Category Archives: Short Track Racing

Short Track Racing

My XC race write-up from Endeavor Bridgeport (2015 TORN rd 7)

Last weekend, I drove to Bridgeport, Tx to compete in Round 7 of the 2015 TORN cross-country series. Unlike my last TORN race, my son was unable to join me for the fun this time (but he should be back next time). Luckily, one of my buddies (Billy) agreed to fill in as my co-pilot for this race and that made the experience much more enjoyable. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Bridgeport, TX… it’s a small town about 50 minutes northwest of Ft. Worth. This rural property has a little bit of everything, including hills, loose sand, rocks, large pastures, thick wooded areas filled with thorny mesquite trees, cactus, ponds, etc. I raced my ATV on this property in early 2014 and it was my favorite TORN track that year. Since then, I have been looking forward to racing here again.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
On race day (Sunday), we enjoyed typical fall weather with highs in the upper 50’s and gray, overcast skies. The forecast included a 50% chance of rain around race time, so it was anybody’s guess if we would have a wet/muddy track or not.

The UTV track length was 4 miles in length and included lots of bumpy, challenging trails through a wide variety of interesting terrain. Specifically, the course took racers up and down several hills, through tight, twisty wooded trails, over rocky sections, flying down an old paved road for a short run, and alongside a railroad track (with a moving train on it during my race just for added effect!). The course also included a few sections with deep, soft ruts, a few areas with harsh, jagged rocks, a few spots with standing water and mud, and a some whoops on soft sand.

PRACTICE:
Due to the 300 mile drive from my house, I drove to Bridgeport on Saturday night and stayed in a local hotel. After leaving a local hotel Sunday morning, I made it to the track around 8:30am and immediately unloaded the RZR for some practice laps. I was the first UTV to hit the course when practice officially started at 9am and took it slow and easy. My first lap was a bit unnerving because there were several downhill sections where I couldn’t see the trail immediately in front of my RZR because the trail was so steep. Talk about a leap of faith!

During my practice laps, I noticed several things about this course.

First, it was different than prior TORN tracks this year because it had several (fun) hill climbs and descents. A few of these hills had a harsh angle that caused my stock RZR shocks to bottom out when I first hit the face of the hill or reached the ground after coming back down. One hill climb had a kicker bump at the very bottom and another lip about half-way up making it hard to hit it fast. Another hill climb had a wet, muddy spot at the bottom immediately before going up the narrow trail. I had to make a mental note about which hills I could hit with speed and which I had to slow down for.

Second, I noticed that some sections of the track were extremely bumpy, rocky and/or whooped out. This course was definitely going to test my RZR and my co-pilot’s nerves (was Billy’s first time to ride passenger during a UTV race).

Third, there were not many places to safely pass unless the rider in front intentionally pulled off the side of the trail for you. This meant getting a good start and avoiding the trees and jagged rocks would be key.

Fourth, I noticed this course included an extremely fast and FUN run up a 150 yard paved road followed by a tight right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks. This was my FAVORITE PART of the course b/c I could put the hammer down and air out the RZR! My only concern was whether this straight, wide section would give my competitors (all of which have a 1000cc motor and/or a turbo) an opportunity to pass my little 900cc RZR. Only time would tell.

After 3 slow practice laps, I noticed Billy’s truck in the parking lot next to the track. I pulled off the track to see if he was ready to join me as co-pilot for a few practice laps. He hopped in, took a few minutes to get his 4 point harness just right and away we went. About half-way around the track, we came upon a traffic jam. The hold-up was a UTV that high-centered in deep, muddy ruts on the trail ahead. When we arrived, there were already 4 or 5 UTVs already helping the stuck UTV, so we stayed put until they finished freeing the stuck machine. A few minutes later, the line of UTVs made a new trail through the thick brush to avoid the deep, soft ruts (which caused other UTVs to high center earlier during practice). Billy seemed to enjoy the first lap as my passenger, except for the fact that his helmet occasionally hit the (custom) cage in my RZR. He is taller than me, so I don’t usually hit the cage unless my 4 pt. harness is loose. We tightened his harness and that seemed to help.

After practice, Billy met up with fellow racers (Jodi and Dan) b/c they let Billy borrow a fire proof suit for our race. It is generous and helpful folks like Jodi and Dan who make TORN a fun and friendly organization. Thank you so much!

UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
A total of 8 side by sides lined up on the starting line of the UTV Intermediate class, including a brand new Yamaha YXZ 1000R, two Can Am Maverick 1ks (I think one had a turbo), four RZR 1kXPs plus my RZR 900XP. On the starting line, I told Billy that I’d be happy to finish in 5th place in this tough line-up. Judging by the look on Billy’s face, I think he would be happy to just finish the race alive!

THE START:
When we lined up for the start, we had approximately 40 feet to the first right hand turn around a large transmission pole, followed soon by a hard left hand turn around another transmission pole and then heading across an open, flat section toward some large hills made of soft sand/dirt.

On the starting line, I was lined up near the far left (outside of the first turn). I was a little further away from the first turn as compared to others on my right, but my path was smoother and I had less angle around the 1st turn. So I was content with my position. As we waited for the green flag, I gave Billy a fist bump and wished him good luck.

The green flag went up and off we went. My 900xp fired right up and left the line quickly. I immediately looked to my right and saw several UTVs (including Sorento who was leading the pack) reach the right hand turn slightly ahead of me. As the class fought our way around the first turn, I stayed on the (left) outside line and came out of the turn tied with the Yamaha (Sandy) in 4th position. As we came around the 2nd turn, I had the (left) inside line and the Yamaha took the outside line. I mashed the gas pedal hard, but the Yamaha got around me and I fell into 5th position as we headed towards the first big hilly section. I was pumped about my start b/c my goal was to finished 5th and I had already reached that position.

LAPS 1 & 2:
As we made our way through the first lap, we climbed up and down some hills, crossed a dirt road, and winded our way through tight, twisty woods to an old paved road that crosses a railroad track to our immediate right. As we reached the road, we made a 90 degree left turn (away from the train tracks) and ran straight ahead for 150 yards followed by a sharp right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks (boys and girls, can you say "powerslide?). During the sprint to the end of the paved road, I was holding my breadth and hoping the UTV immediately behind me would not pass me. Billy was trying to make us accelerate faster by moving his arms like he is swimming/paddling. lol Luckily, I held my competitors off and we continued onward. After more hilly areas and wooded sections, we eventually ran through a small area with large, jagged rocks on the trails and another section that was badly whooped out. These rough sections jostled Billy and me around inside the RZR like a rag doll. Later, Billy told me that his helmet bumped the cage 2 or 3 times in a row like a pinball machine. Lucky for Billy, he doesn’t have much brain issue to damage!

As lap 1 progressed, I was on the Yamaha’s tail and Cash (Can Am 1k) was hot on my tail. I pushed myself hard to keep up with the Yamaha. At some point, Cash got hung up in the deep, soft ruts (probably the same place were UTVs got stuck during practice) and he disappeared from my rear view mirror. I think JW (blue RZR 1k) was immediately behind Cash when that happened and that slowed JW down for a few seconds. That gave me a little breathing room. The Yamaha that I was previously chasing picked up the pace and disappeared in front of me.

As the race progressed, UTVs started breaking down on the rough and challenging course. They seemed to suddenly appeared alongside the trails, and a few broke down in the middle of the trail causing the rest of the racers to make a new path around them.

LAPS 3 – 5:
Around lap 3, Eric (RZR 1k) caught up to me and put pressure on me. I pushed my RZR hard and caught up to the Yamaha on the next lap. I soon realized that the Yamaha (Sandy) was following immediately the Turbo Maverick (Edel). There were no easy places to pass, so it was a game of "follow the leader" until someone finally broke down or decided to pull of the trail and let others pass.

LAP 6:
On the last lap, we maintained a bumper to bumper race with the Turbo Maverick (Edel) in first position, the Yamaha (Sandy) was immediately behind him in 2nd position, followed closely by my RZR in 3rd position and Eric (4th position) was still hot on my heels. There was only a few seconds separating each UTV and we plowed ahead at a blistering pace. The trails were starting to dry out and we were eating thick dust on some of the open sections.

On the last few miles, my RZR started steering wildly in the turns and it was difficult to keep it on the track. I thought I smelled a faint odor like rubber burning/rubbing. I chalked it up to probably a flat front tire. There was no way I was going to pull off the trail being in 3rd position and very close to the finish line. I pressed onward through the hills and we got air born several times (not on purpose!) trying to make good time. At times, I could see the Yamaha get air born too off some of the short hills. My steering continued to be difficult, and I prayed the RZR could hold out until the end.

RACE RESULTS:
Finally, Billy and I made our way around the last turn and we saw the checkered flag. Hallelujah!! I was so happy to see the finish line b/c I knew my RZR could not make it another lap with such poor steering. The four "band of brothers" who had marched in the same order for the past few laps maintained our positions as we rode past the checkered flag and finished with only 4 seconds between each UTV. We took the first 4 places in UTV Intermediate class. I was pumped about finishing 3rd and Billy KISSED THE GROUND when we got out of the RZR. Ok, I made up that last point about Billy, but I’m quite sure he was very relieved we survived the race and lived to tell about it.

As we passed the checkered flag, I saw a few people standing near the finish line who were pointing at my front end. Obviously, that was not a good sign. When I got out of the RZR, I immediately congratulated Sandy and Eric on a great race.

Then I saw the driver-side front wheel on my RZR. Uh oh. There was a long branch caught between the wheel hub and steering tie rod and it extended all the way to the ground. No telling how long we have been dragging it. lol I also noticed a huge chunk of the stock (plastic) skid plate had been peeled back near the engine area and was pointing straight down. Unfortunately, that was NOT the bad news. My entire front wheel was leaning over to the side. Upon closer inspection, Billy and I discovered a bolt holding one of the lower a-arm mounts had broken loose from the frame, which allowed the lower a-arm to pull away from the frame and front wheel to flop from side to side. There’s no doubt the wheel stayed attached thanks to my (Holz) a-arms and (Dragonfire) front end gusset kit (both of which appeared to be bent, but thankfully still attached). Needless to say, this race was an adventure that I won’t soon forget.

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! 🙂

Short Track Racing

My XC race write-up from Endeavor Bridgeport (2015 TORN rd 7)

Last weekend, I drove to Bridgeport, Tx to compete in Round 7 of the 2015 TORN cross-country series. Unlike my last TORN race, my son was unable to join me for the fun this time (but he should be back next time). Luckily, one of my buddies (Billy) agreed to fill in as my co-pilot for this race and that made the experience much more enjoyable. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Bridgeport, TX… it’s a small town about 50 minutes northwest of Ft. Worth. This rural property has a little bit of everything, including hills, loose sand, rocks, large pastures, thick wooded areas filled with thorny mesquite trees, cactus, ponds, etc. I raced my ATV on this property in early 2014 and it was my favorite TORN track that year. Since then, I have been looking forward to racing here again.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
On race day (Sunday), we enjoyed typical fall weather with highs in the upper 50’s and gray, overcast skies. The forecast included a 50% chance of rain around race time, so it was anybody’s guess if we would have a wet/muddy track or not.

The UTV track length was 4 miles in length and included lots of bumpy, challenging trails through a wide variety of interesting terrain. Specifically, the course took racers up and down several hills, through tight, twisty wooded trails, over rocky sections, flying down an old paved road for a short run, and alongside a railroad track (with a moving train on it during my race just for added effect!). The course also included a few sections with deep, soft ruts, a few areas with harsh, jagged rocks, a few spots with standing water and mud, and a some whoops on soft sand.

PRACTICE:
Due to the 300 mile drive from my house, I drove to Bridgeport on Saturday night and stayed in a local hotel. After leaving a local hotel Sunday morning, I made it to the track around 8:30am and immediately unloaded the RZR for some practice laps. I was the first UTV to hit the course when practice officially started at 9am and took it slow and easy. My first lap was a bit unnerving because there were several downhill sections where I couldn’t see the trail immediately in front of my RZR because the trail was so steep. Talk about a leap of faith!

During my practice laps, I noticed several things about this course.

First, it was different than prior TORN tracks this year because it had several (fun) hill climbs and descents. A few of these hills had a harsh angle that caused my stock RZR shocks to bottom out when I first hit the face of the hill or reached the ground after coming back down. One hill climb had a kicker bump at the very bottom and another lip about half-way up making it hard to hit it fast. Another hill climb had a wet, muddy spot at the bottom immediately before going up the narrow trail. I had to make a mental note about which hills I could hit with speed and which I had to slow down for.

Second, I noticed that some sections of the track were extremely bumpy, rocky and/or whooped out. This course was definitely going to test my RZR and my co-pilot’s nerves (was Billy’s first time to ride passenger during a UTV race).

Third, there were not many places to safely pass unless the rider in front intentionally pulled off the side of the trail for you. This meant getting a good start and avoiding the trees and jagged rocks would be key.

Fourth, I noticed this course included an extremely fast and FUN run up a 150 yard paved road followed by a tight right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks. This was my FAVORITE PART of the course b/c I could put the hammer down and air out the RZR! My only concern was whether this straight, wide section would give my competitors (all of which have a 1000cc motor and/or a turbo) an opportunity to pass my little 900cc RZR. Only time would tell.

After 3 slow practice laps, I noticed Billy’s truck in the parking lot next to the track. I pulled off the track to see if he was ready to join me as co-pilot for a few practice laps. He hopped in, took a few minutes to get his 4 point harness just right and away we went. About half-way around the track, we came upon a traffic jam. The hold-up was a UTV that high-centered in deep, muddy ruts on the trail ahead. When we arrived, there were already 4 or 5 UTVs already helping the stuck UTV, so we stayed put until they finished freeing the stuck machine. A few minutes later, the line of UTVs made a new trail through the thick brush to avoid the deep, soft ruts (which caused other UTVs to high center earlier during practice). Billy seemed to enjoy the first lap as my passenger, except for the fact that his helmet occasionally hit the (custom) cage in my RZR. He is taller than me, so I don’t usually hit the cage unless my 4 pt. harness is loose. We tightened his harness and that seemed to help.

After practice, Billy met up with fellow racers (Jodi and Dan) b/c they let Billy borrow a fire proof suit for our race. It is generous and helpful folks like Jodi and Dan who make TORN a fun and friendly organization. Thank you so much!

UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
A total of 8 side by sides lined up on the starting line of the UTV Intermediate class, including a brand new Yamaha YXZ 1000R, two Can Am Maverick 1ks (I think one had a turbo), four RZR 1kXPs plus my RZR 900XP. On the starting line, I told Billy that I’d be happy to finish in 5th place in this tough line-up. Judging by the look on Billy’s face, I think he would be happy to just finish the race alive!

THE START:
When we lined up for the start, we had approximately 40 feet to the first right hand turn around a large transmission pole, followed soon by a hard left hand turn around another transmission pole and then heading across an open, flat section toward some large hills made of soft sand/dirt.

On the starting line, I was lined up near the far left (outside of the first turn). I was a little further away from the first turn as compared to others on my right, but my path was smoother and I had less angle around the 1st turn. So I was content with my position. As we waited for the green flag, I gave Billy a fist bump and wished him good luck.

The green flag went up and off we went. My 900xp fired right up and left the line quickly. I immediately looked to my right and saw several UTVs (including Sorento who was leading the pack) reach the right hand turn slightly ahead of me. As the class fought our way around the first turn, I stayed on the (left) outside line and came out of the turn tied with the Yamaha (Sandy) in 4th position. As we came around the 2nd turn, I had the (left) inside line and the Yamaha took the outside line. I mashed the gas pedal hard, but the Yamaha got around me and I fell into 5th position as we headed towards the first big hilly section. I was pumped about my start b/c my goal was to finished 5th and I had already reached that position.

LAPS 1 & 2:
As we made our way through the first lap, we climbed up and down some hills, crossed a dirt road, and winded our way through tight, twisty woods to an old paved road that crosses a railroad track to our immediate right. As we reached the road, we made a 90 degree left turn (away from the train tracks) and ran straight ahead for 150 yards followed by a sharp right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks (boys and girls, can you say "powerslide?). During the sprint to the end of the paved road, I was holding my breadth and hoping the UTV immediately behind me would not pass me. Billy was trying to make us accelerate faster by moving his arms like he is swimming/paddling. lol Luckily, I held my competitors off and we continued onward. After more hilly areas and wooded sections, we eventually ran through a small area with large, jagged rocks on the trails and another section that was badly whooped out. These rough sections jostled Billy and me around inside the RZR like a rag doll. Later, Billy told me that his helmet bumped the cage 2 or 3 times in a row like a pinball machine. Lucky for Billy, he doesn’t have much brain issue to damage!

As lap 1 progressed, I was on the Yamaha’s tail and Cash (Can Am 1k) was hot on my tail. I pushed myself hard to keep up with the Yamaha. At some point, Cash got hung up in the deep, soft ruts (probably the same place were UTVs got stuck during practice) and he disappeared from my rear view mirror. I think JW (blue RZR 1k) was immediately behind Cash when that happened and that slowed JW down for a few seconds. That gave me a little breathing room. The Yamaha that I was previously chasing picked up the pace and disappeared in front of me.

As the race progressed, UTVs started breaking down on the rough and challenging course. They seemed to suddenly appeared alongside the trails, and a few broke down in the middle of the trail causing the rest of the racers to make a new path around them.

LAPS 3 – 5:
Around lap 3, Eric (RZR 1k) caught up to me and put pressure on me. I pushed my RZR hard and caught up to the Yamaha on the next lap. I soon realized that the Yamaha (Sandy) was following immediately the Turbo Maverick (Edel). There were no easy places to pass, so it was a game of "follow the leader" until someone finally broke down or decided to pull of the trail and let others pass.

LAP 6:
On the last lap, we maintained a bumper to bumper race with the Turbo Maverick (Edel) in first position, the Yamaha (Sandy) was immediately behind him in 2nd position, followed closely by my RZR in 3rd position and Eric (4th position) was still hot on my heels. There was only a few seconds separating each UTV and we plowed ahead at a blistering pace. The trails were starting to dry out and we were eating thick dust on some of the open sections.

On the last few miles, my RZR started steering wildly in the turns and it was difficult to keep it on the track. I thought I smelled a faint odor like rubber burning/rubbing. I chalked it up to probably a flat front tire. There was no way I was going to pull off the trail being in 3rd position and very close to the finish line. I pressed onward through the hills and we got air born several times (not on purpose!) trying to make good time. At times, I could see the Yamaha get air born too off some of the short hills. My steering continued to be difficult, and I prayed the RZR could hold out until the end.

RACE RESULTS:
Finally, Billy and I made our way around the last turn and we saw the checkered flag. Hallelujah!! I was so happy to see the finish line b/c I knew my RZR could not make it another lap with such poor steering. The four "band of brothers" who had marched in the same order for the past few laps maintained our positions as we rode past the checkered flag and finished with only 4 seconds between each UTV. We took the first 4 places in UTV Intermediate class. I was pumped about finishing 3rd and Billy KISSED THE GROUND when we got out of the RZR. Ok, I made up that last point about Billy, but I’m quite sure he was very relieved we survived the race and lived to tell about it.

As we passed the checkered flag, I saw a few people standing near the finish line who were pointing at my front end. Obviously, that was not a good sign. When I got out of the RZR, I immediately congratulated Sandy and Eric on a great race.

Then I saw the driver-side front wheel on my RZR. Uh oh. There was a long branch caught between the wheel hub and steering tie rod and it extended all the way to the ground. No telling how long we have been dragging it. lol I also noticed a huge chunk of the stock (plastic) skid plate had been peeled back near the engine area and was pointing straight down. Unfortunately, that was NOT the bad news. My entire front wheel was leaning over to the side. Upon closer inspection, Billy and I discovered a bolt holding one of the lower a-arm mounts had broken loose from the frame, which allowed the lower a-arm to pull away from the frame and front wheel to flop from side to side. There’s no doubt the wheel stayed attached thanks to my (Holz) a-arms and (Dragonfire) front end gusset kit (both of which appeared to be bent, but thankfully still attached). Needless to say, this race was an adventure that I won’t soon forget.

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! 🙂

Short Track Racing

My XC race write-up from Endeavor Bridgeport (2015 TORN rd 7)

Last weekend, I drove to Bridgeport, Tx to compete in Round 7 of the 2015 TORN cross-country series. Unlike my last TORN race, my son was unable to join me for the fun this time (but he should be back next time). Luckily, one of my buddies (Billy) agreed to fill in as my co-pilot for this race and that made the experience much more enjoyable. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Bridgeport, TX… it’s a small town about 50 minutes northwest of Ft. Worth. This rural property has a little bit of everything, including hills, loose sand, rocks, large pastures, thick wooded areas filled with thorny mesquite trees, cactus, ponds, etc. I raced my ATV on this property in early 2014 and it was my favorite TORN track that year. Since then, I have been looking forward to racing here again.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
On race day (Sunday), we enjoyed typical fall weather with highs in the upper 50’s and gray, overcast skies. The forecast included a 50% chance of rain around race time, so it was anybody’s guess if we would have a wet/muddy track or not.

The UTV track length was 4 miles in length and included lots of bumpy, challenging trails through a wide variety of interesting terrain. Specifically, the course took racers up and down several hills, through tight, twisty wooded trails, over rocky sections, flying down an old paved road for a short run, and alongside a railroad track (with a moving train on it during my race just for added effect!). The course also included a few sections with deep, soft ruts, a few areas with harsh, jagged rocks, a few spots with standing water and mud, and a some whoops on soft sand.

PRACTICE:
Due to the 300 mile drive from my house, I drove to Bridgeport on Saturday night and stayed in a local hotel. After leaving a local hotel Sunday morning, I made it to the track around 8:30am and immediately unloaded the RZR for some practice laps. I was the first UTV to hit the course when practice officially started at 9am and took it slow and easy. My first lap was a bit unnerving because there were several downhill sections where I couldn’t see the trail immediately in front of my RZR because the trail was so steep. Talk about a leap of faith!

During my practice laps, I noticed several things about this course.

First, it was different than prior TORN tracks this year because it had several (fun) hill climbs and descents. A few of these hills had a harsh angle that caused my stock RZR shocks to bottom out when I first hit the face of the hill or reached the ground after coming back down. One hill climb had a kicker bump at the very bottom and another lip about half-way up making it hard to hit it fast. Another hill climb had a wet, muddy spot at the bottom immediately before going up the narrow trail. I had to make a mental note about which hills I could hit with speed and which I had to slow down for.

Second, I noticed that some sections of the track were extremely bumpy, rocky and/or whooped out. This course was definitely going to test my RZR and my co-pilot’s nerves (was Billy’s first time to ride passenger during a UTV race).

Third, there were not many places to safely pass unless the rider in front intentionally pulled off the side of the trail for you. This meant getting a good start and avoiding the trees and jagged rocks would be key.

Fourth, I noticed this course included an extremely fast and FUN run up a 150 yard paved road followed by a tight right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks. This was my FAVORITE PART of the course b/c I could put the hammer down and air out the RZR! My only concern was whether this straight, wide section would give my competitors (all of which have a 1000cc motor and/or a turbo) an opportunity to pass my little 900cc RZR. Only time would tell.

After 3 slow practice laps, I noticed Billy’s truck in the parking lot next to the track. I pulled off the track to see if he was ready to join me as co-pilot for a few practice laps. He hopped in, took a few minutes to get his 4 point harness just right and away we went. About half-way around the track, we came upon a traffic jam. The hold-up was a UTV that high-centered in deep, muddy ruts on the trail ahead. When we arrived, there were already 4 or 5 UTVs already helping the stuck UTV, so we stayed put until they finished freeing the stuck machine. A few minutes later, the line of UTVs made a new trail through the thick brush to avoid the deep, soft ruts (which caused other UTVs to high center earlier during practice). Billy seemed to enjoy the first lap as my passenger, except for the fact that his helmet occasionally hit the (custom) cage in my RZR. He is taller than me, so I don’t usually hit the cage unless my 4 pt. harness is loose. We tightened his harness and that seemed to help.

After practice, Billy met up with fellow racers (Jodi and Dan) b/c they let Billy borrow a fire proof suit for our race. It is generous and helpful folks like Jodi and Dan who make TORN a fun and friendly organization. Thank you so much!

UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
A total of 8 side by sides lined up on the starting line of the UTV Intermediate class, including a brand new Yamaha YXZ 1000R, two Can Am Maverick 1ks (I think one had a turbo), four RZR 1kXPs plus my RZR 900XP. On the starting line, I told Billy that I’d be happy to finish in 5th place in this tough line-up. Judging by the look on Billy’s face, I think he would be happy to just finish the race alive!

THE START:
When we lined up for the start, we had approximately 40 feet to the first right hand turn around a large transmission pole, followed soon by a hard left hand turn around another transmission pole and then heading across an open, flat section toward some large hills made of soft sand/dirt.

On the starting line, I was lined up near the far left (outside of the first turn). I was a little further away from the first turn as compared to others on my right, but my path was smoother and I had less angle around the 1st turn. So I was content with my position. As we waited for the green flag, I gave Billy a fist bump and wished him good luck.

The green flag went up and off we went. My 900xp fired right up and left the line quickly. I immediately looked to my right and saw several UTVs (including Sorento who was leading the pack) reach the right hand turn slightly ahead of me. As the class fought our way around the first turn, I stayed on the (left) outside line and came out of the turn tied with the Yamaha (Sandy) in 4th position. As we came around the 2nd turn, I had the (left) inside line and the Yamaha took the outside line. I mashed the gas pedal hard, but the Yamaha got around me and I fell into 5th position as we headed towards the first big hilly section. I was pumped about my start b/c my goal was to finished 5th and I had already reached that position.

LAPS 1 & 2:
As we made our way through the first lap, we climbed up and down some hills, crossed a dirt road, and winded our way through tight, twisty woods to an old paved road that crosses a railroad track to our immediate right. As we reached the road, we made a 90 degree left turn (away from the train tracks) and ran straight ahead for 150 yards followed by a sharp right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks (boys and girls, can you say "powerslide?). During the sprint to the end of the paved road, I was holding my breadth and hoping the UTV immediately behind me would not pass me. Billy was trying to make us accelerate faster by moving his arms like he is swimming/paddling. lol Luckily, I held my competitors off and we continued onward. After more hilly areas and wooded sections, we eventually ran through a small area with large, jagged rocks on the trails and another section that was badly whooped out. These rough sections jostled Billy and me around inside the RZR like a rag doll. Later, Billy told me that his helmet bumped the cage 2 or 3 times in a row like a pinball machine. Lucky for Billy, he doesn’t have much brain issue to damage!

As lap 1 progressed, I was on the Yamaha’s tail and Cash (Can Am 1k) was hot on my tail. I pushed myself hard to keep up with the Yamaha. At some point, Cash got hung up in the deep, soft ruts (probably the same place were UTVs got stuck during practice) and he disappeared from my rear view mirror. I think JW (blue RZR 1k) was immediately behind Cash when that happened and that slowed JW down for a few seconds. That gave me a little breathing room. The Yamaha that I was previously chasing picked up the pace and disappeared in front of me.

As the race progressed, UTVs started breaking down on the rough and challenging course. They seemed to suddenly appeared alongside the trails, and a few broke down in the middle of the trail causing the rest of the racers to make a new path around them.

LAPS 3 – 5:
Around lap 3, Eric (RZR 1k) caught up to me and put pressure on me. I pushed my RZR hard and caught up to the Yamaha on the next lap. I soon realized that the Yamaha (Sandy) was following immediately the Turbo Maverick (Edel). There were no easy places to pass, so it was a game of "follow the leader" until someone finally broke down or decided to pull of the trail and let others pass.

LAP 6:
On the last lap, we maintained a bumper to bumper race with the Turbo Maverick (Edel) in first position, the Yamaha (Sandy) was immediately behind him in 2nd position, followed closely by my RZR in 3rd position and Eric (4th position) was still hot on my heels. There was only a few seconds separating each UTV and we plowed ahead at a blistering pace. The trails were starting to dry out and we were eating thick dust on some of the open sections.

On the last few miles, my RZR started steering wildly in the turns and it was difficult to keep it on the track. I thought I smelled a faint odor like rubber burning/rubbing. I chalked it up to probably a flat front tire. There was no way I was going to pull off the trail being in 3rd position and very close to the finish line. I pressed onward through the hills and we got air born several times (not on purpose!) trying to make good time. At times, I could see the Yamaha get air born too off some of the short hills. My steering continued to be difficult, and I prayed the RZR could hold out until the end.

RACE RESULTS:
Finally, Billy and I made our way around the last turn and we saw the checkered flag. Hallelujah!! I was so happy to see the finish line b/c I knew my RZR could not make it another lap with such poor steering. The four "band of brothers" who had marched in the same order for the past few laps maintained our positions as we rode past the checkered flag and finished with only 4 seconds between each UTV. We took the first 4 places in UTV Intermediate class. I was pumped about finishing 3rd and Billy KISSED THE GROUND when we got out of the RZR. Ok, I made up that last point about Billy, but I’m quite sure he was very relieved we survived the race and lived to tell about it.

As we passed the checkered flag, I saw a few people standing near the finish line who were pointing at my front end. Obviously, that was not a good sign. When I got out of the RZR, I immediately congratulated Sandy and Eric on a great race.

Then I saw the driver-side front wheel on my RZR. Uh oh. There was a long branch caught between the wheel hub and steering tie rod and it extended all the way to the ground. No telling how long we have been dragging it. lol I also noticed a huge chunk of the stock (plastic) skid plate had been peeled back near the engine area and was pointing straight down. Unfortunately, that was NOT the bad news. My entire front wheel was leaning over to the side. Upon closer inspection, Billy and I discovered a bolt holding one of the lower a-arm mounts had broken loose from the frame, which allowed the lower a-arm to pull away from the frame and front wheel to flop from side to side. There’s no doubt the wheel stayed attached thanks to my (Holz) a-arms and (Dragonfire) front end gusset kit (both of which appeared to be bent, but thankfully still attached). Needless to say, this race was an adventure that I won’t soon forget.

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! 🙂

Short Track Racing

Wanna get racing and need some advise.

I just bought a 1000xp 2 seater. I used to race quads til I lost my leg in a auto accident. I would like to maybe try and run the rzr at a few races, an attempt to get the same adrenaline rush I got racing before I lost my leg. I have read the score and gncc rules for getting my car ready. My question is what is a good series or race that is more for amateurs and beginners?? Who is a good person to contact regarding the series??? I live outside StLouis MO in southern IL. My buddy has an 800 and is also very interested in doing this with me. If I can get some help finding a good series or race for my skill level ( which is none) then I can make sure the car is compliant with that particular race or series rules. Not really wanting to travel 2000 miles, but 500 to 600 or 5 to 6 hours would be cool. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just wanna race without dropping $30k and cutting my bike apart. Just wanna have fun! Just need a point in the right direction.
Short Track Racing

MY XC Race Write-up from Crafton 2 (TORN rd 5)

Last Saturday, my son and I drove to Crafton, Tx to compete in Round 5 of the 2015 TORN (cross-country) series on Sunday. This race was extra special for me because my son (Cash) finally strapped himself into the co-pilot seat during the race. For the past few months, I have been planning to let Cash race with me just as soon as the Texas summer heat finally subsided. Thankfully, that happened this weekend. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Crafton, TX… it’s a tiny town about an hour northwest of Ft. Worth. This property is way out in the country and has a mixture of large grassy pastures and thick wooded areas containing lots of thorny mesquite trees, rocky creek beds and cactus. If this race sounds like deja vu, its because we just raced at this same property 2 weeks ago. Luckily, TORN relocated the UTV race course to a different part of the property, so it was a completely different track.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
Unlike the last several races which were hot and dusty, this race was neither. With the fall-like weather finally upon us, this race day felt heavenly and racers enjoyed comfortable outside temps in the low 80’s and partly cloudy skies. Thanks to a 1/2 inch of rain falling the day before, dust was almost non-existent.

The UTV track length was 3.5 miles long and the course included a nice variety of obstacles. Most of the course was tight, twisty trails through the trees. But it also included trails with deep sandy ruts, jagged rocks, a few muddy spots, a zig-zag trail through a grassy pasture, one long whoops section and a hill climb with multiple routes to the top.

NIGHT BEFORE:
We decided to try something new for this race. Instead of making the long drive to and from Crafton on the same day (11 hours round trip), we decided to drive up the evening before the race and stay at a hotel in Bridgeport. This plan worked great, except that I couldn’t fall asleep on the hard hotel mattress… felt like I was sleeping on a picnic table. Also, my son pointed out that the beds looked short. I thought he was just kidding, but sure enough… my feet actually hung off the edge of the bed when my legs were straight. LOL Well, at least my son slept well. Despite my lack of sleep, it did feel nice to roll out of bed at 7am instead of 3:40am. In any case, we’ll probably try a different hotel next time.

PRACTICE:
We got to the track at 8:45am and quickly unloaded the RZR to do some practice laps. On the first practice lap, I noticed how tight the wooded trails were. I also noticed a few muddy sections that we had to cross, so I was glad I brought my tear-off goggles to this race.

After 4 practice laps, I went back to the truck to drop off Cash and let him rest. Then I headed out for one last practice lap. Near the end of the lap, I came around a corner a little too fast and nailed a tree on the passenger side of my front bumper. Luckily, I hit the brakes before impact, but it still hit hard enough to bend the front bumper towards the headlight. I tried to pull back the bumper into shape as much as possible and then continued on with my last practice lap. That incident was a good reminder that the trees were going to be the toughest obstacles on this track.

UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
A total of 8 side by sides lined up on the starting line of the UTV Intermediate class, including a few Can Am Maverick 1ks, a few RZR XP1ks, a few RZR 900XPs (including mine), and a 2015 RZR 900S.

THE START:
When we lined up for the start, we had approximately 35 feet to the first right hand turn around a large tree, followed by a few turns that took racers onto a small section that resembled an MX track with a few small jumps and turns with berms. After the MX section, we passed the scoring chute and headed into the woods.

On the starting line, I was lined up in the middle. There were 4 UTVs to my right and 3 to my left. As we were waiting for the green flag, I gave my son a fist bump and told him good luck. He looked puzzled and said, "Good luck? What do you mean good luck??? I’m riding with you." LOL I told him if he has good luck, then that must mean I will have good luck too b/c we are riding together.

The green flag went up and off we went. My 900xp fired right up and left the line quickly. I immediately looked to my right and saw 3 other UTVs reach the right hand turn just ahead of me. As the class fought our way around the first turn, I stayed on the outside and came out of the turn in 5th position (I think).

LAPS 1 – 3:
Just as we came onto the small MX section and made a sharp right hand turn, I noticed my RZR suddenly started to slow down and the engine stalled. I quickly grabbed the ignition key and restarted the motor. Luckily, the guy behind me didn’t pass in the brief moment it took for me to restart and get going again. It never stalled again during the race, so apparently it was just due to the engine being cold at the start of this race.

After we passed the small MX section and scoring chute area, the line of UTVs in my class made a sweeping left turn towards a tight section of woods. You could either go straight through the small opening of trees or else take the longer, wider alternative trail to the left side of the trees and it soon rejoins the main trail. During practice laps, I made the decision that I would take the wider, longer route to the left during the race because I could better maintain my pace and have a better chance of avoiding the trees.

As luck would have it, I saw 2 UTVs from my class (I think Cash F. and JW) hung up in the tight trees straight ahead. I later heard that Cash nailed a tree and JW was following close behind Cash and accidentally ran into the back of Cash. Anyway, I took the trail to the left (as I had previously planned) and rejoined the main trail immediately behind a red UTV (Zack) and black UTV (Serento). And just like that, my son and I were now in 3rd position… Sweet!

As lap 1 continued, I followed closely behind the red and black UTVs in front of me. As we came to the first trail around a pond, the red UTV stuck to the left (outside) edge of the trail and the black UTV took the more bumpy right (inside) edge of the trail. They ran side by side along the edge of the pond and then the trail makes a hard, 90 degree turn to the right with the left lane (outside) edge being the smoothest. The right (inside) edge makes a steep climb. I expected the black UTV to drop back when he came to the steep climb, but he hit it hard and shot onto the trail just in front of the red UTV. We were right behind both and it was exciting to watch this pass just in front of us.

Next, we ran through more tight woods and then crossed a small mud hole and hit the long, straight whoops section. During practice laps, I discovered that if I hit this whoops section at 25mph and stayed to my left, I could bounce across it fairly quickly without getting out of control. If I ran any slower than 25, it was extremely rough and difficult to stay straight.

Further down the trail, it makes a right hand turn and runs along a large pond on our left. There were a few boulders on the trail, but otherwise you could hit this short section fast. Then you make a hairpin turn to the right through some deep ruts.

Next, the course takes you through a large mud hole that was filled with dirty water. The mud hole is on the edge of a large pasture area and the sides of the mud hole were built up with dirt as if it was intended to be holding pond. During the morning practice laps, Cash and I were nervous crossing this spot for the first time because we had no idea how deep the water was or how soft the bottom would be. Luckily, it was fairly shallow with a hard bottom and we had no problem crossing it. After racers exit the mud hole, the course takes racers through a short zig-zag section in the open pasture area and then back into the tight woods. As the race continued, I noticed that the far side of the pond where racers exit the mud hole was becoming very wet and slippery. In fact, the first few turns in the pasture area following this mud hole were also getting wet and slippery thanks to all the water dragged out of the pond by the racers. By the last few laps, the first few turns in this pasture area were like sliding on ice and you had to be careful not to spin out or over shoot the turns.

Following the pasture area, racers re-entered the woods and tackled a 20′ hill climb with multiple trails leading straight to the top. There were 2 trails that were easy to see and both went straight up with large boulders at the very top to climb over. Upon reaching the top, both trails made a hard right turn towards more wooded trails. However, there was also a 3rd trail on the far right side that starts at the very bottom of the hill and runs a little off camber to the right towards the top. It was kind of hidden. In fact, I didn’t notice this right trail until my last practice lap and even then I didn’t bother to try it because it didn’t look like it was any faster than the other 2 trails going straight up. Later, I was told by a friend at the starting line that the right trail was in fact the quickest and most direct route (thanks for the tip Rut!). This tip saved some time and made a big difference in my finish b/c not all racers found this trail.

As the course continues through the woods, the trail formed deep ruts in the loose, sandy soil. At one point, there was a sharp left hand turn through some tight trees. Whenever I hit this corner, I always chose the alternative route on the outside which was wider so as to avoid the tighter trees and keep up a good pace. During the last few laps, the ruts were so deep on this turn that you could hit this turn at a fast pace and it felt like you were riding on rails!

After more tight woods, the course takes you around a right hand turn with several large, flat boulders to climb over. After more wooded trails near the front of the property, the course ends up near the starting line and begins another lap.

LAPS 4 – 6:
Around lap 4, I was slowed down when I came upon a stuck Can Am Maverick (Ron) in the middle of the trail just past a dry, bumpy creek crossing. I was later told that Ron ran up the side of the tree and when his UTV came back down, the tree was somehow lodged between the UTV and his front bumper. After the race, they used a chainsaw to free him. With several small trees on both sides of the stuck Maverick, there was no apparent way around. The first time I approached, tried to go to right, but was stopped by a tree (which dented my front bumper again). Then I backed up and went left of the Maverick and was finally able to maneuver through the trees with a 3 point turn.

On lap 5 or 6, I stopped again at this point to ask Ron where is the best place to get around his stuck Maverick. Ron told me to go right and to hurry. That is when I saw JW (blue RZR 1k) caught up to me and he tried to go around the Maverick on the left side. I made a new path to the right through bushes and small trees and pressed onward as quickly as possible. I later found out that JW had trouble getting around the Maverick on the left side, and had trouble getting his RZR into Reverse gear. From that point on, I was pushing my RZR hard b/c I knew JW was not far behind us. My only hope was to reach the finish line before he caught up again.

RACE RESULTS:
Cash and I were both excited to cross the finish line and earn 3rd place. This is my best finish all season, so obviously my son is a good luck charm. I’m ok if it was just luck that got us in a top 3 finish. As they say, even a blind hog finds an acorn every once in a while.

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

PICS:


I hope you enjoyed my write-up. 😎

Short Track Racing

My XC Race Write-up from Crafton 1 (TORN Round 4)

Yesterday, I drove to Crafton, Tx to compete in Round 4 of the 2015 TORN (cross-country) series. Below is my race write-up.

WHERE:
Crafton, TX… it’s a tiny town about an hour northwest of Ft. Worth. This property is way out in the country and has a mixture of large grassy pastures and thick wooded areas containing lots of thorny mesquite trees, rocky creek beds and cactus.

TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and hot (temps in the mid 90s at race time).

The UTV track length was 3.5 miles long. The section of the track closest to the scoring chute was apparently watered down prior to the race to eliminate the dust, but the result was a slippery, muddy mess. The rest of the course was bone dry and extremely dusty.

UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
A total of 6 side by sides lined up on the starting line of the UTV Intermediate class, including a few RZR XP1Ks, a few RZR 900XPs (including mine) and a few Can Am Maverick 1Ks.

NIGHT BEFORE:
The night before the race, I was not feeling well and almost talked myself out of going to the race. I suffered from sinus headaches and asthma attacks all week and just started taking medicine on Friday. Somehow, I found myself at 8:30pm on the night before the race and I still needed to load the truck and trailer with my RZR and equipment. Luckily, my passion for XC racing won and I dragged myself out to the garage and began loading my truck.

In addition to loading up the truck, I also needed to prep my RZR for the Crafton track. Last year, I raced at this track on my old Kawasaki KFX700 and my race ended early thanks to a flat rear tire. For that reason, I decided to put TIRE SLIME in my RZR tires before loading up the RZR on the trailer. I had intended to do this all season, but never got around to doing it. I’m very glad I did this (more on this later).

PRACTICE:
My son and I left the house at 4am to make the 5.5 hour drive to Crafton. Upon arrival, we made 3 practice laps. Near the end of the first lap, we rolled up the front side of a very wide dirt hill about 10′ tall. I heard my son loudly gasp as we crested the top and immediately realized there was a steep descent on the backside (rather than a table top or long hill). It was surprises like this that made the practice laps fun and exciting for both my son and I.

I had two concerns after running a few practice laps; thick dust making it impossible to see the course ahead and sharp, rocky areas that put your tires at risk. The dust was very thick in places, especially in the woods. That meant getting a good start is critical if I was going to have any chance at a top 3 finish. The dust can definitely slow down riders in the back of the pack and make it more difficult to avoid trees and other obstacles. Also, there were a few drop offs where you had to almost come to a complete stop before dropping over the edge into a dry creek crossing. My biggest concern was whether racers immediately behind me would be able to see me stopping when the trail is full of dust.

Also, I was concerned about the sections of trail with large, jagged rocks. One area in particular was lined with flat, smooth rocks and then the trail took you to a left hand turn where the rocks have a 1′ drop off onto more flat rocks followed by some more rough rocky sections. As an option, you could avoid this drop off by going straight, but it was longer and took more time. There was another section where you came down off a small drop off and turned left towards large slabs of rock about 8" tall. You had to be careful when you hit the edge of the large rock slabs so as to avoid tire or wheel damage. In addition to rocks, this course had several trails that were lined with large patches of cactus. These areas made me thankful that I took the time to install TIRE SLIME in my tires the night before.

THE START:
When we lined up for the start, we had approximately 50 feet to the first left hand (180 degree) turn, followed by a straight section that included a few small table top jumps. I was lined up 2nd to the far right side (outside of the first turn). In hindsight, I may have been better off if I had lined up on the left side of the line so as to be closer to the inside of the first turn. In any case, I’m not sure my results would have been any different given that I have a 100cc disadvantage to most of the others in my class (my smaller motor is not usually noticeable to me except for the start of the race).

Finally, the green flag went up and my 900xp left the line quickly. The black RZR to my immediate left immediately took the lead and the rest of the line seemed to reach the first turn about the same time. I tried to steer wide so as to avoid the UTV to my immediate left and then I saw Cash (White Can Am) pass me on the outside (to my right). I was very surprised and relieved that no one got tangled up with each other around the first turn! As all of our class jockeyed for position coming out of the first turn, I ended up in last position. Yikes. That meant I had my work cut out for me and I was going to be eating a lot of dust sandwiches.

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 pasture areas. Once we entered the woods, the dust was so thick that I could not see the steering wheel. I was not like a fog where you can make out shapes of trees and racers in front of you…it was much worse! I immediately hit the brakes and slowed to a crawl as I made my way through the woods. After 10 seconds or so, the dust thinned enough that I could finally see the trail again. Once there was sufficient distance between me and the racer in front of me, I pressed onward at a good pace. As the race continued, the racers in my class spread out and I didn’t have as much dust to contend with. But I was hoping to see more dust whenever I finally caught up to them.

Eventually, I observed a few racers from my class that were parked along the side of the trail. I later found out that one had overheating issues and another made intimate contact with a tree.

Near the beginning of my 3rd and 4th laps, I saw the Pro class racers heading towards the scoring chute (not that far behind me). I was determined to avoid getting lapped during this race if at all possible, so this motivated me to press onward.

LAP 5:
As I finished my 4th lap, I finally caught up to a fellow racer from my class. Travis (white 900xp) was starting his 5th lap as I was headed towards the scoring chute to finish my 4th lap. After racing alone for most of the race, I was excited to finally catch up to one of my competitors. Like a shark that smells blood in the water, I started pushing my RZR harder to catch my prey. I made up ground as we raced around the twisty pasture areas and small dirt jumps. Just as we entered the woods section, I was only 10 or 20 yards behind Travis. Unfortunately, the thick dust hit me like a wall and I slowed way down through the rest of the woods. As we exited the last wooded section on lap 5, I put the hammer down in the open areas that lead to the scoring scute/finish line. But alas, it was too little, too late. I finished just a few seconds behind Travis (3rd place) and I think Travis was close behind Cash (2nd place).

RACE RESULTS:
I was really hoping for a top 3 finish today, but it was not to be. Instead, I finished 4th out of 6. So far this season, I have finished 4th in every race (except for the first race where I took 5th). But I can’t complain too much considering I finished without any RZR carnage and I got to enjoy another great day of UTV racing with my fellow TORN brothers. As a side note, I pulled out 1/2 dozen long mesquite thorns from my RZR’s tires after the race (and they are still holding air!).

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

PICS: