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Jarrod McClure “Heartland
Challenge” Pro ATV Race Report
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Jarrod McClure
& Jeff Pickens Teamed up to race the
GBC Heartland Challenge and finished 2nd
Overall
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Carlisle, IA (11/18/2008) - With
the racing year coming to a close everyone is relaxing,
taking some time off and making some decisions for
next year. At least almost everyone! There was one
more race on some people’s agenda, “The
Heartland Challenge”. The Heartland Challenge
is a 10-hour team race that is held in Iowa. The
race would be a test of man and machine, and the
30-degree temperatures didn’t help!
I spoke with Jeff Pickens at the last couple
GNCC races, and we decided we would race it together
on our Hondas. We were going to try and race one
quad for the whole ten hours if we could and just
use mine as a back up. He was going to rebuild
one of his race bikes with help from Tom Clark
Motorsports, and also Wilson Racing. He basically
put all new bearings, and got some new ball joints
from Laeger’s. Then we decided we would
use my Elka shocks on his quad because we liked
the way the felt.
I had Kenny Hill and his brother haul my quad
and trailer out to Iowa, and I flew into the track
on Friday. When we landed we were surprised to
see that it was snowing outside! At home it was
in the seventies! We got our rent-a-car and headed
over to the track.
Iowa is very flat! Which meant that it was very
windy. With the temperatures already cold the
wind made it about 10-degrees cooler. The snow
continued all day, but it wasn’t sticking
to the ground it was melting on contact. The track
looked like it was going to be super muddy. We
made sure to bolt up a set of PowerMadd hand guards
to keep our hands dry and warm.
The track was around eight miles long and took
around fifteen minutes a lap. It was an awesome
track, it had some jumps built, a lot of off camber
stuuf, and some open fields. There was also plenty
of passing. One section featured the “Can
Am Challenge” it was an option lane that
gained you around 40 seconds if you went through
it. It featured some logs that were staggered,
and also a rock section with some more logs. Jeff
and I decided that we would play it safe and keep
going around it. We also decided we would race
for and hour or so at a time, and when we would
switch riders we would also fuel up.
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Jarrod McClure
& Jeff Pickens raced on the same Honda
TRX450R for the entire race while most
teams used up to 3 ATVs
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The race would begin at noon. All classes would
line up and start at the same time. We would have
to run across the track, start the quad, and take
off. From then it was ten hours to the finish!
I decided to start, and as noon came on Saturday
I was trying to decide what to wear. I wanted
something to stay warm, but not overheat in. I
decided to layer up my Shift gear for my first
session and go from there. We all got lined up
and awaited the ten second call! The horn blew
and I ran, everyone had to attach their kill-cord,
then start and go. After hooking my cord up I
somehow managed to knock off my run switch. It
took me a few kicks to realize it, and till I
got going I was way back in the pack.
I just tried to ride smart and conserve the bike.
I tried to pass as many people as possible, and
by the end of my first session I had passed everyone
on the track except for the first two pro teams.
The bike felt great, and I was really comfortable
on it. Jeff had to go out now, and he had to get
used to my suspension, because he never rode it
before. He had a little trouble adapting a first
but after a few laps he had a great pace going.
The bike held up great and by the halfway point
we moved up into second. We had to stop to tighten
the chain, but other then that the bike was working
flawless. Team GT Thunder/Powermadd was still
out front but we kept charging hard. Not going
through the Can Am challenge was costing us time
but we were still going with the plan of trying
not to breakdown.
The track was starting to deteriorate, and places
were getting rutted, but more and more lines kept
opening. The track officials also did a great
job of keeping the track clear and the race flowing.
The weather was also getting worse as night came.
By the ninth hour we were seven minutes behind
first place but still on the lead lap. We decided
to just put the cruise control on and hope first
place would have some type of problems. They didn’t
though, and by the tenth hour we were still sitting
in second place.
Finishing on the lead lap was a great accomplishment
running one quad for ten hours. Jeff and I both
rode well, and we figured we each rode 117 miles!
It was definitely a lot of fun the only downfall
was the cold weather. It was a very well organized
event held by the Andy Kyner and Harlen Foley,
and I look forward to racing at it again next
year. Now with all the racing over for the year
I plan on relaxing a little, then back to work
for next year!
www.Heartlandchallenge.com
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