Reply With QuoteWOW congrats!
This is looking like a pattern!
1st place win in their class at the BITD Henderson's Terrible 400! I'm so proud of them. Wish I was there
WOW congrats!
This is looking like a pattern!
Here's a link to the official results:
official results (http://www.bitd.com/results/2007/200...02LapCTRes.pdf)
Congrats You guys going to be racing in Parker next year?
Awesome. Must be nice to be retired already eh?
Great job fellas! Hope you guys had fun out there.
Congrats! I was out there with a friend with the Staats team. We broke 1 1/2 laps into it. Broke the tranny, sucks to break, he was leading his class running great.
Thanks guys,
first win is the best. It was not without troubles, but all good in the end.
Co dog; " Jeff there's something coming a little ways back........2 seconds later.... Wham! Aahhhhh Jeff its a trophy truck!
A really good freind of mine wrote a program that keeps track of all the cars in class, and he can use that information with the crew chief to tell us what we need to do to win. Dave comes running up to me 30 seconds before I get the car and says, Jeff your getting the car in 6th place. You are gonna have to kick its a$$ if you wanna win. The lead car is driving 2 MPH average speed faster then the us in the first lap. I looked at him and said "rabbits run short races, let me know where I am at pit one.( 15 miles away)
I ran a little slower then the first lap, but the course was nothing but a mud bog. I passed the "rabbit" parked on the side of the road and made third before pit one. The two guys ahead of me are damn good drivers. 2 miles after pit one I lost my pumper, and radio in the helmet, so I had no info comming in the headset, and my visor would fog up when closed. I put my head down and went to work over the next 20 miles trying play catch up. By pit 3; 1,2,and 3 where bumper to bumper and doing battle. We raced three wide for over 10 miles, I had no radio or gps info so I just went back to my motorcross days and read the terrain and the guys in front of me pushing them as hard as I could.
In a wide spot on the course it was an all out drag race 3 wide. The damn cars are so even we could not pull them. I had to look for traction and use that to get around. It worked as the 2nd place driver and us in 3rd slingshot past the lead car. I then went back to work pressing the new leader and waiting for a mistake. 2 or 3 miles later I had my chance, and we traded paint as I passed him. I then tried to get as much time on them as I could. I was driving the car completly over my head at this point. We raced hard all the way to the finsh 25 miles or so away, and ended up rubbing each other in the infield finishing bumper to bumper.
The programmer I later found out was yelling in the radio for me to let him pass because we had 1:30 on him because he started ahead of us, but I had no radio. There was no way I was letting him pass me in front of all those people. The rev limiter was my friend. Dave the programmer later told me I was running 40 second miles coming into the finish. I was way over my head.
The true hero of the day was Jeepin Scott, He brought a perfect car in to me after his lap and kept us in the hunt. We had a plan and it worked.
Daddy Mac came out and helped in the pits as well, Thanks Steve!
Wow Congrats!! I'd love to photograph one of those races one day!!
Everyone that has been around our pit knows that race morning I am not around the car until the Nth hour. I hang out in the trailer stay warm, or cool, and let our crew get the car ready. They are the best crew out there, bar none. I have the utmost confidence that LJ will check everything and give me a car that is ready to go. While we were at Main, Bob and Machelle were at remote pit 3, on the other side of the mountains from us, out of radio contact and setting up everything we needed.
Danny and I had long underwear under our driver suits as we walked out the door of the trailer. We looked around and saw the sun shining and did a quick U-turn to shed the extra layer, in fear of being too hot in the car. We emerged again to see the car ready to go, blaring the new red, white and black Banks Power colors. That was the last of the red and white we would see all day, as it rained the entire 24 hours prior to race morning. We jumped in the new PRP seats and got comfortable as we drove through the puddles on the way to the start. At the start line Dan noticed that the GPS was not working. We drove the old fashioned way from there on out.
The start of the race was wet, very wet. We caught the first Jeepspeed within about 2 miles and honked and passed him. We then caught the entire class 3100 field and made our way through them in the mud without a horn. LaFortune caught us while we were passing cars as we got to the lakebed. That's where 4wd and the Interco TrXus mud terrains proved worthwhile. Jason was swapping side to side and we were tracking pretty straight. The first puddle I wiped my visor and smeared it bad, after that I just let the muddy water run off the side until we got out of the mud. Brian Hartman at pit 2 told us that Jason was about 2 minutes back.
In the rocks we were caught behind a 1450 truck forever. Just as we passed him, Jason and Eric Helgeson caught us, fully getting it. DJR's plan was to keep the car together and not break it or get flats in the rocks, make time where we can. It is the hardest thing to do to let cars go by when you have the speed and ability to catch them. The team had a plan and I am a team player. I let them go.
Dan and I kept plugging away, getting faster and faster as we went, passing more 1450's, then most of the 8100's. The back side of the course is first rally style flat hills with tight turns. We flat out made some time through there running the car on the edge. The flat out sections were fun and crazy yet exilerating. The Dream wheel speed calculator says 90MPH, but it could be off a little. All I know is we were flying!
The last section of rough Dan was reeling me in. I wanted to get there and Dan kept telling me that we need to give the car to Jeff and Scott like it was right now. It was smooth and perfect. The tires were good, sway bar still intact, no rattling or strange noises. Above 80mph there was a smell of fresh gear oil, but that turned out to be just a front pinion seal.
I saw Ray Griffith leaving the main pit area as we were pulling in. I knew that he was racing for the championship but didn't know where he was on course. After the pit stop and driver change, We were in 4th position and 6th place. I thought that I let us down, was too conservative. I knew that if it could be done, Jeff could do it. The car was perfect and Jeff is fast in a good car!
It was his turn to get it and he did! I want to thank our sponsors, my family and friends that help us in more ways than anyone can see. I cannot express the thanks that you all deserve for helping us realize our dreams.
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