We had a great muddy run at the Kentucky track pulling a podium finish. Thanks again Justin for all the support!
Hot and humid during the summer, Bedford Kentucky is home to one of the most iconic off-road parks in the United States. The Dirty Turtle Off-Road Park is where we find ourselves ramped up and horsepower driven for the next Ultra4 race of the season. This will be the last Eastern Series race for the 2019 race year and time to pull all the tricks out for the series to be on the box. Rock Krawler suspension has been a part of our program offering suspension components from day one of our racing career. Being an eastern even, it only seemed fitting to have them join us on the eastern series final race to battle it out amongst the rest of the field. Welcome to the Battle of Bluegrass.
Prerun:
After setting up the pits and compound Adam and I set off to embark onto the course to see what Dave, JT, and the Ultra4 team put together in the muddy, rocky, tree infested course. Picking our lines and mapping out our strategy for race day we noted everything needed for raceday. We found that we had a com’s issue with Adams helmet and were unable to communicate in the car to each other. A big thanks to Shawn Rants for offering his spare helmet for us we had overcome the first issue of the weekend. Fighting some of the uphill lines in the race, we found ourselves in a tight spot in an upward battle with the trees. Using our Warn Winch and Voodoo Offroad recovery gear we were out in no time. Running out of time they had shut the short course down early and we were unable to scope out the track for qualifying.
Qualifying:
Going in blind Adam and I hit the green light and blazed through the course. With a slippery muddy track, we took a turn too wide causing us to go off course and barrel through some course markers to get back on track. Knowing we had to make up some time we put the petal down. The car ran solid and felt great on every short course turn. Unfortunately, with our mishap on the track we landed in the back of the pack starting 14th off the line.
Race Day:
With having our compound on pit row, we had the luxury to have our hot pits directly next to our camp. Lending out a helping hand to Shawn Rants and Duane Garretson’s team in sharing pit support and location, we had a full house come race day. Starting 14th we knew we had traffic out in front of us and needed to take the smart lines. With each lap that passed the course got wider as cars bulldozed their way through the track. Taking alternate lines where cars were stuck or to make a pass is what we did lap after lap. We saw had clean air for a while until we ran into 2 broken cars blocking the course. Taking a sketchy line, we wedged a tree between the tire and the chassis and had to work the car vigorously to free ourselves. Lap after lap the car felt better and better, but the track conditions got worse and worse. After hearing that Garretson had to make a pit stop, we were pushing to catch their position on course. As we came out of the woods for the last time, we hit the short course and the checker flag!
Results:
After battling the elements, machine, and competitors, we landed on the box with a 3rd place finish! This closes the eastern series for the Proving Grounds Racing team with a 4th place in the Eastern Series. Still to come is the Western series closing race and nationals in reno. With the points at a close match we are pushing harder then ever for finishing strong this season!