Lets go Reid and Marc!!!! Kick some ass!!!!
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You got this Reid! let me know if you need anymore help...
Nate
Alba Racing
Thanks for the confidence and support guys, but we
GOT OUR ASSES HANDED TO US on this one.
Race Summary:
It seems like we are always stricken with some sort of dilemma or drama just days prior to us leaving for any race this season, and this race was no exception. Marc brought the car back from Alba on Thursday night, which still needed a fair amount of work done to it before departing for Imperial Valley. Upon his arrival, I looked at the trailer, and the rear most axle was broken in half, right in the center! It took me a good 6 or 7 hours to "scabricate" a fix, and had to work through the night to complete the repairs. That's the time I was supposed to be installing a new exhaust system on the Mini Monster Mav that Marc just "threw" my way at the last minute. Another all-niter for me leading up to a race. Worked like a slave straight thru, and thanks to the help of my brother, finally got the car and trailer ready to travel on Friday around 3 p.m.
I arrived in El Centro too late (as always, but as you should be beginning to expect that by now) to roll through contingency, and luckily was still able to get the car tech'd early Friday eve. Got a descent nights rest,and then prepared for the races ahead.
On Saturday morning, the X guys snuck up and nestled themselves right in the middle of ours and Cory's pits, kind of like how my sweetheart dog Trista nudges her way closer as I eat a tasty meal! The Murray Bros. rounded out the trio of the top SCORE pro UTV teams adjacent to one another, just to the right of Cory. The Jagged X people were pleasant, and Bill and myself engaged in our first lengthy conversation, where he was extremely generous in answering all of my nosey build questions!
About the wannabe race car: For reasons still unclear to me, the car topped out at a shameful 60 mph or so. We ran the same clutch set up that propelled the Monster Mav to 68+ mph, so we expected at least the same speed (but reliable) from the mini Monster Mav. Well , it didn't happen. Lucky for us, the Murrays broke a belt, and Cory broke down just before the finish line on the first day, so we got a third. Also got lapped 3 laps into the race! Put a new clutch in and made some suspension adjustments late Saturday night, then when we went to test the new setup this morning about an hour before staging time, and the car could only drive 35 mph tops. We couldn't figure it out (thanks to the Murray's for their help in trying to solve our problem when they should have been in their car at staging instead), so I recommended to Marc that he use low gear and race at least at an average of 28 mph or so. That would be enough to complete the course in the allotted time. He did just that, and we squeaked out of there maintaining our 17 point lead over our team mates, the Murrays. May have even stretched our advantage by 1 or 2 points as we head into the familiar territory that is the Baja 1000.
Ol' moneybags did awesome. On the first day, Johnny got a second, just 4 seconds off of getting his first win in the pro UTV 1900 class! Great job Johnny, you racing whore!
All in all, we got the results I was expecting, and was satisfied with, whilst Marc was bummed that he got badly beat. Like a stepchild. Again, by the Polaris clan. The last and slowest car on the race course this weekend was ours, as we finished within the allotted time limit, and secured the valuable finishing points that were necessary to keep us on top of the field. BS did an awesome job filling in for Matt, who chose to stay home to be with with a family member who is recovering from a serious injury. My best wishes to you and yours Matt, but did you have to send in BS to drive for you?!
So, there's the jest of it. The event was overall boring (as far as racing goes), and not well designed for the racer nor spectator. Oh, Rob Mac ran head on into a temporary light post on the first day of racing, ending his bid for the SCORE 2014 "Milestone Awards", where we were in 3rd place prior to this race. I don't know the status on where the 2nd place car finished, of if he even raced. I believe that we are now in at least 2nd place overall for the teams competing in the category for completing every mile of every race. Given the fact that we DNF'd
every race last year, I'd say that we have made some improvements in the area of reliability. I am proud that we are mentioned within the likes of such a tough group of racers.
Now, With Baja just around the corner, I will finally direct my attention to the Monster Mav, and the badly needed repairs that lie ahead. I will quickly need to solve the problem(s) that arose this weekend on the Mini Mav, as we have had the same thing happen to the pre runner Mav right before V2R. Both similar conditions which find the car acting like it is in "limp mode", and both of which remain unsolved. Our concern is that the problem will rear its ugly head while racing in the 1000, being all cars are 2013 Maverick Xrs 1000's. YIKES!
