Robbins, the quiet one all year long, stayed in the hunt for the title title after day one with 52 points to Currie's 30-point day.

Jason Paule, another of the consistent drivers all year long (and no major sponsorship), showed everyone that it doesn't take "big money" to win at rock crawling - it takes driving skills. He finished day one with a single point and an excellent shot at the overall title. However, on day two he faced Course A, the toughest of the two courses. He had his work cut out for him. Curtis McNeil, driving his white Jeep CJ-7 began Day 2 the way he finished day one - his rig rubber-side-up. Both A-7 and B-7 took their toll on him. Ken Shupe and spotter brian Gillian, in third place after day 1 with a mere 12 points on Friday, knew they had a shot at taking the Farmington victory. Day 2 was going to be their day. Ken wouldn't worry about what others were doing, he stayed focused on the only thing he could control, the finesse of his driving. He climbed on the hood of his '86 Scrambler and raised his arms in celebration as he finished Saturday with only 34 points on Course A. His shot at a Farmington victory was well within reach - and he knew it.

Fans came early and stayed late, trying to get "that perfect picture"
"Pure Adrenaline" - you got it. Mike Weaver finished Day 1 with an amazing four points. Driving his 2000 Sniper, he was the only driver to clear B-7 without a single point deduction. Farmington local, Harold Off, owner of Off Again Auto, finished day 1 in second place with 11 points. On to the Women of Farmington - The highlight of the ladies' action had to be Amy Bullock's ascent of obstacle B-7. The men took more than a pounding on B-7 as most were forced to winch their way to the top and suffer the 30-point penalty. Of those that didn't, many rolled down onto the canyon floor below and suffered the 40-points for "timing out". Amy however, showed the boys how it was done with a display of her nerves of steel, climbing the vertical wall and clearing the top on two wheels. While she may have made B-7 look easy, ask the men and you'll find that it wasn't. Someone to ask about obstacle B-7 is Craig Stumph, who performed his best acrobatic stunt ever, catapulting his Commando to new lows. For his feat, Craig chose the "testosterone approach" and was heavy the throttle. Finesse out the window, he forced the issue and ended up sideways, and at one point was completely airborne before crashing upside down so hard that he broke a drive shaft - see the full sequence in our Day 2 photo gallery.

Phil Collard is the man to credit (or blame) for some of the toughest obstacles in rock crawling. He also helps with crowd control.
Another season wraps up for ARCA - until next year. Stay tuned to Off-Road.com as we will bring you monthly rock crawling info during the off-season.... Another victim of B-7 was one of only three female drivers on the ARCA circuit, Cathy Baucom. Unfortunately, she suffered the same fate as Craig - rolling over and pointing out. Mildly shaken, but otherwise OK, she climbed out from under her purple Jeep and waved to the crowd gathered above on the slick rock. During the Awards ceremony, Shannon Campbell, who fell from second place to eighth place overall, talked of adding a little "rock racing" to next year's competition, hoping to gain an advantage over those finesse drivers. Walker Evans, seventh place overall for the year agreed, saying "I think I've still got a little racing left in me".

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