Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

Lots of Ultra4 action heading your way, with the American Rocksports Challenge up next. Here’s a few details to get you ready for this weekend’s big race:

1) Where is it? Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, UT.

2) Race day? September 22nd, with registration and practice the day before. Race day should go as follows:

9 AM: 1st Prelim race – Top 1/2 of drivers go to Main Event. Bottom 1/2 go to LCQ.
Starting order determined by Friday qualifying rounds.

10:15 AM: 2nd Prelim race – Top ½ of drivers go to Main Event. Bottom 1/2 go to LCQ.
Starting order determined by Friday qualifying rounds.

11:30 – 12:00: Lunch

12:15 PM: LCQ Race. Top 4 drivers continue on to main event.

1:30 PM: Stock/Mod/UTV Race

3 PM: Main Event – Top Ultra4 Drivers from Prelims and LCQ will compete for Ultra4 American Rock Sports Champion Title

3) Live coverage? For those that can’t make it in person, no worries. We’ll be helping out with the official Ultra4 live coverage over at http://ultra4racing.com/live/. In addition, we’ll be sure to grab a few photos to share after the dust settles, so keep an eye on our blog after the race as well.

That about does it. Best of luck to all teams this weekend, we’re looking forward to another great race!

While Vegas to Reno was one amazing event, the season is not over. We still have 2 Ultra4 races left on the 2012 schedule, namely the American Rock Sports Challenge (ARC) and the National Championship. With ARC up next, here’s a few details worth knowing today:

1) Where is it? Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, UT.

2) Race day? September 22nd, with registration and practice the day before.

3) I want to race, how do I register? Grab a copy of the registration form HERE, courtesy of Ultra4 Racing.

Last but not least, for those interested in learning a bit more about the terrain and style of this lap based rock/short course race, the HeavyMetalConcepts race recap video from last year should take care of that:

Source: Ultra4Racing.com

 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.