Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

We’re nearing the end of our American Rocksports coverage, and after coming across this photo of Jason Scherer we just realized we haven’t discussed the way this race was formatted. There were 35 Ultra4 racers in all, and the race kicked off with the drivers randomly divided in half. Each of the two groups would race in a preliminary qualifier, with the top half of each racing making it to the finals. After these two preliminary qualifiers, those that didn’t make it to the finals had one more chance to prove themselves in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), where the top four drivers from this race would go to the finals. All races where 10 laps each, so with LCQ some drivers raced nearly 30 laps over the weekend. Pretty insane considering how demanding both the short and rock courses were.

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

While there were plenty of lines to choose from in the American Rocksports (ARSC) rock course, there were equally as many opportunities on the short course as well. ARSC offered drivers both rocks and short course action, and each section allowed drivers to take advantage of their own driving style and vehicle’s capabilities. We grabbed this shot of Kevin Sacalas, last years ARSC winner, taking the inside line on turn 1. Like many, Kevin fought a few motor issues during the race, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing a top ten finish. He ended the day with an 8th place spot.

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

While the tabletop was our favorite from last year’s American Rocksports Challenge (ARSC), this year’s hands down favorite for us was the re-invented rock section. Although not a complaint per say from last year, Ultra4s have gotten so capable in the rocks that they seemed to breeze through the old rock course. Not the case this year as Dave Cole, event owner, promoter, and wearer of many hats, opened up the field to allow for more rocks, multiple lines, opportunities to pass, essentially changing the complete rock landscape. The result, a very challenging rock course requiring both vehicle & driver skill.

We grabbed this shot of Brian Shirley, taking the left most line out of the rock garden itself. Brian was one of the few drivers who dialed in multiple lines exiting this section, picking the one that best suited his driving style as well as avoiding Ultra4 traffic. Brian finished this years ARSC with a 7th place position. His son Levi placed one spot above him, 6th, giving their team Lucky Dog Racing two top 10 spots for the weekend.

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

One of our favorite sections at last years American Rocksports Challenge (ARSC) was the massive tabletop set across the Utah mountains. We managed to get this shot of Levi Shirley, effortlessly taking the tabletop and setting up a perfect line for turn 3. Levi grabbed himself a 6th place finish at ARSC, just one place ahead of his dad Brian. Guess who’s going to be featured in today’s afternoon blog post? :)

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

In typical fashion Loren Healy, with this Spider 9 powered Ultra4, ran his own race, pacing himself out of the gate and staying mostly under the radar till the end. The result, an insanely clean run with a 3rd place finish for the American Rocksports. Unofficially, this should get Loren a 2nd place finish in the Ultra4 Pro Series. Congrats Loren for a very well run series!