ZukIzzy
03-07-2009, 11:46 PM
Race day I was up early and had the car on the line by 6:00. Chris, his family and my family made their way to the line and we waited. Finally, we got the START YOUR ENGINES from Walker Evans and we climbed in waiting for our start in the 74th spot. I can tell you I was a bit apprehensive about starting next to John James. He is a hell of a driver and I did not want to loose the drag race to an f-toy. The green flag dropped and we were off. Luckily I beat the f-toy and settled into what Chris and I had decided was a good race pace. I was surprised to find we were soon passing one car after another. We occasionally would loose a spot but not often.
Around mile 11 I heard a clanking that was new. The car felt great so we pressed on; soon the brake pedal went to the floor. I assumed the sway bar had broken and taken out the brake line. I found I still had fronts and could slow the rig a bit with the front cutting brakes. We radioed the problem and pressed on. At mile 20, as we climbed through and rocky sand wash, I notice steam coming from the radiator overflow and started getting droplets of water on my face shield. The temp was fine so I kept going and Chris radioed what we would need. We were not getting a response from our pit, which was weird, but I knew we had to get to main to make repairs. The power steering belt started to howl once in a while. I pulled to check one and Dave Cole gave me the go sign. I gave him the, I gotta go left sign, and drove 25mph to the main pit. The Dust Junkies jumped into action, they said they had not heard the radio calls. They found that a spare link I had mounted to the rig had broken off its mount and taken out my rear brake line. Scott Hartman creatively fixed that up and we quickly bled the brakes then checked for a water leak but did not find one, added water, and we peeled out. It was great seeing our families in the pit supporting us with cheers and water with bendy straws…I love bendy straws.
The next 9miles or so were good. We passed most of the cars that had passed us while we were in the pit. I was still getting a few drops of water on my face shield but the temp was fine. We soon came upon Rob Bonney’s burning rig. They were out and there were 6 or 7 spent extinguishers on the ground around them. The rig was fully engulfed in flames and the helio was over head. We slowed to check on them and they waved us through.
Finally, we were in the rocks I had been running for the last 3 months. It was hard to slow down to rock speed but Chris had been calming me the whole time and said, “Easy, be the turtle.” I dropped of the first rock and hit the rockers a bit hard, not bad but as we hit the engine just died and would not start. It would hit one cylinder and then just turn over. Luckily Kevin Yoder was there to pull us out of the way so he could continue and we could fix it. We pulled off the hood and started checking things. We found that the hose I had put on the steam port and used to bleed the system had fallen into the power steering belt and been cut. The engine had been pumping out water for 15 miles. The MAF wires had also been pulled into the pulley and, while not cut, they were bare in places. Thinking the cause was just overheating and a safety feature in the ECM; we put all the water we had in our camelbacks and our bladders into the radiator and fixed the wires. I flipped the ignition switch and pushed the button, NOTHING!!! In desperation I started going over all the fuses, the first thing I discovered was I had unplugged the radio antenna while fixing the breaker on Monday and had not plugged it back in, the radio worked great after that. The only part of the wiring I did not do was the engine harness from Jim’s Performance. When I checked those fuses I found one that was broken……I did not dare get excited but jumped down, found the fuses in the tool bag, and grabbed a 20 amp yellow one. The scariest part of the race was pushing that button. Success, the little motor that could but sometimes wouldn’t roared to life. We belted up and peeled out.
Immediately we came upon broken rigs. Doug Bigelow was looking for jumper cables and Jason Pauley needed power steering stuff. We had to climb over some tires to get through a tight section where we discovered the rear ARB would not engage. Not far up the trail we ran into a 7 car pile up with a car rolled on the aftershock waterfall and lots of rigs trying different lines. I pulled up short and stopped as I unbuckled I told Chris to “stay here, I think I see something”. I ran up the hill on the left and found tracks and a nice little shelf to bypass the maylay. While I was out of the car I found a rock and tapped on the ARB solenoid while Chris cycled the switch, it worked we had an ARB in the rear again. Climbing in Chris asked if I found something. I said, “Yes, I have an idea.” We reversed for 100 feet and climbed up the canyon wall to the shelf. Soon I was at the spot that was the most tippy. The rig was light in the back and sliding down the hill a bit with every move. I started working the line winching down the rear, putting the transfer case in front only, and as I glanced up there was a familiar face giving me hand signals. Chris says “your being spotted by Walker Evans” that felt great. Walker even slapped the rig and said “nice job,” One of the highlights of the race for me.
With the first bottleneck behind us we made the call to continue on course and not go to BFG pit for water. The next bottle neck was in Sunbonnet, one car was struggling on the main line and a couple guys were trying new lines. One of them found one that worked and we all followed. I one shot it and we hauled ass out of there. On a trail ride I would have never even looked at that line, but this race makes you think outside the box.
The Dust Junkies were awesome at the BFG pit, they filled the water and gas and we peeled out. Outer limits and Bart’s head were uneventful. Once on the MDR course we could see a puff of dust, I started to push but Chris said “Be the Turtle,” I said OK and still pushed. We caught the car at the left turn off; it was Dean Bullock and Tom Allen. We battled hard and I finally got around him 3 miles later. My second favorite part of the race, every racer wants to do battle with their favorite driver.
We dropped through Resolution and Back door, once out of the rocks, while I was shifting into high range; I hit a huge set of rocks on the canyon wall and cut a tire, the only one I cut the whole race. I hit the rocks so hard it stopped the whole car. I am surprised it did not do more damage.
With the radio working I talked a bit too much. I guess out of a field of rednecks I out redneck them all on the radio. Well, I called and let the Dust Junkies know we would need a tire, water in the radiator, and water for us. I also had been noticing some steam every now and then from the overflow. Main pit went great, a splash of gas, a quick interview with Lucky, some water, and we were off.
Bullock had passed us again while we were in the pit, so had another car or two. We ran fast out to Boulderdash and immediately came upon Will Carter. He made us work to get around him but we finally made the pass as we dropped into upper Big Johnson. We caught and passed another racer at the waterfall. The wash from Big Johnson bailout to the bottom of Claw Hammer was a lot of fun! I gotta remember to go run that part again. From the top of Claw Hammer we raced as fast as we could to the top of Wrecking Ball. A call came on the radio, it was Kathleen, she gave us a time and finishers update. Only three had finished so far and she asked if we needed to stop at the last pit. We all knew top 10 was a possibility and I told her we would evaluate our need. She sent me off with an “I love you, honey” to which the Dust Junkies chimed in “We love you too, Wayne.”
I had been a bit worried about dropping down the Wrecking Ball waterfall. As we approached the drop I asked Chris, “Should we do the fall or the left line?” But, before he could answer I was set up and dropping the waterfall. In fact, it went down so easy Chris asked “Was that the waterfall?” We soon came upon Jeff Mello and it was clear he was having issues. His car soon died and we got around him at the entrance to Bender Alley. The engine was running a bit hot with steam coming out of the overflow, as much as we hated to I knew we had to stop at the last pit.
As we pulled into the pit the Dust Junkies jumped into action with more water for the radiator and a splash of gas. LJ looked at me and said, “You have a bad radiator cap.” Dan grabbed one off his Cherokee and threw it on our radiator, we never ran over 180* after that. The next trail was Jack North and as we entered we saw Dean and Tom outside their car. I concentrated on driving the first obstacle which had our fronts bound up bad (good thing Bobby Long builds great stuff) after a couple of try’s we were able to work free and continued on. We ran across the ridge and down Jack as fast as we could. We took several hits that jarred our teeth and I was sure we cut tires but the Interco’s did not disappoint. Next, we caught and passed our friends Buzz and Shon just at the exit and headed into Sledge.
There were several cars working the rocks at the bottom of Sledge, I went high to the right and ran the sand dune to pass three cars at once. When I got to the plaque line I couldn’t believe it was the same line I had ran in my Suzuki on 33’s. I made one attempt which put me on my drivers side, HARD! I was able to back out of it and as I did, Joshim in the 001 car went around me on the right and flopped on his side. I tried to pass on the right but couldn’t make the pass. I backed off and after the crowed flopped Joshim over we both made it through. I continued on another 25’ and in my haste ended up turtled on a big rock, Damnit! Chris jumped out to pull cable and just as he got it strung out Tom Wayes came up from behind, I yelled for him to give me a push and his first attempt ended up with his tires on top of my cage. His second attempt broke me free and I continued up the trail. Chris was out of the car so I had to stop so he could get back in the car which allowed Tom, Shannon, Buzz, and another racer to get around me. We ran Fisher Mountain as hard as we could and passed three cars. Once on the mine road I didn’t let up at all. I could see dust in the distance and recognized Buzz and Shon across the lake bed. We caught them in a fun twisty wash and were able to make our way around…we knew we had two turns and a straight away to the finish.
In the distance we could see the heilo and it was coming toward us fast. We pushed as hard as we could across the hard cross-grain with the heilo thirty feet off to our left. I could see Dave Cole on the skid cheering us in…what a feeling! The finish line crew waved us to a stop and said, “This is the finish line, take it easy on the way in, congratulations.” Crossing the line with the crowd, our families, and the checkered flag, made all the late nights, sacrifice, and worry worth it.
I couldn’t have done any of this without lots of help from my family, Chris “Chupa” Cabrera, our sponsors: Longfield, Interco, PSC, Rockstomper, G&J, Raceline, Heiser Oil, Rock Buggy Supply, and Dave and Jeff for this epic race.
Around mile 11 I heard a clanking that was new. The car felt great so we pressed on; soon the brake pedal went to the floor. I assumed the sway bar had broken and taken out the brake line. I found I still had fronts and could slow the rig a bit with the front cutting brakes. We radioed the problem and pressed on. At mile 20, as we climbed through and rocky sand wash, I notice steam coming from the radiator overflow and started getting droplets of water on my face shield. The temp was fine so I kept going and Chris radioed what we would need. We were not getting a response from our pit, which was weird, but I knew we had to get to main to make repairs. The power steering belt started to howl once in a while. I pulled to check one and Dave Cole gave me the go sign. I gave him the, I gotta go left sign, and drove 25mph to the main pit. The Dust Junkies jumped into action, they said they had not heard the radio calls. They found that a spare link I had mounted to the rig had broken off its mount and taken out my rear brake line. Scott Hartman creatively fixed that up and we quickly bled the brakes then checked for a water leak but did not find one, added water, and we peeled out. It was great seeing our families in the pit supporting us with cheers and water with bendy straws…I love bendy straws.
The next 9miles or so were good. We passed most of the cars that had passed us while we were in the pit. I was still getting a few drops of water on my face shield but the temp was fine. We soon came upon Rob Bonney’s burning rig. They were out and there were 6 or 7 spent extinguishers on the ground around them. The rig was fully engulfed in flames and the helio was over head. We slowed to check on them and they waved us through.
Finally, we were in the rocks I had been running for the last 3 months. It was hard to slow down to rock speed but Chris had been calming me the whole time and said, “Easy, be the turtle.” I dropped of the first rock and hit the rockers a bit hard, not bad but as we hit the engine just died and would not start. It would hit one cylinder and then just turn over. Luckily Kevin Yoder was there to pull us out of the way so he could continue and we could fix it. We pulled off the hood and started checking things. We found that the hose I had put on the steam port and used to bleed the system had fallen into the power steering belt and been cut. The engine had been pumping out water for 15 miles. The MAF wires had also been pulled into the pulley and, while not cut, they were bare in places. Thinking the cause was just overheating and a safety feature in the ECM; we put all the water we had in our camelbacks and our bladders into the radiator and fixed the wires. I flipped the ignition switch and pushed the button, NOTHING!!! In desperation I started going over all the fuses, the first thing I discovered was I had unplugged the radio antenna while fixing the breaker on Monday and had not plugged it back in, the radio worked great after that. The only part of the wiring I did not do was the engine harness from Jim’s Performance. When I checked those fuses I found one that was broken……I did not dare get excited but jumped down, found the fuses in the tool bag, and grabbed a 20 amp yellow one. The scariest part of the race was pushing that button. Success, the little motor that could but sometimes wouldn’t roared to life. We belted up and peeled out.
Immediately we came upon broken rigs. Doug Bigelow was looking for jumper cables and Jason Pauley needed power steering stuff. We had to climb over some tires to get through a tight section where we discovered the rear ARB would not engage. Not far up the trail we ran into a 7 car pile up with a car rolled on the aftershock waterfall and lots of rigs trying different lines. I pulled up short and stopped as I unbuckled I told Chris to “stay here, I think I see something”. I ran up the hill on the left and found tracks and a nice little shelf to bypass the maylay. While I was out of the car I found a rock and tapped on the ARB solenoid while Chris cycled the switch, it worked we had an ARB in the rear again. Climbing in Chris asked if I found something. I said, “Yes, I have an idea.” We reversed for 100 feet and climbed up the canyon wall to the shelf. Soon I was at the spot that was the most tippy. The rig was light in the back and sliding down the hill a bit with every move. I started working the line winching down the rear, putting the transfer case in front only, and as I glanced up there was a familiar face giving me hand signals. Chris says “your being spotted by Walker Evans” that felt great. Walker even slapped the rig and said “nice job,” One of the highlights of the race for me.
With the first bottleneck behind us we made the call to continue on course and not go to BFG pit for water. The next bottle neck was in Sunbonnet, one car was struggling on the main line and a couple guys were trying new lines. One of them found one that worked and we all followed. I one shot it and we hauled ass out of there. On a trail ride I would have never even looked at that line, but this race makes you think outside the box.
The Dust Junkies were awesome at the BFG pit, they filled the water and gas and we peeled out. Outer limits and Bart’s head were uneventful. Once on the MDR course we could see a puff of dust, I started to push but Chris said “Be the Turtle,” I said OK and still pushed. We caught the car at the left turn off; it was Dean Bullock and Tom Allen. We battled hard and I finally got around him 3 miles later. My second favorite part of the race, every racer wants to do battle with their favorite driver.
We dropped through Resolution and Back door, once out of the rocks, while I was shifting into high range; I hit a huge set of rocks on the canyon wall and cut a tire, the only one I cut the whole race. I hit the rocks so hard it stopped the whole car. I am surprised it did not do more damage.
With the radio working I talked a bit too much. I guess out of a field of rednecks I out redneck them all on the radio. Well, I called and let the Dust Junkies know we would need a tire, water in the radiator, and water for us. I also had been noticing some steam every now and then from the overflow. Main pit went great, a splash of gas, a quick interview with Lucky, some water, and we were off.
Bullock had passed us again while we were in the pit, so had another car or two. We ran fast out to Boulderdash and immediately came upon Will Carter. He made us work to get around him but we finally made the pass as we dropped into upper Big Johnson. We caught and passed another racer at the waterfall. The wash from Big Johnson bailout to the bottom of Claw Hammer was a lot of fun! I gotta remember to go run that part again. From the top of Claw Hammer we raced as fast as we could to the top of Wrecking Ball. A call came on the radio, it was Kathleen, she gave us a time and finishers update. Only three had finished so far and she asked if we needed to stop at the last pit. We all knew top 10 was a possibility and I told her we would evaluate our need. She sent me off with an “I love you, honey” to which the Dust Junkies chimed in “We love you too, Wayne.”
I had been a bit worried about dropping down the Wrecking Ball waterfall. As we approached the drop I asked Chris, “Should we do the fall or the left line?” But, before he could answer I was set up and dropping the waterfall. In fact, it went down so easy Chris asked “Was that the waterfall?” We soon came upon Jeff Mello and it was clear he was having issues. His car soon died and we got around him at the entrance to Bender Alley. The engine was running a bit hot with steam coming out of the overflow, as much as we hated to I knew we had to stop at the last pit.
As we pulled into the pit the Dust Junkies jumped into action with more water for the radiator and a splash of gas. LJ looked at me and said, “You have a bad radiator cap.” Dan grabbed one off his Cherokee and threw it on our radiator, we never ran over 180* after that. The next trail was Jack North and as we entered we saw Dean and Tom outside their car. I concentrated on driving the first obstacle which had our fronts bound up bad (good thing Bobby Long builds great stuff) after a couple of try’s we were able to work free and continued on. We ran across the ridge and down Jack as fast as we could. We took several hits that jarred our teeth and I was sure we cut tires but the Interco’s did not disappoint. Next, we caught and passed our friends Buzz and Shon just at the exit and headed into Sledge.
There were several cars working the rocks at the bottom of Sledge, I went high to the right and ran the sand dune to pass three cars at once. When I got to the plaque line I couldn’t believe it was the same line I had ran in my Suzuki on 33’s. I made one attempt which put me on my drivers side, HARD! I was able to back out of it and as I did, Joshim in the 001 car went around me on the right and flopped on his side. I tried to pass on the right but couldn’t make the pass. I backed off and after the crowed flopped Joshim over we both made it through. I continued on another 25’ and in my haste ended up turtled on a big rock, Damnit! Chris jumped out to pull cable and just as he got it strung out Tom Wayes came up from behind, I yelled for him to give me a push and his first attempt ended up with his tires on top of my cage. His second attempt broke me free and I continued up the trail. Chris was out of the car so I had to stop so he could get back in the car which allowed Tom, Shannon, Buzz, and another racer to get around me. We ran Fisher Mountain as hard as we could and passed three cars. Once on the mine road I didn’t let up at all. I could see dust in the distance and recognized Buzz and Shon across the lake bed. We caught them in a fun twisty wash and were able to make our way around…we knew we had two turns and a straight away to the finish.
In the distance we could see the heilo and it was coming toward us fast. We pushed as hard as we could across the hard cross-grain with the heilo thirty feet off to our left. I could see Dave Cole on the skid cheering us in…what a feeling! The finish line crew waved us to a stop and said, “This is the finish line, take it easy on the way in, congratulations.” Crossing the line with the crowd, our families, and the checkered flag, made all the late nights, sacrifice, and worry worth it.
I couldn’t have done any of this without lots of help from my family, Chris “Chupa” Cabrera, our sponsors: Longfield, Interco, PSC, Rockstomper, G&J, Raceline, Heiser Oil, Rock Buggy Supply, and Dave and Jeff for this epic race.