Racing Ron
07-28-2009, 05:13 PM
Updates from Jeepspeed 1709-Austin Stobaugh. This is the old "Terminator" that Austin bought from Lance and Camo. It was just his second race, and he had a great help from Jeff Belknap! He also wanted to thank David from Northridge4x4.com (http://www.northridge4x4.com) for stepping up with awesome sponsorship!!
Sorry-LONG!
The Team: As we approached the July race in Barstow (thankfully a night race due to the heat) we knew we needed some team adjustments. While Ryan Filar had been working hard to get the car ready for a night race (Thanks LightForce!!) we had to shake up the team a bit. Jeff Belknap, scheduled to team with Austin, missed our first race in Primm due to family commitments. Jeff would be available to drive in Barstow for 2 laps, but Eric Filar, who rode shotgun with Austin in Primm, now had family vacation plans. We had a need for a new co-driver or two. Jeff asked Chris Amrein from the 1743 Fabtech Team to ride, and Chris agreed to ride as many laps as he could take on the brutal Barstow course.
The driving and riding team was now set-Austin Stobaugh, Jeff Belknap, Chris Amrein.
The Pre-Run: Austin had great plans to test, test, test. Due to schedules and dollars, that turned in to test. We were able to get three laps around the course a couple weeks prior to the race and check out the new lights. They were awesome, but we could tell we had cooling and gearing issues in the 102 degree heat. Back to the garage and see what we could find. We were surprised!
When Jeff pulled the third member to change gear ratios (Thanks Motive Gear!!) for the rough course, he found broken gears and a bent spool. Time to call Currie Enterprises for a new 9+ drop-out and pinion support! We’ll address the cooling issues when we get back to Barstow.
The Race: The MORE Freedom 250 was set to run July 18th in Barstow – and it was 115 degrees!! It was miserable outside the trailers or RV’s (and those generators were running the AC 24/7!) The boys were in for a tough day for sure. Jeff, Austin, Sammy, Anthony, Tracy and MacKenzie got the car through tech inspection and ready for the race. Saturday morning Jeff and Austin ran a few miles and we were really having cooling issues in this heat. Off for a new fan clutch and thermostat – oops, break the thermostat housing – are we done before we start?
Eric Heiden, 4Wheel parts #1717 saved the day for us by loaning us a thermostat housing. Looks like we’ll start the race after all. There are 119 starters, so MORE decides to start a car every 10 seconds. The first lap is going to be super dusty – Austin elects to run the last two laps and let Jeff run the first two.
Jeff and Chris start and run lap one in 1:15 in the dust staying firmly in the top ten of 19 Jeepspeeds, and stops at the start of lap two for a quick mechanical repair. They run lap two at 1:15 as well in the dark, and stay within the top ten. We dump 10 gallons while Austin gets in. We quickly realize not getting him testing at night is hurting his lap times. He and Chris soldier on while Austin gets his first shot at night driving, and realize they have some suspension issues as well. At the end of lap three, Chris is done and Austin is a bit wrecked as well – when we realize the RH rear leaf spring has come through the floor and torn up the race car.
Rather than a DNF – our entire Team: Danny Cabada, Kevin Monson, Sammy Glancy, Anthony Martinez, Juan Madrigal, Juan Cabada, Andre Cabada, Jeff Belknap, Ron Stobaugh,Tracy Stobaugh and Mackenzie O’Brien – go to work reparing the damage. Jeff Belknap jumps in the co-dawg seat and Austin heads out for a hopeful finish. We didn’t think there was enough time to make the lap before we timed out – but Austin and Jeff pushed all the way and made it by two minutes!! A 12th place finish at 1:58AM was the reward for all the hard work. Thanks to everyone that suffered the heat!
Congratulations to Ray Griffith and Eric Heiden for the yellow Jeep one-two finish.
The Sponsors:
Motive Gear – High Quality Ring and Pinion Sets, Bearing Kits and more.
TEN Factory – High Strength Axle Shafts and Axle Kits.
Currie Enterprises – 9+ differential products, Currie High Strength steering and invaluable advice.
BFGoodrich Tires – The toughest tires we can find.
Northridge4x4.com – Support parts, Jeep parts, hats and shirts. Great people!
LightForce – Awesome HID, Halogen, amber, and blue lights!
SPY Optic – The latest in sunglass and goggle technology.
GoPro – Wearable Digital Cameras for Sports
Sorry-LONG!
The Team: As we approached the July race in Barstow (thankfully a night race due to the heat) we knew we needed some team adjustments. While Ryan Filar had been working hard to get the car ready for a night race (Thanks LightForce!!) we had to shake up the team a bit. Jeff Belknap, scheduled to team with Austin, missed our first race in Primm due to family commitments. Jeff would be available to drive in Barstow for 2 laps, but Eric Filar, who rode shotgun with Austin in Primm, now had family vacation plans. We had a need for a new co-driver or two. Jeff asked Chris Amrein from the 1743 Fabtech Team to ride, and Chris agreed to ride as many laps as he could take on the brutal Barstow course.
The driving and riding team was now set-Austin Stobaugh, Jeff Belknap, Chris Amrein.
The Pre-Run: Austin had great plans to test, test, test. Due to schedules and dollars, that turned in to test. We were able to get three laps around the course a couple weeks prior to the race and check out the new lights. They were awesome, but we could tell we had cooling and gearing issues in the 102 degree heat. Back to the garage and see what we could find. We were surprised!
When Jeff pulled the third member to change gear ratios (Thanks Motive Gear!!) for the rough course, he found broken gears and a bent spool. Time to call Currie Enterprises for a new 9+ drop-out and pinion support! We’ll address the cooling issues when we get back to Barstow.
The Race: The MORE Freedom 250 was set to run July 18th in Barstow – and it was 115 degrees!! It was miserable outside the trailers or RV’s (and those generators were running the AC 24/7!) The boys were in for a tough day for sure. Jeff, Austin, Sammy, Anthony, Tracy and MacKenzie got the car through tech inspection and ready for the race. Saturday morning Jeff and Austin ran a few miles and we were really having cooling issues in this heat. Off for a new fan clutch and thermostat – oops, break the thermostat housing – are we done before we start?
Eric Heiden, 4Wheel parts #1717 saved the day for us by loaning us a thermostat housing. Looks like we’ll start the race after all. There are 119 starters, so MORE decides to start a car every 10 seconds. The first lap is going to be super dusty – Austin elects to run the last two laps and let Jeff run the first two.
Jeff and Chris start and run lap one in 1:15 in the dust staying firmly in the top ten of 19 Jeepspeeds, and stops at the start of lap two for a quick mechanical repair. They run lap two at 1:15 as well in the dark, and stay within the top ten. We dump 10 gallons while Austin gets in. We quickly realize not getting him testing at night is hurting his lap times. He and Chris soldier on while Austin gets his first shot at night driving, and realize they have some suspension issues as well. At the end of lap three, Chris is done and Austin is a bit wrecked as well – when we realize the RH rear leaf spring has come through the floor and torn up the race car.
Rather than a DNF – our entire Team: Danny Cabada, Kevin Monson, Sammy Glancy, Anthony Martinez, Juan Madrigal, Juan Cabada, Andre Cabada, Jeff Belknap, Ron Stobaugh,Tracy Stobaugh and Mackenzie O’Brien – go to work reparing the damage. Jeff Belknap jumps in the co-dawg seat and Austin heads out for a hopeful finish. We didn’t think there was enough time to make the lap before we timed out – but Austin and Jeff pushed all the way and made it by two minutes!! A 12th place finish at 1:58AM was the reward for all the hard work. Thanks to everyone that suffered the heat!
Congratulations to Ray Griffith and Eric Heiden for the yellow Jeep one-two finish.
The Sponsors:
Motive Gear – High Quality Ring and Pinion Sets, Bearing Kits and more.
TEN Factory – High Strength Axle Shafts and Axle Kits.
Currie Enterprises – 9+ differential products, Currie High Strength steering and invaluable advice.
BFGoodrich Tires – The toughest tires we can find.
Northridge4x4.com – Support parts, Jeep parts, hats and shirts. Great people!
LightForce – Awesome HID, Halogen, amber, and blue lights!
SPY Optic – The latest in sunglass and goggle technology.
GoPro – Wearable Digital Cameras for Sports