a fella brought his car out from Atlanta-
drove across the country by himself- SOLO- and worked on his rig for weeks-- sometimes sleeping in the shop after long hours-- (even tho there WAS a bed at my house with his name on it )-
lived and breathed the car and prep for KOH-- spent nearly his yearly 'raceing' budget on the one shot---

a quiet, unpretentious kinda guy , that a lot tend to overlook, but is still in the fight and working for the best !

when we had a 'clean-up of the burned mess in Surprize Canyon a while back, he flew out from Atlanta just for the chance to get dirty and help in the effort !!!!

a fairly newcommer to the off-road sports jaundra- but always in there givin it hell !-

as his car crossed the finish line at KOH, his eyes and mine began to leak for some reason !-- it became his dream and near obsesion to run in KOH and FINISH-- and well he did !!-

I know not what the future may hold for him or me even, but the time i spent with this kind and gentle man will be a treasured memory..

Ken 'Doc' Mercer, KOH #770, my life has been enriched and ever changed by your passing thru it .

Thank you.

Doc is a genuine guy. We've loved the fact that he has become part of our extended family through XRRA. Wish we would have been able to spend more time with him on the lakebed, all of us were too busy wrenching.

Was nice to have finally shook your hand as well though Krusty.

best look during the race was being outta the car wrenching on mine on AfterShock and seeing Ken come up behind me and see the eyes having fun and knowing full well that the smile in that helmet was ear to ear.

Krusty, wow. I don't know what to say, but thank you. I'm truly humbled by your kind words.

I've actually been struggling a bit with my yet another "KOH thank you" thread because there are so many people that helped make my KOH dream possible, I didn't even know where to start, but now I do.

First and foremost, my upmost thanks goes to you Krusty, and that evil genius son of yours, Bender. Both of you live the dream every day and were generous enough to let me be a part of it. Bender had the vision of what we were doing from the start, I didn't quite see it at first, but have learned to trust his judgement, unquestionably.

It was a true team effort as it's impossible to take on something as big as KOH without a strong team backing you. Yourself, Bender and Flaash did all the heavy lifting and the lion's share of the work. I just tried to help out, stay out of the way, and learn as much as I could in the process. The FU2 crew and the Tin Bender family took me in and formed a great team of support around me and Bender to make it all possible, and for that, I'm eternally greatful. I now know first hand why the Benders have such respect in the offroad community.


I'll get busy on that thank you thread soon. For now, I'm gone fishin'.

...doc (just a guy that was once part of something really freakin cool :smokin: )

Doc is a stand up guy and I am proud to say I know him personally. I was blown away at the work he and Bender did to the car. It is amazing what a man with a dream can accomplish, and for nothing more than the love of the sport. My hats off to you Doc.

Krusty, it was an honor meeting you.