It has been a wild year for XRRA rock racing. In the past, each XRRA event had two courses where one rock racer would run on each simultaneously.  Even then, the action was intense but the changes made to this year’s format brought rock racing to a whole new level.  New for 2010, each XRRA event brings just one course where two rock racers compete side by side.  Without question, the level of competition & intensity among drivers is beyond anything seen before.

The 2010 season finished this past weekend in Cortez, CO and in the end of 8 brutal rounds of competition, Shannon Campbell proved the master of this new XRRA format. He not only took the 2010 season title but he did so by taking 1st in all 8 rounds of competition, something that has never been done in XRRA history. Derek West, Brian Shirley, & Levi Shirley rounded out 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively for the 2010 season with all 3 rigs powered by Spider 9 axles & components.

In the end, we want to thank all of the XRRA teams who supported Spidertrax throughout the 2010 season. In total, 12 of the 18 rock racers in Cortez were running Spider 9 axles & components which was awesome to see.  For those looking for more XRRA action, we took over 50 videos from last weekends competition and posted all of them online (links below).

2010 XRRA Round 7 Video | 2010 XRRA Round 8 Video

Monster Jam | XORRA: Round 1

Monster Jam | XORRA: Semi-Final

Monster Jam | XORRA: Final

First, I have to confess.  The last time I went to a monster truck show was way back in the mid 1980s.  If memory serves me right, Bigfoot was the truck to beat back in those days.  Now fast forward 25 years and you will find that monster trucks take part in one of the biggest live motorsports events of all time.  Feld Entertainment’s Monster Jam is said to pull in more than 2.5 million people each year.  Vehicles like “Grave Digger” & “Monster Mutt” have literally become household names.  Come to think of it, my 4 year old son has a Monster Jam Xbox 360 game. Yes, they’re everywhere.

Now let’s jump to our end of the market.  The Weaver’s, who manage the XRRA rock racing circuit under the umbrella company XORRA, have talked about running a separate stadium type series for years now.  Nearly overnight, this concept of “arena rock racing” just got one step closer to reality. XORRA, with the help of XRRA driver Dan McDonald, struck a deal with Monster Jam to run one small arena rock racing competition during a live Monster Jam show.  The idea was to treat this first show as an exhibition or pilot in hopes the audience would like what they saw.  If they did, maybe arena rock racing had a future with Monster Jam.

With literally no prize money at stake (aside from any contingencies) and only two weeks before King of the Hammers, six XRRA drivers hauled out to Angles Stadium in Anaheim, CA to put it all on the line in front of nearly 50,000 spectators.  In the end, I think they put on one heck of a show!  Yes the courses were short and yes the XORRA portion went very fast.  However, all the XRRA drivers showed the highest level of professionalism anyone could ask for.  Just as important, the audience really seemed to enjoy the show.  Only time will tell if something comes out of all of this, but hats off to everyone involved for making it a true success.

 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.

(Photo courtesy of Rock Midget Motorsports)

Spider 9 Axles are proving themselves, year after year, as a dominant player in competition motorsports such as W.E.Rock, XRRA, and King of the Hammers.  Because I have the marketing skills equivalent to a burnt piece of toast, I have neglected to share the many stories that come in from competitors and their success using our products.  Just the other day, we got a great e-Mail from Derek West and a light finally went off in my head.  We have to make these stories public for all to read.

For those new to the sport, here is a quick summary of Derek West’s achievements.  In 2008, Derek took 1st place in W.E.Rock’s Pro Modified Series, W.E.Rock’s Grand Nationals, & XRRA’s Eastern Series.  So far this year, Derek has already secured two XRRA 1st place finishes, a MOROC 1st place finish, and a W.E.Rock 2nd & 3rd place finish.  In person, Derek is about as humble as one can be, but in competition motorsports he is without question a force to be reckoned with!

So when someone like Derek West chimes in, it means a lot in terms of how well our products are holding up.  Here is his e-Mail, unedited, which was sent to us on 22-May-2009:

Just wanted to drop you a note with an update on my teams performance. We were able to pull off a double win at the first XRRA double header at the Gray Rock off-road park in Alabama. With the competition getting tougher every event I rely on quality Spidertrax components to stand up to the abuse we dish out. Being able to turn 50 degrees in the tight, twisty courses was a huge advantage and a major factor in our back to back victories. I cant express enough how great it is to have complete confidence in my axle shafts after breaking 5 shafts and twisting splines on 3 more of another brand last year. I absolutely depend on my axle components to not fail so I can concentrate on my next course and not be rushed fixing something. I had all of my Spidertrax axle shafts out recently for inspection and there was absolutely not signs of twisting in the spline area, what a relief. Thank you for your great support and innovative products.

Regards,

Derek West
Crush Motorsports

Thanks Derek for the kind words and to all the other competitors out there running our products.  We would love to hear from everyone using Spidertrax components, so please drop us an e-Mail and let us know your thoughts.  If you want to learn more about Derek West and his team Crush Motorsports, head over to his website at http://www.crushmotorsports.com.

Just a quick post recognizing all of the teams supporting Spidertrax and Spider 9 Axles this competition season.  Round 1of both W.E.Rock & XRRA are now behind us with Spider 9 Axles & Components securing 12 of the top 15 spots!

XRRA Round 1: Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components
1st: Rick Deremo
2nd: Brad Lovell
3rd: Levi Shirley
4th: Dana Verdorn
5th: Joachim Schweisow

W.E.Rock Round 1: Unlimited Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components 
2nd: Jason Paule
3rd: Jesse Haines
4th: Brent Bradshaw

W.E.Rock Round 1: Pro-Mod Top 5 Running Spider 9 Axles & Components
1st: Brad Lovell
2nd: Buzz Bronsema
3rd: Tracy Jordan
5th: Brian Errea

Last, but not least, we got our hands on some amazing Rock Bug photos by renowned photographer Chad Jock (http://www.chadjockphotography.com/).  These were taken during the W.E.Rock Round 1 event in Tucson, AZ.

Click Here to View the Slideshow