Kevin “Big Air” Sacalas clearing tabletops like a Pro4.

What do you get when you cross short course racing with rock crawling? Just one of the most brutal endurance races of all time. This new style of Ultra4 racing, call the American RockSports Challenge, made its debut last weekend at Miller Motorsports Park. It was an intense competition and demanded more out of an Ultra4 driver & rig then any other race to date.

In terms of format, the event had 2 preliminary races, 2 semi-final races, and 1 final race (there was also an LCQ race for those still trying to get into the semi-finals). The race course was the exact same short course track used by the Lucas Oil Short Course series. However, to make this a true Ultra4 event, the short course track was modified so drivers would also have to complete the rock crawling section used for W.E.Rock events.

Why is this so insane? Because of wear and tear on both driver & vehicle, a normal short course competition would typically consist of 18 laps in a single day. Here, Ultra4 rigs were expected to race a total of 32 short course laps PLUS 12 rock crawling laps all in one day! As Shannon Campbell put it, “keeping your junk together” was the name of game.

When the dust finally settled, Kevin Sacalas and his Spider 9 powered Ultra4 went home with top honors for the American RockSport Challenge. What’s worth mentioning here is Kevin not only won the event, but he also ran the LCQ race pushing his total amount of laps at 38 for short course and 14 for rock crawling!!! Congratulations Kevin for a well deserved victory. With that said, enjoy some of the videos and photos we took over the weekend and be sure to stay tuned to our blog for the next W.E.Rock competition coming August 6th.