LOORRS Utah!

Well what a bust this weekend was, seems, Cody qualified 2nd both days but on Saturday he sheared the clevis off the end of his Gear One steering rack while running 2nd then today, Sunday, Cody lead the first seven laps when Doug Mittag caught him racing his brand new Teryx ZX10/SR1, the battle that was coming next didn’t happen, all the bolts that held Codes steering rack on pulled the threads out of the frame tabs causing a second dnf in as many days.

Dan Kelly was untouchable Saturday only to have his chain break on last lap. He rolled across the finish line .2 seconds ahead of Corry Weller for the win which made it exciting. Dan then performed one of the most frightening endos Ive ever seen on Sunday morning during qualifying.. At one point his car was what looked 5 plus feet in the air, very scary but he walked away very unharmed and managed to make the main.

The new Utah track was very hard on cars this weekend, two other SR1’s suffered the same clevis shearing we did, all three ZX10’s broke chains Saturday, two unlimited’s folded shocks, and one unlimited sheared the splines off the rear drive hub then twisted them on their back up, one car blew out a new set of wheel bearings taking the brake with it, and one shattered a spindle. Oh, and two cars were protested but were found to be legal. That’s all that I know of but I’m sure there was more. All the teams were very helpful with each other, parts and tools were shared by everyone.

With podium winners winning then dnf’ing Corry Weller further advanced her points lead with two solid 2nd place finishes. Its going to be tough to catch her.

Even with our failures we have had a blast, the Utah fans were so awesome, we talked to so many people about the cars, the class, the new track, the up coming Regional Race Series, there was a lot of excitement about all of it. One of the COOLEST things that happened, last year Cody threw it away in the whoops and no one got a photo of it. My wife is talking to a family in the stands and the husband tells her he took something like 700 pictures last year, she asks if he has any of a silver car and he comes back about 9:00pm with this…very cool, thanks.

DSC_0049.jpg


That’s it, we left tonight for the South Point in Vegas, the Mittags and Winburys will arrive tomorrow, its going to be as fun as the go karts.
 
As a spectator I had a great time both days. I even rocked a very solid motorsports mullet Saturday after cutting my hair I had grown out for nine months. Seating was very limited but it should get better as it grows. Thanks for all the drivers who made it out to Utah I know it was a trek but the crowd size should show you where welcome.
 
We finally made it out today. It was our first time to a short course race and we had a blast. I want to thank all of the people that traveled so far to compete, you guys put on a great race.
I heard quite a bit about the tightness and dificulty with this track, what made it different than the other tracks you guys run? What would cause a more than normal amount equipment failures?
I look forward to attending next year, I have feeling this is only going to get bigger.
 
We finally made it out today. It was our first time to a short course race and we had a blast. I want to thank all of the people that traveled so far to compete, you guys put on a great race.
I heard quite a bit about the tightness and dificulty with this track, what made it different than the other tracks you guys run? What would cause a more than normal amount equipment failures?
I look forward to attending next year, I have feeling this is only going to get bigger.

IMO it was the dirt. All the tracks we run on in SW corner of the USA are sand based, the Utah track was clay based. Clay gets super hard and is not as forgiving as sand, it definitely will find the weak points.

The drive to me is worth it, even with the parts issuies it is still fun. We'll be back. Thanks to everyone for such a great weekend.
 
in unlimited utv I believe RJ Anderson. Super Lite I am not sure.

BTW, Doug, I can't thank you enough for all of your updates and trip adventure! I have always loved reading your stuff. Its fun and entertaining to say the least. Bummed about your racing luck this weekend but I know you guys will be geared up and ready to go for the next round of LOORRS!!! Keep up all the hard work and THANK YOU!!
 
in unlimited utv I believe RJ Anderson. Super Lite I am not sure.

BTW, Doug, I can't thank you enough for all of your updates and trip adventure! I have always loved reading your stuff. Its fun and entertaining to say the least. Bummed about your racing luck this weekend but I know you guys will be geared up and ready to go for the next round of LOORRS!!! Keep up all the hard work and THANK YOU!!
DITTO.
 
Just confirmed that RJ Anderson is leading both UTV and Super Lite! In super lite he started in the back due to a flat tire in qualifying Saturday and finished 2nd. On Sunday he had to race a loaner truck which he said had cob webs in it because it had sat so long. He again had to start in the back due to missing tech and still finished 2nd. I think its fair to say that UTV racers will rule the world! hahahah
 
Great updates. We had a blast both days. I live here in Salt Lake so if anybody ever needs info., directions, some food, a place to crash, a back rub (Corry... or Jason!) send me a message.

Scott
 
Not usually. Just thought that I better include him in the joke. Don't want to upset him as I am ordering parts from Weller soon!
 
LOL you guys!

Well, we FINALLY got home....the race seems like it was ages ago, considering all that happened afterwards.

We had a nice, uneventful trip to Utah initially.......got there on Thursday and had time to set up and hang out a bit. Fri practice went OK....was having some issues with brakes, but couldn't pinpoint the issue.

Qualifying, first lap my brakes locked up on the front, sending me hard onto my front right wheel on the finishline jump, blowing out the wheel bearing. I fought locked up brakes for the first three lap, then they unlocked and I salvaged the remainder of qualifying with my front wheel wobbling all over the place. 7th......oh well!

Fixed the wheel bearing in time for practice on Sat morning....only to have the brakes lock up again....oh well. Figured out the problem and got it fixed JUST in time for the main!

Had a great race on Saturday.......just worked on staying smooth and not hurting the car, and going fast all at the same time! Figured Dan had it until the very last turn.....I saw him slow and floored it - making for a very exciting finish!! It wasn't enough, but I was happy with a second, as it was great for my points lead.

Sunday's qualifier went much better.....third in qualifying, with all of us within mere tenths of a second from each other!

Sunday race.....I caused a restart (sorry guys!), but had a good race going....worked on being smooth again to save parts. Sloppy on that track breaks things (at least when it comes to me!), so I concentrated on being accurate through the whoops, scrubbing the back table, and just finishing in one piece.....couldn't keep Doug in site in his new Teryx - he just checked out. I finished in 2nd again, and was thrilled to be on the podium again for the weekend!

That was the race.....but the real excitement happened afterwards. We packed up to head home, but my daughter had been sick and had a pain in her lower abdomen the whole day. I had gotten up EARLY Sunday morning to go into town and get her some medicine.....around noon we took her to the track medical center to get checked out. No fever....so the medical staff said to keep an eye on her and try a few things...if she didn't get better, to take her into town.

I had a nagging feeling all through the afternoon that we shoudn't try to drive home - that it was something serious.....so we packed up as soon as we could and stopped at the hospital in Tooele on our way out.

It's a good thing we did......after hours of tests and waiting, they determined she had a serious case of appendicitis, and would need emergency surgery. It didn't burst (but was very close), and so the surgery was pretty easy and unventful for the surgeon. The staff did an amazing job, and they made us as comfortable as possible for our whole stay there. We were SOOOO glad we didn't try to drive home.....and super thankful that Marlee is OK, minus an organ she had when we arrived in Utah!

Things like that are very good about putting things into perspective.....the race seems ages ago, and while it's a big part of our life, racing is just not that important compared to other things.

Marlee is doing great......we are all happy to finally be home, and it was fun seeing the Rahders again in Vegas last night and having one last dinner with them before we went our seperate ways!

Thanks for the pics and the coverage Joey.....thanks to everyone who offered to help us this weekend, too. It was cool seeing the new cars that were done for this round, and I'm glad everyone was able and willing to make it out to Utah, even though its SO far! It's beautiful there, and the weather was awesome!! The staff at Miller was great as always, and the track was a lot of fun!! The fans are some of the best in the sport, and it was worth the drive to bring this sport to Utah!

Thanks again, guys......see you all in Glen Helen! :)
 
scary moment. Glad all is OK. Sometimes as parents we are helpless and you have to trust your instincs. great job!!:)
 
:( Back at work....
Trip total, 2997.7 miles traveled.
Riding miles total, 178 over 4 days according to the GPS although my hip thinks its lying and swears we did closer to 400.
Highest elevation ridden, 7000+ feet.
Number of sparkplugs fouled in my 2 smoke, two.
Lowest temp, 39* at the continental divide.
Highest temp, 107* in Vegas.
Strangest incident, buying mag mount trailer lights from the MHP officer that just gave me a ticket for covering up my tail lights with motorcycles.
Best time, seeing my mom. Doesn’t happen enough these days.
Coolest time, hanging with fans in the pits, the Utah fans are awesome.
Funnest time, the single track trails in Butte were extremely challenging. Talking goat trails here, the Blue mountain video below doesnt show how tuff/fun Butte was.
2nd Funnest time, watching everyone racing go-karts, BIG laughs.
3rd funnest, the finger….
Biggest challenge, setting up the race car to be consistent on an inconsistent Utah track.
Biggest bummer, getting scolded by another racer in front of a family of Utah fans asking questions about racing the UTV class. Totally discouraging.
Feeling better, being lent parts to continue racing by the same guy.
Scariest incident, Dan Kelly’s endo rattled me, it was ugly.
Best moment, sitting outside our rental cabin in Anaconda having a beer, arguing with the teenagers, and cooking steaks with my wife after a loooong day of riding.
That’s it, thanks for letting me blog on your site Joey. Time to get someone to build us a +14” long travel kit before Glen Helen, any takers? ;)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRpXGOc0qyY&feature=channel_video_title]YouTube - ‪Riding at Blue Mountain‬‏[/ame]
 
Love it!!!

Corry, I am glad to hear your daughter is ok! That had to be scary!!

Doug - Of all the things I need to know whats the FINGER? hahahaha
 
Thanks Joey! :)



OMG...the finger! That was sooooo funny!

(whisper from out of the dark) "Hey..."
Siluette of foam middle digit with monster claw.
Ensuing giggles upon swerving golfcart escape.

Hilarious! :D
 
What a cool race series, Loved the SR1 cars. I did some annoucning for LOORS Friday, then my wife and I enjoyed the racing Saturday.
Really like reading the race reports, especially after being there but not knowing all that went on..
Great to meat you Doug and Cody, what a good kid. My wife and I were both impressed when he got out of the car to walk around and shake my hand before we left. Very refreshing. Not to mention hes a stud behind the wheel of that car. good stuff.
 

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