It’s always a risk testing out a new track, but in the end the all new 4Wheel Parts Glen Helen Grand Prix proved to be a top stop in the Ultra4 tour. With a blended mix of short course jumps, motocross tracks, & wicked mountain climbs, Ultra4 cars had their work cut out for them in this ultimate endurance style race. We partnered up with the Ultra4 crew to provide live text/photo coverage during the event (http://ultra4racing.com/live/) so we’ll take a break from writing a long “post event” recap. Instead, we just wanted to share the photos from the live coverage and congratulate Loren Healy (1st), Jason Picket (2nd), and JT Taylor (3rd) who captured the top 3 spots with rigs powered by Spider 9 Axles. Every event is a blast for us, but we can’t deny watching our axles power teams to the top makes it even better.

The 4Wheel Parts Ultra4 Grand Prix marks the end of the 2011 Ultra4 series. Next stop is the grand daddy of all Ultra4 events, The King of the Hammers. We can’t wait!

EDIT: Looks like the photos are NOT hyperlinked to the originals on Flickr (sorry about that). Check here for the entire Flickr set.

Time sure does fly when you’re having fun and this years Ultra4 season is certainly no exception. This weekend, October 22nd, marks the end of the 2011 Ultra4 Series. This certainly lends the question, have they saved the best for last? Time will tell but having personally been to this debut race course at Glen Helen I can say with certainty that everyone, from driver to spectator, is in for a blast!

Similar in style to the Ultra4 Stampede, I’ll be on course again with Harry Wagner providing the official live text coverage, via Cover-It-Live, for Ultra4Racing. So as to get the most out of this weekends live coverage, I wanted to share 3 quick tips that should make following the race that much easier.

1) All Live Feeds in One Place (Best for Desktop Users) – http://ultra4racing.com/live/
This is the best of the best in terms of live coverage. On this page you’ll find all of the live feeds available, namely a running video feed via Ustream and a text feed via Cover-It-Live. Keep an eye out for a third feed on this page, namely the score board which if all goes as planned will display the lap times and race leaders live.

2) Text Feed Only (Often Best for Mobile Users) – http://ultra4racing.com/livechat/
Sometimes mobile devices have a hard time displaying video and text updates together. If you fall into that category, you can always grab just the text feed following this link. The text feed is powered by Cover-It-Live and allows for text updates, in-line photos, and user comments on just about any mobile device. So if all else fails, you should still be able to follow the race on your mobile device.

3) Times to Watch – http://ultra4racing.com/the-inside-line/4wheel-parts-glen-helen-grand-prix-spectator-information/
The race is on Saturday, October 22nd, and starts at 11am PST. With the gates opening at 9am, it’s highly likely live content will find it’s way to the interwebs early.

That’s it for now. Best of luck to all the teams & drivers this weekend and we’ll see you at Glen Helen (or online)!

It feels like only yesterday when the Rock Bug, in all its Scat V4 glory, placed 4th at the 2010 Ultra4 Stampede. Although quite happy with that finish, the little motor that could was certainly not helping the Bugs quest for 1st. So, shortly after that race, we made the decision to upgrade the Rock Bug to an LS powered V8 (as detailed here) and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, we’re just about finished with prepping the Rock Bug for this years Ultra4 Stampede and with the all new LS powered V8, we’re feeling pretty good about the upcoming race. Although we’re likely to post a few more updates before race day, here’s a few things to get you pumped and ready for this years Stampede:

Schedule Of Events
Race day is September 10th from 9AM – 6PM at Exit 28 Motorsports in Reno, NV. The complete schedule can be found on Ultra4s website at http://ultra4racing.com/the-inside-line/torchmate-ultra4-stampede-schedule-of-events/.

What’s The Race Like This Year
Dave Cole, the man behind the Ultra4 series, posted a great update on the Ultra4 website discussing this years course and what to expect. It’s well worth the read and guaranteed to get you fired up for competition so be sure to check it out at http://ultra4racing.com/the-inside-line/torchmate-reno-stampede-update-from-dave-cole/.

Looks like we’ll have about 50 teams competing again this year so the competition will be fierce. More updates to follow so stay tuned!

What an epic Round 4 competition! The battle was fierce all weekend long, but in the end Brent Bradshaw with his Spider 9 powered moon buggy walked away with not only the event win but the high honors of sweeping the entire Unlimited Western Series. Also, congratulations to Nick Campbell for winning both the event and series for the Pro Mod class.  Thanks to all who followed our live updates on Twitter and stay tuned as next up for us will be the Ultra4 Stampede where the Rock Bug will be back in action.

    

    

    

    

This weekend marks the end of the 2011 Western W.E.Rock series and the competition is guaranteed to be fierce. We’ll be out there in usual form, providing our “live” updates, photos, & videos in an effort to capture all the amazing action. For those looking to attend and/or follow our updates online, here’s your “What You Need to Know” cheat sheet.

1) Where Is It?
Donner Ski Ranch
19320 Donner Pass Road
Norden, CA 95724

2) When Is It?
August 6th & 7th (Saturday & Sunday) @ 10:00 am

3) I Can’t Make It…Will There Be Online Coverage?
If you can’t make it, we’ll be there posting updates every 10-15 minutes on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Spidertrax . Also for all you Facebook junkies, we’ll be posting photos after the event so be sure to Like our fan page @ https://www.facebook.com/Spidertrax .

That should get you rolling and ready for the weekend. Hope to see everyone out there and for those that can’t make it, we’ll see you online!