Archive for the ‘Ultra4’ Category

Ultra4s take on Vegas to Reno.

August 16th2012

Once again, Ultra4s take on one of the largest, if not THE largest, desert races of the year, Vegas to Reno. The legendary Vegas to Reno is exactly that, a 534 mile race from Las Vegas, NV to Reno, NV kicking off tomorrow morning (that’s Friday, August 17th). With over 300 registered drivers among the diverse set of racing classes, Vegas to Reno is not only one of the longest races milage wise, it happens to be one of the biggest in terms of driver turn out.

So, for those heading out or watching the action from home, here’s a few items worth knowing ahead of time, which should make following the race a little bit easier:

1) When again? Tech inspection is Thursday, August 16th, from 8am – 5pm PST. Race kicks off Friday, August 17th, with Motorcycles/Quads/UTVs staging at 5:15 AM PST. All vehicles should have left the start line by 9:30 AM PST. The official Schedule of Events can be found HERE.

2) So, who’s representing Ultra4s? A solid 19 Ultra4 drivers are currently registered for Vegas to Reno. While not the largest single class in the race, it’s far from the smallest. The Ultra4 drivers are listed under Class 4400, and the official Draw Order can be found HERE.

3) Coverage? In year’s past, Best in the Desert (the organization that runs Vegas to Reno) has an online live tracker which we’ve found to be the single best way to know where everyone is and if they’re still moving. As of the writing of this post, there isn’t a direct link for the tracker so keep an eye on their official website http://www.bitd.com for details. In addition, the Ultra4 live chat will be up at http://ultra4racing.com/live/ which, when combined with the live tracker, makes for a great way to follow at home. We’ll be at the race in person, capturing the action as it happens as well as posting up photos in the Ultra4 live chat where cell reception will allow, so keep an eye for our updates as well.

So, there you have it. For those heading out, we’ll see in the desert. For those that can’t make the trip, we’ll see you online!

7 days to save the Hammers.

August 6th2012

SaveTheHammers.org has started a new campaign, and they need our help. For those that aren’t familiar, the largest and most fantastic Ultra4 off-road race of the year, aka King of the Hammers, takes place on BLM land in Johnson Valley, CA. The Marines are trying to acquire this land, and if allowed King of the Hammers as we all know it will cease to exist. So while Congress is on recess this week and, as such, in their District Offices, SaveTheHammers is urging us to contact one legislator a day, by phone or fax, and let them know just how important the use of Johnson Valley is to all of us. SaveTheHammers has detailed who to call, phone numbers, fax numbers, talking points, basically everything you need to help spread the message. Below is a repost of their campaign, which starts TODAY.

Enter SaveTheHammers.

August 6 at 9:00am until August 14 at 5:00pm in PDT
This is a 7 day campaign designed to help spread the word to our legislators who are home for 5 weeks on the importance of Saving Johnson Valley!

We need every Off Roader starting August 6th to participate in a targeted outreach. One phone call or fax a day is all we ask. Talking points can be found below the phone list. Contact name is underlined. Congress is on recess this week, they should be in the District Office. Every Off Roader must participate!

If you’d like to call, email, fax them all in one day, you can, or just one a day. In an effort to help spread the importance of Johnson Valley to our legislators!

Monday August 6th, 2012 Please call:
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) or
District Director Tevor Daley
Los Angeles 310-914-7300 fax 310-914-7318

Tuesday August 7th, 2012 Please call:
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA 22) or
District Director Vince Fong Bakersfield 661-327-3611 fax 661-637-0867

Wednesday August 8th, 2012 Please call:
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA 25) or
Deputy COS Bob Haueter
Santa Clarita 661-254-2111 fax 661-254-2380

Thursday August 9th, 2012 Please call:
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA 41) or
DistrictDirector Rachel Khalili
Redlands 909-862-6030 fax 909-335-9155

Friday August 10th, 2012 Please Call:
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA 45) or
District Director Marc Troast
Palm Desert 760-320-1076 fax 760-320-0596

Monday August 13th, 2012 Please call:
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA 44) or
District Director Jolyn Murphy
Corona 951-784-4300 fax 951-784-5255

Tuesday August 14th, 2012 Please Call:
Rep. David Drier (R-CA 26) or
District Director Mark Harmsen
San Dimas 909-575-6226 fax 909-575-6266

 

Johnson Valley OHV Area
Talking Points
ISSUE: Marine Corps plans to acquire 160,000 acres of BLM land next to Marine Corps Ground Air Combat Center (MCGACC) Twenty Nine Palms eliminates most of the land available under the California Desert Conservation Plan (1980) available for to off highway (OHV) recreation impacting OHV activity and the local and national economy.

Johnson Valley OHV recreation area is 189,700 acres that develops at least 300,000 visitor days per year and is world renowned as an OHV recreation area..

Economic impact: BLM estimates $71.5 million annually into the local economy and $191.2 Million into the national economy.

USMC has a new requirement for MEB level maneuver training and intends to acquire 160,000 acres of this the land from BLM and conduct live fire on all but 40,000 acres – permanently closing access to 120,000 acres.

Local authorities and State authorities and thousands of citizens are opposed to the transfer of this land.

USMC is well into the EIS process and could issue a Record of decision as early as this summer.

Options other than those in the Draft EIS need to be considered:
Permitted use of land from BLM (like at other BLM sites used for training)
Other BLM land in the region (not necessarily adjacent).

More time needed for deliberation and seeking options on both sides and with the State.
Not urgent since Marines have been deploying to combat for 10 years without this extra range – should have more time to seek a broader solution set.
Once live fire starts the land is permanently lost. We need to find accommodation for OHV needs and that will require BLM and State officials.

The US House of Representatives passed an Amendment to the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that requires, prior to transfer, the Secretary of the Navy to provide a report on the new Marine requirement for this land and on the economic impact and on other potential solutions to the elimination of recreational land.

In spite of this Congressional interest, the Secretary of the Navy just entered the final Environmental Impact Statement into the Federal Register and can now within a short time announce his “Record of Decision” to acquire this land.

The intent of the House of Representatives was to slow this down to have a better look at it. The Navy has run roughshod over the House and ignored their intent. The House should be angry. We are.

Please call the Secretary of the Navy and tell him to stop this provcess until all the stakeholders – including federal legislators – have had their voices heard.

If the Marines went through 10 years of war without this extra land, it surely could wait a few months until all interests could be accommodated.

Source: 7 Days to Save the Hammers

 

Badlands race recap video now live.

August 3rd2012

Not much to add here, just another kick butt video by the creative talents of Will Gentile and HeavyMetalConcepts. If you’re just catching up from this event, be sure to check out our photo album as well. Enjoy!

Race recap from Derek West’s podium finish in Badlands.

July 29th2012

 

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!!

2012 Glen Helen Grand Prix photo set now available.

July 27th2012

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.