2005 6 Hours, Rausch Creek - Team Stories [Archive]

jlhughes750

07-18-2005, 12:22 PM

#750 Team ATVRiders - 30plus class

We had a little surprise early, warming up the quad a few hours before the start and the water pump started leaking!!!! Heres when you have to love the atmosphere at the ATV races..I went looking for parts and found the seal I needed from Mike Lucas GNCC Pro AM racer. He had it at home and had his dad run it up. We quickly rebuilt the water pump and were back in business with time to spare. Thanks Mike you really saved our day, we owe you!

I started the race. the bike did not fire like it usually does, and I got off the line a few seconds late. I went for the right side along the fence and started trying to pass the B class riders......I saw a wall of mud, a few posts, and a bunch of track marking ribbon, saw a quad facing the wrong way and went around, then had to take both hands off to unwrap the ribbon from my bike!!! That was all before the first turn.......

By the end of the 2nd lap I was just out of the top 10 overall and leading our class, I think I got by Team RAB racing rider Chad Kirby during an option??? I got off the bike after completing 4 laps and handed off to Mark Carman.. I was told I was in the top 10 overall and leading the 30 plus class!!! Mark held his own, but Randy Brandt hopped on the RAB racing cannondale and chased Mark down to regain the lead. Our 3rd rider Dan Ketterer jumped on next and got us back up to within a few seconds of RAB.. Once we got the lead back I was up for my second turn.. I tried to let it all hang out as I suspected the other team (RAB) was having a problem, I put down some of my best laps of the race and pulled a decent gap....unfortunatly for my team, I pushed a lil to hard and got a flat right rear.... We had a jambing lugnut and turned a 20 seconds stop into a 1 minute stop!!! We hit the track again with the lead, but did not realize that another team (Dirtfirst had been keeping our pace the entire race, the were just back a few minutes.... Well the tire change did not help our cause.. We got passed for the lead and did not realize it until we sent someone to check out the board.....we held the lead or battled for it for what seemed to be 5 hours of the race!! With one hour to go we knew Dirt first was only a minute or so ahead but the fog was killing us. I noticed on the last ride that the subframe felt loose and the back was bottoming out real easy... Dan finished out the race and with the back half ready to fall of, we did not want to risk making a charge to catch the leaders!!!:(
After the race was finished I went over to inspect the loose rear end, thats when my teammate informed me he had rolled it earlier and thought he may have broken the frame!! He didn't want to tell me during the race!!:rolleyes: probably a smart decision!

Jamie@Cardiostack

07-18-2005, 12:28 PM

Cardio Stack A Team
jamie bougher
jim stack
todd rothermel

This is a good idea Harlan, nice Job! As far as our race it went pretty well except for a few minor things. I had problems getting the bike started on the line and was last to get going.. Stack just bought the bike the night before off of borich and the three of us never had a chance to ride it so i had problems starting it.. Once it got going it was good until the handlerbars fell down about a mile into the first lap when i was stuck in a bottleneck... I thought then it was going to be a long day.. I finally made it out to the pits about 1/2 to 3/4 of a lap down already.. We had a gameplan right from the beginning and we were going to switch and put a dry rider on after the first lap no matter what... Todd Rothermel was in the pits ready to go so i pulled up we tightened the bars and he was off.. the bars came loose again that lap so he pulled in and we had to remove the mounting bracket for the hid`s on the stem and replace a stripped bolt ... we also had some sputtering problems like everyone else so we drained airbox and cleaned filter and we were off again, now down a full lap or so..bike ran good from there on and we would pull in every two laps just to blow out radiator with the powerwasher.. then came the darkness where we were missing our best lights now and the bike overheated on todd in the woods where he was stuck for twenty minutes.. me and stack thought it was over but kept our hopes up and todd finally emerged from the woods after the bike cooled down... we blew out the radiator, gave the bike a minutes rest, then I hopped on and we just hammered down from there... in the last 2hrs we went from 19th to 6th overall and we wanted to go another six hours...

kc 300EX

07-18-2005, 12:37 PM

I'd love to participate.....

I'm Casey Botbyl. I raced in the B class with my 2 cousins Greg Botbyl and Butch Pinand on Gregs Honda 450R.

Our other cousin PJ Pinand was our pit crew/mechanic. Gregs father, Glenn, showed up and surprised us and was a big help in the pits.

We showed up Friday afternoon and pitted our bus (yeah we came in a bus.... maybe you saw it, little red tart cart) in the dirt instead of the stones... thinking it would be better for sleeping on. That was the biggest mistake of the weekend....

Friday night it POURED. We all woke up floating.... except for Butch, cuz he slept on the ground, so he woke up under water. I was very thankful for my air mattress....

The race started before we knew it... we didn't come up with a team name until last minute. We have no sponsors, soo the team name came from the back of a propane bottle we had lying in camp. Hazardous. And the Hazardous Racing team was born.

Greg and Butch laughed at my orange rain suit friday night.. but both ended up wearing one for the race saturday. I started the race wearing mine, if you look at any of the pics I'm pretty easy to pick out. Cut out the sleaves for ventilation, worked great.

We ended up being the first quad lined up in the B class. It was a big advantage and I felt I got a great start on the 450 which started first kick no problems and took off like a bat outta hell.

I think I used all my tear offs before we even got to the woods.

The track was very muddy and I did all I could to hang on for one lap, after that I handed the quad off to Butch for laps 2 and 3. He said 2 laps took too much out of him so Greg did one and we rotated each lap for most of the race.

Our pit times were in the seconds so it didn't hurt us too bad.

They had to make changes to the track during the race b/c so many riders were getting stuck out there. Apparently after walking the track friday some riders complained the track was too easy (not I) so they added some crazy sections to make it more challenging..... Well these were the sections that ended up getting cut out (thank god) after the firt few laps because there was just so many people getting stuck there.

We fueled every 4 laps or so. Power washed the radiator every pit stop and had PJ reloading tear offs like it was his Job.

By the 3 1/2 hour mark I had given up on goggles all together. By that time a good line had formed in the track and the mud wasn't really an issue as long as you watched out for low hanging branches and other riders roost.

Nobody on my team turned in any amazing lap times, we were all in the 13-15 minute range, however nobody turned in any really high lap times either and that really helped us out.

We didn't suffer a single flat amazingly, our Razr 2's held up flawlessly, as did our Hipers... Well worth the investmest.

I got severe arm pump the first couple times out, but as the race went on and I stretched it got better and better as did my lap times.

I started doing 2 laps at a time which in turn gave Greg and Butch more time to rest which helped their lap times as well. We ran 7th in B for most of the beginning of the race but as time wore on we worked our way up to 3rd in B and thats where we finished, with a 13th overall.

The end of the race was very exciting. Our Trail Tech lights worked great on most of the track, EXCEPT in the fog where sight distance was very limited. We were all forced to run about 3rd gear in one of the fastest straights because we just couldn't see well enough.

We were very pleased, no mechanical failures other than a handguard falling off, and no injuries!!! (unlike last year when I was sent to the hospital in the ambulance with a broken collar bone and broken shoulder blade) ((We have the fence post I hit last year as a souvenir))

We got our plaques after they figured out the scoring and all shook hands and congratulated each other and talked about the race.

We couldnt really stay in camp because it was under water!!... soo we all had to strip down to our boxers and get into Glenn's leather seated Acura and go to a Hotel.

We all had a great time and are very sore now!!

We spent a good 2 hours power washing all of our stuff when we got home and we still aren't done.

All in all we had a blast and can't wait til next year.

07-18-2005, 02:05 PM

team hreatv.com. A class. warren draper, tyson thomas, and lee dickerson. warren started the race on his yfz. we started out 10 th overall. the first lap. then warren stopped because he could nt see. then tyson got on. tyson took us up to 6th overall and 4 th in class. then i got on and we went to 2 nd in class 3rd overall. warren was next up and he held our spot. tyson was back out and we went to 1st in class and 2 nd overall. i went next and traci cecco got by me back on the hill climb. i got stuck on the first path. so i backed down and went up the second trail. on my 4 th lap i put a stick in my eye and it hurt like hell. so i stopped. at that time we were in 2 nd overall and 2nd in class. warren was out and held that spot. then tyson was up we were 3 min behind the leader traci . then tyson stopped on lap 19 the coil was cracked and acting up. so we fixed in about 15 min. we were still 2 nd in class and 3 rd overall after all that. so tyson went back out on a mission. but he did nt get far. the yfz blew a head gasket and we were done.with only 8 more laps to go. it sucked to walk over there to watch the score go down the chitter. but thats racing.so we finished 6 th in A class and 21 overall. the bike ran perfect the whole race till then. we had a good time and real happy to run up front for most of the race.

cdrookie

07-18-2005, 04:08 PM

Team Lonestar ---> Ironman class
#17 Bryan Braughler

it was actually suppose to be Team Lonerider, but registration apparently couldn't read my chicken scratch...

anyways,
knowing i wasn't gonna win the race on the first lap, i decided to wait till everyone else left before i did. my plan was to spend hardly any time in the pits and keep a steady pace on the track. didn't take long to catch the tail end of the pack but at least i wasn't completely covered with mud. in fact, i went 3 hours before i needed to change my goggles!

i was feeling great at the half way point but as soon as it started getting dark(around 9) i started beating myself mentally. the trail tech lights i ordered 8-9 days before didn't show up and i was forced to use my stockers, which are worthless. i was cursing my spare set of goggles cause they kept fogging up, but after ditching them in favor of a pair of safety glasses, i realized the track was what was getting foggy. i stopped to check the race stats and they said i was 2nd in class and 24th overall and on the same lap as the guy in 1st. i tried to make ground on the next lap but i could literally out run my headlights in 1st gear.

on what i figured was gonna be my last lap, i pulled over to let some faster guys around but ended up getting stuck. i used all the strength i didn't know i had to get pointing back in the right direction. got back on the quad and tried starting it but it turned over 2-3 times then the battery had enough. after 5.5+ hours without a spit, sputter, or hiccup, the cannondales battery was dead and i had to get towed back.

still finished 2nd in class and 24th overall. i don't know who won the Ironman class but saw he finished 18th overall! you gotta respect that!!

a HUGE thanks goes out to Team Alba! Rick and the rest of his crew kept me fueled up, pressure washed, and even changed my roll off film. you'd have a hard time finding a nicer group of people. thanks guys and girls!

lancems007

07-18-2005, 04:09 PM

Team TPC PowerCenter (Utility Expert)

I started the race and got a decent start. We walked the track the day before and I was really suprised to see that it had been changed pretty dramatically since I walked it. Needless to say, I slammed into a tree on a wet, off camber slippery section that I hadn't had a chance to walk and flew over the bars, landing directly on top off my head. When I finally got back to my feet and on the bike, I realized the bars were bent forward and to the left. So, I limped it back to the pits the best I could and it took us about 20 minutes to fix the problem. **Note to self for 12 hour** Organize Pit Crew**

George and Dave got on my King Quad and each rode three laps each without a hitch. We were feeling really confident. I got back on the bike and was turning a really smooth lap. When I got to the motocross section, I remember seeing Harlen there snapping pictures at this large table top. As I went over the table top past him, I felt something snap. As I got back on the gas, I realized it was the right rear axle. Since we are running a 2005 Suzuki King Quad 700, it has IRS. This was my second right rear axle I've snapped in the 380 miles I have on the quad**Note to self**Call Gorilla Axle**

I limped the quad back to the pits in 4WD, which works terrible with only one rear wheel turning, and told the guys what happened. They said to go out and try and run it in 3 wheel drive, which is actually like 1.5 wheel drive. I tried that for about 1 mile and I couldn't make it up the first steep hill. So, I headed back to the pits again. At this point we didn't have another axle on hand to change out, so I figured we were done. Then, our main pit guy Tom said, does anyone have a welder????? I did bring my 110 volt teeny tiny welder with me. So, we figured we'd give it a try. 45 minutes later, we had the axle out, welded, and back in the bike.

We opted to run it in 4 wheel drive the whole time in order to keep stress off the welded axle. Tom thought we'd be lucky to make a lap. It wasn't until 5 laps later that the axle finally broke again. At this point, there was only about an hour of the race left, and we were 5 laps down and mathematically we couldn't catch up to Penland.

About 5 minutes after we broke the axle for the 2nd time, Penland's quad blew up and was towed back to the pits.

So, we ruined a ton of stuff, but learned alot of lessons for the 12 hours of ATV America. I just hope it doesn't rain like that again!!!

Admin

07-18-2005, 04:28 PM

These are some awesome stories and thanks for taking the time to share them with everyone, so 6 teams down, where are the other 40 teams stories?

Keep them coming:D

SwainRacing

07-18-2005, 07:28 PM

#725 C&S Racing – IRONMAN Class

Hi my name is Todd Swain, and I started racing ATV’s this year. I have been competing in the GNCC series in the 35+ C Class, and have been improving every race. I thought this 6 hour race would even help me more for the GNCC races, so I decided to go IRONMAN.

I would like to thank all my crew members, Michele, Kirstie, Tyler, Ron S, Ron M, & Doug for the great job they did on all my pit stops. I could not have done this race with out them!

Also I would like to thank my main sponsor, Dave Crouse, for building me a GREAT Honda TRX 450R and supplying us with a home away from home.

We arrived Friday afternoon right behind the red bus. We also were going to pit over on the first pit area, until we got over there and saw that there was not much stone on the ground. I didn’t want to get stuck again like we did out in OH at the GNCC race. So we moved over to the second pit area just inside the entrance on the left. Got everything set up and took a break.

At around 5pm we took off walking the track. We took our time and finished walking it around 7:15. The track was to my liking, nice and wide and not to rocky. I knew it was going to be a fast track for everyone. I picked the lines I was going to take and checked for other routes in some spots where I thought it might bottleneck. We got a bite to eat and turned in for the night.

After it rained all night, I got up and started setting up our pit area. Then later in the afternoon, my pit crew started rolling in. We went over our pit strategy, but that went out the window on the first lap, due to goggles fogging up and all the MUD!

On the start, I took my time getting to the TRX and it took 2 kicks to fire. I think I was 3rd in to the first corner in my class. I took my time and learned the track. I pitted just about every lap to change goggles, gloves and spray the radiator off. I just paced my self and keep telling myself not to do anything stupid. You have to finish the race to win the race! After about the 3rd hour I asked my crew to see where I was at in my class and over all. The next lap I stopped and they told me I was in second place. I just kept my steady pace and a few laps when I pitted my crew asked me if I wanted to know what place I was in. I told them I didn’t want to know but they yelled that I was now in first place and moving up over all! I was very excited and it got me a little nervous. I kept saying to my self don’t do any thing stupid!

Around 8:30 I need to turn the lights on. So on my next pit we uncovered the lights. One of the MR16s was shattered but the other one worked. Then I tried the 8” light and it didn’t fire up! I though I was in trouble now, with only one lower light. When I got out to the MX track I tried the 8" light again and it fired up! WOW what a relief! I could now really see where I was going and picked up the pace.

I was feeling great until the last hour. This is when I started to tire out. At this time I was told I had at least a 2 lap lead over second place. So I took it easy in the fog section and some other of the slower sections, trying to get some strength back. Out on the MX track I was now rolling over the jumps I was doing earlier.

When I came around the last turn and saw the checked flag I was very happy to see it! Not that I couldn’t have done a few more laps, but it sure was nice to know I finished the race with out stalling the TRX once, hitting anything & not a single sputter.

I just want to say all you other IRONMEN out there, you see a lot of coverage out there about the team riders, the pros and they do deserve it, but for one rider to do this alone is a amazing task! My hats off to all of you!

Bryan Braughler, I just wanted to thank you for your comment on my over all finish! If you would not have gotten stuck, I know we would have been fighting to the end!

I would also like to thank the team that was pitted beside us for loaning me a set of their goggles near the end of the race!

Sorry for the long story. Thanks for putting on a great race, and I hope you replace the one that was to be in OH in Aug. I will defiantly be doing most of these next year, I am hooked!

Derno24

07-18-2005, 08:20 PM

RAB Offroad/ C&D Racing

Team members Randy Brandt, Chad Kirby, and Ron Dernoski.

Well our story starts with our quad a Cannondale. Yep we have one of those. We have had some success already winning our class at the 6hr in Ga and finishing 3rd overall. We knew this race would not be as easy as there were alot more teams and there were several great teams in the 30+ class.

We felt extremely confident in our quad which was in great working condition. We took extra time taping off the whole front end so we didn't get alot of mud in the radiator. The race started out with Chad getting an excellent start and passing most of the line. We came around in 2nd place in our class right behind the ATVriders team. As Chad went by the quad sounded great. There were many machines sucking water and sputtering all over the track, but ours was ready for the elements. We switched positions with the ATVriders team for most of the first 3 hrs as it seemed our 2 teams would be battling it out for the rest of the race. Our lap times were very similar with neither team making mistakes out on the track.

Then it all started. Our water bottle blew the cap off and all of the coolant blew out of the bottle. After a 5min pit we had it corrected, but now we had changed our put strategy as we took time to clean the bottle and check it for each pit. We knew this hurt our chances of keeping up with the ATVriders team, but we figured there was alot of time left so we kept plugging along. After another pit we noticed the bottle was a little low so we topped it off again with another lengthy pit. The ATVriders team was slowly pulling away with about a 5 min lead. No our concern shifted to the rapidly closing Dirt First team. They were gaining with each lengthy pit. The amazig part was that we were still in the top ten overall even with about 15 extra mins wasted in the pits.

Our little problems kept killing us slowly. Instead of a major breakdown ending our day we kept getting nickle and dimed to death. Next our air filter became clogged due to the excessive pressure washing under the hood. Then our lights quit working on us in the middle of the lap. We thought we had it all licked as we entered the final hour still in the top ten and 3rd in the class. Chad went out and cranked off some good laps and turned it over to Randy with 50 mins to go. Chad got off saying the quad was running erratically so we figured we only had 50 mins to go so let's keep it going. The 4th place team was still 7mins behind, but on the same lap. Randy went out and normally would have passed the pit in abut 13mins in the dark, but no Randy. 15mins, 18mins, 20 mins. Now our concern was for Randy's safety hoping he didn't crash. Finally he pulled in on the white flag lap. 22mins had passed and the 4th place team was right behind us. Randy stopped and said the fuel filter was acting like it was clogged. After watching the 4th place team pass us we decided the time it would take to fix our problem would help us get our position back so we shut it down. We dropped into 4th place for the class and 16th overall.

Our Cannondale was still running at the end of the race. Along with Rookie's Dale I would say we would have done Cannondale proud if they were still in business. Oh well we will get them at the 12 hr!

muff

07-18-2005, 09:52 PM

#270 Double XL -Pro Class
Josh Creamer
Justin Hoffler
Vinny Mofford

Well we had an awesome start to say the least, with creamer pulling the holeshot and leading most of the race early on. Its to bad we couldn't have spend more time getting the bike ready, I guess we really had no idea what were were getting ourselves into. Mud got into the carb very early on, and made the throttle very stiff to push. After josh hopped off for the first switch I was on and could barely do 2 laps, my thumb was killing me. A couple turns later (little over 3 hours in), I was riding again and head some dragging noise in the rear end. I pull the clutch in and look back noticing the chain guide was bent, and it was hitting the chain. Meanwhile the quad decides to shut off and won't start back up with the electric start. Wiggled a few wires with no luck and decided to try pop starting it with little success, just a few stumbles out of the quad. I finally resort to kick starting it (difficult with no hotstart lever) and get it running again, pull in the clutch and click it in gear and it shuts off another time. Now I look down to find the end of the clutch cable broken, ok, just gotta think and use your head, pop it into gear and get 'er back into the pits. Wrong, kick it over again, pop it into gear, and all I got was a little jerk, huh thats weird...clicked into second and nothing. Turned my head down, oh great, the chain just snapped. I'm out in the middle of nowhere without a tow to be found. Trying to debate walking/pushing the quad back, or wait for the tow. 1/2 hour later the tow comes and get it back to the pits (after spiking my nice set of scott rolloffs earlier on).

Between our teammates and mechanics we drop a new battery, clutch cable, and chain on it, and got it going again. If i remember correctly we had one of the largest breaks out of anyone (2 1/2 hours according to ******** :eek2: ) Along rolls night time and the lights are barely putting out any light, finally on the last two laps (with the quad sputtering like crazy) josh rolls around the track with a flashlight in hand, fortunately finishing the race (after a mid-lap piss break).

All in all it was a good time, would have been nice if we would have recieved a little more then just a plaque (for 4th place pro), but I guess that how it goes....We will hopefully be doing the 12 hour, as long as we dont use my builder of the year quad again :eek: Haven't had a chance to pull the motor apart, hopefully will only need a good cleaning and a piston...

by the way harlen, did you happen to have the picture of me going over the double double section on the mx track when i looked over at you??

WOOLIN

07-19-2005, 09:26 AM

Team ST Mudd
Fred Mudd
John Rowling
TJ Lenig

We had a great start. John was in fith place going into the woods but 10 mins into the race he didn't come around with the rest of the pack. He finally came through but the quad was spuddering and running badly. He pulled into the pits and we drained the bowl on the carb and I went out. Problem was not fixed so I pulled right back in and we pulled the plug cap a put dielectric grease on it. It helped so we pushed on. After 1 laps my googles were shot and I got mud in my eyes so I had to pit and let TJ take over. The bike was still running bad so we changed the air filter (which had about a cup of dirty water in it) and kept going. We were 2 laps down at this point and finally had the quad running better.

About the half way point we were about to make up a lap when TJ got the quad stuck on the MX track. So we had to run down to get it out of the mud. John took over after that and we were doing good until the quad started to overheat. After we added some coolant I jumped on for a few more laps.

After it got dark it was my turn again with about 1 hour to go. We were making up alot of time on the rest of the field in the fog. Passing about 5 teams per lap. They were riding much slower in the fog than we were. On my third lap in the dark I was running through the woods section and could smell the quad boiling over so I knew I was going to need to pit after this lap.
When I came around the turn coming into the pits the motor dropped a valve and locked up. Our day was over and so was our chance at winning. We figured that if we kept up at our current pace we would have possibly won the overall. According to the results Harlen got from the guys at the track we finished 24 laps 9th overall and 4th in class not bad for only racing for 4 hours and 23 minutes.

xcbob

07-19-2005, 10:10 AM

jlhughes750, your welcome glad to see you finished. First I would like to start off with how bad the conditions were for the people that were not there. This was not a 2 hour GNCC in the mud with slow sections. This was 6 hours of wide open flying, or atleast trying to fly through the mud and water at high speeds. If it were the 12 hour, I don't know if anyone would have finished.

Team Sanderson Motorsports/xcbob.com Mike Lucas, Mike Johnston, and Josh Ribley.

Mike Johnston started off, I didn't want to get wet, ha, ha. I believe we had the last A starting spot, and came around the first lap in 8th overall, I think, this is all of the top of my head. We wanted to run 4 laps a piece without stopping, Mike pitched his goggles and ran his 4 laps with muddy contacts. After 4 laps we were into 5th overall behind the Hertz team and Josh took over. Using his head, on unfamiliar ground he was conservative his first couple laps and we lost a position, which I believe he regained before I took over. I took over on lap 9 and noticed the laps were getting faster so I planned on 5 laps to cut down on rider changes. My roll off film tore after 1 lap, and I let them know I was coming in the next lap. They handed me another pair with no film, which lasted about 1/2 lap. So I pitched them and rode the last 2 1/2 laps without them, which I never do. I believe I lost a position to HRE early, but increased my speed with every lap. Our 13th lap, my last was our fastest of the day, and I felt great and could have gone for more, but the little red overheating light was on. So I pulled in for Mike J to take over and get the radiator cleaned out. I think we were in 2nd or 3rd and 4th or 5th overall. This was 3 hours in and when a lot of the top teams started dropping out. Matt's team dropped out, then Hertz, I heard that Traci was stuck somewhere. We kept overheating coming in every lap and on Mike's 4th lap, he never came around. I am not positive, but we may have been in 1st or 2nd overall at this point. He said it was running great and just shut off and won't restart. He could pull start it, but it would stall. A lot of quads were running poorly when they went by, but not ours, it sounded great. So we looked in the air box and found mud and water. Took the filter off and yes it went through. So we just lost too much compression or a valve, didn't take it apart yet. It was our own fault and we should have checked it sooner and maybe it never would have happened. So 16 laps in, we lost the motor, and can only talk about what could have been.

From what I heard there was a lot of lost motors. The Hertz team put a brand new one together, atleast our's was well used. I think the worst thing was to be out front, everyone dropped out. Any team that finished deserves a round of applause that was one of the toughest races to finish probably for almost all of us.

I plan on building a new 06 for the 12 hour, but if it is like that again, we will be running a well used one again. It is just not worth ruining a new machine for that. But as with probably every team we learned some more. Last year we had the chain coming loose problem, but had that taken care of for this year, but there is always something new and the weather no one can control. Maybe they should have cancelled and ran in Sunday during the day. It would have been a lot nicer.

JohnBMS

07-19-2005, 11:12 AM

Team BMS A class
Jarrod McClure
Wes Stone
John Bowers

Our day started off just lovely, first we sat on 81 for over an hour about 1 mile from the track, then it started to rain, but we were ready for that.

Jarrod went first and was running great, Third overall on the 1st lap and then the bike just shut off right before the end of the 1st lap, So Mike from Rausch creek came towing him in, so That lap didn't count, then it took us about 20 mins. to find out what was blowing fuses, A wire on our light switch was grounding out, so we got it running and we were in 44th overall and we ripped all our light wire off ,so we had no lights. But at least it was running.

So then John Bowers went for a few laps and the bike was perfect, then every time we switched riders we would fix the lights 1 wire at a time, then Wes stone went for a few laps with no problems and was running strong.

Then Jarrod whet again and started turning some very fast laps,
He had 1 or 2 that were under 11 mins, everything was going great, we were all picking teams off 1 by 1, then while we were pitting for gas, it shut off again, and we had to jump it with the battery jumper which took a few mins, but after all that happened we finished pretty good, 3rd in A and 7th overall,
and I think we would have done better if they didn't cut the race 45 min short, because we were running very strong at the end and we were very very disapointed that they cut it short, So I guess we had a good day and we will be at the 12 hour (with new Lights)

We would like to thank our Pit crew for getting us going, we actually ended up getting Fuses out of my moms Subaru.
Also our sponsors Bowers MotorCycle Supplies
Deer Lake Auto sales
Maxxis
ATVRiders.com
and also Harlen for the great race coverage
and Dave Stone from Deer Lake Auto for hooking us up with 1 of his Awesome YFZ450's

QuadRacer041

07-19-2005, 05:35 PM

Cardio Stack Vet Team
Lou Russo
Jason Baugher
Matt Zeleski

Well the race started out pretty good, Ja got a good start but then things went a little down hill. Ja came around after the first lap and said the bike was popping and spitting, probably from the wet conditions. He took off for the second lap and about 15 minutes later was towed back in. We started to look over things, Matt pulled off the filter and saw a bunch of water in the air boot. He went to work cleaning that out and putting on a clean filter while Ja removed the bolt under the carb bowl and found a bunch of dirt sitting in there. He cleaned it out and we thought we'd be fine, wrong. I started up the 450r, a bike I have never ridin or practiced on and it was running a little better but still popping. I got about 50ft and decieded it was unridable that way. I pushed it back to our pit and Ja took off the bowl cap and it was loaded with dirt again. He cleaned and off I went well as soon as i went down into that big pit after the pit area, she died again.
I got towed back in and for a good 15-20 minutes we just kept starting it up and cleaning that cap out. We did it like 10 times until no more dirt was there. Matt took off for what would only our second lap seeing how Ja got towed in on his second lap atept and I only made it about 200 yards. Matt came around and gave us the thumbs up and went around again. Things started to run smoothly even though we were probably about 5-7 laps behind. We were hoping other people in our class would have problems too. I was not too prepaired to run in mud being i've never really done it. I only had 3 pair of googles which was not enough. It was very difficult to change roll off when your covered in mud. This was the first time I had ever ridin a 450r and I was very impressed with Ja's bike. It handle excellant in the woods and on the straights. Only problem was when i was hitting those jumps iI was bottoming out the XC suspention pretty hard. I cased that triple pretty hard at one point I had cleared it a few times but one of the times I went around I forgot if the double or triple was first and BAM landed right into the face of the third hump of the triple. Like I said everything was going smooth until around 10pm or so. I went out for my turn and as I was getting towards the end of my lap in the natural turain track the bike stalled. i try to restart it and the kicker was locked. I got towed in and Ja and Matt told me to put in third and get ready to try to bump start it. I the biggest guy out of the 3 of us and they tell me to sit on the bike as they push, duuuuhhhhh!
Well I popped the clutch and it freed up the motor but she was dead. Probably sucked in too much water.
We wound up finishing 6th out of 7 teams but considering the conditions and it being the first time I rode the bike we were all happy with our riding. We were running lap times just about the same as our compition.
I want to thank Ja for letting us use his R and both Ja and Matt for putting in awsome rides.
I had alot of fun.

jb500ex

07-19-2005, 06:23 PM

thanks for doing the write up lou, i actually got 2 laps in before we died. and considering we stopped after almost every lap we did, too clear the carb bowl and change the air filter i think our lap times were very good. i feel bad my quad didn't run right and i hope lou and matt will join me for the twelve hour. i think we could suprise some people and do very well. every spectator and pit person deserves alot of credit as well as every team because the conditions were horrible. all in all it was ton's of fun and i learned alot.

QuadRacer041

07-19-2005, 07:06 PM

also a big huge thumps up to rausch creeks tow staff, they kicked ***** towing people out VERY quiclky

joedirt

07-19-2005, 07:30 PM

Hertz Racing (Pro)
Rob & Tom Hertz
Sean Neidlinger
Bill Neidlinger (pit crew)
Sean started the race (sucker) got out of the hole in 3rd. Came in after couple in 4th or so. We continued to switch riders every 3-5 laps. Come in and clean out the radiator( every time) top off the tank every so often. You wouldn't think lappers would be a problem but they were. Almost every time I went out I got hung up behind some squirrel roosting up a storm trying to stay in front of me. Look fellas just move if you are racing along and someone comes up behind you like a bat outa hell MOVE (I do it and so can you) About 1-2 hrs. into it we were running 2-3rd OA. All of us did the same thing race at a good pace not try to take in water. The quad ran great did not miss a beat the whole time we were out there. Rob went out and cleaned the carbon out of it a couple of times. Bill was pulling his hair out and crossing his fingers/toes hoping we wouldn't have a problem When I went out I thought I seen a little puff of smoke Thinking watch it and don't beat on it too hard get it back to the pits. As I went by the pits I let them know we need to clean the radiator out the next time around. At this point we were running 3rd OA. Coming out of the woods on to the second half of the MX track I seen 2nd OA trying to start his quad great I thought now were in 2nd OA. I got to the pits switched it off to Rob we cleaned out the radiator good and he was off. He made it about 2 miles and CLACK CLACK CLACK the motor went our day was done. The quad was out of water but I never seen any big clouds of smoke or smell antifreeze. Also looking at the site glass for the oil we didn't see any oil in it, the air filter was also wet it never missed though. We drank our sorrows away, all of us thought we had a really good shot at winning this year last year we got 3rd. I took off my lights and gave them to Mark Thompson and Crew cause they were running stock lights. Mark said Trail Tech helmet lights were the Bomb. Owen and Stef said the one MR16 that was working was way better then both the stockers. I think they finished in the top 5 OA. We hope to have better luck at the 12hr. I love racing these type of events and at night is even better. Maybe we can get some practice between now and then at these team races. P.S. I thought I seen Bill crying because he just rebuilt the motor new piston/crank/valves & springs and a whole-lota late nights and bloody knuckles tryin to get the quad ready in time.

BlasterBTW

07-19-2005, 11:54 PM

Originally posted by QuadRacer041
also a big huge thumps up to rausch creeks tow staff, they kicked ***** towing people out VERY quiclky

:D Thanks! I was on the big red prairie (wearing jeans and a wifebeater) pulling out people. I was having an absolute blast! I bet I pulled out 25 people or more. It was SO muddy, making it harder to pull people out. I think the worst was the 4-5 people I had to pull UP the hillclimbs in the woods!!! :eek: I'd do it again in a heartbeat too. All you guys did a great job, and I felt real bad for those of you who couldn't finish.

Bryan

xcbob

07-20-2005, 06:44 AM

I did forget to mention that also. Lappers were really bad, the MX was one line and they would not move and you couldn't pass them in the slop with a face full of roost all the time. They would go faster until you FINALLY got around them. Why were they so bad? I mean, you would catch them pretty fast and then they wouldn't move, what's up with that?

RayWilt

07-20-2005, 04:59 PM

TEAM MBR
Chad McCauslin
Jason McCauslin
Kyle McCauslin

This is Jason here First off this is one of the funniest races there is all year even with all the mud and man was it muddy the pics show it pretty good but its something you just have to experince to relize what its like. Well on to the race it was me and my two brothers on the team and after a year of competing against them its nice to race with them for once. Kyle started the race and after finaly getting the quad started he started the race near the back of the pack. During the first lap he got stuck on a log somewhere to put us even closer to the back. He came through the first time with just over 18 min lap. Stoped for new goggles and gloves and was on his way again. He ran the next three laps with out any major problems and stared to work his way up through the feild. Forth lap he pitted and we filled the gas tank wiped the grips seat and any other mud we could scrape off it(thanks to Creed and Andy for all there help). Now it was my turn to go out. After racing last year i thought I was pretty ready for this first lap. The track by this point was better then what i expected as long as you stayed online one wheel a little out of place and it just sucked you in. I did my four laps with no real problems other then the grips ripping loose and the usal goggle change. It was much better to be on a fourstroke unlike last years ride on a 250r. Next out was Chad. We were now up about mid pack in the feild and he was slowly picking riders off. He had the fastest lap of all us and put in 5 laps. Kyle went back out for his 4 and made the firts 2 no problems. The third was another story. As we waited and waited. We watched the other quads keep going by. after about 25 min we finaly saw him being towed in. After examing the quad we saw the head gasket had blown and ended our night. Disapointing by a great experance. So this race end up being about survival and not as much speed. So take what you can learn and get ready for the next one. We will defently be there.

ps
Great coverage Harlen as always

slickeyboy

07-20-2005, 09:35 PM

the 6 hour race was great,this was my first one and my team "the camo crew"took 2nd place in b class and 11th overall.i will be at the 12 hour for sure,my team and my polaris will be ready.:cool: ;) :devil:

quad_45

10-04-2005, 07:22 AM

Team Redd - Open A
Owen Kapalski
Mark Thompson
Stefanie Verkade

Well guys, I know this is kinda late considering the 12 hr is right around the corner. Our day was pretty much like everyone elses, wet and cold. We started out really strong off the start and where very consistent through out the race. Dark started to fall and our stock head lights with brighter bulbs were just not cutting it. So, as a team, we decided that taking 15mins out of the race to put Team Hertz lights on would be better than nothing. So, we borrowed there lights, helmet lights and helping hands and got us up and going in no time. The last lap, and I was up. Rolling throught the fog going up a hill the bike decided to stall. As I stood up to kick it the kicker wouldn't even move, I looked down the hill to see a guy coming straight for me and the flagger at the bottom of the hill not having any type of lights to shine on his flag to let them know I was there, THANK GOD for helmet lights!!! A track offical came to my rescue and pulled me up the hill and it bump started it, I knew our team was in HUGE trouble considering the quad had an auto clutch in it and you shouldn't beable to do that. I nursed it all the way to the finish line where it finally died. We finished 2nd in the A class and 6th overall!!! GREAT JOB TEAM!! I would like to that EVERYONE that pushed our bike up that slippery hill at the finish, who helped us through out the race, Team Hertz for your lights, Mark for letting us use your bike and Jan for working on the bike before and during the race!!

QuadRacer041

10-04-2005, 10:24 AM

Originally posted by quad_45
Team Redd - Open A
Owen Kapalski
Mark Thompson
Stefanie Verkade

Well guys, I know this is kinda late considering the 12 hr is right around the corner. Our day was pretty much like everyone elses, wet and cold. We started out really strong off the start and where very consistent through out the race. Dark started to fall and our stock head lights with brighter bulbs were just not cutting it. So, as a team, we decided that taking 15mins out of the race to put Team Hertz lights on would be better than nothing. So, we borrowed there lights, helmet lights and helping hands and got us up and going in no time. The last lap, and I was up. Rolling throught the fog going up a hill the bike decided to stall. As I stood up to kick it the kicker wouldn't even move, I looked down the hill to see a guy coming straight for me and the flagger at the bottom of the hill not having any type of lights to shine on his flag to let them know I was there, THANK GOD for helmet lights!!! A track offical came to my rescue and pulled me up the hill and it bump started it, I knew our team was in HUGE trouble considering the quad had an auto clutch in it and you shouldn't beable to do that. I nursed it all the way to the finish line where it finally died. We finished 2nd in the A class and 6th overall!!! GREAT JOB TEAM!! I would like to that EVERYONE that pushed our bike up that slippery hill at the finish, who helped us through out the race, Team Hertz for your lights, Mark for letting us use your bike and Jan for working on the bike before and during the race!!

you guys gonna be at the 12 hour as well?