It’s hard to imagine that this time last year we were still wiring up the Rock Bug (see “Rock Bug Weekend Update for January 24, 2009”).  Despite all of our best efforts to have the Rock Bug ready to race 2009 King of the Hammers (KOH), its highly custom Scat V4 motor decided otherwise.  Literally one day before the race, severe lack of engine performance forced driver Tracy Jordan and the Rock Bug to bow out of the 2009 KOH competition.

It was a tough blow, especially given the amount of time and energy devoted to the Rock Bug project.  There was little time to feel bad about it though as the 2009 W.E.Rock rock crawling season was about to begin.  So we were all back at it trying to make the Scat V4 motor happy.  It took us the first two W.E.Rock competitions before we were able to get the Scat V4 motor under control.  Once we did though, the fate of the Rock Bug had permanently changed. 

With a perfectly running Scat V4 engine, Tracy Jordan and the Rock Bug seemed unstoppable, taking home 1st place spots in the final two W.E.Rock competitions.  Shortly after, the 2009 W.E.Rock season ended on the highest note we could ask for. Tracy Jordan and the Rock Bug won the 2009 W.E.Rock Grand Nationals (see  “W.E.Rock 2009 Grand Nationals – Tracy Jordan & The Rock Bug on the Shootout (Part 2 of 2)”) which is one of the highest rock crawling awards of the year.  Life was good.

With a full year of rock crawling competition (and three victories) under its belt, we’re more ready then ever for this years 2010 KOH competition. Instead of rushing to put together a brand new concept vehicle, we are now able to take our time and focus on many of the smaller items we ran out of time for last year.  We spent most of this year’s  preparation on cooling (larger transmission cooler, radiator cooling fins, oil sump scoop), modifications to comply with new rules (rear light bar, bladder style fuel cell with firewall, window net changes), and small go-fast improvements (higher performance alternator, on-board tools, fresh air system).  All in all, the Rock Bug is now looking ready to race.

The Rock Bug will be back on the road tomorrow heading over to Gerald’s place for final wiring on the new electrical goodies.  After which, Tracy and the Rock Bug will be heading out to the KOH lake bed for some final tuning.  Set your calendars for February 12th, 2010 which marks this years KOH race day.  Hope to see you out on there!

 Photo Courtesy of Crawl Magazine

It’s that time of year again where new builds take form and old vehicles get overhauled, all in the name of next years competition season.  For some time now, we have been offering contingency programs that pay out cash for top place finishers.  Sure, it’s fun to race, but there’s nothing wrong with getting paid for something you love to do either.  For 2010, we have revamped our contingency programs with some great changes that make getting paid even easier.  Plus, with a 2010 King of the Hammers Grand Prize contingency pay out of $2500, this is one program you don’t want to miss!

We have two programs in place for 2010, one for King of the Hammers and one for XRRA & W.E.Rock.  Details for both programs are available under the “Terms of Business” section of the Spidertrax Store.  To save you time, here are direct links to both programs:

Spidertrax 2010 King of the Hammers Contingency Program

Spidertrax 2010 XRRA/W.E.Rock Contingency Program

In summary, the newly revamped programs improve on those past in two key areas.  First, we now give the option of running 3 different size Spidertrax decals, namely 12”, 18”, or 24” long. This allows the freedom of running the decal that fits your vehicle best.  Of course, the larger the sticker the higher the payout. Second, vehicles are now required to run just one Spidertrax branded product to qualify.  This way, you can be running just a Spidertrax Pro Series Knuckle set and still be part of the contingency program.

As if that wasn’t enough to get you pumped for next years competitions, we have something else to share.   Crawl Magazine just released their latest print issue (Issue #19) that has a great article in it called, you guessed it, “Get Paid to Race!”.  They asked us (Spidertrax), Ballistic Fabrication, & Pit Bull Tires questions about sponsorship and Crawl was kind enough to post their entire “Get Paid to Race!” print article right here for FREE!  It’s a great read, so be sure to download your free copy today.  If you like what you see, check out the rest of Issue #19.  It’s sure to impress.

 Download the full print article “Get Paid to Race!”, courtesy of Crawl Magazine.