Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
The Texas field that made up the Dirt Riot Nationals had a little bit of everything. Rocks, sand, high-speed roads, and of course mud challenged each driver on their 3 hour endurance race. We grabbed this shot of Levi Shirley, who didn’t seem phased by the rain of mud on nearly every lap. That’s racing.
Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
Ultra4s are not the only class of vehicle in Dirt Riot. There’s also a Modified Stock class (much like the Ultra4s, but with stricter rules on modifications allowed) and a UTV class. While all classes are guaranteed fun for the weekend, the UTV class is one that makes so much sense. Just about all the teams come to the events with UTV type vehicles as a means of getting around. So, why not jump in a race before the big Ultra4 race. Not only do you get more time to have fun, you have a unique opportunity to run essentially the same course as Ultra4s, making the ultimate Ultra4 pre-run.
The shot above is of Levi Shirley, racing his pink Polaris RZR in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Levi grabbed a 3rd place finish in the UTV race and a 6th place finish in the Ultra4 race. When the dust settled, Levi ended this years series as the Dirt Riot National Title and Central Series Title Champion. Congrats Levi!
Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
Last weekend’s Dirt Riot Nationals race took place in Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport, TX. Each race lap was 4.8 miles, and the race was marked at 3 hours long. The winner would be the driver who pushed their Ultra4 the most laps in the time allowed. We grabbed the shot above of Mike Odom, right at the start of the race. Mike suffered a roll, and subsequently a few damaged parts along the way, placing him 12th among the field. All in good spirits of course, as his time on the field looked good.
Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
We grabbed this shot of Adam Carter, climbing up a rock side just before the start/finish gate. The Texas terrain for the Dirt Riot Nationals really had it all. From high-speed sandy roads, to rock piles like the one shown, there was plenty to test drivers and rigs alike.
Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
No other way to say it, we had an absolute blast last weekend at the Dirt Riot Nationals in Bridgeport, TX. Ultra4s and UTVs took to the mixed terrain of the Northwest OHV Park, in an endurance race that kept the crowd going all the way till the end. In the field of 13 Ultra4 drivers, Chris Hoyt took top honors with Brian Shirley and Adam Carter right behind. Adam’s 3rd place finish was also good enough to secure a spot at next year’s King of the Hammers. So, congrats to Chris for the win and Adam for the KOH spot. Official final 4400 scores as posted by W.E.Rock are available HERE.
In the meantime, we’ll kick off our Dirt Riot Nationals photo set with a shot of Brian Shirley above, who due to motor issues was running only 50% the entire race. Yes, the photo above is Brian Shirley at half speed.