Yesterday, I drove to Alvord, Texas to compete in Round 3 of the 2015 TORN (cross-country) series. I was a little nervous because it was my 1st time to race in the UTV Intermediate class after being "promoted" from the UTV Novice class last week. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Alvord, TX…it’s a tiny town about 50 miles north of Ft. Worth. This course was located at a MX track called Oak Hill Raceway. This property had lots of grassy pasture areas surrounding the MX track with just a few trees scattered here and there.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and super hot (102 degrees according to my truck).

The UTV track length was 4 miles long, including 1 mile on part of the MX track and the remainder spread out in the pasture areas surrounding the MX track and parking lot area. The MX track was apparently watered down prior to the race and still had standing water and mud in a few places. The rest of the course was dry and dusty.

MY PROMOTION:
In the week before this race, I received an unexpected email to let me know that I and a few others were promoted from the very crowded UTV Novice class to the smaller UTV Intermediate class. The email didn’t explain why, but I can only image they wanted to even out the number of racers in those 2 classes. I was surprised to be selected b/c I have only raced my UTV twice and finished 4th and 5th in those two races. Apparently, they decided to call up the top 3 Novice racers in season points, which included me. My initial thought was to ask myself how can a 4th/5th place finisher in the Novice class compete against a much faster Intermediate class. Of course, there is only one way to find out.

UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
There was a total of 7 side by sides in the UTV Intermediate class, including myself plus 2 other newbies from the old Novice class. The line up included 6 Polaris RZRs and 1 Can Am. Like my prior races in the old Novice class, I was one of the very few racers on a 900cc machine (most were 1k models). But that’s ok… I don’t mind being the underdog.

PRACTICE:
After getting up at 3:45am to make the 5 hour drive to Alvord, my son and I arrived at the track @ 9:15 am and we made 5 practice laps. On our first lap, my son yelled out a few times from the passenger seat as we hit unexpected dips and tight turns on the MX track (was his first time ever on a MX track). LOL I told him its just like a roller coaster and to hang on.

My first impression of the course was that it was fast and very wide (which I like) and the MX section didn’t include any big scary jumps (such a relief). I’m not an MX guy and dislike big jumps, especially when I’m in my RZR. In any case, I knew the MX section would slow me down on this track, so I would have to make up time in the pasture areas.

THE START:
When we lined up, the UTV Intermediate class was the third class to start behind the UTV pro and UTV expert classes. We had approximately 50 feet to the first hard left turn, followed by a short straight and then a 180 degree right turn onto the MX track. I was lined up 2nd to the far left side (closest to the inside of the first turn). When I got to the starting line, the reality hit me that I am now racing at the same time as the Pros (never had that experience before in my 8 years of XC racing), meaning I would have to keep an eye on my rear view mirror to stay clear whenever they inevitably lap me.

Finally, the green flag went up and my 900xp roared to life quickly. I was able to get ahead of the racer to my immediate left, meaning I had the far inside line to the first left hand turn. As I closed in on the last few feet of the first turn, I saw 3 RZRs to my immediate right reach the turn just in front of me. As we rounded the first turn, I fell in line about 5th position. After the short straight, the line was backed up as folks took turns making the 180 degree right hand turn onto the MX track. I’m not much of a follower, so I tried to pass the line on the outside of the 180 degree turn. Much to my chagrin, I hit some thick, soft sand on the exit of the turn and got bogged down a little. Another guy passed me there leaving me in 6th position. As we made our way around the MX track, I soon realized the rest of my class was quickly pulling away from me (like I had lead in my tires). I’m not going to lie…it was disheartening to see that. I’d go so far as to say I was embarrassed, except that I don’t really care what others think of me. LOL

I had another guy from my class chomping at my heels, so I stayed to the right side of the wide MX track and he made a clean pass around me as we rolled over some small jumps. It suddenly hit me that I was now in LAST PLACE after only 1 minute of racing and so I may have just drove 10 hours (round trip) just to get my butt handed to me in a UTV class where I clearly don’t belong. I put that depressing thought aside and pushed the pedal harder with the hope that I could somehow catch my class in the pasture areas where I am usually faster.

LAPS 1 through 4:
As lap 1 continued, I maintained last position as our class made its way around zig zag turns and small man-made jumps in the dusty pasture areas. I could still see some of my class just ahead of me in the dusty fields and that motivated me to press onward and try to catch up. Near the end of lap 1, I noticed a fellow racer (Cash) standing next to his Can Am under some trees. He was apparently ok and not injured (standing up), but his car didn’t look so good parked off to the side of the track. I was sorry to see a fellow racer from the old Novice class out of the race so soon.

On my 2nd lap, I picked up the pace and found my groove. I especially felt faster in the pasture areas and hit my turns just right. I knocked almost a minute off my lap time and felt better about my race. Soon after I started the 3rd lap, I saw another car from my class (JW) on the side of the MX track. That meant that both of my fellow racers from the old Novice class apparently got a DNF in this race and I could only hope that I would not be the next victim.

On my 4th lap, I saw another car from my class on the side of the trail. This meant I was now in 4th position. As happy was I was to pick up some positions, I didn’t let myself get comfortable b/c there was always the chance that those racers might repair their machines and get back on the track. So I pressed onward.

LAPS 5 and 6:
So now its over half-way through the race, and I’m starting to watch my mirrors for the Pros. So much so that I would occasionally overshoot a turn or nearly miss an obstacle. The next thing I know is that I caught up to a slower racer from the Expert class. I don’t know if the extreme heat was slowing this racer down or perhaps he was experiencing some mechanical issues. As soon as I caught up to him, I hit my horn and made the pass. Yippie. I finally passed someone who didn’t DNF. That meant I was no longer the slowest paced racer on the course. Yippee! Soon afterwards, I saw dust from another slower racer from the Expert class. So I pressed onward and eventually passed him too. That felt good and lifted my spirits.

Finally, the Pros caught up to me. I pulled over and let Hunter Miller pass me on lap 5. Just a few minutes later, I pulled over for Cody Miller too. It was fun to see the big boys racing from such a close vantage point. But alas, I didn’t get to see either one for very long as they quickly ran off and left me. Surprisingly, those were the only 2 pros to lap me. I was kinda proud of that accomplishment.

On my last lap, the heat was starting to get to me and sipping water from my camel back was no longer sufficient to keep me comfortable. I was starting to feel physically weak and uncomfortable, so I ripped my goggles off to get fresh air on my face. That felt good and I decided to press onward. Lucky for me, I was not following anyone at this point of the race and there was no dust to contend with.

I was also concern about my RZR in this ridiculous heat b/c my engine overheated during the last lap of my last race (round 2). I was able to finish that race, but my engine went into limp mode when I tried to drive it back to my truck. To fix this overheating problem, I relocated the number plate on my front bumper so it was no longer directly in front of my radiator. That seemed to do the trick as my RZR didn’t have any overheating problems in this race. That was a relief.

RACE RESULTS:
I finished 4th out of 7. Honestly, I felt LUCKY to finish 4th. The reality is that I finished last place out of the 4 in my class who actually finished the entire 60 minute race. Perseverance paid off this time, but I can’t depend on others getting a DNF to get me to the podium. I need to be faster, plain and simple. Hopefully, the next course we race on won’t have an MX section and I can compete at a better level.

As always, I have to say a big THANK YOU to TORN for putting on another FUN event!

PICS:

I hope you enjoyed my write-up!

Yesterday, I drove to Alvord, Texas to compete in Round 3 of the 2015 TORN (cross-country) series. I was a little nervous because it was my 1st time to race in the UTV Intermediate class after being "promoted" from the UTV Novice class last week. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Alvord, TX…it’s a tiny town about 50 miles north of Ft. Worth. This course was located at a MX track called Oak Hill Raceway. This property had lots of grassy pasture areas surrounding the MX track with just a few trees scattered here and there.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and super hot (102 degrees according to my truck).

The UTV track length was 4 miles long, including 1 mile on part of the MX track and the remainder spread out in the pasture areas surrounding the MX track and parking lot area. The MX track was apparently watered down prior to the race and still had standing water and mud in a few places. The rest of the course was dry and dusty.

MY PROMOTION:
In the week before this race, I received an unexpected email to let me know that I and a few others were promoted from the very crowded UTV Novice class to the smaller UTV Intermediate class. The email didn’t explain why, but I can only image they wanted to even out the number of racers in those 2 classes. I was surprised to be selected b/c I have only raced my UTV twice and finished 4th and 5th in those two races. Apparently, they decided to call up the top 3 Novice racers in season points, which included me. My initial thought was to ask myself how can a 4th/5th place finisher in the Novice class compete against a much faster Intermediate class. Of course, there is only one way to find out.

UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
There was a total of 7 side by sides in the UTV Intermediate class, including myself plus 2 other newbies from the old Novice class. The line up included 6 Polaris RZRs and 1 Can Am. Like my prior races in the old Novice class, I was one of the very few racers on a 900cc machine (most were 1k models). But that’s ok… I don’t mind being the underdog.

PRACTICE:
After getting up at 3:45am to make the 5 hour drive to Alvord, my son and I arrived at the track @ 9:15 am and we made 5 practice laps. On our first lap, my son yelled out a few times from the passenger seat as we hit unexpected dips and tight turns on the MX track (was his first time ever on a MX track). LOL I told him its just like a roller coaster and to hang on.

My first impression of the course was that it was fast and very wide (which I like) and the MX section didn’t include any big scary jumps (such a relief). I’m not an MX guy and dislike big jumps, especially when I’m in my RZR. In any case, I knew the MX section would slow me down on this track, so I would have to make up time in the pasture areas.

THE START:
When we lined up, the UTV Intermediate class was the third class to start behind the UTV pro and UTV expert classes. We had approximately 50 feet to the first hard left turn, followed by a short straight and then a 180 degree right turn onto the MX track. I was lined up 2nd to the far left side (closest to the inside of the first turn). When I got to the starting line, the reality hit me that I am now racing at the same time as the Pros (never had that experience before in my 8 years of XC racing), meaning I would have to keep an eye on my rear view mirror to stay clear whenever they inevitably lap me.

Finally, the green flag went up and my 900xp roared to life quickly. I was able to get ahead of the racer to my immediate left, meaning I had the far inside line to the first left hand turn. As I closed in on the last few feet of the first turn, I saw 3 RZRs to my immediate right reach the turn just in front of me. As we rounded the first turn, I fell in line about 5th position. After the short straight, the line was backed up as folks took turns making the 180 degree right hand turn onto the MX track. I’m not much of a follower, so I tried to pass the line on the outside of the 180 degree turn. Much to my chagrin, I hit some thick, soft sand on the exit of the turn and got bogged down a little. Another guy passed me there leaving me in 6th position. As we made our way around the MX track, I soon realized the rest of my class was quickly pulling away from me (like I had lead in my tires). I’m not going to lie…it was disheartening to see that. I’d go so far as to say I was embarrassed, except that I don’t really care what others think of me. LOL

I had another guy from my class chomping at my heels, so I stayed to the right side of the wide MX track and he made a clean pass around me as we rolled over some small jumps. It suddenly hit me that I was now in LAST PLACE after only 1 minute of racing and so I may have just drove 10 hours (round trip) just to get my butt handed to me in a UTV class where I clearly don’t belong. I put that depressing thought aside and pushed the pedal harder with the hope that I could somehow catch my class in the pasture areas where I am usually faster.

LAPS 1 through 4:
As lap 1 continued, I maintained last position as our class made its way around zig zag turns and small man-made jumps in the dusty pasture areas. I could still see some of my class just ahead of me in the dusty fields and that motivated me to press onward and try to catch up. Near the end of lap 1, I noticed a fellow racer (Cash) standing next to his Can Am under some trees. He was apparently ok and not injured (standing up), but his car didn’t look so good parked off to the side of the track. I was sorry to see a fellow racer from the old Novice class out of the race so soon.

On my 2nd lap, I picked up the pace and found my groove. I especially felt faster in the pasture areas and hit my turns just right. I knocked almost a minute off my lap time and felt better about my race. Soon after I started the 3rd lap, I saw another car from my class (JW) on the side of the MX track. That meant that both of my fellow racers from the old Novice class apparently got a DNF in this race and I could only hope that I would not be the next victim.

On my 4th lap, I saw another car from my class on the side of the trail. This meant I was now in 4th position. As happy was I was to pick up some positions, I didn’t let myself get comfortable b/c there was always the chance that those racers might repair their machines and get back on the track. So I pressed onward.

LAPS 5 and 6:
So now its over half-way through the race, and I’m starting to watch my mirrors for the Pros. So much so that I would occasionally overshoot a turn or nearly miss an obstacle. The next thing I know is that I caught up to a slower racer from the Expert class. I don’t know if the extreme heat was slowing this racer down or perhaps he was experiencing some mechanical issues. As soon as I caught up to him, I hit my horn and made the pass. Yippie. I finally passed someone who didn’t DNF. That meant I was no longer the slowest paced racer on the course. Yippee! Soon afterwards, I saw dust from another slower racer from the Expert class. So I pressed onward and eventually passed him too. That felt good and lifted my spirits.

Finally, the Pros caught up to me. I pulled over and let Hunter Miller pass me on lap 5. Just a few minutes later, I pulled over for Cody Miller too. It was fun to see the big boys racing from such a close vantage point. But alas, I didn’t get to see either one for very long as they quickly ran off and left me. Surprisingly, those were the only 2 pros to lap me. I was kinda proud of that accomplishment.

On my last lap, the heat was starting to get to me and sipping water from my camel back was no longer sufficient to keep me comfortable. I was starting to feel physically weak and uncomfortable, so I ripped my goggles off to get fresh air on my face. That felt good and I decided to press onward. Lucky for me, I was not following anyone at this point of the race and there was no dust to contend with.

I was also concern about my RZR in this ridiculous heat b/c my engine overheated during the last lap of my last race (round 2). I was able to finish that race, but my engine went into limp mode when I tried to drive it back to my truck. To fix this overheating problem, I relocated the number plate on my front bumper so it was no longer directly in front of my radiator. That seemed to do the trick as my RZR didn’t have any overheating problems in this race. That was a relief.

RACE RESULTS:
I finished 4th out of 7. Honestly, I felt LUCKY to finish 4th. The reality is that I finished last place out of the 4 in my class who actually finished the entire 60 minute race. Perseverance paid off this time, but I can’t depend on others getting a DNF to get me to the podium. I need to be faster, plain and simple. Hopefully, the next course we race on won’t have an MX section and I can compete at a better level.

As always, I have to say a big THANK YOU to TORN for putting on another FUN event!

PICS:

I hope you enjoyed my write-up!

Ready for round 3? It’s coming up quick! Let me know if there’s anything you need so I can toss it in the trailer. We’ll be out there offering communications tech support for anyone who needs it regardless of the equipment being run. Be sure to stop by and good luck!

Ready for round 3? It’s coming up quick! Let me know if there’s anything you need so I can toss it in the trailer. We’ll be out there offering communications tech support for anyone who needs it regardless of the equipment being run. Be sure to stop by and good luck!

Got a lot of great shots of the action at Glen Helen this weekend. Check out our facebook album for more.

Got a lot of great shots of the action at Glen Helen this weekend. Check out our facebook album for more.

Yesterday, I drove to Glen Rose, Texas to compete in Round 2 of the 2015 TORN (cross-country) series. This was only my 2nd time to race a UTV, so I’m still learning the ropes and trying to figure out how to dodge trees with these huge side-by-sides. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Glen Rose, TX…it’s a tiny town about 50 miles southwest of Ft. Worth. This track was located on a beautiful property that includes open pastures, trees, small ponds, creeks and a sand bar along the Brazos River. The property had diverse terrain to conquer, including dusty pasture areas, deep sandy ruts, twisty trails that zig zag around small trees/bushes and a half-dozen or so creek crossings that are lined in the bottom with rocks.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and hot (low 90’s) and the track was very dusty, including in the wooded areas.

Due to the limited size of the property, the UTV track length was only 1.5 miles long (about half the length of normal). However, this track made the most of this space and included an interesting and fun layout included plenty of zig zag trails through rolling pastures, wooded areas and rocky creek crossings.

UTV NOVICE CLASS:
There were 11 side by sides in the UTV Novice class (1 more than round 1). The line-up included a mix of Polaris RZRs and Can Ams. Unlike round 1, I don’t recall seeing any artic cats on the starting line for this race.

PRACTICE:
After making the 4 plus hour drive to Glen Rose, my son and I arrived at the track just before 9:30am and we made a half-dozen practice laps on the UTV track. On my first lap, I noticed 2 things. First, there were several sharp turns in the wooded areas with deep ruts through the loose soil and if you happen to fall outside of the ruts on these turns, it tends to slow you way down and/or push you towards the trees on the outside of the turn. Second, I noticed there were lots of zagged rocks in the (wet and dry) creek crossings and a few cactus plants just off the trails, meaning my tires were going to be at risk.

THE START:
When we lined up, the UTV Novice class was the third class to start and we had approximately 50 feet to the first left-hand turn. This turn was wide and led to several sweeping zig zag turns through a large open pasture. I was lined up on the far left side (closest to the inside of the first turn) of the crowed starting line of 11 UTVs. As I waited for the flag to go up, I was anxious to find out if I could repeat the solid start that I had in round 1 (just 3 weeks earlier) where I was 2nd around the first turn (right behind Rut).

Finally, the green flag went up and the 11 UTVs roared to life. My RZR 900xp left the line quickly, and I soon found myself in 3rd position around the first turn just behind Rut’s Can Am 1000 and the blue RZR 1k (the same blue RZR 1k that took home 1st place in round 1). NOTE TO SELF: For the next race, let all the air out of Rut’s tires at the starting line so I’ll finally have a shot at winning the holeshot.

LAPS 1 and 2:
I maintained 3rd position as our crowded class made its way around the dusty pasture area and headed into the equally dusty woods. Eventually, our pack caught up to some of the slower racers from the 800cc UTV classes and we proceeded to pass these racers one at a time (and sometimes two at a time). At one point, I recall making a sweeping left hand turn around a large tree. It was a flat, smooth turn and you could easily power slide around the tree if you hit it just right. Through the thick dust, I saw the blue RZR 1k pass a Rzr 800 to the right ride. After that pass, there was just enough room for me to pass the Rzr 800 on his left and squeeze in before we made the next left hand turn. It was a tricky maneuver given the heavy dust, but luckily I made the pass unscathed.

LAPS 3 through 6:
After the first couple of laps, I finally had a little breathing room between me and the next racer (saw no one directly behind me when we raced through the open pasture area). At this point, I assumed some of the lappers that I had already passed were holding up some of the other racers in my class. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. In the wooded areas, one of the Can Ams from my class caught up to me around the 3rd or 4th lap and was hot on my heals. The race was still early, so I knew I couldn’t hold him off for the rest of the race. I found a safe place to pull off the trail and let him go by. Then I tried to follow him as close as possible. I managed to stay with him for a little while until he passed another lapper, but then I had a tough time getting around the slower rider and I never saw that Can Am again.

About half-way throught he race (approximately lap 6), I saw the infamous white Can Am in my rear view mirror as I passed through the scoring shute. It was hard not to notice this white Can Am because it had a front fender hanging off the side after an apparently fight with Mr. Tree. lol This Can Am was driven by fellow racer Cash (or "Crash" as Rut likes to jokingly call him following the unintentional mishap in round 1 where Cash accidentally reshaped the rear bumper of Rut’s Can Am).

As we entered the pasture area, I put the hammer down and tried to put a little distance between me and the white Can Am. But not long after we entered the woods, Crash…I mean Cash… was on nipping at my heels again. I kept the pace up to see if I could hold him off, but soon realized I was driving above my comfort level. I was driving a bit erratic at this pace and had a few near misses with the trees as I battled my way through the twisty trails and thick dust. Finally, I made the decision to move over and let Cash pass me before I made my front fender look like his. I stayed on Cash’s tail as long as I could with the hope that maybe he’d make a mistake and I could eventually pass him (but that never happened).

As a side note, I later saw what appeared to be part of Cash’s front fender laying in the trail. Just another reminder that you have to constantly stay on your toes during these XC races (the trees usually win if you pick a fight with them).

LAPS 6 through 12:
Near the beginning of my 12th and final last lap, I finally got around a Rzr 800 that I had followed closely for more than a few minutes. Apparently, the thick dust and roost that I ate from the previous 11 laps finally clogged my UTV’s radiator fins and caused the overheating light to come on. My temp gauge was peaked too, so I new I had trouble. Being that it was the last lap and the course was so short, I decided to press on at my pace with the hope that it could finish the race without a mechanical breakdown.

As I exited the wooded area and made my way into the short trail that led to the checkered flag, I saw Rut just ahead of me. I quickly caught up to him, but was unable to pass him before the finish line.

I spoke with Rut afterwards and found out he purposely slowed way down/took it easy when he got too exhausted & hot to press on at full pace. This hot and dusty race also took a toll on my RZR’s motor b/c it went into limp mode when I tried to restart it and drive it back to the truck immediately following the race. I limped slowly along for another 100 yards and the motor totally shut off. Cash was nice enough to check on me when he found me stranded on the trail that led back to the parking lot. After Cash and I talked about it, I decided to let the motor cool down and then try to re-start it/drive it back to the truck. Luckily, that plan worked out and I didn’t need an embarrassing tow back to the truck. I’d like to say THANKS to Cash for checking on me when he saw me stranded.

RACE RESULTS:
I finished 4th out of 11. I’m thrilled with that result and, even more importantly, I enjoyed racing and chatting with my fellow UTV racers. Now that the summer break is here, I have some time to figure out if I need to do anything about my overheating situation (I have been considering relocating my radiator behind the rear cab, but I’m not crazy about the idea of blocking my rear view).

As always, I have to say a big THANK YOU to TORN for putting on another FUN event!

I hope you enjoyed my race write-up! :ride:

PICS:

RACE 3 AT ADVENTURE OFFROAD PARK IN SOUTH PITTSBURG TN.

Click here for a list of drivers committed to race at Badlands!

CALLING ALL UTVS!
We have partnered with Kyle Knopf, the owner of Badlands to increase UTV involvement for this event! Kyle has offered up a guaranteed purse of $1000 to the winner of a UTV race that will not involve rocks. It will be a couple of mile loop through the Badlands park. There needs to be a minimum of at least 5 UTVs entered for the purse.

ULTRA4 is working on a way to increase UTV involvement while decreasing costs. Expect to see more info on this in coming weeks for future U4 Races as we continue to solidify the details. ULTRA4 has been working with USAC and for the first time, we are able to waive individual USAC UTV Driver insurance for the race at Badlands. Drivers who wish to have insurance still have the optin of doing so. We are using Badlands as a trial for this. As the race is just next week, we have drastically lowered the entry fee to just $50 for Badlands. Any UTV drivers interested will only need to pay the $50 entry and $25 transponder rental fee. UTVs need to meet safety requirements of helmet, firesuit, seatbelts, and window nets and/or roll cages. If you think you’d like to participate in the UTV race, please email me at Shannon@ultra4racing.com so I can get a feel for how many UTVs we may have signing up on site for this trial run!

Who’s gonna put their UTV to the ultimate test?? Come on down to the San Diego County Fair this year and join us for the most exciting short course UTV racing you can find. We’ll be out there offering support for race teams as well as slingin awesome deals on our equipment for those coming out for the show. We’ll see you out there!