The Story of #1366 at BOR's Dinosaur Dash in Vernal

[TimS]

The Story of 1366 at the Mike Hickey Memorial Dinosaur Dash in Vernal, UT
June 27, 2015 - Bonneville Off Road Racing

Back in time to Wednesday, May 27th. I have two days off, plenty of time to prep the race car, I think. I wheel it out in the driveway and start pressure washing it. It's not coming clean! Looks ugly, used, old, etc. Just days earlier I had bought some black spray paint on sale ($2.99 ea) at the local store. I can touch this up.

My daughter is spending some time with my parents, so I have what I think will be uninterrupted time in the garage. I have now budgeted four days to prep. For those with lives and wives, the thought of uninterrupted time is probably laughable.

Before the end of the day, I had the front end tore down to nothing. By the morning of the next day I have it inspected, cleaned, painted, and put back together again. This is easy, I think. I quickly tear apart the mid section of the car only to find plenty of interruptions. I forget exactly, but someone always needs something from me, whether it be work, family, or otherwise. I quickly eat up most of my budgeted time.

In all honesty, my wife is a key supporter of this effort. Without her support, I wouldn't have made it this far.



Paint is still on sale, though, so I clean out their shelves. I pick colors that have the most can's there. Red, primer, black, and green.



As I go through the car, I plan to do a thorough job of freshening up. Everything that needs attention, get it. tear down the brakes and even prep the pads to get old dust and grit off. I weld up the holes where duct tape used to be. Every hose clamp get replaced. Shocks get the wire brush treatment and polish.



The only things I'm not committed to making perfect are the wiring and the engine. Those will wait.



My drive is winning. We already have a few 1600 cars committed... One is a modern, proven car from down south. One is a car I know to be fast. One is an unknown. And I hear rumors of others.

I put in the plug to Nate, our trophy maker. How many trophies? Which classes? "Don't know, I'll find out" was the general response. Hmm... I put in a call to the other known racers. "Sportsman or pro?" It seems sportsman all around. I guess I'll join the sportsman crowd. Kyle, BOR's race organizer and all around awesome person, says that we can race a "no payback class" if we have more than three. So a sportsman class of just 1600 cars. I don't want to be a sandbagger and avoid it if possible. Some of the previous races I've been paired with lesser cars and accused of such mockery by merely chance... not this time.



Winning... What do I need. I need to have a good car, have a good crew, drive fast and stay running, and make it look effortless. The longer term plan includes bigger events and lots more races, so I'm using this prep as a test. Can I prep to win with my budget and my spare time? We will see.

Good car... I got the basics, but need to update a few things. As I said, during prep I didn't let any of the little things go. If it needed attention, it got it. The painting was just my plan to look good doing it.



I tackled the carb rebuild myself, nervously. I won't have much of a test drive before the race, so I need to be perfect.



This is my first race in the short-course format. The previous owner said he never raced with a spare tire, even on the longer desert runs, so I thought - "I have had enough experience driving now, I can drive to preserve the tires." Spare tire and carrier come off. Jack comes off. Spare tools come off. Spare oil, gone. Light = fast.... That's what I keep telling myself.

[TimS]

CV's and rear end get inspected and prepped. Gas vent lines replaced. Filler tube clamps replaced. All the little things I run into along the way are either replaced or inspected until I am satisfied. I'm actually quite pleased with my ability to go through the car and get things done in a time efficient manner.



I get things back together and clean the garage the day before my Brother shows up. He is bringing home my Daughter, and will be staying for the race. My goal is to have the car mostly done so I can visit and do some fun things with family before the race. There is still a lot to do.

I have about 6 spare hours. Time enough for a trailer remodel? Sure why not. I picked out one of the paint colors, green as it turns out, grab some middle of the road deck sealant, and ShaZaaaaam!! I have a new trailer to match my sparkly clean race car.



A few added stickers from my sticker collection and it was looking like a race trailer.

He helps me on a lot of the details and, as a mechanical engineer and aircraft maintenance specialist, adds a lot of thoughts that I hadn't had the chance to think. He takes on a few projects, like the ignition wiring, and owns it to completion. That was a huge help. Also we gather the pit supplies and camping supplies and ready the truck for it's journey.

I'm trying something new this time... I bought a cap for my truck ($150) instead of using a camper. I like the thought of saving gas and of having my truck usable instead of stationary.



And before we know it, we are off.

I talked with Blackline racing before and got some jetting advice for the altitude difference. They hook me up with a few jets and accept my contingency from last year as payment. I cannot find the certificates, but they say "Just keep track of it for us, and let us know." Good guys there. They put up with my manic race car obsession. They probably put up with a lot of folks like me wanting perfection.



The trip to the races is uneventful. I get a solid 15mpg through the 860 mile weekend on my truck. Not too shabby. I like this truck cap.

Next... A weekend of fun.

[TimS]

Nate has his yellow buggy there with a fresh engine and transmission. He happily offers up a ride in it. Ed, my brother Ben, and myself get in as passengers. We buckle down expecting a leisurely jaunt, but what we get is a spirited adventure. We are settling in and cruising along when our left rear wheel passes us. We all watch as it bounces ahead and tangles itself into a barb wire fence. Crap-a-doodle-do. Nate and this buggy have history. It's not a story with a happing ending, yet. Who checked the lug nuts? I believe we blame that on Ryan, who is not there but usually is the first suspect in things of this nature.

This race is a little different. It seems the usual camping crew has expanded their guest list or decided to stay in... gasp... a hotel. The usual campfire antics are missing giving this an eerie feel. My brother takes the tent on my trailer. I sleep in the back of the truck with the scent of freshly shined up tires.

Ed #1 shows up and settles in right next to us. He has his motor home and had brought two motorcycles for himself and for Richard to ride in the prerun.

Friday is the day of the pre-run. It seems that the longer I race, the more detached I get from the "helping" aspect of things. It's hard for me to be so far away and so busy in life to miss out on the planning and prep of the race itself, but maybe when I'm older and less busy I will contribute to the future generations. I offer my services.

Everyone seems to be happily doing what needs done. I cannot find a thing to do. Soon I was offered the position of checking the course markings. Okay! Ed offers up his spare motorcycle. He asks me if I'd like a two stroke or a four stroke? I used to two strokes from back in the day, and he cheerfully unloads it and offers up a helmet.

My world changed when I kick started that bike, clicked it into gear, and let out the clutch. Holy Sheeeet! This bike is awesome. It's a KX - Kawasaki. Though it's more accurately referred to at a "#1 Clyde Special". This thing has had so many modification to it that I cannot keep track. Transmission is a custom job from parts from a few bikes. Custom bearings, bushings, etc. Shocks have been totally reworked from who knows what to awesomeness. No time has been spared on this bike. Everything has been perfected. Thanks Ed, for this experience.

We are out check the course markings to make sure people can stay on course. As with all of BOR events, the course markings are adequate. The big hazards are marked. As we finish the first loop around, we passed the markers and there was still more marking to do, so we went around again to test those out. all is good from BOR's excellent, volunteer, staff of helpers.

For the prerun, we ride in Nate's tacoma. I don't remember much of the prerun other than there was air conditioning. That was nice.

Friday night, again, seems devoid of the usual campfire antics. Race day is near.

[TimS]

Race morning comes with the sounds of the UTV's racing. I am still very nervous about the track and the format and the competition. I will have to be on the ball to win this thing.

I consider myself a pleasant person, but apparently I've gained the reputation of being unapproachable on race day. It didn't take much... a few swear words on the radio and a mandatory hour of "mental prep" before the race... and somehow people seem to really leave you alone. Sounds good to me. I take the opportunity to "pre-musicate" my head in the comfort of Ed's air conditioned RV. Thanks again, Ed. I have some select tunes that trigger my brain to get in touch with the physics of racing. These tunes play in my head continuously through the race in the background. Again, a single seater doesn't allow for conversation very much.

I had thoughts of being on my own radio frequency, but limited time scratched that idea. I ask Cameron if he minds chatter on his frequency, and he says he does not.

Ben and Ed will be at the hot pits. Our plan is not to break, and they are there for minor stuff and maybe a spare tire. Mostly, I need their help in communicating the race happenings and letting me know how I'm doing and how hard I need to push.

I was disappointed to learn that the class 10 cars would be in our heat. The trophy for our heat was slipping away already. Four class 10 cars! How am I going to beat that? I'll try my best.

Starting will be a drag race of two cars down a long runway, off a little side path, and into a 180 degree left. I had timed the "dust gap" from the UTV race at 15 seconds. Getting out in front will be huge. We rejet the engine conservatively, not wanting to risk overheating on this super hot, record breaking day.

First race... I am starting with Matt. At Jackpot last year he had some very fast lap times. He is one of my main concerns for competition. I need to be out in front. Luckily, I get a jump and see him disappear in the distance. I change focus to the track ahead and concentrate on not crashing. I have to make a very concious effort in the first miles to take it easy or I would certainly overdo it.

Unknown to me, he rolls over in the second turn. See video...

[TimS]

I am now solely focused on the cars ahead. One full-blown 1600 car that should outpace me, and one fellow champ car. It wasn't long before I was in the dust, but I pass the "green" car without issue. I had specifically asked in the driver's meeting if we could drive in the sagebrush to pass, and the answer was yes! Otherwise I would have probably approached closer before diving out.

I make that pass here at about minute 24:00

http://youtu.be/u9svP-E2RM0?t=23m58s

You can see I changed my gopro location. I can tell you already I learned a ton about my driving this race be watching the video. I already have some modifications planned that I believe will make my driving more precise. I am constantly wasting power and momentum with overcorrections. I will fix that. Part of it is that it's so bumpy, the g's are not adequately portrayed in the video.

[TimS]

I get through the finish and still don't know how I'm pacing the other cars. After I get through I ask for information and it is then I realize that I'm not getting audio in my helmet. For future laps I ask questions of my pit crew and have them hold up hand signals for communiation. This works fairly well, but there were some tidbits that I would have liked to know more about. They give me time gaps, lap numbers, and car types through sign language. Good thing I could see well... a subject for later discussion.

Second lap I pass the green car again on the side of the track. Broken. I also pass the blue car. I'm in it's dust for quite some time and am still in the mindset that I need to take some risk to be fast, hence my aggressiveness in the dust.

I think this video is fun to watch from start to finish... It starts out in the dust just after the start finish line... I also pass the class 11 car in here.



Lap times are good. I'm feeling good. After passing the blue car and not seeing the black car again, I am pretty satisfied that if I keep the car together I can do this. When I pass the start and my crew alerts me the blue car is close behind me. I must keep pace, not slow down, and not break at all. I am trying to get a little lead time for an error or a flat tire.



Next lap is not about the competition, it is about the Violent Phlegm. Seeing how fast I can go. I'm starting to push the limits a bit, by my standards. I record the fastest lap on the fourth lap. 18:42. I cross the finish and realize that I'm not sure what lap I'm on. I know curtis is listening on the Radio, so I say if I don't get a checkered flag, I'm just going to keep driving. I'm having fun.

Thankfully, I get the checkered flag because at the last turn I go through a mud field made by the water truck... And there go my plug wires again! I see myself in the video making a motion with my hands, like, W...T...F...

The end of the first race is kind of a mix of emotions. I was just starting to have fun, is it over already? I made it, woohoo! But also, we have work to do.

Post race is on the video for a bit. I learn that two cars have rolled. Crystal, Nate's wife, had brought her two neices to the races. They were cheering for me. They were there at the finish to greet me, but I cannot hear a thing with my helmet and ear plugs in. As I'm about to undress, I realize the camera is still on and turn it off... You're welcome.



We hang out in Ed's trailer in the A/C. Thanks Ed, and make a list of chores for our rest period. Plug Wires, Re-Jet, Gas, and Radio.

We set the shade structure over the car and back the truck (tools) right up to it. This is a nice place to work, actually. Plug wires get a double coating of 3/4" hose zip tied over them. Jet goes one size smaller. 7 gallons of carefully measured gas get put in. Then for the radio, we end up drilling a hole in the heat sink to get a zip tie on the audio plug.



We are ready... Look at the clock and we still have a few hours. Off to town for ice. We get big fountain pops and a 20 lb bag of ice. I knew it would be hard to get back into the race car in the afternoon heat, so I needed ice to fill my driving suit.

Second heat came and went. I'll spare the details, but it was challenging and fun. We had better communication. This was necessary because we started with a 2 minute lead on the cars behind. Ben, the radio man, was relaying the times to me. As I found out, Tye's dad was driving the full blown 1600 car, and did a darn good job at that. Now it was Tye's turn, I was worried.

After one or two laps, he was 2:50 behind me. I stay on the gas. Soon that gap grows because, as I learn later, Tye had rolled the car. Matt taco'd a rim and was down. By the end of the race I was in their dust again. I the same ditch Matt did, but with my rear end and was worried about the tire. I stopped in the pit for a look see, and they sent me on my way with a "ok" signal.


photo credit - William Steagall

I had asked if I was gaining on the 10 cars, and I wasn't so I held back to save the car. At least I said I was going to. I don't think I really did, as I was having fun. We'll see when the lap times come out. Curtis said I was 5 seconds slower after I said I was going to slow down. Last lap I was getting the oil light with increasing consistency. I wasn, too concerned about it, but... If this race was one more lap, I would have probably been in trouble.....



Yeaup, that is a nice spider crack in my push rod tube. I have shields for them, but forgot to put them on. Could have been bad, but no harm done this time.

After the race I quickly change and we run over to see the other cars come through the wash. I give each a big thumbs up. My goals of this race was mostly to perfect our program. Comms, timing, etc. Plus, the car and prep. All of this I'm very excited about. Here is a picture that we took shortly after the race. Winner 1600 class! Go team!



After completion of the limited race, we head out into the middle of the course to spectate a section aptly called the "bobsled". It goes up and down the side of a hill, turns around, and goes cross and cross along a gully. A fun section for testing driver skill, power management, turning efficiency, etc. It was nice to sit down and spectate with my crew and friends. Usually we don't get the chance to spectate at an off road event.

As we are returning to the pits, we hear on the radio that there is a truck in the "gully". I remember this in the prerun, it was deep and ominous, but they had changed the course a bit to keep cars away from it. I remember saying that we'd need a wrecker to get a truck out of it if one went in. I let dave know on the radio that all I can offer is a one-ton and a tow strap, but that I was on my way. By the time we find the right road we are following a line of trucks that are there to see the carnage. The carnage, realistically, was absent. It was still a perfectly good truck that was upside-down in a ditch.


Photo credit - William Steagall

I waa determined, at this point, to put my truck to good use. I unwrapped my 20,000 lb snatch strap and got into position. I was amazed at the amount of common sense and the amount of teamwork at the scene... not something you typically see at a recreational outing after a "hold my beer" moment. We hook up and turn the truck 90 degrees while still on it's lid. Then another truck turns the truck upright while I'm repositioning for the big pull out of the ditch. I give it one gentle pull and start spinning... as I'm backing up to give it a little yank, the race truck starts up and helps as we pull to get it out. MUCH easier than I thought it would be. Amazingly, the truck drives back to the pits under it's own power... they didn't even check the oil.

Video here...


Video credit - Curtis Blackley

[Leatherneck]

I'm not worthy, can I just touch the tire of your race car? Thanks for your write up. Very interesting and fun to read. You did well Tim.

[TimS]

I don't try to portray godliness... It just comes natural

You can take it for a drive anytime it's running, Leather!

[Leatherneck]

Thanks for the video. I was thinking stop waving and clean the damn screen off. Tim you have got to make a Mojave trail run. You will have flashbacks, running trails, dust in your face, hanging on and of course the Camp fires craziness. Thanks Tim outstanding!

[TimS]

Ha-ha. I remember my first race volunteering in the heat of the desert how refreshing it was to have the racers show their appreciation. I try to acknowledge everyone on the course for that reason... And the fact I know most of them. I'll get another writing spurt out tonight, I hope. Maybe make it to the finish line. plus, it contributes well to my grumpy racer image.

[bajaherbie]

do you have a steering dampener?

[TimS]

Yes. Fox. Works quite well .

[CentralWAbaja]

Good stuff Tim, good stuff

[TimS]

[I edited in more of the story above. I'm trying to keep the story on one page]

So we are on the way home from the truck extraction and I'm feeling pretty good about things. I got to ride a sweet dirt bike on my Birthday. The car did excellent. Timing and crew were awesome. We are getting the hang of this racing stuff. I can't think of how things could be any better.

As we cross one of the road crossings, I see Nate and Crystal. I stop to offer up my assistance with packing up. They have had a much longer day in the sun that I have had. It is here that Nate informs me that there may be some penalties in the 10 cars. My ears perk up. He says maybe three penalties. Oh? You might have won the limited heat? What? That trophy might be in my grasp? I had not even followed the 10 cars figuring my chances were so far out of reach. 10 cars don't break! Apparently, though, three of them did, and the one who finished didn't like some of the tight sections of course.

As we regroup in camp, Kyle has his laptop out and is reviewing the race times with Allen, the organization's owner. I sneak around the back, in that dark, to get an ear on the conversation. Patrick is there, too. And others. I hear Kyle say to Allen, "Well, that means Tim won the limited heat." Allen calmly shows agreement. "We better tell Tim." Patrick speaks up - "Well he's right here." Thanks for blowing my cover, Patrick

Kyle tells me again, You won. I'm in shock, finally one of Nate's custom made, unattainable, and dream worthy trophies will be mine? I let out a yelp of excitement, which for those that know me comes out almost never. I reserve my reactions for fear of overdoing it. I'm still not sure I like winning via penalty... I pull Kyle aside and he assures me that the results are 100% honest and accurate. They had reviewed first hand accounts, the course itself, and the driver. (From future conversations the driver accepted the penalties gracefully).

Another winner wanders over into camp, He had won the unlimited class. He gets his trophy and gives a small speech. Now everyone is looking at me. I'm thinking of just grapping the trophy and running away before anyone takes it from me, but they willingly give it to me. I give a small speech. It was nice that almost all of the local folks that have helped me and cheered for me were there to witness it. Cameron and family being big mentors for me. Kyle, Nate, Crystal, and crew for helping run the organization and being die hard air cooled fans. Allen has always been a quiet and calm supporter of the local racing operations. All the faces at the poker runs and other events, new and veteran. Plus, my Brother, Ben, and my most dedicated pit crew member Ed. It was a sweet moment for sure.

Not bad for a $3000 buggy, huh?



Following this ceremony, this has certainly been the best weekend of racing EVER for me. Mission accomplished.

Follow-up to follow...

[TimS]

So, again, evening festivities are lacking. Ben and I are sitting around the rocket stove recanting the days activities. After about an hour, Ed wanders over and tells me of the action across the pits. We wander over.

We visit with Carl and his teammates for a bit. Carl is falling asleep in the chair. That's about how I feel right now. We check out a beast of a tow rig - Holy cow that things is cool. You can read about it on Midnight 4x4's facebook page here... https://www.facebook.com/16992108975902 ... =1&theater

We then wander over to the Sim's camp. That's when it hit me. It wasn't that there was a lack of fire-side antics. It was just that they had been relocated. Sim's has the setup! 20x40 canopy, Rigid LED's pointing everwhere, coolers the size of barbecue grills. And not a fireplace for a centerpeice, but a big ass toolbox that is decked out for action. And there were all the usual folk mingling with the unusual folk. This gives me ideas. Violent Phlegm has the car, has the crew, has the driver... We just need the pit setup. I thought we were growing up, we are still in our infancy in the off road world.










My daughter is currently helping me dream up the future of VP Off Road Racing...

THE END.... for now.