Ben Napier is hard at work, getting his all new Ultra4 “Koala Punch” IFS racer ready for the 2013 King of the Hammers. Here’s a shot of his Spidertrax prototype IFS housing, taken right before it left our shop a few months back. Judging by the recent photos he posted yesterday on Facebook, his Koala racer will undoubtably be one to watch next year.

It’s hard to get King of the Hammers off the mind. So, why fight it. While you get your gear, and rig, ready for next years King of the Hammers competition, pick up a copy of the newly released Rise of the East King of the Hammers DVD. Created by the talents of HeavyMetalConcepts, this is simply one movie that won’t disappoint.

DVDs available at http://www.kohthemovie.com/home.php where you have the option of picking up an extra free copy of either The King of the Motors or the previously released Brutality DVD as well.

And, if all of that wasn’t enough to sell you, just check out this trailer we posted back in March, when details of the movie were just getting released.

Two weekends ago, we came back from Badlands Off Road Park, in Attica IN, with photos and stories to share from the Ultra4 race. We just received a press release from Crush Motorsports a few days ago, recapping the race from their team’s position. It’s always great to hear, and read, about a race from different perspectives so we wanted to share their press release here.

Enter Crush Motorsports.

Derek West of Jimmy’s Racing takes 3rd at
Ultra 4 Qualifier at Badlands Attic, Indiana

(July 14 & 15th, 2012)
Nitto sponsored racer Derek West of Jimmy’s Race Team with his race crew headed out of Springfield, Mo Wednesday evening to arrive in Attica, Indiana on Thursday July 13th. The team was scheduled to do some shock tuning & get some pre-running in before qualifying & the main race on Saturday. There were a total of 23 top drivers that came out for the event. Derek took the pole position during qualifying Saturday morning with the fastest time of 00:56.5. The main race would take place that evening with Derek having the position he wanted at the head of the pack. The team held their position for a couple of laps. They then had a few minor issues that caused them to lose their lead. The winch jammed up & the rear tire rack fell off! In the end after completing a total of 6 laps the team still ended up with a 3rd place finish! “That’s racing”, as Derek puts it. “We didn’t have a couple of things prepped as well as we would have liked which held us back,” Derek stated. “We are proud of our finish. Our team worked hard and that’s all I can ask for. It was a good event & we always enjoy racing at the Badlands,” said Derek.

Derek already has a spot in the upcoming KOH race for 2013 from placing 4th at this years King of the Hammers Race. He is competing for points in the Ultra 4 National Series, which he is currently holding the 4th place position right after Shannon Campbell. The next race scheduled for Derek West is The Best In the Desert Vegas to Reno race which takes place August 17-18th out in Las Vegas. The event will be a brutal 550 miles long starting in the out skirts of Las Vegas heading to Reno across the desert. This will be one of the most extensive races of the year other than KOH. The following event will be the Ultra 4 Rock Sport Challenge held at Miller Motor Sports Park out in Tooele, Utah in September.

We would like to thank our great sponsors. We couldn’t do it without your amazing products & support! Jimmy’s 4×4, Nitto Tires, ATX Wheels, Spidertrax, Slime, Radflo, Alltech Motorsports, Yukon Gears, FK Rod Ends, PSC PAC Racing Springs, Advanced Metal Fabricators, Off Road Solutions, Sho-Me Speed, Branik Motorsports, John’s 4×4, Northstar Battery, Griffin Radiator, Ouverson Engineering TK Racing, PowerTank, Warn & Rigid Industries. Also to our Race Crew Travis Brake, Travis Cook, Jason Henne (Co-Driver) Allen O’Neal, Ritchie & Kyle Keller, my wife Ashley West, & daughter London for all of their hard work & support. Thank You!!

Last weekend, Brad Lovell grabbed a 3rd and 4th place spot in TORC’s Rounds 7 & 8 short course competition. Although that win is enough to get excited about, the even bigger story is his consistency of getting on the podium, race after race, has now pushed him into 2nd place for Pro Light series points. He still has 6 races left, but so far so good! Here’s a copy of Lovell Racing’s press release from last weekends race.

Enter Lovell Racing.

OVELL PUSHES TO THE PODIUM IN CHICAGO
TEAM KEEPS CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES ALIVE

Colorado Springs, CO 7/23/12 – Chicagoland Speedway has not been kind to Brad Lovell. A lawn dart maneuver took him out of contention in 2010 and in 2011 a similar move resulted in double DNF’s. The driver of the #44 AMSOIL / Torchmate Nissan was looking for anything more than a mid-season flop this year and was rewarded with two strong finishes. 

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about season points,” commented Brad, “With our history in Chicago and a 2nd place points tie with CJ Greaves, I just focussed on finishing.” Chicagoland featured a new 3/4 mi track layout this year that took full advantage of the size of the facility. The dirt gave way to treacherous ruts that highlighted the untamed nature of off-road racing.

Lovell qualified for the first round of racing in a disappointing 7th place, well off the pace of the leaders and out of the inversion. Realizing they missed the mark, the team made drastic changes to the truck in an effort to salvage the race. Brad charged hard off the start and gained positions consistently through the race. A mid-race rainstorm displayed the benefits of running BFGoodrich Mud Terrain tires and the performance was good enough to earn Lovell a 3rd place finish. Brad explains, “Our AMSOIL Nissan team really hit the mark tonight. A couple more laps and I would have reeled them all in!”

As the green flag flew for the second round of racing, Lovell got caught in traffic and dropped positions. Contact with another racer put Lovell in a spin and to the back of the pack. He fought his way through the traffic but somehow tore a hole in the tire and was forced to pit. “The guys pulled off the best pit stop I have ever had and I was in line at the back of the field in time for the restart.” Brad went on to pass an astounding 10 trucks in 7 laps but ran out of time before reaching the podium and finished 4th. “Its not where I wanted to finish but it could have gone a lot worse. I couldn’t be happier with the team and the truck as they gave me every advantage I needed.”

At the end of the weekend the AMSOIL / Torchmate team was able to secure their 2nd place position at the midpoint of the 2012 TORC Series and keep their championship hopes alive. “Time is getting short and we need to be winning race if we are going to take the championship. With the stigma of Chicagoland behind us and Greaves falling a few points back, its time to put some pressure back on Caddell.”

Lovell Racing returns to upper Michigan on August 11th & 12th for the next rounds of TORC action on the expansive Bark River track.

Just a few shots of some of the many teams running Spidertrax Spider 9 axles and components at the 2012 Glen Helen Grand Prix, available in high resolution on Flickr. All photos by Thom Kingston of Spidertrax, licensed under Creative Commons 3.0. So, feel free to download and share.