60 miles south of Oklahoma City there’s a tornado brewing at a ranch and its nothing like you’ve ever seen. No sirens sound for this storm, only the hum of horsepower rings through the fields. The crisp smell of race fuel fills the air as teams from all over the country pile in for a high heat, high horsepower, Ultra4 Clash at Cross Bar Ranch.
As the Proving Grounds team sets off from the west coast to take on the eastern Series Ultra4 Race, so does one of our large partners and supporters of our program. Yetibuilt has been a part of PGR for years and years back when racing was a thought in the team’s mind before it became a reality. With magazine articles, social exposure, blogs, videos, and so much more, Yetibuilt has been a key part of the PGR success. With Yolo co-dogging for this race, Yeti was set to jump in with the crew for wrench hand and pit support for the weekend.
Prerun:
Before the weather set in, we had the opportunity to set up the new race hauler awning from Holiday Awnings. This was huge with the rain, wind, and spontaneous weather we had. Gassed up and ready, we strapped in and set off for scouting the course, marking dangers, and getting adjusted to the track and terrain of the east coast. From the desert in Baja to the terrain in the mid-east USA, multiple changes are made to the car to preform the best. Tire pressures, suspension, shock tuning, car right height, all effect performance. After a once over on the car and slight changes to some new components we were ready for qualifying.
Qualifying:
With the car dialed, we’re set for a fast-qualifying run on the short course. With prerunning multiple laps, Yolo and I were ready for our run. Off the line we were hot on the track. After taking a turn too tight and bicycling around the corner, correcting, and saving the spin out, we landed a solid 5th place for qualifying. A quick dip in the creek to wash the car down, once over components, and strategize pit stops with Yeti, we were set for race day. Friday night BBQ dinner was catered by Tribe16 for the whole Ultra4 racing crew and staff for a relaxing night with friends and teammates amongst the classes.
Race Day:
As race fuel fills the air, we stage for the long day ahead. Getting final good luck wishes from Matt Howell at Tribe16, Fox Racing, and our team, we hit the green flag for the start of our day. With Yolo calling the shots on turns and obstacles, we made quick time catching our competitors. On corrected time, sitting 3rd, we drove hard into the second section of the course with rocks and waterfall climbs and descents. With a bottleneck on “Rock Face” we spent some time here maneuvering around traffic and winching around the chaos on the obstacle. Yolo got out fast to pull the VooDoo Winch Line, using the Daystar handheld radios and our PCI Radio comms in the car, we communicated as a team making the obstacle take as little of time as possible.
After making a full lap and running half through the second, we raced into the pits for a quick fuel stop and once over on the car. Yeti and the Savvy crew gave us the clear to head back for our remaining 2nd and 3rd lap. With no traffic on the larger obstacles we cleared the course one-mile marker at a time. Our Dirty Life Wheel and BFG tire combo crushed the course with zero flats and 100 percent traction. Rounding the short course for the last time we crossed the finish line with the checker flag!
Results:
With a muddy mess of a car, an exciting first-time finish for the Yetibuilt Team partnering with us, we pulled off a top 10 finish with an official 7th place! We couldn’t’ have done the prep, trek, or race without our teams support and all of our partners. Huge thanks to Daystar Products for their support each race with equipment, support, and partners through the season. Big thanks to Fox Shocks and Rock Krawler Suspension for keeping our car smooth and fast all day long with our Savvy Offroad Armor taking a beating through the rocks and trees. As we look forward past the halfway mark of the season, we set our eyes on Kentucky for the Battle in BlueGrass in July!
