Well the planets finally lined up for the Fabtech Rzr, we have been working on the car since Parker. We have blown a diff, 3 motors, valved shocks the wrong way but finally we got it right. Crew chief Jeff Correia and owner/driver Sean Cook have been burning the midnight oil to get the Rzr right. We spent the Thursday before the race in Barstow with Fabtech Engineer Kris Hernandez testing and revalving the shocks on the mighty rzr, we did this over and over until it was perfect. Off to Vegas they went, tech and registration went smoothly so after the drivers mtg it was off to Alamo. Our Pit Queen (Gina) showed up about 2am after flying down from Sacramento. We had the team set and ready to go. Our goal was to finish the race at any cost! When the flag dropped the rzr was off, Sean and his co-driver Dennis Jean were frozen in the rzr, feeling in their fingers was fast leaving them. The car moved steadily through the sequence of pit stops, smooth and steady the only issue the drivers were dealing with was a car that would not go above 58mph, seems we were a little light on our clutch weights. After a final fueling at check 5 we were heading for the finish, we knew we had the 1917 in front and probably Cory right behind us, when we reached check 6 the 1917 had pulled in for repair we saw this as an opportunity to take the spot so we did not stop, all the time we thought Cory was still behind and gaining ground. We later found out Cory had encountered some issues miles back. At about MM280 we came over a ridge and saw we were being followed by the Lucas helicopter, this was really cool we thought, but as I started to wonder why he was following us I spotted BJ Baldwin in my mirror, this is where I needed the second pair of undies! We let him and the second place get by and followed them across the lake bed, at about MM298 I thought OK if we get a flat we can ride in on the beadlock, but just then at MM299 the 3rd place (lime green) buggy made a move on our inside, we thought we had given him enough space but apparently he made contact with our right rear wheel causing a broken axle. We instantly buried the car on the left side, Dennis and I got out and with the adrenaline flowing we lifted the car up and onto the track, made sure we were in 4 wheel drive and drove it the remaining 3 miles to cross the finish in 5th place. Absolutely no hard feelings to the buggy he tried to make a clean pass it just wasnt meant to be for us. We had a great run no flats, no other mechanical issues except for the axle. We could not have done it without the help of our sponsors:
Fabtech Motorsports, Maxxis Tires, Rigid Industries,NOS Energy Drinks, 4 Wheel Parts, Show Off Motor Sports, OMF, Cal Hot Powder Coating, Optima Batteries, Grant Steering Wheels, Rugged Race Products, Eco-Ranchos Agro Forestry, Madhouse Motorsports and of course a big thanks to TRS Motors!
We would also like to thank our pit team, Todd and Jim Latronica, Gina the Pit Queen, and our spotters at home Tricky Ricky and Jeff.
We are already prepping the vehicle and look forward to Parker!!!
Sean Cook
Cook Racing #1930