http://my.off-road.com/service/displayHomePageExperience.kickAction?page=Homepage&as=27589 New blogs from Vtr_Racing on My Off-Road Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:31:49 GMT Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:31:49 GMT editor@off-road.com (Ultimate Off-Roader) editor@off-road.com (Ultimate Off-Roader) KickApps Feed Builder 2009-11-19T08:31:49Z 25 http://my.off-road.com/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=27589&sortType=recent 0 http://my.off-road.com/_Christys-Racing-2009-Baja-1000/BLOG/1502183/27589.html Craig and his band of baja brothers are going for a repeat! Something that is very hard to do in desert racing. The ATV team races a very well prepared Honda TRX450r. Leonard Duncan from Duncan Racing does the prepwork for this championship team. His co-riders include Steve Abrego, David Scott, current BITD champ, GNCC racer Andy Lagzdines.  They have been down in Baja pre-running all week. Tommorow is contingency and tech inspection and hopefully some relaxing.  Here is the Spot tracking link for Team Christys Racing. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0sTDZsCDIuLD12ktoc2yglX4ypiqLGbGV Craig and his band of baja brothers are going for a repeat! Something that is very hard to do in desert racing. The ATV team races a very well prepared Honda TRX450r. Leonard Duncan from Duncan Racing does the prepwork for this championship team. His co-riders include Steve Abrego, David Scott, current BITD champ, GNCC racer Andy Lagzdines.  They have been down in Baja pre-running all week. Tommorow is contingency and tech inspection and hopefully some relaxing.  Here is the Spot tracking link for Team Christys Racing. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0sTDZsCDIuLD12ktoc2yglX4ypiqLGbGV Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:31:49 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Christys-Racing-2009-Baja-1000/BLOG/1502183/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-11-19T08:31:49Z My Off-Road Craig and his band of baja brothers are going for a repeat! Something that is very hard to do in desert racing. The ATV team races a very well prepared Honda TRX450r. Leonard Duncan from Duncan Racing does the prepwork for this championship team. His co-riders include Steve Abrego, David Scott, current BITD champ, GNCC racer Andy Lagzdines.  They have been down in Baja pre-running all week. Tommorow is contingency and tech inspection and hopefully some relaxing.  Here is the Spot tracking link for Team Christys Racing. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0sTDZsCDIuLD12ktoc2yglX4ypiqLGbGV christys racing, duncan racing, elka, rockstar, score, spot nonadult false Christys Racing 2009 Baja 1000 text blog christys racing,duncan racing,elka,rockstar,score,spot 70 0 0.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 1502183 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Team-Arctic-Cat-Baja-1000-2009/BLOG/1500258/27589.html Jason Wade racing with Reid Rutherford on the ThunderCat at this years Baja 1000. Catch the pre running here.....via Spot GPS Tracking. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0hfzusXEpUjlFuM2WfdM08miPoOik52l4 Other udpates to follow when they come in.... Right now there are 50 plus pings on there......Looks jumbled.....I will hide the pre running data on race day, this saturday. Update 1117/09   Prerunning went well. Jason says the course is a bit harder than he anticipated. Not sure if its the equipment he isnt used to ??? So far he is getting used to the Arctic Cat Thundercat. Handles a little different than the Can Am Renegae he has. The Mikes loop is tough and the road out of Matomi Wash is tougher than it has ever been. Jason Wade racing with Reid Rutherford on the ThunderCat at this years Baja 1000. Catch the pre running here.....via Spot GPS Tracking. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0hfzusXEpUjlFuM2WfdM08miPoOik52l4 Other udpates to follow when they come in.... Right now there are 50 plus pings on there......Looks jumbled.....I will hide the pre running data on race day, this saturday. Update 1117/09   Prerunning went well. Jason says the course is a bit harder than he anticipated. Not sure if its the equipment he isnt used to ??? So far he is getting used to the Arctic Cat Thundercat. Handles a little different than the Can Am Renegae he has. The Mikes loop is tough and the road out of Matomi Wash is tougher than it has ever been. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:33:47 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Team-Arctic-Cat-Baja-1000-2009/BLOG/1500258/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-11-18T01:33:47Z My Off-Road Jason Wade racing with Reid Rutherford on the ThunderCat at this years Baja 1000. Catch the pre running here.....via Spot GPS Tracking. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0hfzusXEpUjlFuM2WfdM08miPoOik52l4 Other udpates to follow when they come in.... Right now there are 50 plus pings on there......Looks jumbled.....I will hide the pre running data on race day, this saturday. Update 1117/09   Prerunning went well. Jason says the course is a bit harder than he anticipated. Not sure if its the equipment he isnt used to ??? So far he is getting used to the Arctic Cat Thundercat. Handles a little different than the Can Am Renegae he has. The Mikes loop is tough and the road out of Matomi Wash is tougher than it has ever been. arcticat, atv, baja 1000, elka, fines double racing, planetmoto, score, spot, thundercat nonadult false Team Arctic Cat Baja 1000 2009 text blog arcticat,atv,baja 1000,elka,fines double racing,planetmoto,score,spot,thundercat 73 0 0.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 1500258 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Death-Valley-Angel-2009-Vegas-to-Reno/BLOG/628771/27589.html In the sport of offroad racing, one can never have too many eyes watching over you. A little divine intervention never hurts either. The Jason Wade, Expert quad team is not immune to the gremlins that can occur miles from civilization. Before the race started we were experiencing logistical difficulties. The Funmover from Team Christy`s racing was having fuel pick up issues and we were working on that. The Christy`s team is our competition, but we are good friends and we help each other whenever and wherever we can. Once we got Craig`s crew moving from Las Vegas we hit the road for the one and a half hour ride to Beatty, the start of this year`s Vegas to Reno-The Long Way. This is Best in the Desert` s, Casey Folks, 3 day, 1000 mile odyssey through the Nevada desert. Craig`s crew, Jason Wade, Aaron Ard and I were caravaning up highway 95 trading jokes and barbs over the high powered FM radios. Eric Pealstrom, our other rider, and chase crew called in saying they were having transmission issues with his truck and were turning around heading back to Las Vegas. Details soon followed that the transmission was slipping. I knew this was not good news, and we were probably losing the truck for this race. The question was how do we consolidate all the gear and get Eric back into the race. Jason and I did not plan on doing this race with two riders. Eric called back a few minutes later and said the truck was terminal. He was going to park it at a Ford Dealership in North Las Vegas. We stopped with Craig to pick up all the spare parts, tires and other gear. My brother Martin Choquette and his buddy Dennis Milner were already in Beatty at the hotel.Dennis Milner is a veteran of offroad racing and drives a Class 8 for Beny Canela and is a former class 7 Score Class Champion. Needless to say we have some desert knowledge on our crew. Thanks to Chris and Patty Blais from factory KTM who really helped us out securing the hotels. It was very hard to leave Eric in town. Something just didnt feel right but we had to get through day 1. Luckily, another crew member coming into help for day 2 and 3. We thought we could send him to pick up Eric and Juan when he arrived. We could then go back to our original plan for days 2 and 3. We ultimately ended up in Beatty and packed in for the night. We met up with my crew and Jason stayed with Craig. The start would come very early. Jason was to take the bike in the morning. We put our spare parts in our respective trucks since we had 2 chase vehicles instead of 3. The Toyota Tundra of Dennis`s was packed! We woke up at 4:40 am. A quick cup of coffee, change into my riding gear and off we were to pit 2. Aaron would take Jason to the start and do the visual at pit 1. We made it to pit 2 before the sun came up and found the KTM pit with Chris and Patty. We knew they would be long gone by the time we were to come through so we doubled up at the pit area. Nice to be able to chat with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. [image]Jason came in to pit 2 in 3rd place, we started in 5th. He did very well off the start. He passed the Christy bike and another bike. I think it was the Reid Rutherford bike. There was a quad about forty five seconds to one minute ahead of me when I got on. I chased him to the 25mph hill climb all the while passing alot of dirtbikes. I wasn`t sure how far the number 416 quad of Craig Christy was behind me. I looked back a few times but didn`t see anyone. The switchbacks on this 25mph were quite tricky. I understand why BITD made it a 25mph zone. I caught a quad going up the hill in the switchbacks. I was not sure if it was legal to pass so I tucked in behind him right on his tail. We came to a stop check at the top of the hill where the "resume race speed" sign came into view and I pushed it hard to pass. The rider let me by which was very sportsman like. If I had the number I would mention it but I didnt see it. Think it was a blue YFZ. I later found out from Craig Christy that he was on my tail! I never saw him but I knew he couldn`t be too far behind . I made it to pit 3 without any issues and had a fun ride. Jason took the bike from there. Craig came in right after our rider change. We charged to pit 4. Doug Bergtrom`s team was about 9 minutes ahead at this point, sailing in clear air. It seems they didn`t have to contend with much race traffic. My whole ride was in somebody's dust. I enjoyed every minute of it. Waiting at pit 4 near Silverpeak, I saw the lead quads come through. We intercepted radio communication from Dave Scott, they were leading by 3 minutes when Jeremy Sanchez had a little mishap which forced them to relinquish the lead to Greg Stuart on the Scat-Trac Yama-Honda 650. Wayne Matlock not far behind on the Honda 700. Doug Bergstrom came in shorty after so I knew we were not far behind. As predicted, Jason came in about eleven minutes behind. A quick once over and the Duncan Honda was off chasing Doug`s dust. This bike is a dream to ride. Dave Scott built the bike initially and it works beautifully. You have to watch yourself as you can get over-confident riding it! Leaving Pit 4 after a quick pit with no problems, the course was fast, very fast. Skirting across a dry lake in a full tuck trying to gain every ounce of speed I could get from the 450r. High speed racing requires minimal mistakes and you must take advantage of every avenue to carry speed. High speed corners requires not scrubbing speed entering or exiting the corner. Tie all that together and small mistakes turn into lost time over the course of a couple hundred miles. In order to catch Doug would mean little to no mistakes. I had been through this area before during the Nevada 1000 in 2005. I was familiar with parts of the course although we were racing the opposite direction. A new portion was extremely tasking. It was a going through a wash, not a road, that had rocks all over it. You had to be careful not to hit any of the rocks too hard. Not sure if I was gaining or losing time to the lead atv. I made it to pit 5 and expected to get off the bike and Jason would take over. I was informed to continue on to pit 6 for the rider change. A splash of gas from Dennis and my brother with the IMS quickfill,  I upshifted the Honda 450r heading due east towards Coaldale.I was tired and miffed about the unexpected change in plans. My job now was to get this bike to Jason at Coaldale. Between pits 5 and 6 it was extremly fast. I overshot a corner and hit an embedded rock bursting one of the TireBalls. The jolt went right through me. One of those that you dont miss and you know the left front Maxxis tire will be flat soon! The Tireballs held up! I kept right on going and Jason took over at pit 6 to 8. His ride was quite uneventful and he later said that was the roughest part of the race for him. We were still about 11 minutes or so behind the leaders so we didn't gain or lose anything. The #437 team ran a good smart race and didn't give us an inch. We had to work every mile. Hats off to them for a well managed day one. We finished fourteen minutes behind in for the day. We coordinated entering the work area via cell phone. Once our team was set up, I entered the work area where we looked the bike over and serviced it. The JB Wade racing Honda 450r came through day one relatively unscathed. The only problem was a blown Tireball on the left front Maxxis tire. We elected not to change it and put the bike up for the night. Tired and hungry our team set off to locate our hotel. It was situated in the center of Tonopah. We showered up, loaded the trucks with fuel and we were set for day 2. We met Chris an Patty Blais at a Mexican restaurant and had an awesome dinner. Good food, good conversation and good friends, what a way to end a good day of racing! This is where the Death Valley angel showed up. Some would say it was hot as hell in Death Valley! It was quite hot but our guardian angel was about to arrive. Eric Pealstrom and Juan were still stuck in Las Vegas. Our other chase crew, and vehical, was enroute from Reno and due to arrive in Tonopah at 8pm. Rusty Cronshey was supposed to get into Reno from Austin Tx at 1030am that day. He booked the wrong flight time which was going to put him in at 10pm instead of 10am. He flew stand by and made it in at 330pm. Things happen for a reason. His rental car was given away, small SUV, so all they had was a Dodge Ram quad cab for the same price as his small SUV. What a blessing in disguise this was. Eric sent us a text message, stating that he found a ride to Tonopah and was on his way. I found out that someone posted our plight on the AMA District 37 message board. Kanes Mom (Kim) was the internet angel for us. She happens to be a member of D37`s Rovers club, and so does Eric Pealstrom. Message reads, "Eric Pealstrom is stuck in Vegas. His tranny went out and he needs to get to tonapah. Do you know anyone that can drive him? No racing for him today. Could not get to the rider change location." Shortly, a response came through from "Kawasaki Guy" on the message board. Message reads, "HEY-1-xxx-xxx-xxxx. DON EISENHAUER. im in henderson. if he's trually fct, call me. will hook it up."  Next thing we know Eric is in Don`s truck on his way to Tonopah! The Death Valley angel. Here is the truly amazing part of this. We did not know Mr. Eisenhauer from Adam. This man blindly offered to help us, a quad team, a bunch of strangers. I am still humbled by Don`s selfless generosity. Tonopah is not just around the corner. Its a 3 1/2 hour ride each way! Eric and Juan showed up around 10:30pm and we got them their hotel. I thanked Don. I was really at a loss for words, still am! This is what attracted me to offroad racing some 25 years ago. Everybody helps each other. In no other sport, have I witnessed this kind of willingness to go above and beyond to help out your fellow human being who might just be your competition. It doesn't matter, people help each other. I have seen this time and time again so its not just a fluke. It really gives you a very good feeling. Don Eisenhauer, thank you, for helping us out and you really are our "Death Valley angel".   [image] In the sport of offroad racing, one can never have too many eyes watching over you. A little divine intervention never hurts either. The Jason Wade, Expert quad team is not immune to the gremlins that can occur miles from civilization. Before the race started we were experiencing logistical difficulties. The Funmover from Team Christy`s racing was having fuel pick up issues and we were working on that. The Christy`s team is our competition, but we are good friends and we help each other whenever and wherever we can. Once we got Craig`s crew moving from Las Vegas we hit the road for the one and a half hour ride to Beatty, the start of this year`s Vegas to Reno-The Long Way. This is Best in the Desert` s, Casey Folks, 3 day, 1000 mile odyssey through the Nevada desert. Craig`s crew, Jason Wade, Aaron Ard and I were caravaning up highway 95 trading jokes and barbs over the high powered FM radios. Eric Pealstrom, our other rider, and chase crew called in saying they were having transmission issues with his truck and were turning around heading back to Las Vegas. Details soon followed that the transmission was slipping. I knew this was not good news, and we were probably losing the truck for this race. The question was how do we consolidate all the gear and get Eric back into the race. Jason and I did not plan on doing this race with two riders. Eric called back a few minutes later and said the truck was terminal. He was going to park it at a Ford Dealership in North Las Vegas. We stopped with Craig to pick up all the spare parts, tires and other gear. My brother Martin Choquette and his buddy Dennis Milner were already in Beatty at the hotel.Dennis Milner is a veteran of offroad racing and drives a Class 8 for Beny Canela and is a former class 7 Score Class Champion. Needless to say we have some desert knowledge on our crew. Thanks to Chris and Patty Blais from factory KTM who really helped us out securing the hotels. It was very hard to leave Eric in town. Something just didnt feel right but we had to get through day 1. Luckily, another crew member coming into help for day 2 and 3. We thought we could send him to pick up Eric and Juan when he arrived. We could then go back to our original plan for days 2 and 3. We ultimately ended up in Beatty and packed in for the night. We met up with my crew and Jason stayed with Craig. The start would come very early. Jason was to take the bike in the morning. We put our spare parts in our respective trucks since we had 2 chase vehicles instead of 3. The Toyota Tundra of Dennis`s was packed! We woke up at 4:40 am. A quick cup of coffee, change into my riding gear and off we were to pit 2. Aaron would take Jason to the start and do the visual at pit 1. We made it to pit 2 before the sun came up and found the KTM pit with Chris and Patty. We knew they would be long gone by the time we were to come through so we doubled up at the pit area. Nice to be able to chat with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. [image]Jason came in to pit 2 in 3rd place, we started in 5th. He did very well off the start. He passed the Christy bike and another bike. I think it was the Reid Rutherford bike. There was a quad about forty five seconds to one minute ahead of me when I got on. I chased him to the 25mph hill climb all the while passing alot of dirtbikes. I wasn`t sure how far the number 416 quad of Craig Christy was behind me. I looked back a few times but didn`t see anyone. The switchbacks on this 25mph were quite tricky. I understand why BITD made it a 25mph zone. I caught a quad going up the hill in the switchbacks. I was not sure if it was legal to pass so I tucked in behind him right on his tail. We came to a stop check at the top of the hill where the "resume race speed" sign came into view and I pushed it hard to pass. The rider let me by which was very sportsman like. If I had the number I would mention it but I didnt see it. Think it was a blue YFZ. I later found out from Craig Christy that he was on my tail! I never saw him but I knew he couldn`t be too far behind . I made it to pit 3 without any issues and had a fun ride. Jason took the bike from there. Craig came in right after our rider change. We charged to pit 4. Doug Bergtrom`s team was about 9 minutes ahead at this point, sailing in clear air. It seems they didn`t have to contend with much race traffic. My whole ride was in somebody's dust. I enjoyed every minute of it. Waiting at pit 4 near Silverpeak, I saw the lead quads come through. We intercepted radio communication from Dave Scott, they were leading by 3 minutes when Jeremy Sanchez had a little mishap which forced them to relinquish the lead to Greg Stuart on the Scat-Trac Yama-Honda 650. Wayne Matlock not far behind on the Honda 700. Doug Bergstrom came in shorty after so I knew we were not far behind. As predicted, Jason came in about eleven minutes behind. A quick once over and the Duncan Honda was off chasing Doug`s dust. This bike is a dream to ride. Dave Scott built the bike initially and it works beautifully. You have to watch yourself as you can get over-confident riding it! Leaving Pit 4 after a quick pit with no problems, the course was fast, very fast. Skirting across a dry lake in a full tuck trying to gain every ounce of speed I could get from the 450r. High speed racing requires minimal mistakes and you must take advantage of every avenue to carry speed. High speed corners requires not scrubbing speed entering or exiting the corner. Tie all that together and small mistakes turn into lost time over the course of a couple hundred miles. In order to catch Doug would mean little to no mistakes. I had been through this area before during the Nevada 1000 in 2005. I was familiar with parts of the course although we were racing the opposite direction. A new portion was extremely tasking. It was a going through a wash, not a road, that had rocks all over it. You had to be careful not to hit any of the rocks too hard. Not sure if I was gaining or losing time to the lead atv. I made it to pit 5 and expected to get off the bike and Jason would take over. I was informed to continue on to pit 6 for the rider change. A splash of gas from Dennis and my brother with the IMS quickfill,  I upshifted the Honda 450r heading due east towards Coaldale.I was tired and miffed about the unexpected change in plans. My job now was to get this bike to Jason at Coaldale. Between pits 5 and 6 it was extremly fast. I overshot a corner and hit an embedded rock bursting one of the TireBalls. The jolt went right through me. One of those that you dont miss and you know the left front Maxxis tire will be flat soon! The Tireballs held up! I kept right on going and Jason took over at pit 6 to 8. His ride was quite uneventful and he later said that was the roughest part of the race for him. We were still about 11 minutes or so behind the leaders so we didn't gain or lose anything. The #437 team ran a good smart race and didn't give us an inch. We had to work every mile. Hats off to them for a well managed day one. We finished fourteen minutes behind in for the day. We coordinated entering the work area via cell phone. Once our team was set up, I entered the work area where we looked the bike over and serviced it. The JB Wade racing Honda 450r came through day one relatively unscathed. The only problem was a blown Tireball on the left front Maxxis tire. We elected not to change it and put the bike up for the night. Tired and hungry our team set off to locate our hotel. It was situated in the center of Tonopah. We showered up, loaded the trucks with fuel and we were set for day 2. We met Chris an Patty Blais at a Mexican restaurant and had an awesome dinner. Good food, good conversation and good friends, what a way to end a good day of racing! This is where the Death Valley angel showed up. Some would say it was hot as hell in Death Valley! It was quite hot but our guardian angel was about to arrive. Eric Pealstrom and Juan were still stuck in Las Vegas. Our other chase crew, and vehical, was enroute from Reno and due to arrive in Tonopah at 8pm. Rusty Cronshey was supposed to get into Reno from Austin Tx at 1030am that day. He booked the wrong flight time which was going to put him in at 10pm instead of 10am. He flew stand by and made it in at 330pm. Things happen for a reason. His rental car was given away, small SUV, so all they had was a Dodge Ram quad cab for the same price as his small SUV. What a blessing in disguise this was. Eric sent us a text message, stating that he found a ride to Tonopah and was on his way. I found out that someone posted our plight on the AMA District 37 message board. Kanes Mom (Kim) was the internet angel for us. She happens to be a member of D37`s Rovers club, and so does Eric Pealstrom. Message reads, "Eric Pealstrom is stuck in Vegas. His tranny went out and he needs to get to tonapah. Do you know anyone that can drive him? No racing for him today. Could not get to the rider change location." Shortly, a response came through from "Kawasaki Guy" on the message board. Message reads, "HEY-1-xxx-xxx-xxxx. DON EISENHAUER. im in henderson. if he's trually fct, call me. will hook it up."  Next thing we know Eric is in Don`s truck on his way to Tonopah! The Death Valley angel. Here is the truly amazing part of this. We did not know Mr. Eisenhauer from Adam. This man blindly offered to help us, a quad team, a bunch of strangers. I am still humbled by Don`s selfless generosity. Tonopah is not just around the corner. Its a 3 1/2 hour ride each way! Eric and Juan showed up around 10:30pm and we got them their hotel. I thanked Don. I was really at a loss for words, still am! This is what attracted me to offroad racing some 25 years ago. Everybody helps each other. In no other sport, have I witnessed this kind of willingness to go above and beyond to help out your fellow human being who might just be your competition. It doesn't matter, people help each other. I have seen this time and time again so its not just a fluke. It really gives you a very good feeling. Don Eisenhauer, thank you, for helping us out and you really are our "Death Valley angel".   [image] Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:26:54 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Death-Valley-Angel-2009-Vegas-to-Reno/BLOG/628771/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-09-02T06:26:54Z Desert Racing My Off-Road In the sport of offroad racing, one can never have too many eyes watching over you. A little divine intervention never hurts either. The Jason Wade, Expert quad team is not immune to the gremlins that can occur miles from civilization. Before the race started we were experiencing logistical difficulties. The Funmover from Team Christy`s racing was having fuel pick up issues and we were working on that. The Christy`s team is our competition, but we are good friends and we help each other whenever and wherever we can. Once we got Craig`s crew moving from Las Vegas we hit the road for the one and a half hour ride to Beatty, the start of this year`s Vegas to Reno-The Long Way. This is Best in the Desert` s, Casey Folks, 3 day, 1000 mile odyssey through the Nevada desert. Craig`s crew, Jason Wade, Aaron Ard and I were caravaning up highway 95 trading jokes and barbs over the high powered FM radios. Eric Pealstrom, our other rider, and chase crew called in saying they were having transmission issues with his truck and were turning around heading back to Las Vegas. Details soon followed that the transmission was slipping. I knew this was not good news, and we were probably losing the truck for this race. The question was how do we consolidate all the gear and get Eric back into the race. Jason and I did not plan on doing this race with two riders. Eric called back a few minutes later and said the truck was terminal. He was going to park it at a Ford Dealership in North Las Vegas. We stopped with Craig to pick up all the spare parts, tires and other gear. My brother Martin Choquette and his buddy Dennis Milner were already in Beatty at the hotel.Dennis Milner is a veteran of offroad racing and drives a Class 8 for Beny Canela and is a former class 7 Score Class Champion. Needless to say we have some desert knowledge on our crew. Thanks to Chris and Patty Blais from factory KTM who really helped us out securing the hotels. It was very hard to leave Eric in town. Something just didnt feel right but we had to get through day 1. Luckily, another crew member coming into help for day 2 and 3. We thought we could send him to pick up Eric and Juan when he arrived. We could then go back to our original plan for days 2 and 3. We ultimately ended up in Beatty and packed in for the night. We met up with my crew and Jason stayed with Craig. The start would come very early. Jason was to take the bike in the morning. We put our spare parts in our respective trucks since we had 2 chase vehicles instead of 3. The Toyota Tundra of Dennis`s was packed! We woke up at 4:40 am. A quick cup of coffee, change into my riding gear and off we were to pit 2. Aaron would take Jason to the start and do the visual at pit 1. We made it to pit 2 before the sun came up and found the KTM pit with Chris and Patty. We knew they would be long gone by the time we were to come through so we doubled up at the pit area. Nice to be able to chat with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. [image]Jason came in to pit 2 in 3rd place, we started in 5th. He did very well off the start. He passed the Christy bike and another bike. I think it was the Reid Rutherford bike. There was a quad about forty five seconds to one minute ahead of me when I got on. I chased him to the 25mph hill climb all the while passing alot of dirtbikes. I wasn`t sure how far the number 416 quad of Craig Christy was behind me. I looked back a few times but didn`t see anyone. The switchbacks on this 25mph were quite tricky. I understand why BITD made it a 25mph zone. I caught a quad going up the hill in the switchbacks. I was not sure if it was legal to pass so I tucked in behind him right on his tail. We came to a stop check at the top of the hill where the "resume race speed" sign came into view and I pushed it hard to pass. The rider let me by which was very sportsman like. If I had the number I would mention it but I didnt see it. Think it was a blue YFZ. I later found out from Craig Christy that he was on my tail! I never saw him but I knew he couldn`t be too far behind . I made it to pit 3 without any issues and had a fun ride. Jason took the bike from there. Craig came in right after our rider change. We charged to pit 4. Doug Bergtrom`s team was about 9 minutes ahead at this point, sailing in clear air. It seems they didn`t have to contend with much race traffic. My whole ride was in somebody's dust. I enjoyed every minute of it. Waiting at pit 4 near Silverpeak, I saw the lead quads come through. We intercepted radio communication from Dave Scott, they were leading by 3 minutes when Jeremy Sanchez had a little mishap which forced them to relinquish the lead to Greg Stuart on the Scat-Trac Yama-Honda 650. Wayne Matlock not far behind on the Honda 700. Doug Bergstrom came in shorty after so I knew we were not far behind. As predicted, Jason came in about eleven minutes behind. A quick once over and the Duncan Honda was off chasing Doug`s dust. This bike is a dream to ride. Dave Scott built the bike initially and it works beautifully. You have to watch yourself as you can get over-confident riding it! Leaving Pit 4 after a quick pit with no problems, the course was fast, very fast. Skirting across a dry lake in a full tuck trying to gain every ounce of speed I could get from the 450r. High speed racing requires minimal mistakes and you must take advantage of every avenue to carry speed. High speed corners requires not scrubbing speed entering or exiting the corner. Tie all that together and small mistakes turn into lost time over the course of a couple hundred miles. In order to catch Doug would mean little to no mistakes. I had been through this area before during the Nevada 1000 in 2005. I was familiar with parts of the course although we were racing the opposite direction. A new portion was extremely tasking. It was a going through a wash, not a road, that had rocks all over it. You had to be careful not to hit any of the rocks too hard. Not sure if I was gaining or losing time to the lead atv. I made it to pit 5 and expected to get off the bike and Jason would take over. I was informed to continue on to pit 6 for the rider change. A splash of gas from Dennis and my brother with the IMS quickfill,  I upshifted the Honda 450r heading due east towards Coaldale.I was tired and miffed about the unexpected change in plans. My job now was to get this bike to Jason at Coaldale. Between pits 5 and 6 it was extremly fast. I overshot a corner and hit an embedded rock bursting one of the TireBalls. The jolt went right through me. One of those that you dont miss and you know the left front Maxxis tire will be flat soon! The Tireballs held up! I kept right on going and Jason took over at pit 6 to 8. His ride was quite uneventful and he later said that was the roughest part of the race for him. We were still about 11 minutes or so behind the leaders so we didn't gain or lose anything. The #437 team ran a good smart race and didn't give us an inch. We had to work every mile. Hats off to them for a well managed day one. We finished fourteen minutes behind in for the day. We coordinated entering the work area via cell phone. Once our team was set up, I entered the work area where we looked the bike over and serviced it. The JB Wade racing Honda 450r came through day one relatively unscathed. The only problem was a blown Tireball on the left front Maxxis tire. We elected not to change it and put the bike up for the night. Tired and hungry our team set off to locate our hotel. It was situated in the center of Tonopah. We showered up, loaded the trucks with fuel and we were set for day 2. We met Chris an Patty Blais at a Mexican restaurant and had an awesome dinner. Good food, good conversation and good friends, what a way to end a good day of racing! This is where the Death Valley angel showed up. Some would say it was hot as hell in Death Valley! It was quite hot but our guardian angel was about to arrive. Eric Pealstrom and Juan were still stuck in Las Vegas. Our other chase crew, and vehical, was enroute from Reno and due to arrive in Tonopah at 8pm. Rusty Cronshey was supposed to get into Reno from Austin Tx at 1030am that day. He booked the wrong flight time which was going to put him in at 10pm instead of 10am. He flew stand by and made it in at 330pm. Things happen for a reason. His rental car was given away, small SUV, so all they had was a Dodge Ram quad cab for the same price as his small SUV. What a blessing in disguise this was. Eric sent us a text message, stating that he found a ride to Tonopah and was on his way. I found out that someone posted our plight on the AMA District 37 message board. Kanes Mom (Kim) was the internet angel for us. She happens to be a member of D37`s Rovers club, and so does Eric Pealstrom. Message reads, "Eric Pealstrom is stuck in Vegas. His tranny went out and he needs to get to tonapah. Do you know anyone that can drive him? No racing for him today. Could not get to the rider change location." Shortly, a response came through from "Kawasaki Guy" on the message board. Message reads, "HEY-1-xxx-xxx-xxxx. DON EISENHAUER. im in henderson. if he's trually fct, call me. will hook it up."  Next thing we know Eric is in Don`s truck on his way to Tonopah! The Death Valley angel. Here is the truly amazing part of this. We did not know Mr. Eisenhauer from Adam. This man blindly offered to help us, a quad team, a bunch of strangers. I am still humbled by Don`s selfless generosity. Tonopah is not just around the corner. Its a 3 1/2 hour ride each way! Eric and Juan showed up around 10:30pm and we got them their hotel. I thanked Don. I was really at a loss for words, still am! This is what attracted me to offroad racing some 25 years ago. Everybody helps each other. In no other sport, have I witnessed this kind of willingness to go above and beyond to help out your fellow human being who might just be your competition. It doesn't matter, people help each other. I have seen this time and time again so its not just a fluke. It really gives you a very good feeling. Don Eisenhauer, thank you, for helping us out and you really are our "Death Valley angel".   [image] ac racing, atv, bitd, christy racing, desert racing, duncan racing, eric pealstrom, jason wade, marc choquette, quad, vtr racing nonadult false Death Valley Angel (2009 Vegas to Reno) text blog ac racing,atv,bitd,christy racing,desert racing,duncan racing,eric pealstrom,jason wade,marc choquette,quad,vtr racing 347 1 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 628771 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_2009-Vegas-to-Reno/BLOG/513057/27589.html Jason Wade, Eric Pealstrom and myself are taking on the challenge of 1000 miles through the Nevada desert in the middle of summer! I know it doesnt sound like everyones choice for a vacation in August. We will be racing a 2007 Honda TRX 450r in the Expert ATV class number 421. Initially built by current Best in the Desert pro class champion, Duncan Racings David Scott. Jason and I raced the bike to 3rd place at the Parker 250 this year and are 3rd in points. Eric Pealstrom from AC Racing built the skid plates for it. The AC skids have been proven to be able to handle the Nevada desert. ITP rims and tires will handle the terrain with Tire Balls installed for good measure. This should keep us from getting flats. 3 days worth of racing on them should be a good test and I have no doubt they will hold up.  Elka shocks coupled with Roll Design suspension make for a very nice ride through the open desert. [image]This event will take place over 3 days beginning in Beatty Nevada. From there we will head north skirting the towns of Goldfield and Silverpeak and the Tonopah Test Range (AKA) Area 52. We end up in Tonopah for the night. Day 2 has us continueing to head north navigating through the San Antonio Mountains and wind up in the town of Hawthorne. Day 3 we head south near back towards Tonopah then north through the little town of Gabbs. I love that town. They have the friendliest people and I thank them for allowing us to race through their community. We ultimatly end up in Dayton near Reno. Its no secret that many people are struggling and I would like to thank Jason Wade from JB Wade Custom homes for allowing me to help in this effort. Our volunteers helping us out in the pits, the absolute best, Martin Choquette, Dennis Milner, Aaron Ard, Rusty Cronshey and Juan. Without our crew we go nowhere. They take the time away from their families and work to help us out and I cannot say thank you enough. Special thanks to Chris and Patty Blais from KTM for their efforts. Without them we would be sleeping in the dirt! If your interested in following us via the Spot Satellite tracking system, here is a link. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0de2ML2KiIUuOBeU9rtssLOno9ku9kBLL Catch us on Twitter. http://twitter.com/vtr_racing Jason Wade, Eric Pealstrom and myself are taking on the challenge of 1000 miles through the Nevada desert in the middle of summer! I know it doesnt sound like everyones choice for a vacation in August. We will be racing a 2007 Honda TRX 450r in the Expert ATV class number 421. Initially built by current Best in the Desert pro class champion, Duncan Racings David Scott. Jason and I raced the bike to 3rd place at the Parker 250 this year and are 3rd in points. Eric Pealstrom from AC Racing built the skid plates for it. The AC skids have been proven to be able to handle the Nevada desert. ITP rims and tires will handle the terrain with Tire Balls installed for good measure. This should keep us from getting flats. 3 days worth of racing on them should be a good test and I have no doubt they will hold up.  Elka shocks coupled with Roll Design suspension make for a very nice ride through the open desert. [image]This event will take place over 3 days beginning in Beatty Nevada. From there we will head north skirting the towns of Goldfield and Silverpeak and the Tonopah Test Range (AKA) Area 52. We end up in Tonopah for the night. Day 2 has us continueing to head north navigating through the San Antonio Mountains and wind up in the town of Hawthorne. Day 3 we head south near back towards Tonopah then north through the little town of Gabbs. I love that town. They have the friendliest people and I thank them for allowing us to race through their community. We ultimatly end up in Dayton near Reno. Its no secret that many people are struggling and I would like to thank Jason Wade from JB Wade Custom homes for allowing me to help in this effort. Our volunteers helping us out in the pits, the absolute best, Martin Choquette, Dennis Milner, Aaron Ard, Rusty Cronshey and Juan. Without our crew we go nowhere. They take the time away from their families and work to help us out and I cannot say thank you enough. Special thanks to Chris and Patty Blais from KTM for their efforts. Without them we would be sleeping in the dirt! If your interested in following us via the Spot Satellite tracking system, here is a link. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0de2ML2KiIUuOBeU9rtssLOno9ku9kBLL Catch us on Twitter. http://twitter.com/vtr_racing Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:10:01 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_2009-Vegas-to-Reno/BLOG/513057/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-08-15T07:10:01Z Desert Racing My Off-Road Jason Wade, Eric Pealstrom and myself are taking on the challenge of 1000 miles through the Nevada desert in the middle of summer! I know it doesnt sound like everyones choice for a vacation in August. We will be racing a 2007 Honda TRX 450r in the Expert ATV class number 421. Initially built by current Best in the Desert pro class champion, Duncan Racings David Scott. Jason and I raced the bike to 3rd place at the Parker 250 this year and are 3rd in points. Eric Pealstrom from AC Racing built the skid plates for it. The AC skids have been proven to be able to handle the Nevada desert. ITP rims and tires will handle the terrain with Tire Balls installed for good measure. This should keep us from getting flats. 3 days worth of racing on them should be a good test and I have no doubt they will hold up.  Elka shocks coupled with Roll Design suspension make for a very nice ride through the open desert. [image]This event will take place over 3 days beginning in Beatty Nevada. From there we will head north skirting the towns of Goldfield and Silverpeak and the Tonopah Test Range (AKA) Area 52. We end up in Tonopah for the night. Day 2 has us continueing to head north navigating through the San Antonio Mountains and wind up in the town of Hawthorne. Day 3 we head south near back towards Tonopah then north through the little town of Gabbs. I love that town. They have the friendliest people and I thank them for allowing us to race through their community. We ultimatly end up in Dayton near Reno. Its no secret that many people are struggling and I would like to thank Jason Wade from JB Wade Custom homes for allowing me to help in this effort. Our volunteers helping us out in the pits, the absolute best, Martin Choquette, Dennis Milner, Aaron Ard, Rusty Cronshey and Juan. Without our crew we go nowhere. They take the time away from their families and work to help us out and I cannot say thank you enough. Special thanks to Chris and Patty Blais from KTM for their efforts. Without them we would be sleeping in the dirt! If your interested in following us via the Spot Satellite tracking system, here is a link. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0de2ML2KiIUuOBeU9rtssLOno9ku9kBLL Catch us on Twitter. http://twitter.com/vtr_racing ac racing, atv, bitd, desert racing, duncan racing, quad nonadult false 2009 Vegas to Reno text blog ac racing,atv,bitd,desert racing,duncan racing,quad 432 10 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 513057 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Desert-Racing-Stick-to-the-course/BLOG/408180/27589.html                                                                                                     Integrity as defined by Websters Etymology: Middle English integrite, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French integrité, from Latin integritat-, integritas, from integr-, integer entire Date: 14th century 1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility 2 : an unimpaired condition : soundness 3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness Racing has always pushed the envelope. Getting the edge and racing on the edge. The "preferred" line hasnt always been on the marked course in Score,s Baja racing. As of late, speed limits have been imposed. More teams have "eyes" watching for course deviations and other things. The big question we must all ask ourselves is, why? Is Score putting its name out there for all this good press because all its participants are following the rules? You answer that question yourself. As far as Score goes, their insurance is underwritten with a set of guidelines which MUST be incorporated into the race rules for us to follow and more importantly, for us to be able to race. This may not always fit into all of our playbooks and knowingly or unknowingly we bend or break some of those pre determined guidelines. Offroad racing is changing. Courses are marked with the promoters signature and word that that is the course we are to race on. The environmentalist will complain and file lawsuits if the marked course is not followed and thats where we will have problems. Just because the course was one way the year before and it is changed by maybe a couple hundred yards, doesn't make it ok to take it. Score has taken the step to enlist the help of some outside services to help with this. Its early on in this process and Im sure that Score will define exactly how the will be used. Score could have been more pro-active in my opinion, in this area and defined what it is and how it would be used. If we are to continue racing in Baja we have to do a better job staying on course. We have all seen whats happened to racing in the States. Will we ever miss a turn? Will we ever get lost? Will we ever have 50 different lines through a wash? Will there ever be allowable either or,s? Will there ever be a pit area thats IMPOSSIBLE to pit 50 feet from the course? Will there be inadvertent speeding? YES!!! Will anybody ever switch bikes during a race? Probably...We all must comply to the best of our abilities. This includes the most important aspect of Baja racing as well. Our pit crews.(Thanks to all Pit Crews out there) They must be well informed of the rules. So lets here your thoughts on the recent Score rule enforcement.                                                                                                     Integrity as defined by Websters Etymology: Middle English integrite, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French integrité, from Latin integritat-, integritas, from integr-, integer entire Date: 14th century 1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility 2 : an unimpaired condition : soundness 3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness Racing has always pushed the envelope. Getting the edge and racing on the edge. The "preferred" line hasnt always been on the marked course in Score,s Baja racing. As of late, speed limits have been imposed. More teams have "eyes" watching for course deviations and other things. The big question we must all ask ourselves is, why? Is Score putting its name out there for all this good press because all its participants are following the rules? You answer that question yourself. As far as Score goes, their insurance is underwritten with a set of guidelines which MUST be incorporated into the race rules for us to follow and more importantly, for us to be able to race. This may not always fit into all of our playbooks and knowingly or unknowingly we bend or break some of those pre determined guidelines. Offroad racing is changing. Courses are marked with the promoters signature and word that that is the course we are to race on. The environmentalist will complain and file lawsuits if the marked course is not followed and thats where we will have problems. Just because the course was one way the year before and it is changed by maybe a couple hundred yards, doesn't make it ok to take it. Score has taken the step to enlist the help of some outside services to help with this. Its early on in this process and Im sure that Score will define exactly how the will be used. Score could have been more pro-active in my opinion, in this area and defined what it is and how it would be used. If we are to continue racing in Baja we have to do a better job staying on course. We have all seen whats happened to racing in the States. Will we ever miss a turn? Will we ever get lost? Will we ever have 50 different lines through a wash? Will there ever be allowable either or,s? Will there ever be a pit area thats IMPOSSIBLE to pit 50 feet from the course? Will there be inadvertent speeding? YES!!! Will anybody ever switch bikes during a race? Probably...We all must comply to the best of our abilities. This includes the most important aspect of Baja racing as well. Our pit crews.(Thanks to all Pit Crews out there) They must be well informed of the rules. So lets here your thoughts on the recent Score rule enforcement. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:32:12 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Desert-Racing-Stick-to-the-course/BLOG/408180/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-06-26T08:32:12Z Desert Racing My Off-Road                                                                                                     Integrity as defined by Websters Etymology: Middle English integrite, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French integrité, from Latin integritat-, integritas, from integr-, integer entire Date: 14th century 1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility 2 : an unimpaired condition : soundness 3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness Racing has always pushed the envelope. Getting the edge and racing on the edge. The "preferred" line hasnt always been on the marked course in Score,s Baja racing. As of late, speed limits have been imposed. More teams have "eyes" watching for course deviations and other things. The big question we must all ask ourselves is, why? Is Score putting its name out there for all this good press because all its participants are following the rules? You answer that question yourself. As far as Score goes, their insurance is underwritten with a set of guidelines which MUST be incorporated into the race rules for us to follow and more importantly, for us to be able to race. This may not always fit into all of our playbooks and knowingly or unknowingly we bend or break some of those pre determined guidelines. Offroad racing is changing. Courses are marked with the promoters signature and word that that is the course we are to race on. The environmentalist will complain and file lawsuits if the marked course is not followed and thats where we will have problems. Just because the course was one way the year before and it is changed by maybe a couple hundred yards, doesn't make it ok to take it. Score has taken the step to enlist the help of some outside services to help with this. Its early on in this process and Im sure that Score will define exactly how the will be used. Score could have been more pro-active in my opinion, in this area and defined what it is and how it would be used. If we are to continue racing in Baja we have to do a better job staying on course. We have all seen whats happened to racing in the States. Will we ever miss a turn? Will we ever get lost? Will we ever have 50 different lines through a wash? Will there ever be allowable either or,s? Will there ever be a pit area thats IMPOSSIBLE to pit 50 feet from the course? Will there be inadvertent speeding? YES!!! Will anybody ever switch bikes during a race? Probably...We all must comply to the best of our abilities. This includes the most important aspect of Baja racing as well. Our pit crews.(Thanks to all Pit Crews out there) They must be well informed of the rules. So lets here your thoughts on the recent Score rule enforcement. desert racing, score nonadult false Desert Racing-Stick to the course! text blog desert racing,score 303 10 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 408180 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Nic-Granlund-needs-our-prayers/BLOG/392999/27589.html Nic Granlund was involved in a serious crash a few weeks ago. I received a text from him this evening and he seems to be doing fine but needs our prayers. This is a difficult time.Pleae pray for him and his family. Here is the press release from Bower media   Press Release:  For Immediate Release ATV Pro Nic Granlund Suffers Serious Injury at ITP/Yamaha QuadCross Event San Bernardino, CA – Nic Granlund participated in the May 24th ITP QuadCross  Championship Series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA.  On the first lap of the Open Pro ATV Class second moto he crashed and sustained a debilitating injury.  A fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank for donations to support Nic’s recovery. The track had been used the day before for the AMA Motocross Nationals. Nic started the day with a solid race and finished sixth in the first Moto.  In the main event, Nic came off the line strong and was among the first few racers into the first turn.  As Nic railed the first turn, another quad bumped him sending him and his quad over the berm and off the track.  He was able to recover, but several quads passed by as he maneuvered back onto the race track.  Nic Granlund has always been known as an aggressive rider and, once back on the track, he pinned it as he gunned down the rider in front of him.  He did not lift off the throttle as he approached a 65-foot step-up.  Nic launched off the face of the jump and suddenly the quad stalled and dropped out of the air leaving Nic in a 15 foot freefall.  Nic landed on the downside of the jump without his quad and shattered his femur and hip joint into more than 35 pieces.  Nic spent eleven days at Arrowhead Trauma Center in Colton, CA after a five-hour reconstructive surgery of the hip that Dr. Hopkins said was the worst hip trauma that he had seen in his 10 years as an orthopedic surgeon. The doctors had to insert a two-foot titanium rod into the center of Nic’s femur and then secure the rod with a 4” screw just above the kneecap. Two large bolts were installed to connect the rod to a newly rebuilt hip.  The surgeon commented that Nic’s muscles were so strong that they bent medical tools while working on him. The prognosis is promising, though Nic faces a long road to recovery.  He is residing in San Jose, CA the first 6 weeks of recovery.  He plans to return to Las Vegas as soon as possible and will begin physical therapy at that point.  Nic knows it will be tough - but he’s confident that he will overcome this challenge with the support of family, close friends, and the racing community. “I am not ready to announce my retirement, but I will be out of the garage and off the track for a long period of time according to the doctor,” said Nic.  “Everyone’s support has been overwhelming; it goes to show what a tight group of racers are out there every weekend.” There have been many calls and messages from racers, friends, and fans around the country wanting to know how they can help Nic.  In response to this outpouring of support, a fund has been established in Nic Granlund’s name through Wells Fargo Bank (Acct. 6478349860).  You can contribute to the fund by either transferring funds from an existing Wells Fargo account or by visiting a local branch location.   Or, you can send a check to Niclas Granlund  c/o Maria Werth, PO Box 18755, San Jose, CA 95158. To contact Nic Granlund, please email him at nicgracing@gmail.com Nic Granlund would like to thank his Sponsors: NGR, Lonestar, Fox Shox, SWICK, Skat Trak, TORCO, DWT, CTRacing, Quad Tech, Fasst, Precision, Hinson, Triumph, ITI, Maxxis, Velocity Filters, Streamline, Dragon, ARP, SHIFT, and JSR About Nic Granlund: Nic has been racing for 25 years.  Born in Sweden, Nic started his career at the age of 14 racing dirt bikes.  Nic is one of the most successful multi-disciplined racers in the world.  Early in his career, Nic won the 1996 Novice 1200 Runabout JetSki World Championship. During a race in which Nic was racing a two-wheeler, a friend could not race and asked Nic to race his ATV.  He was a natural and was soon racing in Mickey Thompson Stadium races. Nic began to win and turned pro, racing a combination of motocross and desert racing. Over the past five years, Nic helped pioneer ATV Supermoto racing and won the Supermoto championship four of the last last years.  Most recently, Nic and his partner, Greg Stuart, have dominated the Best in the Desert Series, winning six of the last eight races. Very few racers succeed in more than one style of racing and Nic’s success in ATV MotoCross, Supermoto, and Desert Racing is unique.  Most recently, Nic has been teaching ATV racing and a high percentage of his students find their way to the podium.     Nic Granlund was involved in a serious crash a few weeks ago. I received a text from him this evening and he seems to be doing fine but needs our prayers. This is a difficult time.Pleae pray for him and his family. Here is the press release from Bower media   Press Release:  For Immediate Release ATV Pro Nic Granlund Suffers Serious Injury at ITP/Yamaha QuadCross Event San Bernardino, CA – Nic Granlund participated in the May 24th ITP QuadCross  Championship Series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA.  On the first lap of the Open Pro ATV Class second moto he crashed and sustained a debilitating injury.  A fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank for donations to support Nic’s recovery. The track had been used the day before for the AMA Motocross Nationals. Nic started the day with a solid race and finished sixth in the first Moto.  In the main event, Nic came off the line strong and was among the first few racers into the first turn.  As Nic railed the first turn, another quad bumped him sending him and his quad over the berm and off the track.  He was able to recover, but several quads passed by as he maneuvered back onto the race track.  Nic Granlund has always been known as an aggressive rider and, once back on the track, he pinned it as he gunned down the rider in front of him.  He did not lift off the throttle as he approached a 65-foot step-up.  Nic launched off the face of the jump and suddenly the quad stalled and dropped out of the air leaving Nic in a 15 foot freefall.  Nic landed on the downside of the jump without his quad and shattered his femur and hip joint into more than 35 pieces.  Nic spent eleven days at Arrowhead Trauma Center in Colton, CA after a five-hour reconstructive surgery of the hip that Dr. Hopkins said was the worst hip trauma that he had seen in his 10 years as an orthopedic surgeon. The doctors had to insert a two-foot titanium rod into the center of Nic’s femur and then secure the rod with a 4” screw just above the kneecap. Two large bolts were installed to connect the rod to a newly rebuilt hip.  The surgeon commented that Nic’s muscles were so strong that they bent medical tools while working on him. The prognosis is promising, though Nic faces a long road to recovery.  He is residing in San Jose, CA the first 6 weeks of recovery.  He plans to return to Las Vegas as soon as possible and will begin physical therapy at that point.  Nic knows it will be tough - but he’s confident that he will overcome this challenge with the support of family, close friends, and the racing community. “I am not ready to announce my retirement, but I will be out of the garage and off the track for a long period of time according to the doctor,” said Nic.  “Everyone’s support has been overwhelming; it goes to show what a tight group of racers are out there every weekend.” There have been many calls and messages from racers, friends, and fans around the country wanting to know how they can help Nic.  In response to this outpouring of support, a fund has been established in Nic Granlund’s name through Wells Fargo Bank (Acct. 6478349860).  You can contribute to the fund by either transferring funds from an existing Wells Fargo account or by visiting a local branch location.   Or, you can send a check to Niclas Granlund  c/o Maria Werth, PO Box 18755, San Jose, CA 95158. To contact Nic Granlund, please email him at nicgracing@gmail.com Nic Granlund would like to thank his Sponsors: NGR, Lonestar, Fox Shox, SWICK, Skat Trak, TORCO, DWT, CTRacing, Quad Tech, Fasst, Precision, Hinson, Triumph, ITI, Maxxis, Velocity Filters, Streamline, Dragon, ARP, SHIFT, and JSR About Nic Granlund: Nic has been racing for 25 years.  Born in Sweden, Nic started his career at the age of 14 racing dirt bikes.  Nic is one of the most successful multi-disciplined racers in the world.  Early in his career, Nic won the 1996 Novice 1200 Runabout JetSki World Championship. During a race in which Nic was racing a two-wheeler, a friend could not race and asked Nic to race his ATV.  He was a natural and was soon racing in Mickey Thompson Stadium races. Nic began to win and turned pro, racing a combination of motocross and desert racing. Over the past five years, Nic helped pioneer ATV Supermoto racing and won the Supermoto championship four of the last last years.  Most recently, Nic and his partner, Greg Stuart, have dominated the Best in the Desert Series, winning six of the last eight races. Very few racers succeed in more than one style of racing and Nic’s success in ATV MotoCross, Supermoto, and Desert Racing is unique.  Most recently, Nic has been teaching ATV racing and a high percentage of his students find their way to the podium.     Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:04:42 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Nic-Granlund-needs-our-prayers/BLOG/392999/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-06-17T09:04:42Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road Nic Granlund was involved in a serious crash a few weeks ago. I received a text from him this evening and he seems to be doing fine but needs our prayers. This is a difficult time.Pleae pray for him and his family. Here is the press release from Bower media   Press Release:  For Immediate Release ATV Pro Nic Granlund Suffers Serious Injury at ITP/Yamaha QuadCross Event San Bernardino, CA – Nic Granlund participated in the May 24th ITP QuadCross  Championship Series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA.  On the first lap of the Open Pro ATV Class second moto he crashed and sustained a debilitating injury.  A fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank for donations to support Nic’s recovery. The track had been used the day before for the AMA Motocross Nationals. Nic started the day with a solid race and finished sixth in the first Moto.  In the main event, Nic came off the line strong and was among the first few racers into the first turn.  As Nic railed the first turn, another quad bumped him sending him and his quad over the berm and off the track.  He was able to recover, but several quads passed by as he maneuvered back onto the race track.  Nic Granlund has always been known as an aggressive rider and, once back on the track, he pinned it as he gunned down the rider in front of him.  He did not lift off the throttle as he approached a 65-foot step-up.  Nic launched off the face of the jump and suddenly the quad stalled and dropped out of the air leaving Nic in a 15 foot freefall.  Nic landed on the downside of the jump without his quad and shattered his femur and hip joint into more than 35 pieces.  Nic spent eleven days at Arrowhead Trauma Center in Colton, CA after a five-hour reconstructive surgery of the hip that Dr. Hopkins said was the worst hip trauma that he had seen in his 10 years as an orthopedic surgeon. The doctors had to insert a two-foot titanium rod into the center of Nic’s femur and then secure the rod with a 4” screw just above the kneecap. Two large bolts were installed to connect the rod to a newly rebuilt hip.  The surgeon commented that Nic’s muscles were so strong that they bent medical tools while working on him. The prognosis is promising, though Nic faces a long road to recovery.  He is residing in San Jose, CA the first 6 weeks of recovery.  He plans to return to Las Vegas as soon as possible and will begin physical therapy at that point.  Nic knows it will be tough - but he’s confident that he will overcome this challenge with the support of family, close friends, and the racing community. “I am not ready to announce my retirement, but I will be out of the garage and off the track for a long period of time according to the doctor,” said Nic.  “Everyone’s support has been overwhelming; it goes to show what a tight group of racers are out there every weekend.” There have been many calls and messages from racers, friends, and fans around the country wanting to know how they can help Nic.  In response to this outpouring of support, a fund has been established in Nic Granlund’s name through Wells Fargo Bank (Acct. 6478349860).  You can contribute to the fund by either transferring funds from an existing Wells Fargo account or by visiting a local branch location.   Or, you can send a check to Niclas Granlund  c/o Maria Werth, PO Box 18755, San Jose, CA 95158. To contact Nic Granlund, please email him at nicgracing@gmail.com Nic Granlund would like to thank his Sponsors: NGR, Lonestar, Fox Shox, SWICK, Skat Trak, TORCO, DWT, CTRacing, Quad Tech, Fasst, Precision, Hinson, Triumph, ITI, Maxxis, Velocity Filters, Streamline, Dragon, ARP, SHIFT, and JSR About Nic Granlund: Nic has been racing for 25 years.  Born in Sweden, Nic started his career at the age of 14 racing dirt bikes.  Nic is one of the most successful multi-disciplined racers in the world.  Early in his career, Nic won the 1996 Novice 1200 Runabout JetSki World Championship. During a race in which Nic was racing a two-wheeler, a friend could not race and asked Nic to race his ATV.  He was a natural and was soon racing in Mickey Thompson Stadium races. Nic began to win and turned pro, racing a combination of motocross and desert racing. Over the past five years, Nic helped pioneer ATV Supermoto racing and won the Supermoto championship four of the last last years.  Most recently, Nic and his partner, Greg Stuart, have dominated the Best in the Desert Series, winning six of the last eight races. Very few racers succeed in more than one style of racing and Nic’s success in ATV MotoCross, Supermoto, and Desert Racing is unique.  Most recently, Nic has been teaching ATV racing and a high percentage of his students find their way to the podium.     itp, nic granlund, quadcross, racing and competition, scat trak nonadult false Nic Granlund needs our prayers text blog itp,nic granlund,quadcross,racing and competition,scat trak 370 10 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 392999 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Christys-Racing-wins-Score-Baja-500-2009/BLOG/346449/27589.html   Make this one heck of a winning streak. Very very impressive...Press release from the Christys Racing camp... Team Christy takes first in the SCORE Baja 500.The Burbank, California based team started 3rd off the line and led the race from the summit area of the course all the way to the finish.  By Halfway through the race Christy, Dave Scott and Andy Lagzdins opened the lead up to almost 30 minutes.  Team riders Joe Bernal and Steve Abrego held that lead for the last half of the race.  The Duncan Elka suspended TRX450R performed flawlessly the entire race.  Dave Scott navigated the treacherous rocky summit with zero tire issues.  "All we did was put gas in it from the start to the finish.  The motor just kept pulling and pulling"  The Team ran the entire race on only one set of ITP XCT tires with tireballs."This is five in a row for us" said Christy.  Starting at the 2008 Baja 1000.  The SCORE Class 24 and BITD Quad Team led by Craig Christy has dominated both series with five 1st place wins in a row.  "We are looking forward to 2 perfect seasons and this win positions us well to dominate the SCORE series.  Next up is Vegas to Reno the long way.  The way our program is developing, longer races are our strong suit.  We can't wait to get riding again"Team Christy is supported by Elka Suspension, ITP Tires, PWR Radiator and Sunoco Race Fuels.Additional Support is provided by:  Rockstar Energy Drink, Cycle Gear, RGEAR worldwide, Instinct Charter Boat, and Spider Grips     [image][image][image][image][image][image]     Make this one heck of a winning streak. Very very impressive...Press release from the Christys Racing camp... Team Christy takes first in the SCORE Baja 500.The Burbank, California based team started 3rd off the line and led the race from the summit area of the course all the way to the finish.  By Halfway through the race Christy, Dave Scott and Andy Lagzdins opened the lead up to almost 30 minutes.  Team riders Joe Bernal and Steve Abrego held that lead for the last half of the race.  The Duncan Elka suspended TRX450R performed flawlessly the entire race.  Dave Scott navigated the treacherous rocky summit with zero tire issues.  "All we did was put gas in it from the start to the finish.  The motor just kept pulling and pulling"  The Team ran the entire race on only one set of ITP XCT tires with tireballs."This is five in a row for us" said Christy.  Starting at the 2008 Baja 1000.  The SCORE Class 24 and BITD Quad Team led by Craig Christy has dominated both series with five 1st place wins in a row.  "We are looking forward to 2 perfect seasons and this win positions us well to dominate the SCORE series.  Next up is Vegas to Reno the long way.  The way our program is developing, longer races are our strong suit.  We can't wait to get riding again"Team Christy is supported by Elka Suspension, ITP Tires, PWR Radiator and Sunoco Race Fuels.Additional Support is provided by:  Rockstar Energy Drink, Cycle Gear, RGEAR worldwide, Instinct Charter Boat, and Spider Grips     [image][image][image][image][image][image]   Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:10:29 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Christys-Racing-wins-Score-Baja-500-2009/BLOG/346449/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-06-12T23:10:29Z Desert Racing My Off-Road   Make this one heck of a winning streak. Very very impressive...Press release from the Christys Racing camp... Team Christy takes first in the SCORE Baja 500.The Burbank, California based team started 3rd off the line and led the race from the summit area of the course all the way to the finish.  By Halfway through the race Christy, Dave Scott and Andy Lagzdins opened the lead up to almost 30 minutes.  Team riders Joe Bernal and Steve Abrego held that lead for the last half of the race.  The Duncan Elka suspended TRX450R performed flawlessly the entire race.  Dave Scott navigated the treacherous rocky summit with zero tire issues.  "All we did was put gas in it from the start to the finish.  The motor just kept pulling and pulling"  The Team ran the entire race on only one set of ITP XCT tires with tireballs."This is five in a row for us" said Christy.  Starting at the 2008 Baja 1000.  The SCORE Class 24 and BITD Quad Team led by Craig Christy has dominated both series with five 1st place wins in a row.  "We are looking forward to 2 perfect seasons and this win positions us well to dominate the SCORE series.  Next up is Vegas to Reno the long way.  The way our program is developing, longer races are our strong suit.  We can't wait to get riding again"Team Christy is supported by Elka Suspension, ITP Tires, PWR Radiator and Sunoco Race Fuels.Additional Support is provided by:  Rockstar Energy Drink, Cycle Gear, RGEAR worldwide, Instinct Charter Boat, and Spider Grips     [image][image][image][image][image][image]   atv, christys racing, desert racing, duncan, quad, score nonadult false Christys Racing wins Score Baja 500 2009 text blog atv,christys racing,desert racing,duncan,quad,score 358 10 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 346449 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_BITD-Parker-Grand-Prix/BLOG/272458/27589.html Race number 2 for the motorcycles ATV`s and UTV`s is this weekend. Once again being held in Parker Arizona. This town is quite offroad friendly and the locals seem to enjoy hosting the racers. I know we really appreciate the folks being so nice. I wont be racing this one. Ill be sitting at home taking care of my wife for Mothers Day. Casey really needs to rethink this race date! Jason Wade will be representing the JB Wade Racing ATV team. Steve Abrego from Christys Racing is stepping up and racing with us. Thanks to Leonard Duncan from Duncan Racing International for prepping the Honda TRX450r. I guess you could say that Christys Racing will have 2 entries. Craig Christy will be racing with Andy Lagzdines from GNCC fame and they are in 1st place in the points.Jason and I are currently in 3rd place in the quad expert class. Im hoping to get some updates from the race. Patty Blais will be teaming up with Andrea Bosemer on the all girl Honda 450r. Weather looks to be in the 100`s . Good luck everybody and be safe. Race number 2 for the motorcycles ATV`s and UTV`s is this weekend. Once again being held in Parker Arizona. This town is quite offroad friendly and the locals seem to enjoy hosting the racers. I know we really appreciate the folks being so nice. I wont be racing this one. Ill be sitting at home taking care of my wife for Mothers Day. Casey really needs to rethink this race date! Jason Wade will be representing the JB Wade Racing ATV team. Steve Abrego from Christys Racing is stepping up and racing with us. Thanks to Leonard Duncan from Duncan Racing International for prepping the Honda TRX450r. I guess you could say that Christys Racing will have 2 entries. Craig Christy will be racing with Andy Lagzdines from GNCC fame and they are in 1st place in the points.Jason and I are currently in 3rd place in the quad expert class. Im hoping to get some updates from the race. Patty Blais will be teaming up with Andrea Bosemer on the all girl Honda 450r. Weather looks to be in the 100`s . Good luck everybody and be safe. Sat, 09 May 2009 08:24:28 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_BITD-Parker-Grand-Prix/BLOG/272458/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-05-09T08:24:28Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road Race number 2 for the motorcycles ATV`s and UTV`s is this weekend. Once again being held in Parker Arizona. This town is quite offroad friendly and the locals seem to enjoy hosting the racers. I know we really appreciate the folks being so nice. I wont be racing this one. Ill be sitting at home taking care of my wife for Mothers Day. Casey really needs to rethink this race date! Jason Wade will be representing the JB Wade Racing ATV team. Steve Abrego from Christys Racing is stepping up and racing with us. Thanks to Leonard Duncan from Duncan Racing International for prepping the Honda TRX450r. I guess you could say that Christys Racing will have 2 entries. Craig Christy will be racing with Andy Lagzdines from GNCC fame and they are in 1st place in the points.Jason and I are currently in 3rd place in the quad expert class. Im hoping to get some updates from the race. Patty Blais will be teaming up with Andrea Bosemer on the all girl Honda 450r. Weather looks to be in the 100`s . Good luck everybody and be safe. atv, bitd, parker gp, quad, racing and competition, vtr nonadult false BITD Parker Grand Prix text blog atv,bitd,parker gp,quad,racing and competition,vtr 300 10 3.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 272458 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Craig-Christy-Baja-Video-teaser/BLOG/230561/27589.html I just got this from Christys Racing. A very polished video. It showcases the Christys Racing effort at last years Baja 1000 aboard their Honda TRX 450r by Duncan Racing. Video was produced by Beau Nilsson and Scott Trembley. It takes a team to finish of these desert races. To win one is extroirdinary. http://vimeo.com/3894619 I just got this from Christys Racing. A very polished video. It showcases the Christys Racing effort at last years Baja 1000 aboard their Honda TRX 450r by Duncan Racing. Video was produced by Beau Nilsson and Scott Trembley. It takes a team to finish of these desert races. To win one is extroirdinary. http://vimeo.com/3894619 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:40:05 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Craig-Christy-Baja-Video-teaser/BLOG/230561/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-04-03T06:40:05Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road I just got this from Christys Racing. A very polished video. It showcases the Christys Racing effort at last years Baja 1000 aboard their Honda TRX 450r by Duncan Racing. Video was produced by Beau Nilsson and Scott Trembley. It takes a team to finish of these desert races. To win one is extroirdinary. http://vimeo.com/3894619 racing and competition nonadult false Craig Christy Baja Video teaser text blog racing and competition 287 1 5.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 230561 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Team-Honda-ATV-Josh-Caster-Race-Report-San-Felipe-250/BLOG/215196/27589.html I would like to thank Josh Caster for allowing me to use his race report from Baja.net. Straight from the keyboard of one of the riders of the winner of this years San Felipe 250. Josh assisted Wayne Matlock and Harold Goodman to kick some butt down in San Felipe last weekend. Congratulations to Team Honda and Matlock Racing. Hope you enjoy the read. I would like to share with you guys the great opportunity I was given to race the Tecate Score San Felipe 250 on the #1A American Honda Pro Quad Team.First I will start off with a little info on how I got started with racing and Baja-I have been visiting Baja for most of my life with my family on fun week long trips and more recently in the last few years had spent most of my time in Baja at the Score races. I ended up getting hooked to Baja racing and would go to every race I could to help out my friends and learn as much as I could. I spent many races down there prerunning, prepping and chasing with the McMillin & Scaroni families and learned a lot thanks to them.In January of 2008 I bought a quad (crazy idea I know!) after riding bikes for the last 8+ years and decided to try racing after talking to Wayne & Kristen Matlock at a family trip to the dunes. After my first race at a local District-38 race I was hooked to racing quads. I ended up racing at about half of the D38 races and continued to improve and learn more about racing quads. It seemed I was more comfortable on the quad than I ever was on the bikes and my speeds picked up and soon I won a couple of races.And here is what lead me to racing in Baja-Wayne Matlock called me before the Tecate Score Baja 500 last year and asked if I would like to go down and chase for him. I of course said yes because I can’t pass up Baja and it would give me a chance to learn more about racing down there. I ended up chasing Wayne at both the 500 and the 1000 last year and learned a lot about the amount of work and time it takes to be the best in Baja. At both races I got the chance to ride the new Honda TRX700XX and prerun the first 50 miles with Wayne. I was amazed on how well the quad worked and how much I liked it.After returning from the Baja 1000, Wayne told me I needed to try riding the Honda TRX700XX at an upcoming BITD race in Henderson, NV so I could see how I liked it. Well I ended up REALLY liking the quad and won my class. Soon after Wayne told me he had talked to Bruce Ogilvie at American Honda about me and said he would like me to ride with him next year in Baja. I got really excited about this news, but was also a little worried because now the pressure was on!Wayne and I continued to ride as much as possible and started hitting the gym twice a week for training. We also continued to race the local D38 races because they are great training for the whoops in San Felipe. Just three weeks before I was scheduled to start prerunning for the race I crashed while out on a fun ride. I ended up cartwheeling my quad end over end and when I got up my right thumb hurt bad and was starting to swell up. We weren’t finished with our ride so I sucked it up and finished the 60+ miles we still had to go. By the time we got back to the trucks my hand felt better but my thumb was swollen and black & blue. I figured it was just sprained by decided to visit my doctor just in case because San Felipe was coming quick. After the doctor visit and some X-rays I learned I had a broken thumb. Not exactly the kind of news you want to hear just before a race like San Felipe. I told my doctor what my plans were and he fixed me up with a cast so I wouldn’t hurt my thumb anymore before the race and the plan was to visit him just before heading to Mexico so they could take more X-rays and give me a brace I could prerun with.Now the fun (or work!) began! Due to another racing going on the weekend before the SF250 Wayne and Harold Goodman would not be heading down until the Monday before the race. I had to work the Monday and Tuesday before the race so my plan was to head down the weekend before to get a jump on prerunning my section and see how my broken thumb was going to work out. The day before we headed down I stopped by my doctor and they did some X-rays and removed the cast. My thumb had healed but he still gave me a brace to wear while riding the first weekend if it was bugging me. I picked up my cousin Terrence and a friend on Friday afternoon and we headed to SF. We got to SF just in time for some dinner and then found the house I had rented north of town.Saturday morning we headed out to race mile 93 at Morelia Junction where I would be getting on the race quad. We were unsure how far I would be able to run while prerunning so we strapped ½ gallon of gas to my back just in case. We checked the radio before I took off and everything was working fine. I also wore the brace my doctor gave me for my thumb and put it on over my riding gloves. After taking off down Morelia Rd we soon realized I could hear my chase truck but they couldn’t hear me, so I would just click the PTT button to let them know I would understand them. Soon I was out of range of the radios and was headed south towards Matomi wash. I was not running TireBalls in the rear tires and after dropping into Matomi wash I got a rear flat. After stopping to fix the flat, I continued on and finished up my section at race mile 170. My chase crew was right on time and we loaded the quad up to go do it all over again. This time we agreed that I would click twice on the PTT button if everything was ok because the radio was still not working. The thumb brace I wore on the first ride was bugging me and my hand felt good so I stuffed it in my pack and decided to try riding without it to see how it felt. I was off again and before long I had another rear flat. I fixed it and continued on my prerun checking the multiple lines running through the washes. Before I was midway through my second prerun I had three more rear flats and was out of plugs and CO2’s, so I had to ride the last 25+ miles on a rear flat. The flat caused me to eat up more gas than the first ride and I just made it back to the meeting point at race mile 170 before running out of gas. The good news was my thumb felt great after the ride and I never had to put the brace on. We headed back to the house to shower so we could grab some dinner and go check out the town (Terrence had never been to SF before). I was out of CO2’s and felt really good about my two preruns so we decided to just head home Sunday morning rather than try to prerun again and take a chance of getting another flat.After getting back home that night and unloading my quad I stopped by a friend’s house to pick up Harold Goodman and his wife Jessica so I could take them over to Wayne’s house. We talked about the race plans a little bit and then I headed back home so I could strip my quad back down and get it ready for the next trip. The shocks had felt a little worn down during my prerun so I took them off so I could have Precision Concepts service them. I also rounded up my radio and helmet so I could get those checked. I spent the next couple of days stressing at work and running around on my lunch break to get all the last minute stuff done before heading back down. Mark over at Precision Concepts did an awesome job getting my shocks serviced in time and Mike over at Racer-X spent some time with me trying to figure out what was going on with my radio. We found the jack inside the radio was worn so Mike let me use one of his radios for the race.Tuesday after leaving work I ran home and finished putting the quad together just before Terrence showed up. We finally got out of town after making a few stops to pick up parts for the race quad that had not gotten there in time for Wayne to take down with him. We arrived that night and found the house that the team had rented north of town. It was a nice house with a large garage for working on the quads. We unpacked our stuff and I made sure my radio and gear was ready for the mornings prerun.Wednesday morning the team went to breakfast and talked about the prerunning plans for the day. One truck would head north with Harold and my truck would drop me off and then take Wayne to race mile 170 so he could prerun his last section while they waited for me. The course was a lot more tore up from the last weekend and lots of stuff had changed so I took my time looking at everything again. Just before dropping into Matomi wash I managed to get 2 rear flats and so I stopped to try and plug them. I made it about another mile before all the plugs were gone and I had to ride the rest of my section on the 2 rear flats. It was not real fun and I couldn’t get over second gear because I didn’t want to destroy the wheels on all the rocks buried under the sand in Matomi. I finally made it to the pick up point after what seemed like days and was not real happy at that point. We loaded up and headed back to the house so I could change out the tires with some new ones. After changing out the rears at the house I decided to just ride from the house to the local Pemex gas station and just carry a 5 gallon gas can with me to the end of Morelia Road. After the fill up at the gas station, me and my 5 gallon gas can headed down Zoo road towards Morelia Junction and down Morelia Road. When I got to the end of the road where the course turned off I stopped and topped off my gas tank with the 5 gallon can before hiding it behind a bush so I could fill up with it again tomorrow. The new tires worked great and I only ended up with a single flat near the end of my ride and at this point I was feeling a lot better about my section even though I finished up in the dark. That night the team all had dinner at the house and we worked on the quads getting them ready for Thursday’s prerunning. Thursday I decided I was pretty confident about my section and knowing all the bad areas so I wasn’t going to run mine again until the race. I took Wayne south with my chase truck to race mile 170 so he could run his southern section one more time. My cousin Terrence ended up going with the other chase truck so he could view his visual checks that he would be at during the race. After returning to the house I waited for the rest of the group to return. Wayne showed up first just after lunch time and asked if I wanted to take his Prerunner around my section. I said yes, because his Prerunner had TireBalls and the suspension was set exactly like the race quad we would be running. I stopped at the Pemex station to top off and then rode towards my gas can I had hid the day before. After filling up at my secret hidden gas stop I took off south on my section towards Matomi wash one more time. The quad was working great and I was able to really pick up the pace without having to worry about getting flats in the rocky areas. I ran my section at about ¾ of what I would do at race pace and after finishing up I was really excited about my section and race day. That night the whole team worked on the race quad, finishing the last look over on the bike and installing the stickers.Friday morning the team went to breakfast before loading the race quad and heading to tech and registration. After a quick stop at registration we all signed in and then headed to tech to get the quad and helmets looked at. We were in and out within an hour and then the whole team headed back to the house to start packing the chase trucks and preparing everything for the race. We got all the trucks packed and readied before dinner and then the riders headed back to town to attend the riders meeting in my truck. After the riders meeting, we loaded my truck with everything Terrence would need for race day and then the whole team went to bed early.Race morning we were all up before 5 am double and triple checking everything. Everyone was off before 6, headed to each of their areas for the race. Wayne headed to the start line with the quad, Kristen would take Harold to race mile 25 where he would get on, Terrence would take my truck north to Borrego for his visual checks and I would ride with Wayne’s parents to the Zoo road crossing where we would watch Wayne come through before heading west to Morelia Junction where I would get on the quad. Wayne came through Zoo road dead even on time and had not lost any time even with all the dust. By the time he was handing the quad off the Harold the 3A team had gained about 3 minutes on us with a better line. While Harold was off on his section we headed towards Morelia Junction so I could get ready to get on the quad. We arrived before the first bikes came through and after what seemed like hours of waiting (wasn’t that long!) we finally heard Terrence over the radio talking to Harold and telling him he now had a 3 minute lead on the 3A team and were first quad on the road. I was really relieved to hear this because I knew it would be hard to catch and pass someone on my first section.Soon I could see and hear Harold coming down the course. As he came into the pit, he was diving off one side of the quad while I was jumping on the other. I got the quick headshake that the quad was ok and I was off! My first section down Morelia road was about 10 miles of graded dirt road so I kept the 700XX pinned the whole time at over 80 mph just trying to keep the pace Harold and Wayne had set. At the end of the road I came into the first Honda pit and got a quick fill up before heading into the silt and dune sections towards Matomi wash. I made it to check point 2 with no issues and managed to pass a couple of bikes along the way. I did the quick stop and go at check point 2 before getting into the rocky sections above Matomi wash. I was very careful in this area because the rocks were sharp and could slice open a tire at high speeds. Next I was dropping into Matomi wash side by side with a bike but he decided to give me the right of way and I passed him mid way down the hill.Matomi wash is one of those famous Baja washes where you get a little bit of everything. The sand is very coarse and hurts when the tires kick it up at you, the rocks are bigger than cars and some are hidden under the sand so that when you hit them they can send you over the bars, there are waterfalls and rock gardens that would challenge most jeeps, so I was planning on taking my time through this section and not make any mistakes. I set a nice steady pace and made sure I stayed away from the rocks so I wouldn’t damage any tires or wheels. By the time I had made it to the end of Matomi I had passed a few more bikes and was lucky enough to have avoided all the rocks.Just out of Matomi wash was my next Honda pit where I would again grab some more gas and continue on to check point 3. The Honda pits did an awesome job of getting me in and out with the fuel and a quick look over on the quad. From the Honda pit all the way to check point 3 I did not see another single rider and I was really enjoying this section of the course where it worked through the cactus with big sandy whoops. The quad was working great and I was having a blast just pounding through the big sandy whoops like they weren’t even there. Pretty soon I knew I was within range of the radios so I could talk to Wayne & Kristen to let them know I was about 5 minutes out and was just about to check point 3. I told them the quad was working great and had no issues so Wayne would be ready to jump on and go. They radioed back that they heard me loud and clear and told me to watch for spectators driving backwards up the course. Just before reaching check point 3 I started passing trucks going the opposite way up the course but all of them saw me coming and moved out of the way. I did another quick stop and go at check point 3 and radioed ahead to let them know I had cleared and would be to them in a couple of minutes. The last section before I passed the quad off to Wayne at race mile 170 was a wide open two track road and this let me look at all the tires and wheels to make sure everything would be good for Wayne. Everything felt great so I radioed that I was coming in and the quad was in good shape. As I came in I pulled my radio cord and jumped off while Wayne was jumping on. I gave him the thumbs up and he was off towards the finish.I waited at the rider change with Kristen so we could see how much of a lead we had on the 3A quad. I ended up putting about 6 minutes on the 3A quad in my section and after getting the time split we headed towards the finish so we could try to beat Wayne there. While we were on our way towards the finish, Wayne’s parents were waiting for him about 12 miles from the finish to do a visual check. We made it to the finish in time and I made my way to the finish line to wait for Wayne. We got word that Wayne still had the lead when he passed his parents and he had also gained another 6 minutes on the 3A team. He parents were telling him to slow down as he passed but Wayne continued to push hard all the way to the finish.As Wayne got the checkered flag I could not tell you how happy I was! We waited around for most of the other Pro quads to finish and we all ended up telling stories about the race at the finish line. I don’t know of any other group of racer like this and it has been really cool to join this quad racing group.This was something I have been dreaming about for years and it was awesome to finally get the chance to race Score in Baja. It is indescribable on how you feel after winning a race like this. All the weeks of being up until 1-2 in the morning prepping the quads and trucks only to be back at work at 6 am were really worth all the lack of sleep. I was so choked up at the awards I couldn’t even speak.One of the things I have learned over the last year with the Matlock family is that there is a big misconception about their team. People seem to think that because the Matlock team rides for American Honda that they get everything just handed to them. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! I do not know anyone that works harder preparing for a race than this family and you can see it in the results. I couldn’t be happier to be part of this team and to ride and work with such a dedicated group of people.I would like to thank Wayne for giving me the opportunity to race.I would like to thank Bruce Ogilvie for OK’ing me to ride on the Honda team even though I am fairly new to quad racing.I would like to thank the whole Matlock family for all the help and fun.I would like to thank Harold Goodman and his wife Jessica for the great teamwork and entertainment.JCR and the Honda Pit CrewsAnd I would like to thank all our sponsors for all the help. Without you I know this could not be done-Honda, Alba, Precision Concepts, Maxxis, Elka, Houser Racing, KZ Trailers, HMF Exhaust, Fly Racing, Pro Honda Oil and Chemicals, Baja Designs, Tire Balls, DWT, Renthal, Motion Pro, Streamline, IMS-Roll, IMS, TCX Boots, Quadtech, Scott Goggles, UNI Filters, DID Chains #1A Matlock RacingAmerican Honda/Precision Concepts   I would like to thank Josh Caster for allowing me to use his race report from Baja.net. Straight from the keyboard of one of the riders of the winner of this years San Felipe 250. Josh assisted Wayne Matlock and Harold Goodman to kick some butt down in San Felipe last weekend. Congratulations to Team Honda and Matlock Racing. Hope you enjoy the read. I would like to share with you guys the great opportunity I was given to race the Tecate Score San Felipe 250 on the #1A American Honda Pro Quad Team.First I will start off with a little info on how I got started with racing and Baja-I have been visiting Baja for most of my life with my family on fun week long trips and more recently in the last few years had spent most of my time in Baja at the Score races. I ended up getting hooked to Baja racing and would go to every race I could to help out my friends and learn as much as I could. I spent many races down there prerunning, prepping and chasing with the McMillin & Scaroni families and learned a lot thanks to them.In January of 2008 I bought a quad (crazy idea I know!) after riding bikes for the last 8+ years and decided to try racing after talking to Wayne & Kristen Matlock at a family trip to the dunes. After my first race at a local District-38 race I was hooked to racing quads. I ended up racing at about half of the D38 races and continued to improve and learn more about racing quads. It seemed I was more comfortable on the quad than I ever was on the bikes and my speeds picked up and soon I won a couple of races.And here is what lead me to racing in Baja-Wayne Matlock called me before the Tecate Score Baja 500 last year and asked if I would like to go down and chase for him. I of course said yes because I can’t pass up Baja and it would give me a chance to learn more about racing down there. I ended up chasing Wayne at both the 500 and the 1000 last year and learned a lot about the amount of work and time it takes to be the best in Baja. At both races I got the chance to ride the new Honda TRX700XX and prerun the first 50 miles with Wayne. I was amazed on how well the quad worked and how much I liked it.After returning from the Baja 1000, Wayne told me I needed to try riding the Honda TRX700XX at an upcoming BITD race in Henderson, NV so I could see how I liked it. Well I ended up REALLY liking the quad and won my class. Soon after Wayne told me he had talked to Bruce Ogilvie at American Honda about me and said he would like me to ride with him next year in Baja. I got really excited about this news, but was also a little worried because now the pressure was on!Wayne and I continued to ride as much as possible and started hitting the gym twice a week for training. We also continued to race the local D38 races because they are great training for the whoops in San Felipe. Just three weeks before I was scheduled to start prerunning for the race I crashed while out on a fun ride. I ended up cartwheeling my quad end over end and when I got up my right thumb hurt bad and was starting to swell up. We weren’t finished with our ride so I sucked it up and finished the 60+ miles we still had to go. By the time we got back to the trucks my hand felt better but my thumb was swollen and black & blue. I figured it was just sprained by decided to visit my doctor just in case because San Felipe was coming quick. After the doctor visit and some X-rays I learned I had a broken thumb. Not exactly the kind of news you want to hear just before a race like San Felipe. I told my doctor what my plans were and he fixed me up with a cast so I wouldn’t hurt my thumb anymore before the race and the plan was to visit him just before heading to Mexico so they could take more X-rays and give me a brace I could prerun with.Now the fun (or work!) began! Due to another racing going on the weekend before the SF250 Wayne and Harold Goodman would not be heading down until the Monday before the race. I had to work the Monday and Tuesday before the race so my plan was to head down the weekend before to get a jump on prerunning my section and see how my broken thumb was going to work out. The day before we headed down I stopped by my doctor and they did some X-rays and removed the cast. My thumb had healed but he still gave me a brace to wear while riding the first weekend if it was bugging me. I picked up my cousin Terrence and a friend on Friday afternoon and we headed to SF. We got to SF just in time for some dinner and then found the house I had rented north of town.Saturday morning we headed out to race mile 93 at Morelia Junction where I would be getting on the race quad. We were unsure how far I would be able to run while prerunning so we strapped ½ gallon of gas to my back just in case. We checked the radio before I took off and everything was working fine. I also wore the brace my doctor gave me for my thumb and put it on over my riding gloves. After taking off down Morelia Rd we soon realized I could hear my chase truck but they couldn’t hear me, so I would just click the PTT button to let them know I would understand them. Soon I was out of range of the radios and was headed south towards Matomi wash. I was not running TireBalls in the rear tires and after dropping into Matomi wash I got a rear flat. After stopping to fix the flat, I continued on and finished up my section at race mile 170. My chase crew was right on time and we loaded the quad up to go do it all over again. This time we agreed that I would click twice on the PTT button if everything was ok because the radio was still not working. The thumb brace I wore on the first ride was bugging me and my hand felt good so I stuffed it in my pack and decided to try riding without it to see how it felt. I was off again and before long I had another rear flat. I fixed it and continued on my prerun checking the multiple lines running through the washes. Before I was midway through my second prerun I had three more rear flats and was out of plugs and CO2’s, so I had to ride the last 25+ miles on a rear flat. The flat caused me to eat up more gas than the first ride and I just made it back to the meeting point at race mile 170 before running out of gas. The good news was my thumb felt great after the ride and I never had to put the brace on. We headed back to the house to shower so we could grab some dinner and go check out the town (Terrence had never been to SF before). I was out of CO2’s and felt really good about my two preruns so we decided to just head home Sunday morning rather than try to prerun again and take a chance of getting another flat.After getting back home that night and unloading my quad I stopped by a friend’s house to pick up Harold Goodman and his wife Jessica so I could take them over to Wayne’s house. We talked about the race plans a little bit and then I headed back home so I could strip my quad back down and get it ready for the next trip. The shocks had felt a little worn down during my prerun so I took them off so I could have Precision Concepts service them. I also rounded up my radio and helmet so I could get those checked. I spent the next couple of days stressing at work and running around on my lunch break to get all the last minute stuff done before heading back down. Mark over at Precision Concepts did an awesome job getting my shocks serviced in time and Mike over at Racer-X spent some time with me trying to figure out what was going on with my radio. We found the jack inside the radio was worn so Mike let me use one of his radios for the race.Tuesday after leaving work I ran home and finished putting the quad together just before Terrence showed up. We finally got out of town after making a few stops to pick up parts for the race quad that had not gotten there in time for Wayne to take down with him. We arrived that night and found the house that the team had rented north of town. It was a nice house with a large garage for working on the quads. We unpacked our stuff and I made sure my radio and gear was ready for the mornings prerun.Wednesday morning the team went to breakfast and talked about the prerunning plans for the day. One truck would head north with Harold and my truck would drop me off and then take Wayne to race mile 170 so he could prerun his last section while they waited for me. The course was a lot more tore up from the last weekend and lots of stuff had changed so I took my time looking at everything again. Just before dropping into Matomi wash I managed to get 2 rear flats and so I stopped to try and plug them. I made it about another mile before all the plugs were gone and I had to ride the rest of my section on the 2 rear flats. It was not real fun and I couldn’t get over second gear because I didn’t want to destroy the wheels on all the rocks buried under the sand in Matomi. I finally made it to the pick up point after what seemed like days and was not real happy at that point. We loaded up and headed back to the house so I could change out the tires with some new ones. After changing out the rears at the house I decided to just ride from the house to the local Pemex gas station and just carry a 5 gallon gas can with me to the end of Morelia Road. After the fill up at the gas station, me and my 5 gallon gas can headed down Zoo road towards Morelia Junction and down Morelia Road. When I got to the end of the road where the course turned off I stopped and topped off my gas tank with the 5 gallon can before hiding it behind a bush so I could fill up with it again tomorrow. The new tires worked great and I only ended up with a single flat near the end of my ride and at this point I was feeling a lot better about my section even though I finished up in the dark. That night the team all had dinner at the house and we worked on the quads getting them ready for Thursday’s prerunning. Thursday I decided I was pretty confident about my section and knowing all the bad areas so I wasn’t going to run mine again until the race. I took Wayne south with my chase truck to race mile 170 so he could run his southern section one more time. My cousin Terrence ended up going with the other chase truck so he could view his visual checks that he would be at during the race. After returning to the house I waited for the rest of the group to return. Wayne showed up first just after lunch time and asked if I wanted to take his Prerunner around my section. I said yes, because his Prerunner had TireBalls and the suspension was set exactly like the race quad we would be running. I stopped at the Pemex station to top off and then rode towards my gas can I had hid the day before. After filling up at my secret hidden gas stop I took off south on my section towards Matomi wash one more time. The quad was working great and I was able to really pick up the pace without having to worry about getting flats in the rocky areas. I ran my section at about ¾ of what I would do at race pace and after finishing up I was really excited about my section and race day. That night the whole team worked on the race quad, finishing the last look over on the bike and installing the stickers.Friday morning the team went to breakfast before loading the race quad and heading to tech and registration. After a quick stop at registration we all signed in and then headed to tech to get the quad and helmets looked at. We were in and out within an hour and then the whole team headed back to the house to start packing the chase trucks and preparing everything for the race. We got all the trucks packed and readied before dinner and then the riders headed back to town to attend the riders meeting in my truck. After the riders meeting, we loaded my truck with everything Terrence would need for race day and then the whole team went to bed early.Race morning we were all up before 5 am double and triple checking everything. Everyone was off before 6, headed to each of their areas for the race. Wayne headed to the start line with the quad, Kristen would take Harold to race mile 25 where he would get on, Terrence would take my truck north to Borrego for his visual checks and I would ride with Wayne’s parents to the Zoo road crossing where we would watch Wayne come through before heading west to Morelia Junction where I would get on the quad. Wayne came through Zoo road dead even on time and had not lost any time even with all the dust. By the time he was handing the quad off the Harold the 3A team had gained about 3 minutes on us with a better line. While Harold was off on his section we headed towards Morelia Junction so I could get ready to get on the quad. We arrived before the first bikes came through and after what seemed like hours of waiting (wasn’t that long!) we finally heard Terrence over the radio talking to Harold and telling him he now had a 3 minute lead on the 3A team and were first quad on the road. I was really relieved to hear this because I knew it would be hard to catch and pass someone on my first section.Soon I could see and hear Harold coming down the course. As he came into the pit, he was diving off one side of the quad while I was jumping on the other. I got the quick headshake that the quad was ok and I was off! My first section down Morelia road was about 10 miles of graded dirt road so I kept the 700XX pinned the whole time at over 80 mph just trying to keep the pace Harold and Wayne had set. At the end of the road I came into the first Honda pit and got a quick fill up before heading into the silt and dune sections towards Matomi wash. I made it to check point 2 with no issues and managed to pass a couple of bikes along the way. I did the quick stop and go at check point 2 before getting into the rocky sections above Matomi wash. I was very careful in this area because the rocks were sharp and could slice open a tire at high speeds. Next I was dropping into Matomi wash side by side with a bike but he decided to give me the right of way and I passed him mid way down the hill.Matomi wash is one of those famous Baja washes where you get a little bit of everything. The sand is very coarse and hurts when the tires kick it up at you, the rocks are bigger than cars and some are hidden under the sand so that when you hit them they can send you over the bars, there are waterfalls and rock gardens that would challenge most jeeps, so I was planning on taking my time through this section and not make any mistakes. I set a nice steady pace and made sure I stayed away from the rocks so I wouldn’t damage any tires or wheels. By the time I had made it to the end of Matomi I had passed a few more bikes and was lucky enough to have avoided all the rocks.Just out of Matomi wash was my next Honda pit where I would again grab some more gas and continue on to check point 3. The Honda pits did an awesome job of getting me in and out with the fuel and a quick look over on the quad. From the Honda pit all the way to check point 3 I did not see another single rider and I was really enjoying this section of the course where it worked through the cactus with big sandy whoops. The quad was working great and I was having a blast just pounding through the big sandy whoops like they weren’t even there. Pretty soon I knew I was within range of the radios so I could talk to Wayne & Kristen to let them know I was about 5 minutes out and was just about to check point 3. I told them the quad was working great and had no issues so Wayne would be ready to jump on and go. They radioed back that they heard me loud and clear and told me to watch for spectators driving backwards up the course. Just before reaching check point 3 I started passing trucks going the opposite way up the course but all of them saw me coming and moved out of the way. I did another quick stop and go at check point 3 and radioed ahead to let them know I had cleared and would be to them in a couple of minutes. The last section before I passed the quad off to Wayne at race mile 170 was a wide open two track road and this let me look at all the tires and wheels to make sure everything would be good for Wayne. Everything felt great so I radioed that I was coming in and the quad was in good shape. As I came in I pulled my radio cord and jumped off while Wayne was jumping on. I gave him the thumbs up and he was off towards the finish.I waited at the rider change with Kristen so we could see how much of a lead we had on the 3A quad. I ended up putting about 6 minutes on the 3A quad in my section and after getting the time split we headed towards the finish so we could try to beat Wayne there. While we were on our way towards the finish, Wayne’s parents were waiting for him about 12 miles from the finish to do a visual check. We made it to the finish in time and I made my way to the finish line to wait for Wayne. We got word that Wayne still had the lead when he passed his parents and he had also gained another 6 minutes on the 3A team. He parents were telling him to slow down as he passed but Wayne continued to push hard all the way to the finish.As Wayne got the checkered flag I could not tell you how happy I was! We waited around for most of the other Pro quads to finish and we all ended up telling stories about the race at the finish line. I don’t know of any other group of racer like this and it has been really cool to join this quad racing group.This was something I have been dreaming about for years and it was awesome to finally get the chance to race Score in Baja. It is indescribable on how you feel after winning a race like this. All the weeks of being up until 1-2 in the morning prepping the quads and trucks only to be back at work at 6 am were really worth all the lack of sleep. I was so choked up at the awards I couldn’t even speak.One of the things I have learned over the last year with the Matlock family is that there is a big misconception about their team. People seem to think that because the Matlock team rides for American Honda that they get everything just handed to them. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! I do not know anyone that works harder preparing for a race than this family and you can see it in the results. I couldn’t be happier to be part of this team and to ride and work with such a dedicated group of people.I would like to thank Wayne for giving me the opportunity to race.I would like to thank Bruce Ogilvie for OK’ing me to ride on the Honda team even though I am fairly new to quad racing.I would like to thank the whole Matlock family for all the help and fun.I would like to thank Harold Goodman and his wife Jessica for the great teamwork and entertainment.JCR and the Honda Pit CrewsAnd I would like to thank all our sponsors for all the help. Without you I know this could not be done-Honda, Alba, Precision Concepts, Maxxis, Elka, Houser Racing, KZ Trailers, HMF Exhaust, Fly Racing, Pro Honda Oil and Chemicals, Baja Designs, Tire Balls, DWT, Renthal, Motion Pro, Streamline, IMS-Roll, IMS, TCX Boots, Quadtech, Scott Goggles, UNI Filters, DID Chains #1A Matlock RacingAmerican Honda/Precision Concepts   Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:25:58 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Team-Honda-ATV-Josh-Caster-Race-Report-San-Felipe-250/BLOG/215196/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-03-19T04:25:58Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road I would like to thank Josh Caster for allowing me to use his race report from Baja.net. Straight from the keyboard of one of the riders of the winner of this years San Felipe 250. Josh assisted Wayne Matlock and Harold Goodman to kick some butt down in San Felipe last weekend. Congratulations to Team Honda and Matlock Racing. Hope you enjoy the read. I would like to share with you guys the great opportunity I was given to race the Tecate Score San Felipe 250 on the #1A American Honda Pro Quad Team.First I will start off with a little info on how I got started with racing and Baja-I have been visiting Baja for most of my life with my family on fun week long trips and more recently in the last few years had spent most of my time in Baja at the Score races. I ended up getting hooked to Baja racing and would go to every race I could to help out my friends and learn as much as I could. I spent many races down there prerunning, prepping and chasing with the McMillin & Scaroni families and learned a lot thanks to them.In January of 2008 I bought a quad (crazy idea I know!) after riding bikes for the last 8+ years and decided to try racing after talking to Wayne & Kristen Matlock at a family trip to the dunes. After my first race at a local District-38 race I was hooked to racing quads. I ended up racing at about half of the D38 races and continued to improve and learn more about racing quads. It seemed I was more comfortable on the quad than I ever was on the bikes and my speeds picked up and soon I won a couple of races.And here is what lead me to racing in Baja-Wayne Matlock called me before the Tecate Score Baja 500 last year and asked if I would like to go down and chase for him. I of course said yes because I can’t pass up Baja and it would give me a chance to learn more about racing down there. I ended up chasing Wayne at both the 500 and the 1000 last year and learned a lot about the amount of work and time it takes to be the best in Baja. At both races I got the chance to ride the new Honda TRX700XX and prerun the first 50 miles with Wayne. I was amazed on how well the quad worked and how much I liked it.After returning from the Baja 1000, Wayne told me I needed to try riding the Honda TRX700XX at an upcoming BITD race in Henderson, NV so I could see how I liked it. Well I ended up REALLY liking the quad and won my class. Soon after Wayne told me he had talked to Bruce Ogilvie at American Honda about me and said he would like me to ride with him next year in Baja. I got really excited about this news, but was also a little worried because now the pressure was on!Wayne and I continued to ride as much as possible and started hitting the gym twice a week for training. We also continued to race the local D38 races because they are great training for the whoops in San Felipe. Just three weeks before I was scheduled to start prerunning for the race I crashed while out on a fun ride. I ended up cartwheeling my quad end over end and when I got up my right thumb hurt bad and was starting to swell up. We weren’t finished with our ride so I sucked it up and finished the 60+ miles we still had to go. By the time we got back to the trucks my hand felt better but my thumb was swollen and black & blue. I figured it was just sprained by decided to visit my doctor just in case because San Felipe was coming quick. After the doctor visit and some X-rays I learned I had a broken thumb. Not exactly the kind of news you want to hear just before a race like San Felipe. I told my doctor what my plans were and he fixed me up with a cast so I wouldn’t hurt my thumb anymore before the race and the plan was to visit him just before heading to Mexico so they could take more X-rays and give me a brace I could prerun with.Now the fun (or work!) began! Due to another racing going on the weekend before the SF250 Wayne and Harold Goodman would not be heading down until the Monday before the race. I had to work the Monday and Tuesday before the race so my plan was to head down the weekend before to get a jump on prerunning my section and see how my broken thumb was going to work out. The day before we headed down I stopped by my doctor and they did some X-rays and removed the cast. My thumb had healed but he still gave me a brace to wear while riding the first weekend if it was bugging me. I picked up my cousin Terrence and a friend on Friday afternoon and we headed to SF. We got to SF just in time for some dinner and then found the house I had rented north of town.Saturday morning we headed out to race mile 93 at Morelia Junction where I would be getting on the race quad. We were unsure how far I would be able to run while prerunning so we strapped ½ gallon of gas to my back just in case. We checked the radio before I took off and everything was working fine. I also wore the brace my doctor gave me for my thumb and put it on over my riding gloves. After taking off down Morelia Rd we soon realized I could hear my chase truck but they couldn’t hear me, so I would just click the PTT button to let them know I would understand them. Soon I was out of range of the radios and was headed south towards Matomi wash. I was not running TireBalls in the rear tires and after dropping into Matomi wash I got a rear flat. After stopping to fix the flat, I continued on and finished up my section at race mile 170. My chase crew was right on time and we loaded the quad up to go do it all over again. This time we agreed that I would click twice on the PTT button if everything was ok because the radio was still not working. The thumb brace I wore on the first ride was bugging me and my hand felt good so I stuffed it in my pack and decided to try riding without it to see how it felt. I was off again and before long I had another rear flat. I fixed it and continued on my prerun checking the multiple lines running through the washes. Before I was midway through my second prerun I had three more rear flats and was out of plugs and CO2’s, so I had to ride the last 25+ miles on a rear flat. The flat caused me to eat up more gas than the first ride and I just made it back to the meeting point at race mile 170 before running out of gas. The good news was my thumb felt great after the ride and I never had to put the brace on. We headed back to the house to shower so we could grab some dinner and go check out the town (Terrence had never been to SF before). I was out of CO2’s and felt really good about my two preruns so we decided to just head home Sunday morning rather than try to prerun again and take a chance of getting another flat.After getting back home that night and unloading my quad I stopped by a friend’s house to pick up Harold Goodman and his wife Jessica so I could take them over to Wayne’s house. We talked about the race plans a little bit and then I headed back home so I could strip my quad back down and get it ready for the next trip. The shocks had felt a little worn down during my prerun so I took them off so I could have Precision Concepts service them. I also rounded up my radio and helmet so I could get those checked. I spent the next couple of days stressing at work and running around on my lunch break to get all the last minute stuff done before heading back down. Mark over at Precision Concepts did an awesome job getting my shocks serviced in time and Mike over at Racer-X spent some time with me trying to figure out what was going on with my radio. We found the jack inside the radio was worn so Mike let me use one of his radios for the race.Tuesday after leaving work I ran home and finished putting the quad together just before Terrence showed up. We finally got out of town after making a few stops to pick up parts for the race quad that had not gotten there in time for Wayne to take down with him. We arrived that night and found the house that the team had rented north of town. It was a nice house with a large garage for working on the quads. We unpacked our stuff and I made sure my radio and gear was ready for the mornings prerun.Wednesday morning the team went to breakfast and talked about the prerunning plans for the day. One truck would head north with Harold and my truck would drop me off and then take Wayne to race mile 170 so he could prerun his last section while they waited for me. The course was a lot more tore up from the last weekend and lots of stuff had changed so I took my time looking at everything again. Just before dropping into Matomi wash I managed to get 2 rear flats and so I stopped to try and plug them. I made it about another mile before all the plugs were gone and I had to ride the rest of my section on the 2 rear flats. It was not real fun and I couldn’t get over second gear because I didn’t want to destroy the wheels on all the rocks buried under the sand in Matomi. I finally made it to the pick up point after what seemed like days and was not real happy at that point. We loaded up and headed back to the house so I could change out the tires with some new ones. After changing out the rears at the house I decided to just ride from the house to the local Pemex gas station and just carry a 5 gallon gas can with me to the end of Morelia Road. After the fill up at the gas station, me and my 5 gallon gas can headed down Zoo road towards Morelia Junction and down Morelia Road. When I got to the end of the road where the course turned off I stopped and topped off my gas tank with the 5 gallon can before hiding it behind a bush so I could fill up with it again tomorrow. The new tires worked great and I only ended up with a single flat near the end of my ride and at this point I was feeling a lot better about my section even though I finished up in the dark. That night the team all had dinner at the house and we worked on the quads getting them ready for Thursday’s prerunning. Thursday I decided I was pretty confident about my section and knowing all the bad areas so I wasn’t going to run mine again until the race. I took Wayne south with my chase truck to race mile 170 so he could run his southern section one more time. My cousin Terrence ended up going with the other chase truck so he could view his visual checks that he would be at during the race. After returning to the house I waited for the rest of the group to return. Wayne showed up first just after lunch time and asked if I wanted to take his Prerunner around my section. I said yes, because his Prerunner had TireBalls and the suspension was set exactly like the race quad we would be running. I stopped at the Pemex station to top off and then rode towards my gas can I had hid the day before. After filling up at my secret hidden gas stop I took off south on my section towards Matomi wash one more time. The quad was working great and I was able to really pick up the pace without having to worry about getting flats in the rocky areas. I ran my section at about ¾ of what I would do at race pace and after finishing up I was really excited about my section and race day. That night the whole team worked on the race quad, finishing the last look over on the bike and installing the stickers.Friday morning the team went to breakfast before loading the race quad and heading to tech and registration. After a quick stop at registration we all signed in and then headed to tech to get the quad and helmets looked at. We were in and out within an hour and then the whole team headed back to the house to start packing the chase trucks and preparing everything for the race. We got all the trucks packed and readied before dinner and then the riders headed back to town to attend the riders meeting in my truck. After the riders meeting, we loaded my truck with everything Terrence would need for race day and then the whole team went to bed early.Race morning we were all up before 5 am double and triple checking everything. Everyone was off before 6, headed to each of their areas for the race. Wayne headed to the start line with the quad, Kristen would take Harold to race mile 25 where he would get on, Terrence would take my truck north to Borrego for his visual checks and I would ride with Wayne’s parents to the Zoo road crossing where we would watch Wayne come through before heading west to Morelia Junction where I would get on the quad. Wayne came through Zoo road dead even on time and had not lost any time even with all the dust. By the time he was handing the quad off the Harold the 3A team had gained about 3 minutes on us with a better line. While Harold was off on his section we headed towards Morelia Junction so I could get ready to get on the quad. We arrived before the first bikes came through and after what seemed like hours of waiting (wasn’t that long!) we finally heard Terrence over the radio talking to Harold and telling him he now had a 3 minute lead on the 3A team and were first quad on the road. I was really relieved to hear this because I knew it would be hard to catch and pass someone on my first section.Soon I could see and hear Harold coming down the course. As he came into the pit, he was diving off one side of the quad while I was jumping on the other. I got the quick headshake that the quad was ok and I was off! My first section down Morelia road was about 10 miles of graded dirt road so I kept the 700XX pinned the whole time at over 80 mph just trying to keep the pace Harold and Wayne had set. At the end of the road I came into the first Honda pit and got a quick fill up before heading into the silt and dune sections towards Matomi wash. I made it to check point 2 with no issues and managed to pass a couple of bikes along the way. I did the quick stop and go at check point 2 before getting into the rocky sections above Matomi wash. I was very careful in this area because the rocks were sharp and could slice open a tire at high speeds. Next I was dropping into Matomi wash side by side with a bike but he decided to give me the right of way and I passed him mid way down the hill.Matomi wash is one of those famous Baja washes where you get a little bit of everything. The sand is very coarse and hurts when the tires kick it up at you, the rocks are bigger than cars and some are hidden under the sand so that when you hit them they can send you over the bars, there are waterfalls and rock gardens that would challenge most jeeps, so I was planning on taking my time through this section and not make any mistakes. I set a nice steady pace and made sure I stayed away from the rocks so I wouldn’t damage any tires or wheels. By the time I had made it to the end of Matomi I had passed a few more bikes and was lucky enough to have avoided all the rocks.Just out of Matomi wash was my next Honda pit where I would again grab some more gas and continue on to check point 3. The Honda pits did an awesome job of getting me in and out with the fuel and a quick look over on the quad. From the Honda pit all the way to check point 3 I did not see another single rider and I was really enjoying this section of the course where it worked through the cactus with big sandy whoops. The quad was working great and I was having a blast just pounding through the big sandy whoops like they weren’t even there. Pretty soon I knew I was within range of the radios so I could talk to Wayne & Kristen to let them know I was about 5 minutes out and was just about to check point 3. I told them the quad was working great and had no issues so Wayne would be ready to jump on and go. They radioed back that they heard me loud and clear and told me to watch for spectators driving backwards up the course. Just before reaching check point 3 I started passing trucks going the opposite way up the course but all of them saw me coming and moved out of the way. I did another quick stop and go at check point 3 and radioed ahead to let them know I had cleared and would be to them in a couple of minutes. The last section before I passed the quad off to Wayne at race mile 170 was a wide open two track road and this let me look at all the tires and wheels to make sure everything would be good for Wayne. Everything felt great so I radioed that I was coming in and the quad was in good shape. As I came in I pulled my radio cord and jumped off while Wayne was jumping on. I gave him the thumbs up and he was off towards the finish.I waited at the rider change with Kristen so we could see how much of a lead we had on the 3A quad. I ended up putting about 6 minutes on the 3A quad in my section and after getting the time split we headed towards the finish so we could try to beat Wayne there. While we were on our way towards the finish, Wayne’s parents were waiting for him about 12 miles from the finish to do a visual check. We made it to the finish in time and I made my way to the finish line to wait for Wayne. We got word that Wayne still had the lead when he passed his parents and he had also gained another 6 minutes on the 3A team. He parents were telling him to slow down as he passed but Wayne continued to push hard all the way to the finish.As Wayne got the checkered flag I could not tell you how happy I was! We waited around for most of the other Pro quads to finish and we all ended up telling stories about the race at the finish line. I don’t know of any other group of racer like this and it has been really cool to join this quad racing group.This was something I have been dreaming about for years and it was awesome to finally get the chance to race Score in Baja. It is indescribable on how you feel after winning a race like this. All the weeks of being up until 1-2 in the morning prepping the quads and trucks only to be back at work at 6 am were really worth all the lack of sleep. I was so choked up at the awards I couldn’t even speak.One of the things I have learned over the last year with the Matlock family is that there is a big misconception about their team. People seem to think that because the Matlock team rides for American Honda that they get everything just handed to them. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! I do not know anyone that works harder preparing for a race than this family and you can see it in the results. I couldn’t be happier to be part of this team and to ride and work with such a dedicated group of people.I would like to thank Wayne for giving me the opportunity to race.I would like to thank Bruce Ogilvie for OK’ing me to ride on the Honda team even though I am fairly new to quad racing.I would like to thank the whole Matlock family for all the help and fun.I would like to thank Harold Goodman and his wife Jessica for the great teamwork and entertainment.JCR and the Honda Pit CrewsAnd I would like to thank all our sponsors for all the help. Without you I know this could not be done-Honda, Alba, Precision Concepts, Maxxis, Elka, Houser Racing, KZ Trailers, HMF Exhaust, Fly Racing, Pro Honda Oil and Chemicals, Baja Designs, Tire Balls, DWT, Renthal, Motion Pro, Streamline, IMS-Roll, IMS, TCX Boots, Quadtech, Scott Goggles, UNI Filters, DID Chains #1A Matlock RacingAmerican Honda/Precision Concepts   alba, american honda, atv, baja, harold goodman, josh caster, Quad, racing and competition, san felipe 250, score, wayne matlock nonadult false Team Honda ATV Josh Caster Race Report San Felipe 250 text blog alba,american honda,atv,baja,harold goodman,josh caster,Quad,racing and competition,san felipe 250,score,wayne matlock 612 10 3.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 215196 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Can-Am-vs-Arctic-Cat-at-a-desert-race/BLOG/209413/27589.html Its true! The newly formed pro class in the Score desert racing series has these two ATV`s going at it for the victory at this years Score San Felipe 250 in Baja Norte Mexico. Jason Wade`s Can AM 800cc Renegade is a purpose built quad just for desert racing. Originally built by Epic Racing a few years ago, this quad has some very unique features. Fines Double Racing`s Reid Rutherford and team on their Arctic Thundercat is not going to let Jason get off easy. While both are friends this is fierce competition and [image] bragging rights for Can Am or Arctic Cat. Desert racing has never really had Utility quads racing in their midst. Josh Fredericks rode the other Epic Renegade a few years ago at the Baja 1000 and did well. This bike was at that very same race.The ArcticCat raced last years Baja 1000. This should be an epic battle between 2 very large machines. The 1000 CC Arctic Thundercat has the horsepower advantage here. However, the Can Am has the suspension and is lighter and this race has many miles of infamous San Felipe whoops. Very tough on machinery. Good luck to both these teams. Follow the Can Am team here....Spot GPS Tracking. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0hfzusXEpUjlFuM2WfdM08miPoOik52l4 [image] Correction, Honda did run a pair of Honda Ranchers a few years ago in the pro class at the Baja 1000. They won! Doug Eichner road one and so did the late Pancho Castro (rest in peace brother). Wayne Moridian from PEP did the shocks on them. Its true! The newly formed pro class in the Score desert racing series has these two ATV`s going at it for the victory at this years Score San Felipe 250 in Baja Norte Mexico. Jason Wade`s Can AM 800cc Renegade is a purpose built quad just for desert racing. Originally built by Epic Racing a few years ago, this quad has some very unique features. Fines Double Racing`s Reid Rutherford and team on their Arctic Thundercat is not going to let Jason get off easy. While both are friends this is fierce competition and [image] bragging rights for Can Am or Arctic Cat. Desert racing has never really had Utility quads racing in their midst. Josh Fredericks rode the other Epic Renegade a few years ago at the Baja 1000 and did well. This bike was at that very same race.The ArcticCat raced last years Baja 1000. This should be an epic battle between 2 very large machines. The 1000 CC Arctic Thundercat has the horsepower advantage here. However, the Can Am has the suspension and is lighter and this race has many miles of infamous San Felipe whoops. Very tough on machinery. Good luck to both these teams. Follow the Can Am team here....Spot GPS Tracking. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0hfzusXEpUjlFuM2WfdM08miPoOik52l4 [image] Correction, Honda did run a pair of Honda Ranchers a few years ago in the pro class at the Baja 1000. They won! Doug Eichner road one and so did the late Pancho Castro (rest in peace brother). Wayne Moridian from PEP did the shocks on them. Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:12:42 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Can-Am-vs-Arctic-Cat-at-a-desert-race/BLOG/209413/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-03-13T07:12:42Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road Its true! The newly formed pro class in the Score desert racing series has these two ATV`s going at it for the victory at this years Score San Felipe 250 in Baja Norte Mexico. Jason Wade`s Can AM 800cc Renegade is a purpose built quad just for desert racing. Originally built by Epic Racing a few years ago, this quad has some very unique features. Fines Double Racing`s Reid Rutherford and team on their Arctic Thundercat is not going to let Jason get off easy. While both are friends this is fierce competition and [image] bragging rights for Can Am or Arctic Cat. Desert racing has never really had Utility quads racing in their midst. Josh Fredericks rode the other Epic Renegade a few years ago at the Baja 1000 and did well. This bike was at that very same race.The ArcticCat raced last years Baja 1000. This should be an epic battle between 2 very large machines. The 1000 CC Arctic Thundercat has the horsepower advantage here. However, the Can Am has the suspension and is lighter and this race has many miles of infamous San Felipe whoops. Very tough on machinery. Good luck to both these teams. Follow the Can Am team here....Spot GPS Tracking. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0hfzusXEpUjlFuM2WfdM08miPoOik52l4 [image] Correction, Honda did run a pair of Honda Ranchers a few years ago in the pro class at the Baja 1000. They won! Doug Eichner road one and so did the late Pancho Castro (rest in peace brother). Wayne Moridian from PEP did the shocks on them. arctic, baja, baja 1000, can am, can-am, cat, epic, jason wade, racing and competition, renegade, san felipe 250, score, spot, thundercat nonadult false Can-Am vs Arctic Cat at a desert race! text blog arctic,baja,baja 1000,can am,can-am,cat,epic,jason wade,racing and competition,renegade,san felipe 250,score,spot,thundercat 1462 20 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 6 0 209413 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_ALERT-Letters-in-Support-of-Vegas-to-Reno-Race-needed-NOW/BLOG/202574/27589.html The CBD, Center for Bilogical Diversity is waging war against Best in the Desert and Offroad Racing in an attempt to stop this historic race. The offroad community needs your support now. Details below. Here is a link to download the document http://race-dezert.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55267&d=1236196978    Here is the BLM fax number  775-482-7810     We need your letters and faxes by Mar 6th. Download this document and send it to as many people that you can in support of this. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o...aign_KEY=26783The BLM is solicting comments on the scope of the Environmental Assessment (EA) they are preparing for this race. COMMENTS ARE DUE BY MARCH 6, 2009.I have prepared a template support letter for this event. While this letter does not point out specific areas that need to be studied for the event it will show the BLM that our community supports this race and it goes on to say that an EA is a sufficient amount of environmental review.As a result of the CBD's e-mail campaign you can bet the BLM has already heard from hundreds, maybe even thousand of opponents to this event.All of us can make a difference by taking the template letter I have posted below, cut and pasting the whole thing or only portions and add your own words. Snail mail it to the address in the letter. I have been told before that hard copies of letters hold more weight than e-mails.DateEric WilliamsBLM – Tonopah Field OfficeP.O. Box 9111553 S. Main StreetTonopah, NV 89049RE: Letter in Support of Best in the Desert Racing Association Vegas to Reno Off-Highway Vehicle RaceDear Mr. Williams:I am writing to you today in support of the 2009 “Vegas to Reno” race being held by the Best in the Desert Racing Association (BITD). The State of Nevada has a tourist-based economy and relies on events like this for revenue. Given the current state of our economy, cities and rural communities in Nevada would be further strained if this event were not allowed to take place as it has for the past 14 years.Through careful planning, and through compliance with analytical requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BLM and BITD should be able to identify and mitigate any potential race-related impacts on the environment. The public and stakeholders should also be able to assist in this process, as many of them know where sensitive resources are located and how best to align the racecourse to avoid disturbing those resources.BITD has a history of hosting world class off-road events. Further, BITD has shown a commitment to preserving and remediating the roads and trails used during those events. There is no reason to expect that BITD will treat the Vegas to Reno race any differently. As you are well aware, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act imposes a multiple use mandate on the BLM. OHV recreation and racing qualify as valid uses of public lands under that mandate. For this reason and the reasons given above, I hope that you will issue a Special Recreation Permit for the Vegas to Reno race.Sincerely, Signatureaddress__________________   The CBD, Center for Bilogical Diversity is waging war against Best in the Desert and Offroad Racing in an attempt to stop this historic race. The offroad community needs your support now. Details below. Here is a link to download the document http://race-dezert.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55267&d=1236196978    Here is the BLM fax number  775-482-7810     We need your letters and faxes by Mar 6th. Download this document and send it to as many people that you can in support of this. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o...aign_KEY=26783The BLM is solicting comments on the scope of the Environmental Assessment (EA) they are preparing for this race. COMMENTS ARE DUE BY MARCH 6, 2009.I have prepared a template support letter for this event. While this letter does not point out specific areas that need to be studied for the event it will show the BLM that our community supports this race and it goes on to say that an EA is a sufficient amount of environmental review.As a result of the CBD's e-mail campaign you can bet the BLM has already heard from hundreds, maybe even thousand of opponents to this event.All of us can make a difference by taking the template letter I have posted below, cut and pasting the whole thing or only portions and add your own words. Snail mail it to the address in the letter. I have been told before that hard copies of letters hold more weight than e-mails.DateEric WilliamsBLM – Tonopah Field OfficeP.O. Box 9111553 S. Main StreetTonopah, NV 89049RE: Letter in Support of Best in the Desert Racing Association Vegas to Reno Off-Highway Vehicle RaceDear Mr. Williams:I am writing to you today in support of the 2009 “Vegas to Reno” race being held by the Best in the Desert Racing Association (BITD). The State of Nevada has a tourist-based economy and relies on events like this for revenue. Given the current state of our economy, cities and rural communities in Nevada would be further strained if this event were not allowed to take place as it has for the past 14 years.Through careful planning, and through compliance with analytical requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BLM and BITD should be able to identify and mitigate any potential race-related impacts on the environment. The public and stakeholders should also be able to assist in this process, as many of them know where sensitive resources are located and how best to align the racecourse to avoid disturbing those resources.BITD has a history of hosting world class off-road events. Further, BITD has shown a commitment to preserving and remediating the roads and trails used during those events. There is no reason to expect that BITD will treat the Vegas to Reno race any differently. As you are well aware, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act imposes a multiple use mandate on the BLM. OHV recreation and racing qualify as valid uses of public lands under that mandate. For this reason and the reasons given above, I hope that you will issue a Special Recreation Permit for the Vegas to Reno race.Sincerely, Signatureaddress__________________   Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:14:15 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_ALERT-Letters-in-Support-of-Vegas-to-Reno-Race-needed-NOW/BLOG/202574/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-03-05T19:14:15Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road The CBD, Center for Bilogical Diversity is waging war against Best in the Desert and Offroad Racing in an attempt to stop this historic race. The offroad community needs your support now. Details below. Here is a link to download the document http://race-dezert.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55267&d=1236196978    Here is the BLM fax number  775-482-7810     We need your letters and faxes by Mar 6th. Download this document and send it to as many people that you can in support of this. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o...aign_KEY=26783The BLM is solicting comments on the scope of the Environmental Assessment (EA) they are preparing for this race. COMMENTS ARE DUE BY MARCH 6, 2009.I have prepared a template support letter for this event. While this letter does not point out specific areas that need to be studied for the event it will show the BLM that our community supports this race and it goes on to say that an EA is a sufficient amount of environmental review.As a result of the CBD's e-mail campaign you can bet the BLM has already heard from hundreds, maybe even thousand of opponents to this event.All of us can make a difference by taking the template letter I have posted below, cut and pasting the whole thing or only portions and add your own words. Snail mail it to the address in the letter. I have been told before that hard copies of letters hold more weight than e-mails.DateEric WilliamsBLM – Tonopah Field OfficeP.O. Box 9111553 S. Main StreetTonopah, NV 89049RE: Letter in Support of Best in the Desert Racing Association Vegas to Reno Off-Highway Vehicle RaceDear Mr. Williams:I am writing to you today in support of the 2009 “Vegas to Reno” race being held by the Best in the Desert Racing Association (BITD). The State of Nevada has a tourist-based economy and relies on events like this for revenue. Given the current state of our economy, cities and rural communities in Nevada would be further strained if this event were not allowed to take place as it has for the past 14 years.Through careful planning, and through compliance with analytical requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BLM and BITD should be able to identify and mitigate any potential race-related impacts on the environment. The public and stakeholders should also be able to assist in this process, as many of them know where sensitive resources are located and how best to align the racecourse to avoid disturbing those resources.BITD has a history of hosting world class off-road events. Further, BITD has shown a commitment to preserving and remediating the roads and trails used during those events. There is no reason to expect that BITD will treat the Vegas to Reno race any differently. As you are well aware, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act imposes a multiple use mandate on the BLM. OHV recreation and racing qualify as valid uses of public lands under that mandate. For this reason and the reasons given above, I hope that you will issue a Special Recreation Permit for the Vegas to Reno race.Sincerely, Signatureaddress__________________   best, desert, in, racing and competition, reno, the, to, vegas nonadult false ALERT-Letters in Support of Vegas to Reno Race needed NOW! text blog best,desert,in,racing and competition,reno,the,to,vegas 323 0 0.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 202574 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_2009-Parker-250-Return-to-BITD/BLOG/160483/27589.html Its been a year or so since my last BITD race. Jason Wade was gracious enough to ask me to race with him on his new desert 07 Honda 450r built by David Scott, last years BITD champion.Having riden the bike briefly its safe to say i know how Dave won the championship last year. The Elka suspension coupled with the Roll Design A Arms, feels like you could hit anything. The true test,the faster you go the smoother it gets! JB Wade Custom Homes and Independent Bank of Austin http://www.ibankaustin.com/ are sponsoring this effort. We also have or pit crew Martin Choquette, Dennis Milner from Team Guilty and also Rusty Cronchy will be assisting us in getting to the finish line. Maxxis tires fitted with Tire Balls are going to keep us going without any flats and the fueling will be handled by IMS and their quick filll/dry break system. Eric Pealstrom and AC Racing have built our skid plates and are ready to handle just about any rock Parker has to offer. Spot Messaging will be the tracking unit Jason and I will be carrying on the bike. You can track us live on the web from this link. Spot Tracking 2009 Parker 250 Race day is Saturday Jan 10th and the race starts at about 7am AZ time. Hopefully I get some good video and stills to share with everybody. Wish us luck and say a prayer for all the racers to have a safe race. [image] Its been a year or so since my last BITD race. Jason Wade was gracious enough to ask me to race with him on his new desert 07 Honda 450r built by David Scott, last years BITD champion.Having riden the bike briefly its safe to say i know how Dave won the championship last year. The Elka suspension coupled with the Roll Design A Arms, feels like you could hit anything. The true test,the faster you go the smoother it gets! JB Wade Custom Homes and Independent Bank of Austin http://www.ibankaustin.com/ are sponsoring this effort. We also have or pit crew Martin Choquette, Dennis Milner from Team Guilty and also Rusty Cronchy will be assisting us in getting to the finish line. Maxxis tires fitted with Tire Balls are going to keep us going without any flats and the fueling will be handled by IMS and their quick filll/dry break system. Eric Pealstrom and AC Racing have built our skid plates and are ready to handle just about any rock Parker has to offer. Spot Messaging will be the tracking unit Jason and I will be carrying on the bike. You can track us live on the web from this link. Spot Tracking 2009 Parker 250 Race day is Saturday Jan 10th and the race starts at about 7am AZ time. Hopefully I get some good video and stills to share with everybody. Wish us luck and say a prayer for all the racers to have a safe race. [image] Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:54:36 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_2009-Parker-250-Return-to-BITD/BLOG/160483/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2009-01-08T08:54:36Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road Its been a year or so since my last BITD race. Jason Wade was gracious enough to ask me to race with him on his new desert 07 Honda 450r built by David Scott, last years BITD champion.Having riden the bike briefly its safe to say i know how Dave won the championship last year. The Elka suspension coupled with the Roll Design A Arms, feels like you could hit anything. The true test,the faster you go the smoother it gets! JB Wade Custom Homes and Independent Bank of Austin http://www.ibankaustin.com/ are sponsoring this effort. We also have or pit crew Martin Choquette, Dennis Milner from Team Guilty and also Rusty Cronchy will be assisting us in getting to the finish line. Maxxis tires fitted with Tire Balls are going to keep us going without any flats and the fueling will be handled by IMS and their quick filll/dry break system. Eric Pealstrom and AC Racing have built our skid plates and are ready to handle just about any rock Parker has to offer. Spot Messaging will be the tracking unit Jason and I will be carrying on the bike. You can track us live on the web from this link. Spot Tracking 2009 Parker 250 Race day is Saturday Jan 10th and the race starts at about 7am AZ time. Hopefully I get some good video and stills to share with everybody. Wish us luck and say a prayer for all the racers to have a safe race. [image] atv, desert, offroad, parker 250, quad, racing, racing and competition nonadult false 2009 Parker 250-Return to BITD text blog atv,desert,offroad,parker 250,quad,racing,racing and competition 798 20 3.5 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false United States AZ 11 0 160483 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_2008-Baja-1000-with-Wayne-Matlocks-crew/BLOG/145307/27589.html So has any one of you ever wondered what its like to be on the winning ATV team of the Baja 1000? Josh Caster lets us hang with the crew. This story, as told by Josh Caster. The American Honda winning ATV team of Wayne Matlock, Marc Spaeth, Harold Goodman, Wes Miller. Great story and thanks to Josh for allowing me to post this, originally told on Baja.net.Congratulations to Wayne and the entire crew.Here is a recap of my trip to the Baja 1000 chasing for the Matlock – American Honda 8a ATV team. Thursday – After spending a few days in Phoenix for work I headed home to El Cajon. I had a bunch of stuff to pack and had to finish welding up the chase rack I was building for Wayne to hold the race quad. I got home late in the afternoon and started packing stuff. About 9:30 pm I stopped by the shop to swap trucks with Wayne and found him, Harold Goodman and Mike Kline working on all the bikes, trying to make sure everything was prepped for the trip down in the morning. I didn’t stay long because I knew I had a long night ahead of me just trying to finish the chase rack in time. I worked all the way through the night and finished the rack with just enough time to get about 2 hours of sleep before we had to finish loading everything up and head to Mexico. Friday – By the time we all got everything packed and loaded it was getting late. We ended up stopping for dinner after passing through TJ before we got to Ensenada. We got to the main house we would be staying in for the majority of the week and got unpacked and ready to start prerunning the next morning. Saturday – Early in the morning Harold Goodman and his chaser Mike Kline headed north to La Rumarosa to start prerunning Harold’s section of the course. The rest of the group headed to San Felipe. After arriving in San Felipe and checking into the house we would be staying at for the weekend, both Wayne and Marc Spaeth geared up to start prerunning. Wayne rode to the course from our house and Kristen and I gave Marc a ride to Borrego where he would start his prerun. After dropping Marc off in Borrego we waited for Wayne so we could head back to San Felipe and do it all over again. After some serious games of “Go-Fish” I can now declare that I am the Official Baja 1000 Go-Fish Champion. After Wayne showed up, we headed south to do it all over again. Sunday – Harold and Mike again headed north and While the rest of us stayed in the San Felipe area. Both Wayne and Marc preran their sections a couple more times before we headed back towards Ensenada for the night. After making so many trips back and forth from San Felipe to Borrego the Federalizes at the check point just started waving me through which was really nice of them. Most of the following week was the same with each rider prerunning their different sections of the course. Wes Miller arrived during the week and started prerunning his section on the coast also. Wednesday – Wayne wanted to prerun the start to Ojos. Marc had already preran his sections multiple times and decided to let me ride his quad to prerun the start with Wayne. We unloaded in town at the start of the wash and planned on meeting up with Kristen and Marc in Ojos. Soon after leaving town I noticed that the course had changed a little bit from the start of the 500. A few good lines were no longer useable. After we met up with the chase trucks in Ojos we headed back to Ensenada to do it all over again. On the second round we picked up the pace a bit. I was taking my time staying back out of Wayne’s dust so I could check out the course and look for any lines when I looked over my shoulder on one of the switch-backs and saw BJ Baldwin in his TT coming up the course! Time to step up the speed a bit! I got on the gas and started to try and chase down Wayne. After a few miles I came up on Wayne while he was stopped looking at a turn. I warned him a TT was coming up the course so we both pulled off and waited for them to pass. After 2 Baldwin TT passed by we jumped back on the course to finish our prerun to Ojos. Near the end of our run I was 5th gear coming out of the hills when I had a ball-joint fail on the tie-rod. Both front tires went opposite directions and I went off the road into the bushes trying to stay on the quad. I straitened the wheels and was able to ride it out a ¼ mile to where Wayne had stopped ahead of me. We zip tied the tie-rod to the frame to keep the wheel pointed strait and we both rode out to the highway in Ojos to be picked up by the trucks. Thursday – We finished getting the race quad ready before heading to town to have it tech’d. The rest of the day was spent taking pictures of the quad and restocking all the chase truck boxes. Friday – RACE DAY! On race morning we all got up at 4:30. Wayne headed to the starting line while Kristen and I took Harold north to La Rumarosa where he would jump on the quad for the start of his section. Wayne’s parents would head north with us and keep leap-frogging ahead with us at pits. Mike took Marc and headed to Borrego where Marc would take the quad from Harold. Wes headed to Valley T where he was to jump on the quad and take it to the coast. After our 2.5 hour drive to La Rumarosa Harold, Kristen and I started make big bets ($.25) on what position Wayne come in at. Wayne started 7th quad off the line and I knew how bad the dust was going to be after following him prerunning. Wayne came in as the third physical quad so Harold won the $.50. After the quick rider swap we headed down the grade to try and catch Harold at the top of Laguna Salada. We made it there just in time to see the 1a quad come through the Honda pit. Harold had moved into the second spot and gained 1.5 minutes on the 1a quad before stopping for gas at the Honda pit. We were off again with Cliff in the lead trying to make it to the next visual check we had planned. We make it to the visual in time to see that Harold had taken the lead and was pulling away from the 1a quad. As soon as we had some time splits we were all off again to another visual check. Again Harold had the lead and was maintaining his gap. Cliff headed to Borrego to help at the rider swap where Marc would jump on the quad and head to San Felipe. Kristen and I took Wayne south to San Felipe to set up for the rider change there. After we got to San Felipe and the Honda pit we set everything up and waited. First quad to the pit was the 1a quad with Marc in his dust. Wayne jumped on the quad and was off before Marc could tell him a rear tire was going flat and the shocks needed a few adjustments for the big whoops ahead on zoo road. Before he was out of sight we got the radio call from Wayne that we would need to get to our visual check and be ready to change the rear tire. We quickly loaded up and headed north to meet up with Cliff at the visual check with tires waiting. Wayne came in not far behind the 1a quad and while adjusting the shocks we noticed both rears needed to be changed. Wayne was in and out of the pit very quick trying to chase the 1a quad down. All the trucks headed to Borrego again where Harold would jump back on and take the quad around the Mike’s loop. In Borrego Harold jumped on while the lights were installed. Harold again gained time on the 1a quad before handing it off to Wayne after the Mike’s loop. Wayne took the quad for a small 10 mile section in Valley T before handing the quad off to Wes Miller. Wes had the whole coast section from Valley T to Ojos. He jumped on and took off trying to chase down the 1a quad. Soon after reaching the coast Wes was able to make the pass for the lead and start pulling away from the 1a quad. While Wes was busy racing up the coast we did the best thing we could think of- head in to Valley T for tacos! We sat down for tacos with the 1a guys and talked about going back and forth all day long. After we were all full on tacos we headed to the Ojos field where Wayne would get back on the quad to take it to the finish. We got to the field and waited for lights to show up. We could not contact the Honda pit in the area because they were tucked up in the hills, so all we could do is get ready everytime we saw lights coming. Soon we saw lights coming over the mountain and could make out the sound of the big 700xx. The radio started skipping and scratching but we couldn’t make out what was being said. Sure enough it was Wes in the lead! Wayne jumped on and took off into the night towards the finish line. About 4.5 minutes behind came the 1a quad trying to chase Wayne down. Everyone jumped into the trucks and headed to the finish line. We made it to town and found a safe place to park the trucks before running to the finish line hoping we would make it in time. Wayne came in as the first quad to finish and the 1a team was second about 9 minutes later. Such a close race all the way to the finish! Saturday – Let’s just say I don’t remember much on Saturday other than waking up, heading to breakfast and having one (yeah right!) Bloody Mary. The rest of the day is still a blur! This is going to be one of my most favorite trips to Mexico. The Matlocks are a great family and they all work very hard to make this team work. You would not believe the amount of work they put into their racing program! The rest of the crew was great also and I look forward to many more trips with them. I wish I could tell you guys all the little stories that happened between all the stuff I wrote but then it would end up being a novel. What a great trip and I can’t wait for the next one! So has any one of you ever wondered what its like to be on the winning ATV team of the Baja 1000? Josh Caster lets us hang with the crew. This story, as told by Josh Caster. The American Honda winning ATV team of Wayne Matlock, Marc Spaeth, Harold Goodman, Wes Miller. Great story and thanks to Josh for allowing me to post this, originally told on Baja.net.Congratulations to Wayne and the entire crew.Here is a recap of my trip to the Baja 1000 chasing for the Matlock – American Honda 8a ATV team. Thursday – After spending a few days in Phoenix for work I headed home to El Cajon. I had a bunch of stuff to pack and had to finish welding up the chase rack I was building for Wayne to hold the race quad. I got home late in the afternoon and started packing stuff. About 9:30 pm I stopped by the shop to swap trucks with Wayne and found him, Harold Goodman and Mike Kline working on all the bikes, trying to make sure everything was prepped for the trip down in the morning. I didn’t stay long because I knew I had a long night ahead of me just trying to finish the chase rack in time. I worked all the way through the night and finished the rack with just enough time to get about 2 hours of sleep before we had to finish loading everything up and head to Mexico. Friday – By the time we all got everything packed and loaded it was getting late. We ended up stopping for dinner after passing through TJ before we got to Ensenada. We got to the main house we would be staying in for the majority of the week and got unpacked and ready to start prerunning the next morning. Saturday – Early in the morning Harold Goodman and his chaser Mike Kline headed north to La Rumarosa to start prerunning Harold’s section of the course. The rest of the group headed to San Felipe. After arriving in San Felipe and checking into the house we would be staying at for the weekend, both Wayne and Marc Spaeth geared up to start prerunning. Wayne rode to the course from our house and Kristen and I gave Marc a ride to Borrego where he would start his prerun. After dropping Marc off in Borrego we waited for Wayne so we could head back to San Felipe and do it all over again. After some serious games of “Go-Fish” I can now declare that I am the Official Baja 1000 Go-Fish Champion. After Wayne showed up, we headed south to do it all over again. Sunday – Harold and Mike again headed north and While the rest of us stayed in the San Felipe area. Both Wayne and Marc preran their sections a couple more times before we headed back towards Ensenada for the night. After making so many trips back and forth from San Felipe to Borrego the Federalizes at the check point just started waving me through which was really nice of them. Most of the following week was the same with each rider prerunning their different sections of the course. Wes Miller arrived during the week and started prerunning his section on the coast also. Wednesday – Wayne wanted to prerun the start to Ojos. Marc had already preran his sections multiple times and decided to let me ride his quad to prerun the start with Wayne. We unloaded in town at the start of the wash and planned on meeting up with Kristen and Marc in Ojos. Soon after leaving town I noticed that the course had changed a little bit from the start of the 500. A few good lines were no longer useable. After we met up with the chase trucks in Ojos we headed back to Ensenada to do it all over again. On the second round we picked up the pace a bit. I was taking my time staying back out of Wayne’s dust so I could check out the course and look for any lines when I looked over my shoulder on one of the switch-backs and saw BJ Baldwin in his TT coming up the course! Time to step up the speed a bit! I got on the gas and started to try and chase down Wayne. After a few miles I came up on Wayne while he was stopped looking at a turn. I warned him a TT was coming up the course so we both pulled off and waited for them to pass. After 2 Baldwin TT passed by we jumped back on the course to finish our prerun to Ojos. Near the end of our run I was 5th gear coming out of the hills when I had a ball-joint fail on the tie-rod. Both front tires went opposite directions and I went off the road into the bushes trying to stay on the quad. I straitened the wheels and was able to ride it out a ¼ mile to where Wayne had stopped ahead of me. We zip tied the tie-rod to the frame to keep the wheel pointed strait and we both rode out to the highway in Ojos to be picked up by the trucks. Thursday – We finished getting the race quad ready before heading to town to have it tech’d. The rest of the day was spent taking pictures of the quad and restocking all the chase truck boxes. Friday – RACE DAY! On race morning we all got up at 4:30. Wayne headed to the starting line while Kristen and I took Harold north to La Rumarosa where he would jump on the quad for the start of his section. Wayne’s parents would head north with us and keep leap-frogging ahead with us at pits. Mike took Marc and headed to Borrego where Marc would take the quad from Harold. Wes headed to Valley T where he was to jump on the quad and take it to the coast. After our 2.5 hour drive to La Rumarosa Harold, Kristen and I started make big bets ($.25) on what position Wayne come in at. Wayne started 7th quad off the line and I knew how bad the dust was going to be after following him prerunning. Wayne came in as the third physical quad so Harold won the $.50. After the quick rider swap we headed down the grade to try and catch Harold at the top of Laguna Salada. We made it there just in time to see the 1a quad come through the Honda pit. Harold had moved into the second spot and gained 1.5 minutes on the 1a quad before stopping for gas at the Honda pit. We were off again with Cliff in the lead trying to make it to the next visual check we had planned. We make it to the visual in time to see that Harold had taken the lead and was pulling away from the 1a quad. As soon as we had some time splits we were all off again to another visual check. Again Harold had the lead and was maintaining his gap. Cliff headed to Borrego to help at the rider swap where Marc would jump on the quad and head to San Felipe. Kristen and I took Wayne south to San Felipe to set up for the rider change there. After we got to San Felipe and the Honda pit we set everything up and waited. First quad to the pit was the 1a quad with Marc in his dust. Wayne jumped on the quad and was off before Marc could tell him a rear tire was going flat and the shocks needed a few adjustments for the big whoops ahead on zoo road. Before he was out of sight we got the radio call from Wayne that we would need to get to our visual check and be ready to change the rear tire. We quickly loaded up and headed north to meet up with Cliff at the visual check with tires waiting. Wayne came in not far behind the 1a quad and while adjusting the shocks we noticed both rears needed to be changed. Wayne was in and out of the pit very quick trying to chase the 1a quad down. All the trucks headed to Borrego again where Harold would jump back on and take the quad around the Mike’s loop. In Borrego Harold jumped on while the lights were installed. Harold again gained time on the 1a quad before handing it off to Wayne after the Mike’s loop. Wayne took the quad for a small 10 mile section in Valley T before handing the quad off to Wes Miller. Wes had the whole coast section from Valley T to Ojos. He jumped on and took off trying to chase down the 1a quad. Soon after reaching the coast Wes was able to make the pass for the lead and start pulling away from the 1a quad. While Wes was busy racing up the coast we did the best thing we could think of- head in to Valley T for tacos! We sat down for tacos with the 1a guys and talked about going back and forth all day long. After we were all full on tacos we headed to the Ojos field where Wayne would get back on the quad to take it to the finish. We got to the field and waited for lights to show up. We could not contact the Honda pit in the area because they were tucked up in the hills, so all we could do is get ready everytime we saw lights coming. Soon we saw lights coming over the mountain and could make out the sound of the big 700xx. The radio started skipping and scratching but we couldn’t make out what was being said. Sure enough it was Wes in the lead! Wayne jumped on and took off into the night towards the finish line. About 4.5 minutes behind came the 1a quad trying to chase Wayne down. Everyone jumped into the trucks and headed to the finish line. We made it to town and found a safe place to park the trucks before running to the finish line hoping we would make it in time. Wayne came in as the first quad to finish and the 1a team was second about 9 minutes later. Such a close race all the way to the finish! Saturday – Let’s just say I don’t remember much on Saturday other than waking up, heading to breakfast and having one (yeah right!) Bloody Mary. The rest of the day is still a blur! This is going to be one of my most favorite trips to Mexico. The Matlocks are a great family and they all work very hard to make this team work. You would not believe the amount of work they put into their racing program! The rest of the crew was great also and I look forward to many more trips with them. I wish I could tell you guys all the little stories that happened between all the stuff I wrote but then it would end up being a novel. What a great trip and I can’t wait for the next one! Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:58:34 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_2008-Baja-1000-with-Wayne-Matlocks-crew/BLOG/145307/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-29T08:58:34Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road So has any one of you ever wondered what its like to be on the winning ATV team of the Baja 1000? Josh Caster lets us hang with the crew. This story, as told by Josh Caster. The American Honda winning ATV team of Wayne Matlock, Marc Spaeth, Harold Goodman, Wes Miller. Great story and thanks to Josh for allowing me to post this, originally told on Baja.net.Congratulations to Wayne and the entire crew.Here is a recap of my trip to the Baja 1000 chasing for the Matlock – American Honda 8a ATV team. Thursday – After spending a few days in Phoenix for work I headed home to El Cajon. I had a bunch of stuff to pack and had to finish welding up the chase rack I was building for Wayne to hold the race quad. I got home late in the afternoon and started packing stuff. About 9:30 pm I stopped by the shop to swap trucks with Wayne and found him, Harold Goodman and Mike Kline working on all the bikes, trying to make sure everything was prepped for the trip down in the morning. I didn’t stay long because I knew I had a long night ahead of me just trying to finish the chase rack in time. I worked all the way through the night and finished the rack with just enough time to get about 2 hours of sleep before we had to finish loading everything up and head to Mexico. Friday – By the time we all got everything packed and loaded it was getting late. We ended up stopping for dinner after passing through TJ before we got to Ensenada. We got to the main house we would be staying in for the majority of the week and got unpacked and ready to start prerunning the next morning. Saturday – Early in the morning Harold Goodman and his chaser Mike Kline headed north to La Rumarosa to start prerunning Harold’s section of the course. The rest of the group headed to San Felipe. After arriving in San Felipe and checking into the house we would be staying at for the weekend, both Wayne and Marc Spaeth geared up to start prerunning. Wayne rode to the course from our house and Kristen and I gave Marc a ride to Borrego where he would start his prerun. After dropping Marc off in Borrego we waited for Wayne so we could head back to San Felipe and do it all over again. After some serious games of “Go-Fish” I can now declare that I am the Official Baja 1000 Go-Fish Champion. After Wayne showed up, we headed south to do it all over again. Sunday – Harold and Mike again headed north and While the rest of us stayed in the San Felipe area. Both Wayne and Marc preran their sections a couple more times before we headed back towards Ensenada for the night. After making so many trips back and forth from San Felipe to Borrego the Federalizes at the check point just started waving me through which was really nice of them. Most of the following week was the same with each rider prerunning their different sections of the course. Wes Miller arrived during the week and started prerunning his section on the coast also. Wednesday – Wayne wanted to prerun the start to Ojos. Marc had already preran his sections multiple times and decided to let me ride his quad to prerun the start with Wayne. We unloaded in town at the start of the wash and planned on meeting up with Kristen and Marc in Ojos. Soon after leaving town I noticed that the course had changed a little bit from the start of the 500. A few good lines were no longer useable. After we met up with the chase trucks in Ojos we headed back to Ensenada to do it all over again. On the second round we picked up the pace a bit. I was taking my time staying back out of Wayne’s dust so I could check out the course and look for any lines when I looked over my shoulder on one of the switch-backs and saw BJ Baldwin in his TT coming up the course! Time to step up the speed a bit! I got on the gas and started to try and chase down Wayne. After a few miles I came up on Wayne while he was stopped looking at a turn. I warned him a TT was coming up the course so we both pulled off and waited for them to pass. After 2 Baldwin TT passed by we jumped back on the course to finish our prerun to Ojos. Near the end of our run I was 5th gear coming out of the hills when I had a ball-joint fail on the tie-rod. Both front tires went opposite directions and I went off the road into the bushes trying to stay on the quad. I straitened the wheels and was able to ride it out a ¼ mile to where Wayne had stopped ahead of me. We zip tied the tie-rod to the frame to keep the wheel pointed strait and we both rode out to the highway in Ojos to be picked up by the trucks. Thursday – We finished getting the race quad ready before heading to town to have it tech’d. The rest of the day was spent taking pictures of the quad and restocking all the chase truck boxes. Friday – RACE DAY! On race morning we all got up at 4:30. Wayne headed to the starting line while Kristen and I took Harold north to La Rumarosa where he would jump on the quad for the start of his section. Wayne’s parents would head north with us and keep leap-frogging ahead with us at pits. Mike took Marc and headed to Borrego where Marc would take the quad from Harold. Wes headed to Valley T where he was to jump on the quad and take it to the coast. After our 2.5 hour drive to La Rumarosa Harold, Kristen and I started make big bets ($.25) on what position Wayne come in at. Wayne started 7th quad off the line and I knew how bad the dust was going to be after following him prerunning. Wayne came in as the third physical quad so Harold won the $.50. After the quick rider swap we headed down the grade to try and catch Harold at the top of Laguna Salada. We made it there just in time to see the 1a quad come through the Honda pit. Harold had moved into the second spot and gained 1.5 minutes on the 1a quad before stopping for gas at the Honda pit. We were off again with Cliff in the lead trying to make it to the next visual check we had planned. We make it to the visual in time to see that Harold had taken the lead and was pulling away from the 1a quad. As soon as we had some time splits we were all off again to another visual check. Again Harold had the lead and was maintaining his gap. Cliff headed to Borrego to help at the rider swap where Marc would jump on the quad and head to San Felipe. Kristen and I took Wayne south to San Felipe to set up for the rider change there. After we got to San Felipe and the Honda pit we set everything up and waited. First quad to the pit was the 1a quad with Marc in his dust. Wayne jumped on the quad and was off before Marc could tell him a rear tire was going flat and the shocks needed a few adjustments for the big whoops ahead on zoo road. Before he was out of sight we got the radio call from Wayne that we would need to get to our visual check and be ready to change the rear tire. We quickly loaded up and headed north to meet up with Cliff at the visual check with tires waiting. Wayne came in not far behind the 1a quad and while adjusting the shocks we noticed both rears needed to be changed. Wayne was in and out of the pit very quick trying to chase the 1a quad down. All the trucks headed to Borrego again where Harold would jump back on and take the quad around the Mike’s loop. In Borrego Harold jumped on while the lights were installed. Harold again gained time on the 1a quad before handing it off to Wayne after the Mike’s loop. Wayne took the quad for a small 10 mile section in Valley T before handing the quad off to Wes Miller. Wes had the whole coast section from Valley T to Ojos. He jumped on and took off trying to chase down the 1a quad. Soon after reaching the coast Wes was able to make the pass for the lead and start pulling away from the 1a quad. While Wes was busy racing up the coast we did the best thing we could think of- head in to Valley T for tacos! We sat down for tacos with the 1a guys and talked about going back and forth all day long. After we were all full on tacos we headed to the Ojos field where Wayne would get back on the quad to take it to the finish. We got to the field and waited for lights to show up. We could not contact the Honda pit in the area because they were tucked up in the hills, so all we could do is get ready everytime we saw lights coming. Soon we saw lights coming over the mountain and could make out the sound of the big 700xx. The radio started skipping and scratching but we couldn’t make out what was being said. Sure enough it was Wes in the lead! Wayne jumped on and took off into the night towards the finish line. About 4.5 minutes behind came the 1a quad trying to chase Wayne down. Everyone jumped into the trucks and headed to the finish line. We made it to town and found a safe place to park the trucks before running to the finish line hoping we would make it in time. Wayne came in as the first quad to finish and the 1a team was second about 9 minutes later. Such a close race all the way to the finish! Saturday – Let’s just say I don’t remember much on Saturday other than waking up, heading to breakfast and having one (yeah right!) Bloody Mary. The rest of the day is still a blur! This is going to be one of my most favorite trips to Mexico. The Matlocks are a great family and they all work very hard to make this team work. You would not believe the amount of work they put into their racing program! The rest of the crew was great also and I look forward to many more trips with them. I wish I could tell you guys all the little stories that happened between all the stuff I wrote but then it would end up being a novel. What a great trip and I can’t wait for the next one! 1000, 2008, american honda, atv, baja, quad, racing and competition nonadult false 2008 Baja 1000 with Wayne Matlock`s crew text blog 1000,2008,american honda,atv,baja,quad,racing and competition 833 21 4.47619 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 145307 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Arctic-Cat-Prowlers-Sweep-Baja-1000/BLOG/144938/27589.html Thundercat Finishes Fifth and is First Utility-Style ATV to Finish BajaThe finish line at the 41st Annual SCORE Baja 1000 was as dramatic as it was historic. Racing a pair of stock Arctic  Cat Prowlers, the Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat team beat the brutal conditions to finish first and second place in the world’s longest, continuous off-road race. It was the first time in race history a side-by-side UTV vehicle has finished what is widely regarded as the most grueling off-road race in theworld. Reid Rutherford complemented the historic triumph with a fifth-place finish in the Pro ATV class on an Arctic Cat Thundercat 1000 H2 EFI. “We were the first-time finishers and first-time winnersin this greatest of all races because of a total team effort,” said Bi-Polar team co-owner and driver Jim Creagan of Yacott, Wash. “From start-to-finish, every person fulfilled their role perfectly and each Prowler performed magnificently.” Finishing first in the 634-mile race with a time of 27 hours and 57 minutes was a stock 2009 Prowler XTZ 1000 driven by Creagan and co-pilot Tim Wagner for the first 409 miles, followed by driver/co-driver Chris Fallon and Aaron Bahner for the remainder of thecourse. Taking second place at 28 hours and 13 minutes was a 2009 Prowler XTX 700 EFI driven by three driver/co-driver combinations:Shane Morgan and Tabor Cresap, Scott Sorenson and Justin Serface, and Casey Squires and Mike Connors.It was just the second attempt at the Baja 1000 for the Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat team. In 2007 they made it to mile-810 before succumbing to a broken suspension bolt. They returned this year,ready to prove the Prowler’s durability and to support their sponsors: Arctic Cat, WiredEnergy Drink, Vision X Lighting, GBC Motorsports, Trail-Ready Beadlock Rims and King Shocks.“These were stock Prowlers except for the required roll-cage, extra night lights, King shocks andtires,” said Creagan. “Nothing broke on either machine during the race and we had only one flat tire on the 700. Our support crew never even had to put a tool to either machine. It was just gas-and-go at the pit stops, which is a testament to their durability and performance. ”The fifth-place in Class 25 Pro ATV by Reid Rutherford, Ben Vernadikis and Tony Valerio aboard a stock Thundercat 1000 H2 EFI was equally compelling. It was the first time an Arctic Cat ATV attempted the Baja 1000, competing against and beating all but four modified racing models.Rutherford credited his Thundercat for handling the extra-tough course:“This was my sixth Baja 1000 and it was the most difficult course yet. The Thundercat handled it without a problem, giving us an advantage over the sport models in the rocky and silt terrain. I know we finished stronger and fresher than the other teams, thanks to the suspension and comfort of the big Cat.” With a stock suspension, stock chassis and stock engine, Rutherford’s Thundercat proved that the most powerful production ATV is equally durable. He was sponsored by Planet Motorsports, Speedwerx, Douglas Wheels, Rox, Fly and RTT. Most competitors were in agreement that this year’s course was the toughest in race history. In addition to the usual array of car-sized boulders,horrible silt sections and surprise obstacles, the course delivered a 60-mile section of 4-ft. whoop-de-dos that claimed many of the 347 racers. Only 227 vehicles survived to finish the famed event.“Team Arctic racers delivered a historic performance at the 2008 Baja 1000 and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Arctic Cat ATV Race Manager Ted Bettin. “The Bi-Polar Prowler team worked incredibly hard for two years. To earn the honor and distinction of being the first-ever UTV to finish the Baja 1000, and to finish first and second place, speaks volumes about their dedication and “The Thundercat team’s fifth place in their first-year effort with our program proves their capability as well as the awesome performance of our ATV. Everyone at Arctic Cat appreciates the hard work and success of our racers at Baja.”Posted with permission of Reid Rutherford of Team Bi Polar Arctic Cat. Thundercat Finishes Fifth and is First Utility-Style ATV to Finish BajaThe finish line at the 41st Annual SCORE Baja 1000 was as dramatic as it was historic. Racing a pair of stock Arctic  Cat Prowlers, the Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat team beat the brutal conditions to finish first and second place in the world’s longest, continuous off-road race. It was the first time in race history a side-by-side UTV vehicle has finished what is widely regarded as the most grueling off-road race in theworld. Reid Rutherford complemented the historic triumph with a fifth-place finish in the Pro ATV class on an Arctic Cat Thundercat 1000 H2 EFI. “We were the first-time finishers and first-time winnersin this greatest of all races because of a total team effort,” said Bi-Polar team co-owner and driver Jim Creagan of Yacott, Wash. “From start-to-finish, every person fulfilled their role perfectly and each Prowler performed magnificently.” Finishing first in the 634-mile race with a time of 27 hours and 57 minutes was a stock 2009 Prowler XTZ 1000 driven by Creagan and co-pilot Tim Wagner for the first 409 miles, followed by driver/co-driver Chris Fallon and Aaron Bahner for the remainder of thecourse. Taking second place at 28 hours and 13 minutes was a 2009 Prowler XTX 700 EFI driven by three driver/co-driver combinations:Shane Morgan and Tabor Cresap, Scott Sorenson and Justin Serface, and Casey Squires and Mike Connors.It was just the second attempt at the Baja 1000 for the Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat team. In 2007 they made it to mile-810 before succumbing to a broken suspension bolt. They returned this year,ready to prove the Prowler’s durability and to support their sponsors: Arctic Cat, WiredEnergy Drink, Vision X Lighting, GBC Motorsports, Trail-Ready Beadlock Rims and King Shocks.“These were stock Prowlers except for the required roll-cage, extra night lights, King shocks andtires,” said Creagan. “Nothing broke on either machine during the race and we had only one flat tire on the 700. Our support crew never even had to put a tool to either machine. It was just gas-and-go at the pit stops, which is a testament to their durability and performance. ”The fifth-place in Class 25 Pro ATV by Reid Rutherford, Ben Vernadikis and Tony Valerio aboard a stock Thundercat 1000 H2 EFI was equally compelling. It was the first time an Arctic Cat ATV attempted the Baja 1000, competing against and beating all but four modified racing models.Rutherford credited his Thundercat for handling the extra-tough course:“This was my sixth Baja 1000 and it was the most difficult course yet. The Thundercat handled it without a problem, giving us an advantage over the sport models in the rocky and silt terrain. I know we finished stronger and fresher than the other teams, thanks to the suspension and comfort of the big Cat.” With a stock suspension, stock chassis and stock engine, Rutherford’s Thundercat proved that the most powerful production ATV is equally durable. He was sponsored by Planet Motorsports, Speedwerx, Douglas Wheels, Rox, Fly and RTT. Most competitors were in agreement that this year’s course was the toughest in race history. In addition to the usual array of car-sized boulders,horrible silt sections and surprise obstacles, the course delivered a 60-mile section of 4-ft. whoop-de-dos that claimed many of the 347 racers. Only 227 vehicles survived to finish the famed event.“Team Arctic racers delivered a historic performance at the 2008 Baja 1000 and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Arctic Cat ATV Race Manager Ted Bettin. “The Bi-Polar Prowler team worked incredibly hard for two years. To earn the honor and distinction of being the first-ever UTV to finish the Baja 1000, and to finish first and second place, speaks volumes about their dedication and “The Thundercat team’s fifth place in their first-year effort with our program proves their capability as well as the awesome performance of our ATV. Everyone at Arctic Cat appreciates the hard work and success of our racers at Baja.”Posted with permission of Reid Rutherford of Team Bi Polar Arctic Cat. Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:41:41 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Arctic-Cat-Prowlers-Sweep-Baja-1000/BLOG/144938/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-27T18:41:41Z ATV and UTV My Off-Road Thundercat Finishes Fifth and is First Utility-Style ATV to Finish BajaThe finish line at the 41st Annual SCORE Baja 1000 was as dramatic as it was historic. Racing a pair of stock Arctic  Cat Prowlers, the Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat team beat the brutal conditions to finish first and second place in the world’s longest, continuous off-road race. It was the first time in race history a side-by-side UTV vehicle has finished what is widely regarded as the most grueling off-road race in theworld. Reid Rutherford complemented the historic triumph with a fifth-place finish in the Pro ATV class on an Arctic Cat Thundercat 1000 H2 EFI. “We were the first-time finishers and first-time winnersin this greatest of all races because of a total team effort,” said Bi-Polar team co-owner and driver Jim Creagan of Yacott, Wash. “From start-to-finish, every person fulfilled their role perfectly and each Prowler performed magnificently.” Finishing first in the 634-mile race with a time of 27 hours and 57 minutes was a stock 2009 Prowler XTZ 1000 driven by Creagan and co-pilot Tim Wagner for the first 409 miles, followed by driver/co-driver Chris Fallon and Aaron Bahner for the remainder of thecourse. Taking second place at 28 hours and 13 minutes was a 2009 Prowler XTX 700 EFI driven by three driver/co-driver combinations:Shane Morgan and Tabor Cresap, Scott Sorenson and Justin Serface, and Casey Squires and Mike Connors.It was just the second attempt at the Baja 1000 for the Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat team. In 2007 they made it to mile-810 before succumbing to a broken suspension bolt. They returned this year,ready to prove the Prowler’s durability and to support their sponsors: Arctic Cat, WiredEnergy Drink, Vision X Lighting, GBC Motorsports, Trail-Ready Beadlock Rims and King Shocks.“These were stock Prowlers except for the required roll-cage, extra night lights, King shocks andtires,” said Creagan. “Nothing broke on either machine during the race and we had only one flat tire on the 700. Our support crew never even had to put a tool to either machine. It was just gas-and-go at the pit stops, which is a testament to their durability and performance. ”The fifth-place in Class 25 Pro ATV by Reid Rutherford, Ben Vernadikis and Tony Valerio aboard a stock Thundercat 1000 H2 EFI was equally compelling. It was the first time an Arctic Cat ATV attempted the Baja 1000, competing against and beating all but four modified racing models.Rutherford credited his Thundercat for handling the extra-tough course:“This was my sixth Baja 1000 and it was the most difficult course yet. The Thundercat handled it without a problem, giving us an advantage over the sport models in the rocky and silt terrain. I know we finished stronger and fresher than the other teams, thanks to the suspension and comfort of the big Cat.” With a stock suspension, stock chassis and stock engine, Rutherford’s Thundercat proved that the most powerful production ATV is equally durable. He was sponsored by Planet Motorsports, Speedwerx, Douglas Wheels, Rox, Fly and RTT. Most competitors were in agreement that this year’s course was the toughest in race history. In addition to the usual array of car-sized boulders,horrible silt sections and surprise obstacles, the course delivered a 60-mile section of 4-ft. whoop-de-dos that claimed many of the 347 racers. Only 227 vehicles survived to finish the famed event.“Team Arctic racers delivered a historic performance at the 2008 Baja 1000 and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Arctic Cat ATV Race Manager Ted Bettin. “The Bi-Polar Prowler team worked incredibly hard for two years. To earn the honor and distinction of being the first-ever UTV to finish the Baja 1000, and to finish first and second place, speaks volumes about their dedication and “The Thundercat team’s fifth place in their first-year effort with our program proves their capability as well as the awesome performance of our ATV. Everyone at Arctic Cat appreciates the hard work and success of our racers at Baja.”Posted with permission of Reid Rutherford of Team Bi Polar Arctic Cat. 1000, arctic cat, atv, atv and utv, baja, quad, reid rutherford, utv nonadult false Arctic Cat Prowlers Sweep Baja 1000. text blog 1000,arctic cat,atv,atv and utv,baja,quad,reid rutherford,utv 869 20 3.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 144938 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_2008-BITD-Pro-ATV-Championship/BLOG/144764/27589.html So who will be crowned Best in the Desert Pro quad points champion? Duncan Racing,s Davd Scott (Jeremy Sanchez co rider) is in the points lead with 322, on a Honda TRX 450r.  Scat Trac`s Greg Stuart  (Nic Granlund co rider) is in 2nd with 295, on YFZ framed Honda XR650 hybrid. Alba/American Honda`s Wayne Matlock (Harold Goodman co rider) completes the top 3 with  294, on a Honda TRX700. Your guess is as good as mine. Davd is in the catbird seat and its his race to loose. He just has to finish this race and the crown will be his. However, in desert racing, things arent that simple. Those 2 guys behind him, are not going to hand this prestigious title to David Scott without making him work for it. BITD prides itself in making the points chase exciting and this years points chase will not disappoint.  It all comes down to the final race of the series. The Henderson Fab Tech Desert classic. This years race is different than years past as it will be a Grand Prix style format and not your standard desert race. It will have an MX style track on the infield. Generally, this should benefit the 450 sport quads. This course used to be one of the most difficult desert courses for the bikes and quads under the old format. This should be a very exciting finish to this years desert series. See you at Henderson in two weeks! So who will be crowned Best in the Desert Pro quad points champion? Duncan Racing,s Davd Scott (Jeremy Sanchez co rider) is in the points lead with 322, on a Honda TRX 450r.  Scat Trac`s Greg Stuart  (Nic Granlund co rider) is in 2nd with 295, on YFZ framed Honda XR650 hybrid. Alba/American Honda`s Wayne Matlock (Harold Goodman co rider) completes the top 3 with  294, on a Honda TRX700. Your guess is as good as mine. Davd is in the catbird seat and its his race to loose. He just has to finish this race and the crown will be his. However, in desert racing, things arent that simple. Those 2 guys behind him, are not going to hand this prestigious title to David Scott without making him work for it. BITD prides itself in making the points chase exciting and this years points chase will not disappoint.  It all comes down to the final race of the series. The Henderson Fab Tech Desert classic. This years race is different than years past as it will be a Grand Prix style format and not your standard desert race. It will have an MX style track on the infield. Generally, this should benefit the 450 sport quads. This course used to be one of the most difficult desert courses for the bikes and quads under the old format. This should be a very exciting finish to this years desert series. See you at Henderson in two weeks! Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:41:21 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_2008-BITD-Pro-ATV-Championship/BLOG/144764/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-26T23:41:21Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road So who will be crowned Best in the Desert Pro quad points champion? Duncan Racing,s Davd Scott (Jeremy Sanchez co rider) is in the points lead with 322, on a Honda TRX 450r.  Scat Trac`s Greg Stuart  (Nic Granlund co rider) is in 2nd with 295, on YFZ framed Honda XR650 hybrid. Alba/American Honda`s Wayne Matlock (Harold Goodman co rider) completes the top 3 with  294, on a Honda TRX700. Your guess is as good as mine. Davd is in the catbird seat and its his race to loose. He just has to finish this race and the crown will be his. However, in desert racing, things arent that simple. Those 2 guys behind him, are not going to hand this prestigious title to David Scott without making him work for it. BITD prides itself in making the points chase exciting and this years points chase will not disappoint.  It all comes down to the final race of the series. The Henderson Fab Tech Desert classic. This years race is different than years past as it will be a Grand Prix style format and not your standard desert race. It will have an MX style track on the infield. Generally, this should benefit the 450 sport quads. This course used to be one of the most difficult desert courses for the bikes and quads under the old format. This should be a very exciting finish to this years desert series. See you at Henderson in two weeks! atv, bitd, desert racing, quad, racing and competition nonadult false 2008 BITD Pro ATV Championship text blog atv,bitd,desert racing,quad,racing and competition 385 0 0.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 144764 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_2008-Baja-1000-ATV-official-finishers/BLOG/143582/27589.html PRO ATVsCLASS 25 (over 251cc)—1. Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif./Harold Goodman, Brownstown, Mich./Marc Spaeth, Ramona, Calif./Wes Miller, Fallbrook, Calif., Honda TRX700XX, 14:47:25 (42.69 mph); 2. Danny Prather, Ramona, Calif./Mike Cafro, Bonsall, Calif./Chad Prull, Laveen, Ariz./Levi Marana, Hemet, Calif., Honda TRX700XX, 14:56:24; 3. Stefano Caputo, San Felipe, Mexico (Italy)/Felipe Velez, San Felipe, Mexico/Heriberto Marquez, Ensenada, Mexico/Nick Destaut, San Felipe, Mexico/Alfonso Alonzo, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, Honda TRX450R, 16:14:27; 4. Greg Row, Alpine, Calif./Travis Dillon, Santee, Calif./Tony Baker, Alpine, Calif./Rich Kappel, Remsenburg, N.Y., Bombardier DS650, 16:30:15; 5. Reid Rutherford, Montrose, Colo./ Ben Vernadakis, Rico, Colo./Tony Valerio, Telluride, Colo., Arctic Cat Thundercat, 21:47:45; 6. Jason Greenhaw, Bakersfield, Calif./Nick Nelson, Tehachapi, Calif./Brandon Brown, Eumatilla, Ore./Andy Nelson, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Honda TRX450R, 23:11:01; 7. Ray Fay/Mike Crawford, Phoenix/David Scarponi, Peoria, Ariz./Jason Fritz, Globe, Ariz., Kawasaki, KFX450, 26:10:44(8 Starters, 7 Finishers)CLASS 24 (under 250cc)—1. Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif./ Steve Abrego, Covina, Calif./David Scott, Belen, N.M., Honda TRX450R, 16:57:53 (37.22 mph); 2. Tom Wright II, Tabernacle, N.J./Andy Lagzdins, Baltimore/Jim Stack, Quarryville, Pa., Honda TRX450R, 17:51:51; 3. Sergio Alvarado/Gary Gonzales/Bilgerto Perez/Angel Martin, Mexicali, Mexico, Honda TRX450R, 19:03:57; 4. Rob Ransford, Downers Grove, Ill./Mike Rodgers, Brooksville, Fla./David Bailey, Spring Hill, Fla., Honda TRX450X, 19:50:37; 5. Benjamin Lopez Jr., San Ysidro, Calif./Jesus Lopez, San Diego/Miguel Arellano, San Ysidro/Marco Marruio, Chula Vista, Calif./Jesus Monguia, San Ysidro, Honda TRX450R, 21:10:40; 6. Shawn Robins/Matt Remesz/Clayton Hurlbert/Rocky Glasgo/Eric Bremer, Canada, Honda TRX450R, 21:22:38(8 Starters, 6 Finishers)OVERALL SPT ATV— Jesus Mendivil/Alain Gamino/Alfredo Gonzales, Mexicali, Mexico/Oro Calderon, Calexico, Calif./Carlos Raygoza, Mexicali, Mexico, KTM 450, 20:33:40 (30.71 mph)(15 Starters, 8 Finishers)OVERALL SPT SIDECAR—(2 Starters, 0 Finishers)Note-5SC did finish the race. They finsihed about 10-30 minutes after the cutoff time. PRO ATVsCLASS 25 (over 251cc)—1. Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif./Harold Goodman, Brownstown, Mich./Marc Spaeth, Ramona, Calif./Wes Miller, Fallbrook, Calif., Honda TRX700XX, 14:47:25 (42.69 mph); 2. Danny Prather, Ramona, Calif./Mike Cafro, Bonsall, Calif./Chad Prull, Laveen, Ariz./Levi Marana, Hemet, Calif., Honda TRX700XX, 14:56:24; 3. Stefano Caputo, San Felipe, Mexico (Italy)/Felipe Velez, San Felipe, Mexico/Heriberto Marquez, Ensenada, Mexico/Nick Destaut, San Felipe, Mexico/Alfonso Alonzo, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, Honda TRX450R, 16:14:27; 4. Greg Row, Alpine, Calif./Travis Dillon, Santee, Calif./Tony Baker, Alpine, Calif./Rich Kappel, Remsenburg, N.Y., Bombardier DS650, 16:30:15; 5. Reid Rutherford, Montrose, Colo./ Ben Vernadakis, Rico, Colo./Tony Valerio, Telluride, Colo., Arctic Cat Thundercat, 21:47:45; 6. Jason Greenhaw, Bakersfield, Calif./Nick Nelson, Tehachapi, Calif./Brandon Brown, Eumatilla, Ore./Andy Nelson, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Honda TRX450R, 23:11:01; 7. Ray Fay/Mike Crawford, Phoenix/David Scarponi, Peoria, Ariz./Jason Fritz, Globe, Ariz., Kawasaki, KFX450, 26:10:44(8 Starters, 7 Finishers)CLASS 24 (under 250cc)—1. Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif./ Steve Abrego, Covina, Calif./David Scott, Belen, N.M., Honda TRX450R, 16:57:53 (37.22 mph); 2. Tom Wright II, Tabernacle, N.J./Andy Lagzdins, Baltimore/Jim Stack, Quarryville, Pa., Honda TRX450R, 17:51:51; 3. Sergio Alvarado/Gary Gonzales/Bilgerto Perez/Angel Martin, Mexicali, Mexico, Honda TRX450R, 19:03:57; 4. Rob Ransford, Downers Grove, Ill./Mike Rodgers, Brooksville, Fla./David Bailey, Spring Hill, Fla., Honda TRX450X, 19:50:37; 5. Benjamin Lopez Jr., San Ysidro, Calif./Jesus Lopez, San Diego/Miguel Arellano, San Ysidro/Marco Marruio, Chula Vista, Calif./Jesus Monguia, San Ysidro, Honda TRX450R, 21:10:40; 6. Shawn Robins/Matt Remesz/Clayton Hurlbert/Rocky Glasgo/Eric Bremer, Canada, Honda TRX450R, 21:22:38(8 Starters, 6 Finishers)OVERALL SPT ATV— Jesus Mendivil/Alain Gamino/Alfredo Gonzales, Mexicali, Mexico/Oro Calderon, Calexico, Calif./Carlos Raygoza, Mexicali, Mexico, KTM 450, 20:33:40 (30.71 mph)(15 Starters, 8 Finishers)OVERALL SPT SIDECAR—(2 Starters, 0 Finishers)Note-5SC did finish the race. They finsihed about 10-30 minutes after the cutoff time. Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:45:32 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_2008-Baja-1000-ATV-official-finishers/BLOG/143582/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-23T17:45:32Z My Off-Road PRO ATVsCLASS 25 (over 251cc)—1. Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif./Harold Goodman, Brownstown, Mich./Marc Spaeth, Ramona, Calif./Wes Miller, Fallbrook, Calif., Honda TRX700XX, 14:47:25 (42.69 mph); 2. Danny Prather, Ramona, Calif./Mike Cafro, Bonsall, Calif./Chad Prull, Laveen, Ariz./Levi Marana, Hemet, Calif., Honda TRX700XX, 14:56:24; 3. Stefano Caputo, San Felipe, Mexico (Italy)/Felipe Velez, San Felipe, Mexico/Heriberto Marquez, Ensenada, Mexico/Nick Destaut, San Felipe, Mexico/Alfonso Alonzo, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, Honda TRX450R, 16:14:27; 4. Greg Row, Alpine, Calif./Travis Dillon, Santee, Calif./Tony Baker, Alpine, Calif./Rich Kappel, Remsenburg, N.Y., Bombardier DS650, 16:30:15; 5. Reid Rutherford, Montrose, Colo./ Ben Vernadakis, Rico, Colo./Tony Valerio, Telluride, Colo., Arctic Cat Thundercat, 21:47:45; 6. Jason Greenhaw, Bakersfield, Calif./Nick Nelson, Tehachapi, Calif./Brandon Brown, Eumatilla, Ore./Andy Nelson, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Honda TRX450R, 23:11:01; 7. Ray Fay/Mike Crawford, Phoenix/David Scarponi, Peoria, Ariz./Jason Fritz, Globe, Ariz., Kawasaki, KFX450, 26:10:44(8 Starters, 7 Finishers)CLASS 24 (under 250cc)—1. Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif./ Steve Abrego, Covina, Calif./David Scott, Belen, N.M., Honda TRX450R, 16:57:53 (37.22 mph); 2. Tom Wright II, Tabernacle, N.J./Andy Lagzdins, Baltimore/Jim Stack, Quarryville, Pa., Honda TRX450R, 17:51:51; 3. Sergio Alvarado/Gary Gonzales/Bilgerto Perez/Angel Martin, Mexicali, Mexico, Honda TRX450R, 19:03:57; 4. Rob Ransford, Downers Grove, Ill./Mike Rodgers, Brooksville, Fla./David Bailey, Spring Hill, Fla., Honda TRX450X, 19:50:37; 5. Benjamin Lopez Jr., San Ysidro, Calif./Jesus Lopez, San Diego/Miguel Arellano, San Ysidro/Marco Marruio, Chula Vista, Calif./Jesus Monguia, San Ysidro, Honda TRX450R, 21:10:40; 6. Shawn Robins/Matt Remesz/Clayton Hurlbert/Rocky Glasgo/Eric Bremer, Canada, Honda TRX450R, 21:22:38(8 Starters, 6 Finishers)OVERALL SPT ATV— Jesus Mendivil/Alain Gamino/Alfredo Gonzales, Mexicali, Mexico/Oro Calderon, Calexico, Calif./Carlos Raygoza, Mexicali, Mexico, KTM 450, 20:33:40 (30.71 mph)(15 Starters, 8 Finishers)OVERALL SPT SIDECAR—(2 Starters, 0 Finishers)Note-5SC did finish the race. They finsihed about 10-30 minutes after the cutoff time. 1000, 2008, 2008 baja, baja, finishers, score nonadult false 2008 Baja 1000 ATV official finishers text blog 1000,2008,2008 baja,baja,finishers,score 1131 0 0.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 143582 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Craig-Christy-wins-Class-24-PRO-ATV-at-the-2008-Baja-1000/BLOG/143267/27589.html I am extremly happy to report that the Honda 4trax team of Craig Christy powered by Duncan Racing has just won the Baja 1000. Just got off the phone with the team from the finish line 2 minutes ago. After a killer start which had Jeremy Sanchez in the mix with Mike Cafro and Wayne Matlock up to mile 190. At that point the engine sputtered and and a lenghty pit stop put them way back. It took 45 minutes to diagnose the problem to a faulty CDI unit. Once back on the road they were about 15 minutes behind the 103A team of Tom Wright. After chasing from mile marker 190, the finally were able to overtake them on the San Felipe loop at mile marker 360 in the whoops. I believe whoops ace Dave Scott was on the bike at the time. Team Duncan steadily pulled away through Mike`s Sky Ranch and Valley De Trinidad. Jason Wade continued to pull away from Valley de Trinidad during the night run up accross the penninsula and north up the beach run to Santo Tomas. Encountering a booby trap at mile marker 524, which left Jason a little shaken up. The locals built a huge bump out of rocks/pebbles in that area and it launched him into the air. He slowed down because he did not notice that there a couple days before the race while pre running. This team deserved this win. They have worked so hard this year. I was lucky enough to have Craig ask me to race with them at last years 1000 and they put alot of effort into this program. It paid off this year. We took 2nd last year at double the mileage! It couldnt have happened to a better bunch of guys. I loved hearing the whooping and hollering on the phone a few minutes ago from them in Ensenada!  As of this writing no other quad has come across the line. Congratulations Team Duncan and Craig Christy. Craig Christy Sponsors areChristys Editorial-Duncan Racing-Instinct Charter-Rockstar Energy Drink-Cycle Gear-PWR Performance Products Riders areCraig Christy, Dave Scott, Steve Abrego, Jeremy Sanchez, Jason Wade Pit CrewBeau Nillson, Schellinger, Justin Aaron Ard, Leonard Duncan, DSJ, Tom and Matt, Capt. Dan, Morgan, Adam Mayfield Internet CrewYours truly, Marc Choquette Duncan Racing International press release.http://www.duncanracing.com/news/index.phtml?nid=96 I am extremly happy to report that the Honda 4trax team of Craig Christy powered by Duncan Racing has just won the Baja 1000. Just got off the phone with the team from the finish line 2 minutes ago. After a killer start which had Jeremy Sanchez in the mix with Mike Cafro and Wayne Matlock up to mile 190. At that point the engine sputtered and and a lenghty pit stop put them way back. It took 45 minutes to diagnose the problem to a faulty CDI unit. Once back on the road they were about 15 minutes behind the 103A team of Tom Wright. After chasing from mile marker 190, the finally were able to overtake them on the San Felipe loop at mile marker 360 in the whoops. I believe whoops ace Dave Scott was on the bike at the time. Team Duncan steadily pulled away through Mike`s Sky Ranch and Valley De Trinidad. Jason Wade continued to pull away from Valley de Trinidad during the night run up accross the penninsula and north up the beach run to Santo Tomas. Encountering a booby trap at mile marker 524, which left Jason a little shaken up. The locals built a huge bump out of rocks/pebbles in that area and it launched him into the air. He slowed down because he did not notice that there a couple days before the race while pre running. This team deserved this win. They have worked so hard this year. I was lucky enough to have Craig ask me to race with them at last years 1000 and they put alot of effort into this program. It paid off this year. We took 2nd last year at double the mileage! It couldnt have happened to a better bunch of guys. I loved hearing the whooping and hollering on the phone a few minutes ago from them in Ensenada!  As of this writing no other quad has come across the line. Congratulations Team Duncan and Craig Christy. Craig Christy Sponsors areChristys Editorial-Duncan Racing-Instinct Charter-Rockstar Energy Drink-Cycle Gear-PWR Performance Products Riders areCraig Christy, Dave Scott, Steve Abrego, Jeremy Sanchez, Jason Wade Pit CrewBeau Nillson, Schellinger, Justin Aaron Ard, Leonard Duncan, DSJ, Tom and Matt, Capt. Dan, Morgan, Adam Mayfield Internet CrewYours truly, Marc Choquette Duncan Racing International press release.http://www.duncanracing.com/news/index.phtml?nid=96 Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:59:13 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Craig-Christy-wins-Class-24-PRO-ATV-at-the-2008-Baja-1000/BLOG/143267/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-22T07:59:13Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road I am extremly happy to report that the Honda 4trax team of Craig Christy powered by Duncan Racing has just won the Baja 1000. Just got off the phone with the team from the finish line 2 minutes ago. After a killer start which had Jeremy Sanchez in the mix with Mike Cafro and Wayne Matlock up to mile 190. At that point the engine sputtered and and a lenghty pit stop put them way back. It took 45 minutes to diagnose the problem to a faulty CDI unit. Once back on the road they were about 15 minutes behind the 103A team of Tom Wright. After chasing from mile marker 190, the finally were able to overtake them on the San Felipe loop at mile marker 360 in the whoops. I believe whoops ace Dave Scott was on the bike at the time. Team Duncan steadily pulled away through Mike`s Sky Ranch and Valley De Trinidad. Jason Wade continued to pull away from Valley de Trinidad during the night run up accross the penninsula and north up the beach run to Santo Tomas. Encountering a booby trap at mile marker 524, which left Jason a little shaken up. The locals built a huge bump out of rocks/pebbles in that area and it launched him into the air. He slowed down because he did not notice that there a couple days before the race while pre running. This team deserved this win. They have worked so hard this year. I was lucky enough to have Craig ask me to race with them at last years 1000 and they put alot of effort into this program. It paid off this year. We took 2nd last year at double the mileage! It couldnt have happened to a better bunch of guys. I loved hearing the whooping and hollering on the phone a few minutes ago from them in Ensenada!  As of this writing no other quad has come across the line. Congratulations Team Duncan and Craig Christy. Craig Christy Sponsors areChristys Editorial-Duncan Racing-Instinct Charter-Rockstar Energy Drink-Cycle Gear-PWR Performance Products Riders areCraig Christy, Dave Scott, Steve Abrego, Jeremy Sanchez, Jason Wade Pit CrewBeau Nillson, Schellinger, Justin Aaron Ard, Leonard Duncan, DSJ, Tom and Matt, Capt. Dan, Morgan, Adam Mayfield Internet CrewYours truly, Marc Choquette Duncan Racing International press release.http://www.duncanracing.com/news/index.phtml?nid=96 2008 baja, 2008 baja 1000, christys racing, craig christy, dave scott, duncan racing, jason wade, jeremy sanchez, qlr, racing and competition, rockstar energy, vtr racing nonadult false Craig Christy wins Class 24 PRO ATV at the 2008 Baja 1000 text blog 2008 baja,2008 baja 1000,christys racing,craig christy,dave scott,duncan racing,jason wade,jeremy sanchez,qlr,racing and competition,rockstar energy,vtr racing 848 0 0.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 3 0 143267 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_08-Baja-1000-Team-DuncanChristy-Racing-ATV-team-/BLOG/142440/27589.html This year, I have sat on the sidelines pretty much all year. Watching Craig`s team and doing what I can to help and offer technical advise and support. Its really neat to watch a team evolve from hardcore weekend warriors to a contender. This is whats been happening over at the Christy`s Editorial, Duncan Racing, Rockstar Energy, Instinct Charter, Cycle Gear, PWR Performance Products sponsored racing team. Their Honda 450r is immaculate. They have an awesome support crew and a communication system that is top notch that even the Weatherman would be jealous. The communications area is done by Beau Nilsson. He keeps that system up and running and it can transmit extremely far and very clear. Thats what top notch equipment and preperation gets you. The tracking system is via the Spot Satellite service. Ive been keeping tabs and relaying information for them for over a week since they have been pre-running. Some small mishaps but nothing serious. Your typical Baja issues. Something always breaks that never does and its the one part that you DIDNT bring with you. Nice to have your buddies watching your back. Their riders are Craig Christy, founder and leader-El Jefe....David Scott, current BITD pro class points leader and awesome rider. You really gotta see this guy ride! His New Mexico partner in crime Jeremy Sanchez who is an awesome rider in his own right. He should be, riding with Dave all the time. Steve Abrego who is Craigs partner and can hold his own. Did a maginficent job at last years 1000 through a very tough section. Jason Wade, my Texas riding partner. He has really matured in desert racing and gives his 110% every time. Each rider has run their sections at least once this past week. They are the first class 24 atv off the line. All this combined makes for a very formidable team. Keep your eye on these guys. Here is a video of he teamhttp://www.christysracing.com/racing/Christy-Main/Entries/2008/11/11_Baja_Teaser_Video.htmlTracking information for Fridays racehttp://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Nr7joXLB5SXgbsifLG8PWVp8ucHqLLEE This year, I have sat on the sidelines pretty much all year. Watching Craig`s team and doing what I can to help and offer technical advise and support. Its really neat to watch a team evolve from hardcore weekend warriors to a contender. This is whats been happening over at the Christy`s Editorial, Duncan Racing, Rockstar Energy, Instinct Charter, Cycle Gear, PWR Performance Products sponsored racing team. Their Honda 450r is immaculate. They have an awesome support crew and a communication system that is top notch that even the Weatherman would be jealous. The communications area is done by Beau Nilsson. He keeps that system up and running and it can transmit extremely far and very clear. Thats what top notch equipment and preperation gets you. The tracking system is via the Spot Satellite service. Ive been keeping tabs and relaying information for them for over a week since they have been pre-running. Some small mishaps but nothing serious. Your typical Baja issues. Something always breaks that never does and its the one part that you DIDNT bring with you. Nice to have your buddies watching your back. Their riders are Craig Christy, founder and leader-El Jefe....David Scott, current BITD pro class points leader and awesome rider. You really gotta see this guy ride! His New Mexico partner in crime Jeremy Sanchez who is an awesome rider in his own right. He should be, riding with Dave all the time. Steve Abrego who is Craigs partner and can hold his own. Did a maginficent job at last years 1000 through a very tough section. Jason Wade, my Texas riding partner. He has really matured in desert racing and gives his 110% every time. Each rider has run their sections at least once this past week. They are the first class 24 atv off the line. All this combined makes for a very formidable team. Keep your eye on these guys. Here is a video of he teamhttp://www.christysracing.com/racing/Christy-Main/Entries/2008/11/11_Baja_Teaser_Video.htmlTracking information for Fridays racehttp://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Nr7joXLB5SXgbsifLG8PWVp8ucHqLLEE Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:55:12 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_08-Baja-1000-Team-DuncanChristy-Racing-ATV-team-/BLOG/142440/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-20T07:55:12Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road This year, I have sat on the sidelines pretty much all year. Watching Craig`s team and doing what I can to help and offer technical advise and support. Its really neat to watch a team evolve from hardcore weekend warriors to a contender. This is whats been happening over at the Christy`s Editorial, Duncan Racing, Rockstar Energy, Instinct Charter, Cycle Gear, PWR Performance Products sponsored racing team. Their Honda 450r is immaculate. They have an awesome support crew and a communication system that is top notch that even the Weatherman would be jealous. The communications area is done by Beau Nilsson. He keeps that system up and running and it can transmit extremely far and very clear. Thats what top notch equipment and preperation gets you. The tracking system is via the Spot Satellite service. Ive been keeping tabs and relaying information for them for over a week since they have been pre-running. Some small mishaps but nothing serious. Your typical Baja issues. Something always breaks that never does and its the one part that you DIDNT bring with you. Nice to have your buddies watching your back. Their riders are Craig Christy, founder and leader-El Jefe....David Scott, current BITD pro class points leader and awesome rider. You really gotta see this guy ride! His New Mexico partner in crime Jeremy Sanchez who is an awesome rider in his own right. He should be, riding with Dave all the time. Steve Abrego who is Craigs partner and can hold his own. Did a maginficent job at last years 1000 through a very tough section. Jason Wade, my Texas riding partner. He has really matured in desert racing and gives his 110% every time. Each rider has run their sections at least once this past week. They are the first class 24 atv off the line. All this combined makes for a very formidable team. Keep your eye on these guys. Here is a video of he teamhttp://www.christysracing.com/racing/Christy-Main/Entries/2008/11/11_Baja_Teaser_Video.htmlTracking information for Fridays racehttp://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Nr7joXLB5SXgbsifLG8PWVp8ucHqLLEE 2008 baja 1000, christys racing, duncan racing, racing and competition nonadult false 08 Baja 1000 Team Duncan/Christy Racing ATV team text blog 2008 baja 1000,christys racing,duncan racing,racing and competition 692 10 3.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 142440 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Robert-Ulloa-kidnapped-prayers-needed/BLOG/138762/27589.html This young man races quads in Score and has for a few years. Very very nice man and he need the help of the offroad nation in a bad way. If anybody has any info on his whereabouts, please contact authorities and provide any info you can. This is a very tragic situation and his family needs our prayers. Hang in there Rob...He is know as Rob U on some message board in the ATV/offroad community.Here is the artical from the San Diego Tribune.By Sandra DibbleUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER8:17 p.m. November 3, 2008TIJUANA – Six men were shot to death and a seventh was wounded Monday afternoon when gunmen stormed a produce warehouse near the Otay Mesa border crossing. The identities of the victims were not released, but they worked at the business, said Salvador Ortiz of the Baja California Attorney General's Office. From today's U-TMore killings bring weekend's toll to 10 The business, called Ricardo Ulloa Z., is in a busy industrial neighborhood just west of the port of entry. Ricardo Ulloa is listed as the owner of the business and also of Mexbros Fruit Inc. across the border in San Diego. Investigators said more than 100 spent casings from assault rifles were found inside the warehouse. The victims were apparently shot as they huddled near a desk. The floor was stained with blood when mourners stepped inside two hours later, sobbing quietly or staring in disbelief. A municipal police officer said gunmen had come to kidnap the owner's son, but that could not be confirmed with the Attorney General's Office. The attorney general also reported Monday the deaths of three men who were found inside a Chevrolet Trailblazer in an eastern Tijuana neighborhood. Tijuana has experienced an unprecedented number of killings in the past month as drug gangs battle each other and the government. Kidnappings also have set the city on edge. The son they are talking about is ROBERT ULLOA, hes a family member of rdc ROB Uand has been missing since the 3rd. Robert is a standup guy trying to run a legit business in tj and has been racing score on quads for years. our prayers to his safe return and for his family This young man races quads in Score and has for a few years. Very very nice man and he need the help of the offroad nation in a bad way. If anybody has any info on his whereabouts, please contact authorities and provide any info you can. This is a very tragic situation and his family needs our prayers. Hang in there Rob...He is know as Rob U on some message board in the ATV/offroad community.Here is the artical from the San Diego Tribune.By Sandra DibbleUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER8:17 p.m. November 3, 2008TIJUANA – Six men were shot to death and a seventh was wounded Monday afternoon when gunmen stormed a produce warehouse near the Otay Mesa border crossing. The identities of the victims were not released, but they worked at the business, said Salvador Ortiz of the Baja California Attorney General's Office. From today's U-TMore killings bring weekend's toll to 10 The business, called Ricardo Ulloa Z., is in a busy industrial neighborhood just west of the port of entry. Ricardo Ulloa is listed as the owner of the business and also of Mexbros Fruit Inc. across the border in San Diego. Investigators said more than 100 spent casings from assault rifles were found inside the warehouse. The victims were apparently shot as they huddled near a desk. The floor was stained with blood when mourners stepped inside two hours later, sobbing quietly or staring in disbelief. A municipal police officer said gunmen had come to kidnap the owner's son, but that could not be confirmed with the Attorney General's Office. The attorney general also reported Monday the deaths of three men who were found inside a Chevrolet Trailblazer in an eastern Tijuana neighborhood. Tijuana has experienced an unprecedented number of killings in the past month as drug gangs battle each other and the government. Kidnappings also have set the city on edge. The son they are talking about is ROBERT ULLOA, hes a family member of rdc ROB Uand has been missing since the 3rd. Robert is a standup guy trying to run a legit business in tj and has been racing score on quads for years. our prayers to his safe return and for his family Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:33:44 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Robert-Ulloa-kidnapped-prayers-needed/BLOG/138762/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-14T00:33:44Z Off-Road Nation My Off-Road This young man races quads in Score and has for a few years. Very very nice man and he need the help of the offroad nation in a bad way. If anybody has any info on his whereabouts, please contact authorities and provide any info you can. This is a very tragic situation and his family needs our prayers. Hang in there Rob...He is know as Rob U on some message board in the ATV/offroad community.Here is the artical from the San Diego Tribune.By Sandra DibbleUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER8:17 p.m. November 3, 2008TIJUANA – Six men were shot to death and a seventh was wounded Monday afternoon when gunmen stormed a produce warehouse near the Otay Mesa border crossing. The identities of the victims were not released, but they worked at the business, said Salvador Ortiz of the Baja California Attorney General's Office. From today's U-TMore killings bring weekend's toll to 10 The business, called Ricardo Ulloa Z., is in a busy industrial neighborhood just west of the port of entry. Ricardo Ulloa is listed as the owner of the business and also of Mexbros Fruit Inc. across the border in San Diego. Investigators said more than 100 spent casings from assault rifles were found inside the warehouse. The victims were apparently shot as they huddled near a desk. The floor was stained with blood when mourners stepped inside two hours later, sobbing quietly or staring in disbelief. A municipal police officer said gunmen had come to kidnap the owner's son, but that could not be confirmed with the Attorney General's Office. The attorney general also reported Monday the deaths of three men who were found inside a Chevrolet Trailblazer in an eastern Tijuana neighborhood. Tijuana has experienced an unprecedented number of killings in the past month as drug gangs battle each other and the government. Kidnappings also have set the city on edge. The son they are talking about is ROBERT ULLOA, hes a family member of rdc ROB Uand has been missing since the 3rd. Robert is a standup guy trying to run a legit business in tj and has been racing score on quads for years. our prayers to his safe return and for his family 2008 baja, baja, drug war, kindnapping, mexico, off-road nation, rob, robert, u, ulloa nonadult false Robert Ulloa kidnapped.-prayers needed text blog 2008 baja,baja,drug war,kindnapping,mexico,off-road nation,rob,robert,u,ulloa 1007 20 3.5 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 5 0 138762 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Do-You-Part-to-Stop-Land-Grabs-/BLOG/138024/27589.html Stop New Million-Acre Federal Land GrabDear Colleague:Congressional leaders say they will ram through an omnibus public lands package after the elections in a "lame duck" Congress. The Roundtable is rallying Westerners to oppose this huge federal land grab. Take action here right now: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38415 !This bill, H.R. 5151, includes more than 150 bills that would: create/expand a number of wilderness areas; establish new conservation areas; create/ add to wild and scenic designations; designate new national scenic trails; add new national and historic park units and nearly a dozen new national heritage areas.In total, this package would create more than a million acres of wilderness, restrict the development of energy resources on various federal lands, and place hundreds of thousands of acres under new or enhanced federal control and further restrict many forms of use and access to public lands.Not only that, but this bill would lock in, by statute, the Clinton Administration-inspired "National Landscape Conservation System" (NLCS) within the BLM. The bill would give federal land managers the ability to alter the long-standing multiple use management philosophy of the BLM by elevating the purposes to “conserve, protect, restore” above other purposes for NLCS units. This could mean agriculture, energy exploration and production and other economic uses could become imperiled on huge swathes of Western public lands. See a state-by-state analysis of federal lands impacted by NLCS here: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38416Please take 60 seconds and send a pre-drafted communication to your elected official here: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38415Thank you for helping to stop this very bad legislation.Britt WeygandtWestern Business Roundtable200 Union Blvd., #105 Stop New Million-Acre Federal Land GrabDear Colleague:Congressional leaders say they will ram through an omnibus public lands package after the elections in a "lame duck" Congress. The Roundtable is rallying Westerners to oppose this huge federal land grab. Take action here right now: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38415 !This bill, H.R. 5151, includes more than 150 bills that would: create/expand a number of wilderness areas; establish new conservation areas; create/ add to wild and scenic designations; designate new national scenic trails; add new national and historic park units and nearly a dozen new national heritage areas.In total, this package would create more than a million acres of wilderness, restrict the development of energy resources on various federal lands, and place hundreds of thousands of acres under new or enhanced federal control and further restrict many forms of use and access to public lands.Not only that, but this bill would lock in, by statute, the Clinton Administration-inspired "National Landscape Conservation System" (NLCS) within the BLM. The bill would give federal land managers the ability to alter the long-standing multiple use management philosophy of the BLM by elevating the purposes to “conserve, protect, restore” above other purposes for NLCS units. This could mean agriculture, energy exploration and production and other economic uses could become imperiled on huge swathes of Western public lands. See a state-by-state analysis of federal lands impacted by NLCS here: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38416Please take 60 seconds and send a pre-drafted communication to your elected official here: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38415Thank you for helping to stop this very bad legislation.Britt WeygandtWestern Business Roundtable200 Union Blvd., #105 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:51:38 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Do-You-Part-to-Stop-Land-Grabs-/BLOG/138024/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-11-12T03:51:38Z Off-Road Nation My Off-Road Stop New Million-Acre Federal Land GrabDear Colleague:Congressional leaders say they will ram through an omnibus public lands package after the elections in a "lame duck" Congress. The Roundtable is rallying Westerners to oppose this huge federal land grab. Take action here right now: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38415 !This bill, H.R. 5151, includes more than 150 bills that would: create/expand a number of wilderness areas; establish new conservation areas; create/ add to wild and scenic designations; designate new national scenic trails; add new national and historic park units and nearly a dozen new national heritage areas.In total, this package would create more than a million acres of wilderness, restrict the development of energy resources on various federal lands, and place hundreds of thousands of acres under new or enhanced federal control and further restrict many forms of use and access to public lands.Not only that, but this bill would lock in, by statute, the Clinton Administration-inspired "National Landscape Conservation System" (NLCS) within the BLM. The bill would give federal land managers the ability to alter the long-standing multiple use management philosophy of the BLM by elevating the purposes to “conserve, protect, restore” above other purposes for NLCS units. This could mean agriculture, energy exploration and production and other economic uses could become imperiled on huge swathes of Western public lands. See a state-by-state analysis of federal lands impacted by NLCS here: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38416Please take 60 seconds and send a pre-drafted communication to your elected official here: http://www.westernroundtable.net/mai...g_linkid=38415Thank you for helping to stop this very bad legislation.Britt WeygandtWestern Business Roundtable200 Union Blvd., #105 atv, dirtbikes, land, off-road nation, ohv, quads, use nonadult false Do You Part to Stop Land Grabs! text blog atv,dirtbikes,land,off-road nation,ohv,quads,use 1260 20 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 138024 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Team-SkatTrak-wins-BITD-Bilek-300-/BLOG/118236/27589.html   Team Skat ‐Trak Wins Third Straight Best in the Desert Pro Quad EventGreg Stuart and Nic Granlund win the 2008 Bilek Racing Silver State “300”   The Best in the Desert Bilek Racing Silver State 300 was held on Saturday, September 27. The race covered close to 300 miles of desert in one single loop starting in Alamo with the finish line 18 miles north of Mesquite. 71 quads and motorcycles started the race with the SkatTrak team finishing at the head of the pack among the fastest motorcycles. With the next quad finishing more than 16 minutes behind Stuart and Granlund, (12 min on corrected time), the team brought home its third consecutive Pro Quad win in the demanding “Best in the Desert” series. This is a series where anywhere from 25 to 40% of the entries do not finish and earn the dreaded DNF notation on the results page. Finishing three in a row by most measures, Is challenging and a feat in its own right. Winning three events in a row is rare.Racers lined up at 6:30 AM with each motorcycle or quad leaving the starting line in 30 second to 1 minute intervals. Greg Stuart was the second pro quad rider off the starting line. The pro quads all held their positions by the first pit. Greg suffered a flat tire and the third rider off the line passed by while the SkatTrak crew changed a tire. The bad news is that Nic left pit 1 in third place, the good news is that this would be the only flat of the race as the Maxxis tires would make it to the end. Leading the race was the Q1 factory Honda team with Harold Goodman riding ironman while teammate Wayne Matlock is recovering from a recent crash. In second place was the KTM team of Cody Mitchell and Shaun Moore riding Q11.Within the first few miles towards pit 2, Nic was able to chase down Q11 and close the gap but spent the next 20 miles in thick dust. The course wound its way through Eastern Nevada and was complete with hill climbs, whoop sections, silt, a few technical sections, and some sections that were fast and flat enough for a Rally Car. The course veered approximately 7 miles before pit 2 and a friendly crosswind allowed Nic to see well enough open up the mighty quad and blow by the KTM team. When Greg mounted the quad at pit 2, he was 3 minutes behind the lead quad. As Greg was working his way to the next pit, the dust disappeared behind Q1. When Greg approached Q1 he stopped to make sure Harold was ok and discovered that they had blown the motor. As Greg was navigating his way toward the next pit, he hit deep silt and was thrown over the bars but was still able to retain the lead and hand the quad off to Nic in first place.Nic made his way through more deep silt and up and over the mountains and thought he might have heard something strange in the motor, but he attributed it to either the altitude or his ears popping. Nic continued to ride hard enough to maintain the lead. At the next pit, Nic handed the bike to Greg with a 5 minute lead. Greg also inherited a clogged air filter, a loose heel guard and the core of the pipe was broken and causing the packing to plug the exhaust. One stop to remove what was left of the heel guard and a second stop to adjust the airbox ate up 3 ½ minutes of the lead. The fast Q2 team of David Scott and Sanchez moved into second place. Greg realized his lead time was cut by the repairs and put the hammer down to give Nic almost a 9 minute lead at the last exchange. In desert racing, there is a fine line between speed and preserving equipment. Nic finished the last 73 miles with the quad intact and a 12 minute comfortable win.  The Pro Quad Division of the Best in the Desert Series is coming down to the wire. The  combination of excellent equipment along with Stuart's and Granlund’s speed and course sense has put team Skat Trak in the running for the series championship. The custom quad built by Greg’s dad and SkatTrak founder,Ken Stuart or “Big K”, and is built around a custom Laeger frame with Fox Shox and is powered by a Honda 650cc motor with motor work by Allen Knowles of CT Racing. The SkatTrak team are privateers, but they seemed to have cracked the code in designing what might be the best desert racing quad out there. “We need to continue to trust that Big K has the quad in top condition and that our pit crew will keep us in the running and let us know where we are in the race. As riders, it’s our job to ride smart and to ride fast”, said Greg Stuart. Only two more races are slated for 2008. The Golden West US Championship on October 25 followed by the Henderson’s Fabtech Classic on December 6. Nic Granlund stated, “We are looking forward to finishing the season strong and the last two races are on our home turf, so we feel good about our chances to win the series.”The Stuart/Granlund team sends it thanks to Casey Folks, Bilek Racing, and all the volunteers at Best in the Desert for putting on this race. The following companies proudly sponsor Greg and Nic  ScatTrak, CT Racing, Fox Shox, Laeger, Maxxis, Hinson, Fullbore, Dragon, WebCam, IMS, Quad Tech, DWT, Torco, NGR, Fasst, Streamline, Precision, Eibach Springs. Congrats to NGR race team of Jared Olsen, Jeremy Olsen and Josh Rowley for winning the amateur quad class. Special props go out to NGR racer Mike Geiger for winning the amateur Ironman quad class.Written by: T Embrogno – 2008 BITD Bilek Silver State 300   Team Skat ‐Trak Wins Third Straight Best in the Desert Pro Quad EventGreg Stuart and Nic Granlund win the 2008 Bilek Racing Silver State “300”   The Best in the Desert Bilek Racing Silver State 300 was held on Saturday, September 27. The race covered close to 300 miles of desert in one single loop starting in Alamo with the finish line 18 miles north of Mesquite. 71 quads and motorcycles started the race with the SkatTrak team finishing at the head of the pack among the fastest motorcycles. With the next quad finishing more than 16 minutes behind Stuart and Granlund, (12 min on corrected time), the team brought home its third consecutive Pro Quad win in the demanding “Best in the Desert” series. This is a series where anywhere from 25 to 40% of the entries do not finish and earn the dreaded DNF notation on the results page. Finishing three in a row by most measures, Is challenging and a feat in its own right. Winning three events in a row is rare.Racers lined up at 6:30 AM with each motorcycle or quad leaving the starting line in 30 second to 1 minute intervals. Greg Stuart was the second pro quad rider off the starting line. The pro quads all held their positions by the first pit. Greg suffered a flat tire and the third rider off the line passed by while the SkatTrak crew changed a tire. The bad news is that Nic left pit 1 in third place, the good news is that this would be the only flat of the race as the Maxxis tires would make it to the end. Leading the race was the Q1 factory Honda team with Harold Goodman riding ironman while teammate Wayne Matlock is recovering from a recent crash. In second place was the KTM team of Cody Mitchell and Shaun Moore riding Q11.Within the first few miles towards pit 2, Nic was able to chase down Q11 and close the gap but spent the next 20 miles in thick dust. The course wound its way through Eastern Nevada and was complete with hill climbs, whoop sections, silt, a few technical sections, and some sections that were fast and flat enough for a Rally Car. The course veered approximately 7 miles before pit 2 and a friendly crosswind allowed Nic to see well enough open up the mighty quad and blow by the KTM team. When Greg mounted the quad at pit 2, he was 3 minutes behind the lead quad. As Greg was working his way to the next pit, the dust disappeared behind Q1. When Greg approached Q1 he stopped to make sure Harold was ok and discovered that they had blown the motor. As Greg was navigating his way toward the next pit, he hit deep silt and was thrown over the bars but was still able to retain the lead and hand the quad off to Nic in first place.Nic made his way through more deep silt and up and over the mountains and thought he might have heard something strange in the motor, but he attributed it to either the altitude or his ears popping. Nic continued to ride hard enough to maintain the lead. At the next pit, Nic handed the bike to Greg with a 5 minute lead. Greg also inherited a clogged air filter, a loose heel guard and the core of the pipe was broken and causing the packing to plug the exhaust. One stop to remove what was left of the heel guard and a second stop to adjust the airbox ate up 3 ½ minutes of the lead. The fast Q2 team of David Scott and Sanchez moved into second place. Greg realized his lead time was cut by the repairs and put the hammer down to give Nic almost a 9 minute lead at the last exchange. In desert racing, there is a fine line between speed and preserving equipment. Nic finished the last 73 miles with the quad intact and a 12 minute comfortable win.  The Pro Quad Division of the Best in the Desert Series is coming down to the wire. The  combination of excellent equipment along with Stuart's and Granlund’s speed and course sense has put team Skat Trak in the running for the series championship. The custom quad built by Greg’s dad and SkatTrak founder,Ken Stuart or “Big K”, and is built around a custom Laeger frame with Fox Shox and is powered by a Honda 650cc motor with motor work by Allen Knowles of CT Racing. The SkatTrak team are privateers, but they seemed to have cracked the code in designing what might be the best desert racing quad out there. “We need to continue to trust that Big K has the quad in top condition and that our pit crew will keep us in the running and let us know where we are in the race. As riders, it’s our job to ride smart and to ride fast”, said Greg Stuart. Only two more races are slated for 2008. The Golden West US Championship on October 25 followed by the Henderson’s Fabtech Classic on December 6. Nic Granlund stated, “We are looking forward to finishing the season strong and the last two races are on our home turf, so we feel good about our chances to win the series.”The Stuart/Granlund team sends it thanks to Casey Folks, Bilek Racing, and all the volunteers at Best in the Desert for putting on this race. The following companies proudly sponsor Greg and Nic  ScatTrak, CT Racing, Fox Shox, Laeger, Maxxis, Hinson, Fullbore, Dragon, WebCam, IMS, Quad Tech, DWT, Torco, NGR, Fasst, Streamline, Precision, Eibach Springs. Congrats to NGR race team of Jared Olsen, Jeremy Olsen and Josh Rowley for winning the amateur quad class. Special props go out to NGR racer Mike Geiger for winning the amateur Ironman quad class.Written by: T Embrogno – 2008 BITD Bilek Silver State 300 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:33:47 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Team-SkatTrak-wins-BITD-Bilek-300-/BLOG/118236/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-10-12T16:33:47Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road   Team Skat ‐Trak Wins Third Straight Best in the Desert Pro Quad EventGreg Stuart and Nic Granlund win the 2008 Bilek Racing Silver State “300”   The Best in the Desert Bilek Racing Silver State 300 was held on Saturday, September 27. The race covered close to 300 miles of desert in one single loop starting in Alamo with the finish line 18 miles north of Mesquite. 71 quads and motorcycles started the race with the SkatTrak team finishing at the head of the pack among the fastest motorcycles. With the next quad finishing more than 16 minutes behind Stuart and Granlund, (12 min on corrected time), the team brought home its third consecutive Pro Quad win in the demanding “Best in the Desert” series. This is a series where anywhere from 25 to 40% of the entries do not finish and earn the dreaded DNF notation on the results page. Finishing three in a row by most measures, Is challenging and a feat in its own right. Winning three events in a row is rare.Racers lined up at 6:30 AM with each motorcycle or quad leaving the starting line in 30 second to 1 minute intervals. Greg Stuart was the second pro quad rider off the starting line. The pro quads all held their positions by the first pit. Greg suffered a flat tire and the third rider off the line passed by while the SkatTrak crew changed a tire. The bad news is that Nic left pit 1 in third place, the good news is that this would be the only flat of the race as the Maxxis tires would make it to the end. Leading the race was the Q1 factory Honda team with Harold Goodman riding ironman while teammate Wayne Matlock is recovering from a recent crash. In second place was the KTM team of Cody Mitchell and Shaun Moore riding Q11.Within the first few miles towards pit 2, Nic was able to chase down Q11 and close the gap but spent the next 20 miles in thick dust. The course wound its way through Eastern Nevada and was complete with hill climbs, whoop sections, silt, a few technical sections, and some sections that were fast and flat enough for a Rally Car. The course veered approximately 7 miles before pit 2 and a friendly crosswind allowed Nic to see well enough open up the mighty quad and blow by the KTM team. When Greg mounted the quad at pit 2, he was 3 minutes behind the lead quad. As Greg was working his way to the next pit, the dust disappeared behind Q1. When Greg approached Q1 he stopped to make sure Harold was ok and discovered that they had blown the motor. As Greg was navigating his way toward the next pit, he hit deep silt and was thrown over the bars but was still able to retain the lead and hand the quad off to Nic in first place.Nic made his way through more deep silt and up and over the mountains and thought he might have heard something strange in the motor, but he attributed it to either the altitude or his ears popping. Nic continued to ride hard enough to maintain the lead. At the next pit, Nic handed the bike to Greg with a 5 minute lead. Greg also inherited a clogged air filter, a loose heel guard and the core of the pipe was broken and causing the packing to plug the exhaust. One stop to remove what was left of the heel guard and a second stop to adjust the airbox ate up 3 ½ minutes of the lead. The fast Q2 team of David Scott and Sanchez moved into second place. Greg realized his lead time was cut by the repairs and put the hammer down to give Nic almost a 9 minute lead at the last exchange. In desert racing, there is a fine line between speed and preserving equipment. Nic finished the last 73 miles with the quad intact and a 12 minute comfortable win.  The Pro Quad Division of the Best in the Desert Series is coming down to the wire. The  combination of excellent equipment along with Stuart's and Granlund’s speed and course sense has put team Skat Trak in the running for the series championship. The custom quad built by Greg’s dad and SkatTrak founder,Ken Stuart or “Big K”, and is built around a custom Laeger frame with Fox Shox and is powered by a Honda 650cc motor with motor work by Allen Knowles of CT Racing. The SkatTrak team are privateers, but they seemed to have cracked the code in designing what might be the best desert racing quad out there. “We need to continue to trust that Big K has the quad in top condition and that our pit crew will keep us in the running and let us know where we are in the race. As riders, it’s our job to ride smart and to ride fast”, said Greg Stuart. Only two more races are slated for 2008. The Golden West US Championship on October 25 followed by the Henderson’s Fabtech Classic on December 6. Nic Granlund stated, “We are looking forward to finishing the season strong and the last two races are on our home turf, so we feel good about our chances to win the series.”The Stuart/Granlund team sends it thanks to Casey Folks, Bilek Racing, and all the volunteers at Best in the Desert for putting on this race. The following companies proudly sponsor Greg and Nic  ScatTrak, CT Racing, Fox Shox, Laeger, Maxxis, Hinson, Fullbore, Dragon, WebCam, IMS, Quad Tech, DWT, Torco, NGR, Fasst, Streamline, Precision, Eibach Springs. Congrats to NGR race team of Jared Olsen, Jeremy Olsen and Josh Rowley for winning the amateur quad class. Special props go out to NGR racer Mike Geiger for winning the amateur Ironman quad class.Written by: T Embrogno – 2008 BITD Bilek Silver State 300 atv, bitd, quad, racing and competition, skattrak nonadult false Team SkatTrak wins BITD Bilek 300 text blog atv,bitd,quad,racing and competition,skattrak 461 11 5.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 118236 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Score-International-ATV-announcement/BLOG/112511/27589.html Keep an eye on the Score website.  http://www.score-international.com/  In the next few days there should be an announcement for the ATV class. Its been in the works for a while now with Sal Fish and Bill Savage. I dont mean to be a tease but until its 100% official, I dont want to say anything but "stay tuned". Its a wonderful thing for the ATV`s, ATV manufacturers and after market companies that support ATV`s. Hopefully, it should be in effect for the Baja 1000. Fingers crossed...... Keep an eye on the Score website.  http://www.score-international.com/  In the next few days there should be an announcement for the ATV class. Its been in the works for a while now with Sal Fish and Bill Savage. I dont mean to be a tease but until its 100% official, I dont want to say anything but "stay tuned". Its a wonderful thing for the ATV`s, ATV manufacturers and after market companies that support ATV`s. Hopefully, it should be in effect for the Baja 1000. Fingers crossed...... Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:38:06 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Score-International-ATV-announcement/BLOG/112511/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-10-03T03:38:06Z ATV and UTV My Off-Road Keep an eye on the Score website.  http://www.score-international.com/  In the next few days there should be an announcement for the ATV class. Its been in the works for a while now with Sal Fish and Bill Savage. I dont mean to be a tease but until its 100% official, I dont want to say anything but "stay tuned". Its a wonderful thing for the ATV`s, ATV manufacturers and after market companies that support ATV`s. Hopefully, it should be in effect for the Baja 1000. Fingers crossed...... atv, atv and utv, baja, desert racing, quads, score nonadult false Score-International ATV announcement text blog atv,atv and utv,baja,desert racing,quads,score 515 20 3.5 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 8 0 112511 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_BITD-Bilek-Silver-State-300-Craig-Christy-Racing-Spot-ATV-tracking/BLOG/106311/27589.html Here is the link to the public tracking page for Craig Christy/Duncan Racing number 416 entry. The Honda 450r pilots are in the hunt for the Expert ATV championship. Track them here. If I get more trackers Ill post them in here.http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Nr7joXLB5SXgbsifLG8PWVp8ucHqLLEE Here is the link to the public tracking page for Craig Christy/Duncan Racing number 416 entry. The Honda 450r pilots are in the hunt for the Expert ATV championship. Track them here. If I get more trackers Ill post them in here.http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Nr7joXLB5SXgbsifLG8PWVp8ucHqLLEE Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:48:26 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_BITD-Bilek-Silver-State-300-Craig-Christy-Racing-Spot-ATV-tracking/BLOG/106311/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-09-23T23:48:26Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road Here is the link to the public tracking page for Craig Christy/Duncan Racing number 416 entry. The Honda 450r pilots are in the hunt for the Expert ATV championship. Track them here. If I get more trackers Ill post them in here.http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Nr7joXLB5SXgbsifLG8PWVp8ucHqLLEE atv, bitd, desert racing, off road, racing and competition, spot nonadult false BITD Bilek Silver State 300 Craig Christy Racing "Spot" ATV tracking text blog atv,bitd,desert racing,off road,racing and competition,spot 795 21 4.52381 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 11 0 106311 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632 http://my.off-road.com/_Team-Skat-Trak-Stuart-Granlund-Win-Quad-Pro-Class-2008-Best-in-the-Desert-Vegas-to-Reno/BLOG/95386/27589.html [image] [image] This is Greg and Nic`s press release from this years Vegas to Reno victory. Team Skat‐Trak Stuart/Granlund Win Quad Pro Class 2008 Best in the Desert ‐ Vegas to Reno The 12th annual TSCO – Best in the Desert “Vegas to Reno” off‐road race was held on Friday, August 22, 2008. Billed as, “The Longest Off‐Road race in the US”, racers from all over the country descended upon the 1,100 person town of Beatty, Nevada. With over 325 entries and up to 10 team members per entry, the race quadrupled the population of Beatty overnight. At 6:00 AM, motorcycle and quads lined up for what could be anywhere from 9 to 20 hours in the desert. The ultimate destination was 455 miles north, just a few miles from Reno. More than 110 quads and motorcycles would start this race with 74 finishers. In desert racing they say first you have to finish to finish first. The pro team of Greg Stuart and Nic Granlund exemplify this statement. They have raced every Best in the Desert race together over the past two years on a custom built Laeger quad. They did not win every race and never finished lower than first. Do the math, if they finish, they win. The Stuart/Granlund team held true to form in the 2008 Vegas to Reno by finishing, synonymous to winning, the race. At just over 9 and ½ hours on the course, the Stuart/Granlund piloted ATV was the first quad across the finish line and gave them a 12th overall finish in a field that included the top desert motorcycle pros in the country. The first quad off the line was Jeff Hancock, followed by Shaun Moore, Wayne Matlock, Scott, and Stuart. As Greg Stuart was approaching mile marker 5, he came upon a crashed Wayne Matlock. Greg noticed that Wayne was down and still lying in the middle of the track. Casey Folks, Director of BITD, takes pride that he stresses sportsmanship at every riders meeting. Greg followed suit and immediately got off his quad to check on Wayne. Mr. Matlock, you’ll agree with the Mr. part in a minute, told Greg he was ok and that Greg should get back to the race. Greg tactfully reminded Mr. Matlock that he was lying in the middle of the track and that he should allow Greg to help him off the track. Once he gained composure, Wayne got back on the quad and rode 27 miles with 5 broken ribs and a broken collarbone to hand the quad off to his now ironman partner, Goodman. Hence, the Mr. designation. After stopping to help Wayne, the Stuart/Granlund team had some ground to make up on a very fast and determined Hancock team. Greg handed that quad off to Nic at Pit 1 in second place. There were 11 pits from start to finish. By Pit 7, the Stuart team was only a couple minutes behind the leader. As Greg Stuart was starting to reel in Hancock, Greg came around a corner and up a hill to find the Hancock quad stopped at a check point with a blown motor. Unfortunately, the team of Cody Mitchell and Shaun Moore suffered the same fate blowing a motor around Pit 3, changing it and then blowing another at Pit 5 to end their day. The treacherous, Casey Folks designed course was brutal and demanding. The Stuart/Granlund quad suffered 8 flat tires over the 450 mile course. During one stretch around Pit 2, Nic Granlund rode more than 25 miles, and passed several riders, with two rear flats. The course was a mix of long stretches of silt, winding mountain paths, and of course, a couple Casey Folks signature rock gardens. The “super quad” underneath Stuart and Granlund was built for this type of race. Granlund was able to keep the powerful Honda 650 motor wide open through the open desert for five straight miles without letting up a hair. The Fox Shox setup provided unrivaled suspension and combined with a dialed‐in Laeger front end kept the quad rubber side down and very, very, fast. Once Greg Stuart captured the lead, they never looked back. Well, sort of… The Stuart team estimated a 30 minute lead over the next pro quad around pit 8 and decided on an extended pit stop to change oil and filters and a front flat. Wrenches hit all bolts to assure that everything was tight. The estimated lead time was off by 20 minutes…on top of that, Nic Granlund, with adrenaline pumping, beat the chase truck carrying Greg Stuart to the pit. The Stuart team was surprised to see the team of David Scott and Jeremy Sanchez, riding Q2, pulling into the pits minutes after Stewart took off for two long legs of the race. The lead was now cut to less than 3 minutes and the Stuart/Granlund team had to pin it to win it. Greg had two flats but he navigated his way and held the lead from Pit 8 to 10 and handed off the quad in great shape to Nic. The Stuart Granlund pit crew was made up of Scott Taylor from Laeger, Allen Knowles, founder and motor guru at CT Racing, and Ken Stuart, founder of Skat‐Trak along with 7 others and all gave Nic the same advice – Ride Smart and No Flats!! The team knew that the equipment was superior and that the quad had fresh oil, filters and tires. The crew hoped it was enough for the ultra aggressive Nic Granlund and the punishment his 6’4” frame could dish out. Confidence was high and the team decided not to install the lights on the quad for the last 80 miles. The sun was still high when Nic pulled up to the finish line with a winning course time of 9 hours and 34 minutes. In second place by 3 minutes was the team of Scott and Sanchez. Pulling into the finish line almost three hours later was the Matlock quad with Harold Goodman bringing it home with a course time of 12 hours and 36 minutes and a third place finish in the pro class. Stuart and Granlund brought world class equipment and years of experience in one of the toughest forms of ATV racing to this event.It takes a small army to compete at this level and the Skat‐Trak, Laeger, CT Racing teaming proved to be a winning combination in the longest off‐road race in the country. The Stuart/Granlund team sends it thanks to Casey Folks and everyone at Best in the Desert for putting on this massive race. They would also like to thank their sponsors. Skat‐Trak, CT Racing, Fox Shox, Laeger, Maxxis, Hinson, Fullbore, WebCam, IMS, Quad, Tech, DWT, Torco, NGR, Fasst, Steamline, Eibach Springs . Lastly, best wishes and a quick recovery to Wayne Matlock. Tom Embrogno – 2008 Vegas to Reno [image] [image] This is Greg and Nic`s press release from this years Vegas to Reno victory. Team Skat‐Trak Stuart/Granlund Win Quad Pro Class 2008 Best in the Desert ‐ Vegas to Reno The 12th annual TSCO – Best in the Desert “Vegas to Reno” off‐road race was held on Friday, August 22, 2008. Billed as, “The Longest Off‐Road race in the US”, racers from all over the country descended upon the 1,100 person town of Beatty, Nevada. With over 325 entries and up to 10 team members per entry, the race quadrupled the population of Beatty overnight. At 6:00 AM, motorcycle and quads lined up for what could be anywhere from 9 to 20 hours in the desert. The ultimate destination was 455 miles north, just a few miles from Reno. More than 110 quads and motorcycles would start this race with 74 finishers. In desert racing they say first you have to finish to finish first. The pro team of Greg Stuart and Nic Granlund exemplify this statement. They have raced every Best in the Desert race together over the past two years on a custom built Laeger quad. They did not win every race and never finished lower than first. Do the math, if they finish, they win. The Stuart/Granlund team held true to form in the 2008 Vegas to Reno by finishing, synonymous to winning, the race. At just over 9 and ½ hours on the course, the Stuart/Granlund piloted ATV was the first quad across the finish line and gave them a 12th overall finish in a field that included the top desert motorcycle pros in the country. The first quad off the line was Jeff Hancock, followed by Shaun Moore, Wayne Matlock, Scott, and Stuart. As Greg Stuart was approaching mile marker 5, he came upon a crashed Wayne Matlock. Greg noticed that Wayne was down and still lying in the middle of the track. Casey Folks, Director of BITD, takes pride that he stresses sportsmanship at every riders meeting. Greg followed suit and immediately got off his quad to check on Wayne. Mr. Matlock, you’ll agree with the Mr. part in a minute, told Greg he was ok and that Greg should get back to the race. Greg tactfully reminded Mr. Matlock that he was lying in the middle of the track and that he should allow Greg to help him off the track. Once he gained composure, Wayne got back on the quad and rode 27 miles with 5 broken ribs and a broken collarbone to hand the quad off to his now ironman partner, Goodman. Hence, the Mr. designation. After stopping to help Wayne, the Stuart/Granlund team had some ground to make up on a very fast and determined Hancock team. Greg handed that quad off to Nic at Pit 1 in second place. There were 11 pits from start to finish. By Pit 7, the Stuart team was only a couple minutes behind the leader. As Greg Stuart was starting to reel in Hancock, Greg came around a corner and up a hill to find the Hancock quad stopped at a check point with a blown motor. Unfortunately, the team of Cody Mitchell and Shaun Moore suffered the same fate blowing a motor around Pit 3, changing it and then blowing another at Pit 5 to end their day. The treacherous, Casey Folks designed course was brutal and demanding. The Stuart/Granlund quad suffered 8 flat tires over the 450 mile course. During one stretch around Pit 2, Nic Granlund rode more than 25 miles, and passed several riders, with two rear flats. The course was a mix of long stretches of silt, winding mountain paths, and of course, a couple Casey Folks signature rock gardens. The “super quad” underneath Stuart and Granlund was built for this type of race. Granlund was able to keep the powerful Honda 650 motor wide open through the open desert for five straight miles without letting up a hair. The Fox Shox setup provided unrivaled suspension and combined with a dialed‐in Laeger front end kept the quad rubber side down and very, very, fast. Once Greg Stuart captured the lead, they never looked back. Well, sort of… The Stuart team estimated a 30 minute lead over the next pro quad around pit 8 and decided on an extended pit stop to change oil and filters and a front flat. Wrenches hit all bolts to assure that everything was tight. The estimated lead time was off by 20 minutes…on top of that, Nic Granlund, with adrenaline pumping, beat the chase truck carrying Greg Stuart to the pit. The Stuart team was surprised to see the team of David Scott and Jeremy Sanchez, riding Q2, pulling into the pits minutes after Stewart took off for two long legs of the race. The lead was now cut to less than 3 minutes and the Stuart/Granlund team had to pin it to win it. Greg had two flats but he navigated his way and held the lead from Pit 8 to 10 and handed off the quad in great shape to Nic. The Stuart Granlund pit crew was made up of Scott Taylor from Laeger, Allen Knowles, founder and motor guru at CT Racing, and Ken Stuart, founder of Skat‐Trak along with 7 others and all gave Nic the same advice – Ride Smart and No Flats!! The team knew that the equipment was superior and that the quad had fresh oil, filters and tires. The crew hoped it was enough for the ultra aggressive Nic Granlund and the punishment his 6’4” frame could dish out. Confidence was high and the team decided not to install the lights on the quad for the last 80 miles. The sun was still high when Nic pulled up to the finish line with a winning course time of 9 hours and 34 minutes. In second place by 3 minutes was the team of Scott and Sanchez. Pulling into the finish line almost three hours later was the Matlock quad with Harold Goodman bringing it home with a course time of 12 hours and 36 minutes and a third place finish in the pro class. Stuart and Granlund brought world class equipment and years of experience in one of the toughest forms of ATV racing to this event.It takes a small army to compete at this level and the Skat‐Trak, Laeger, CT Racing teaming proved to be a winning combination in the longest off‐road race in the country. The Stuart/Granlund team sends it thanks to Casey Folks and everyone at Best in the Desert for putting on this massive race. They would also like to thank their sponsors. Skat‐Trak, CT Racing, Fox Shox, Laeger, Maxxis, Hinson, Fullbore, WebCam, IMS, Quad, Tech, DWT, Torco, NGR, Fasst, Steamline, Eibach Springs . Lastly, best wishes and a quick recovery to Wayne Matlock. Tom Embrogno – 2008 Vegas to Reno Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:00:28 GMT http://my.off-road.com/_Team-Skat-Trak-Stuart-Granlund-Win-Quad-Pro-Class-2008-Best-in-the-Desert-Vegas-to-Reno/BLOG/95386/27589.html Vtr_Racing 2008-08-31T06:00:28Z Racing and Competition My Off-Road [image] [image] This is Greg and Nic`s press release from this years Vegas to Reno victory. Team Skat‐Trak Stuart/Granlund Win Quad Pro Class 2008 Best in the Desert ‐ Vegas to Reno The 12th annual TSCO – Best in the Desert “Vegas to Reno” off‐road race was held on Friday, August 22, 2008. Billed as, “The Longest Off‐Road race in the US”, racers from all over the country descended upon the 1,100 person town of Beatty, Nevada. With over 325 entries and up to 10 team members per entry, the race quadrupled the population of Beatty overnight. At 6:00 AM, motorcycle and quads lined up for what could be anywhere from 9 to 20 hours in the desert. The ultimate destination was 455 miles north, just a few miles from Reno. More than 110 quads and motorcycles would start this race with 74 finishers. In desert racing they say first you have to finish to finish first. The pro team of Greg Stuart and Nic Granlund exemplify this statement. They have raced every Best in the Desert race together over the past two years on a custom built Laeger quad. They did not win every race and never finished lower than first. Do the math, if they finish, they win. The Stuart/Granlund team held true to form in the 2008 Vegas to Reno by finishing, synonymous to winning, the race. At just over 9 and ½ hours on the course, the Stuart/Granlund piloted ATV was the first quad across the finish line and gave them a 12th overall finish in a field that included the top desert motorcycle pros in the country. The first quad off the line was Jeff Hancock, followed by Shaun Moore, Wayne Matlock, Scott, and Stuart. As Greg Stuart was approaching mile marker 5, he came upon a crashed Wayne Matlock. Greg noticed that Wayne was down and still lying in the middle of the track. Casey Folks, Director of BITD, takes pride that he stresses sportsmanship at every riders meeting. Greg followed suit and immediately got off his quad to check on Wayne. Mr. Matlock, you’ll agree with the Mr. part in a minute, told Greg he was ok and that Greg should get back to the race. Greg tactfully reminded Mr. Matlock that he was lying in the middle of the track and that he should allow Greg to help him off the track. Once he gained composure, Wayne got back on the quad and rode 27 miles with 5 broken ribs and a broken collarbone to hand the quad off to his now ironman partner, Goodman. Hence, the Mr. designation. After stopping to help Wayne, the Stuart/Granlund team had some ground to make up on a very fast and determined Hancock team. Greg handed that quad off to Nic at Pit 1 in second place. There were 11 pits from start to finish. By Pit 7, the Stuart team was only a couple minutes behind the leader. As Greg Stuart was starting to reel in Hancock, Greg came around a corner and up a hill to find the Hancock quad stopped at a check point with a blown motor. Unfortunately, the team of Cody Mitchell and Shaun Moore suffered the same fate blowing a motor around Pit 3, changing it and then blowing another at Pit 5 to end their day. The treacherous, Casey Folks designed course was brutal and demanding. The Stuart/Granlund quad suffered 8 flat tires over the 450 mile course. During one stretch around Pit 2, Nic Granlund rode more than 25 miles, and passed several riders, with two rear flats. The course was a mix of long stretches of silt, winding mountain paths, and of course, a couple Casey Folks signature rock gardens. The “super quad” underneath Stuart and Granlund was built for this type of race. Granlund was able to keep the powerful Honda 650 motor wide open through the open desert for five straight miles without letting up a hair. The Fox Shox setup provided unrivaled suspension and combined with a dialed‐in Laeger front end kept the quad rubber side down and very, very, fast. Once Greg Stuart captured the lead, they never looked back. Well, sort of… The Stuart team estimated a 30 minute lead over the next pro quad around pit 8 and decided on an extended pit stop to change oil and filters and a front flat. Wrenches hit all bolts to assure that everything was tight. The estimated lead time was off by 20 minutes…on top of that, Nic Granlund, with adrenaline pumping, beat the chase truck carrying Greg Stuart to the pit. The Stuart team was surprised to see the team of David Scott and Jeremy Sanchez, riding Q2, pulling into the pits minutes after Stewart took off for two long legs of the race. The lead was now cut to less than 3 minutes and the Stuart/Granlund team had to pin it to win it. Greg had two flats but he navigated his way and held the lead from Pit 8 to 10 and handed off the quad in great shape to Nic. The Stuart Granlund pit crew was made up of Scott Taylor from Laeger, Allen Knowles, founder and motor guru at CT Racing, and Ken Stuart, founder of Skat‐Trak along with 7 others and all gave Nic the same advice – Ride Smart and No Flats!! The team knew that the equipment was superior and that the quad had fresh oil, filters and tires. The crew hoped it was enough for the ultra aggressive Nic Granlund and the punishment his 6’4” frame could dish out. Confidence was high and the team decided not to install the lights on the quad for the last 80 miles. The sun was still high when Nic pulled up to the finish line with a winning course time of 9 hours and 34 minutes. In second place by 3 minutes was the team of Scott and Sanchez. Pulling into the finish line almost three hours later was the Matlock quad with Harold Goodman bringing it home with a course time of 12 hours and 36 minutes and a third place finish in the pro class. Stuart and Granlund brought world class equipment and years of experience in one of the toughest forms of ATV racing to this event.It takes a small army to compete at this level and the Skat‐Trak, Laeger, CT Racing teaming proved to be a winning combination in the longest off‐road race in the country. The Stuart/Granlund team sends it thanks to Casey Folks and everyone at Best in the Desert for putting on this massive race. They would also like to thank their sponsors. Skat‐Trak, CT Racing, Fox Shox, Laeger, Maxxis, Hinson, Fullbore, WebCam, IMS, Quad, Tech, DWT, Torco, NGR, Fasst, Steamline, Eibach Springs . Lastly, best wishes and a quick recovery to Wayne Matlock. Tom Embrogno – 2008 Vegas to Reno atv, bitd, off, quads, racing and competition, road, skat, trak nonadult false Team Skat Trak Stuart Granlund Win Quad Pro Class 2008 Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno text blog atv,bitd,off,quads,racing and competition,road,skat,trak 614 20 4.0 http://my.off-road.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3111632&as=27589 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/27589/photos/PHOTO_1637395_27589_3111632_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 95386 3111632 True Blue Off-Roader 2632