ROCKCROSS DAYS OF THUNDER, from the p-seat

100%Cottin · 08-20-2007, 06:47 PM

I have to tell this story,
I dont have to tell you about the heart pounding adrenaline going through my body before starting the main event. first thought through my mind is where is Nate going to want to start, he had pole postion or first choice. this is where a faster qualifing time would help. we didnt time our first which was way fast and should of took the second one they offered. Nate williams wanted the middle and Robert lucero took the outside right. perfect Cottin wanted the outside left to grab the line she had been hitting hard all day and night. I started thinking we can holeshot this cuz we were getting great starts all night but deep down I knew Nate was shooting for that same line and I started thinking everybody that got tangled up there the guy in the middle uassually came out in front.
on the start we were pulling a head of nate but not by much. by the time we got to the huge wall we might have had 3/4 to maybe a car link a head. just as we got the back tires up i felt the hit and could hear his hood crunching. what now, cuz we aint moving. I look out to see where lucero was, his only choice was to take one of the harder lines and I could see him fighting it, all time had stopped, you could hear yourself think. I said to Cottin "dont back out" but we were on the belly half way up and we wernt going up with out backing up. Nate wasnt backing up either. Cottin caught reverse and I could feel Nates front driver tire go under our front passenger. it felt like we were going over backwards but as soon as we came down she was already in second gear full throttle heading back up. I look over to see if Lucero was still there and I could see that he just broke over the top and nate was right behind him. I could have them backwards cuz now we are on the back straight and it was a little dark, you could see where you where going but with dust flying it was hard to make out who was in front of us we just knew there was two that we had to catch and pass. going around the matterhorn she wasnt letting off and I could feel the inside tires lifting. we almost shot pass the next turn but I grab the inside cutting brake hard just about the same time she hit the skinny pedal and hooked us straight for the next obsicle. I could now see the rear of lucero's rig. he was three maybe four car links up. all I could say was " get it mom, get it "after coming out of the middle obsticles lucero was about two car links a head and nate was just starting up the first wall. once again grabbing the cutting brake and sliding into a good line we hit right on the line we wanted heading up the first wall. second lap was about the same but the third lap was getting more interesting. after gaining ground on the back straight away we came back around the matterhorn once again lifting tires and heading into the next obsticle. I could see lucero just going over the next. Cottin went through the crack smoother then we had all day. just as I was getting ready to tell her how smooth that was I seen Lucero going over the last obstocle before the last straight away. in away my heart sunk a little, still happy to make the mains, but just as we were ready to start up that last obsticle I seen Lucero's rear tire high in the air meaning he had rolled over or was going over. " he is over, he is over " I shouted at her " get it, get it " came out of my mouth one more time. we broke over the top of the obsticle just in time to see Lucero bounce off of the wall laying on his side trying to up the rig. all I could think is if he gets it up he is gone. at this point he disappeared into smoke. now have you every seen DAYS OF THUNDER, I said " go all the way to wall and go straight through, trust me ". when we came out of the smoke heading down the last straight away we could see RJ, Matt, Victor from BFG and the Campbell crew yelling. then we could see the rear of Nate williams.............
IF YOUR NOT FIRST YOUR LAST but at that time in our life second felt pretty dam good...........
CONGRATS TO NATE WILLIAMS, AND ALL OF THE OTHER RACERS MAKING THIS A GREAT TIME !!!!!!
Randy and Cottin Rodd, team #7

Dirty Harry · 08-20-2007, 06:55 PM

Great post Randy!!! Cottin had her hands full getting around Robert but did a great job putting the buggy just where she wanted it. A few questions for you from a spectator standpoint.

-Would you want to see more laps in the future? Do you think it might have made a difference in the finals?
-Do you feel having a co-driver was a benefit? Most of the field seemed split on this, but you mentioned pulling the cutting brake for Cottin.
-Do you think a spotter outside the vehicle on the sidelines would be more useful, providing information with headsets and saving overall weight?

RedBullJeep · 08-20-2007, 06:58 PM

Thanks for the thrill ride Randy! You should write for Pirate too! You'll need an editor, but man, what a fun story!

100%Cottin · 08-20-2007, 07:22 PM

I thought three laps was perfect, for that course. Pomona and Phx az could be differnt. after talking to Ranch and seeing how he worked with drivers and was asking as many questions from us as we were him I know he is open to help make this work and let people help with ideas. some ideas will be better than others, it is going to be a learning curve.
I really like being in the car and it helps, she watching lines and shifting the tranny. we have learned a lot about differnt ways to us the brakes and air lockers. we were take the t-case in and out a lot but now we just use the arb's and cutting brakes. we are still learning and progressing we feel that is a real privledge to be involved with both the XRRA and Rockcross. with the help of other's we are taking a deep look into SCORE..... I have to say thank you for coming to the event again and I really liked your coverage....it was what inspired me to write the story.......... we had a great time, and we were worried with all the stories we had heard but deep down we know Ranch, Mike and Jodi, big Rich there not getting rich they are dumping a lot of time and money in this industry. I wish I had the means to help them all, cuz I know with the right break they are all great events !!!!!!!!!
Dustin, it was hoot.......after being on the man made course that was huge for rock crawling we are interested in maybe building a competion crawler that jason, cottin and myself could share.........

RedBullJeep · 08-20-2007, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100%Cottin

after being on the man made course that was huge for rock crawling we are interested in maybe building a competion crawler that jason, cottin and myself could share.........

That's the way we feel too...playing in both the fast of racing, and the technical of crawling, is a rush. Bec prefers one, I prefer the other, we're lucky to get to try our hand at both. Having a specific crawler of your own will help tremendously with skills too. You just can't learn to get through the technical sections without being challenged by Lil Rich or Chris Palaphus (WE Rock course designers). They have pushed course design so much further than anyone could have imagined just a year ago. You have everything to gain by giving it a try and with that skill gained, you'll find more speed through the technical sections of the race events, where most time is lost...the exact thing that made the crawlers do so well at XRRA, even with slower buggies.

Glad you had a safe and fun event...and didn't need to shovel your rig back on the trailer! I hate those kindof weekends!

RaceMoab#42 · 08-20-2007, 08:48 PM

Randy, man that sounds intense,great story. I really hope to run a rockcross event this year, especialy after reading the stories.

08-20-2007, 06:47 PM	#1
100%Cottin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Member # 52106 Posts: 387	ROCKCROSS DAYS OF THUNDER, from the p-seat I have to tell this story, I dont have to tell you about the heart pounding adrenaline going through my body before starting the main event. first thought through my mind is where is Nate going to want to start, he had pole postion or first choice. this is where a faster qualifing time would help. we didnt time our first which was way fast and should of took the second one they offered. Nate williams wanted the middle and Robert lucero took the outside right. perfect Cottin wanted the outside left to grab the line she had been hitting hard all day and night. I started thinking we can holeshot this cuz we were getting great starts all night but deep down I knew Nate was shooting for that same line and I started thinking everybody that got tangled up there the guy in the middle uassually came out in front. on the start we were pulling a head of nate but not by much. by the time we got to the huge wall we might have had 3/4 to maybe a car link a head. just as we got the back tires up i felt the hit and could hear his hood crunching. what now, cuz we aint moving. I look out to see where lucero was, his only choice was to take one of the harder lines and I could see him fighting it, all time had stopped, you could hear yourself think. I said to Cottin "dont back out" but we were on the belly half way up and we wernt going up with out backing up. Nate wasnt backing up either. Cottin caught reverse and I could feel Nates front driver tire go under our front passenger. it felt like we were going over backwards but as soon as we came down she was already in second gear full throttle heading back up. I look over to see if Lucero was still there and I could see that he just broke over the top and nate was right behind him. I could have them backwards cuz now we are on the back straight and it was a little dark, you could see where you where going but with dust flying it was hard to make out who was in front of us we just knew there was two that we had to catch and pass. going around the matterhorn she wasnt letting off and I could feel the inside tires lifting. we almost shot pass the next turn but I grab the inside cutting brake hard just about the same time she hit the skinny pedal and hooked us straight for the next obsicle. I could now see the rear of lucero's rig. he was three maybe four car links up. all I could say was " get it mom, get it "after coming out of the middle obsticles lucero was about two car links a head and nate was just starting up the first wall. once again grabbing the cutting brake and sliding into a good line we hit right on the line we wanted heading up the first wall. second lap was about the same but the third lap was getting more interesting. after gaining ground on the back straight away we came back around the matterhorn once again lifting tires and heading into the next obsticle. I could see lucero just going over the next. Cottin went through the crack smoother then we had all day. just as I was getting ready to tell her how smooth that was I seen Lucero going over the last obstocle before the last straight away. in away my heart sunk a little, still happy to make the mains, but just as we were ready to start up that last obsticle I seen Lucero's rear tire high in the air meaning he had rolled over or was going over. " he is over, he is over " I shouted at her " get it, get it " came out of my mouth one more time. we broke over the top of the obsticle just in time to see Lucero bounce off of the wall laying on his side trying to up the rig. all I could think is if he gets it up he is gone. at this point he disappeared into smoke. now have you every seen DAYS OF THUNDER, I said " go all the way to wall and go straight through, trust me ". when we came out of the smoke heading down the last straight away we could see RJ, Matt, Victor from BFG and the Campbell crew yelling. then we could see the rear of Nate williams............. IF YOUR NOT FIRST YOUR LAST but at that time in our life second felt pretty dam good........... CONGRATS TO NATE WILLIAMS, AND ALL OF THE OTHER RACERS MAKING THIS A GREAT TIME !!!!!! Randy and Cottin Rodd, team #7 __________________ Thanks to my 2009 sponsors; JIMMY'S 4X4- Maxxis International Tires, Turnkey engine supply, PSC Steering, Radflo Suspension, Griffin radiator, Art Carr, Twisted stitch seats, DJ Saftey and my fellow rock racers who steer me in the right direction .... Randy Roddie and Cottie Rodd Last edited by 100%Cottin; 08-20-2007 at 07:32 PM.

08-20-2007, 06:55 PM	#2
Dirty Harry Media Elite Join Date: Nov 2000 Member # 2242 Location: Albuquerque/Reno/Rapid City Posts: 2,481	Great post Randy!!! Cottin had her hands full getting around Robert but did a great job putting the buggy just where she wanted it. A few questions for you from a spectator standpoint. -Would you want to see more laps in the future? Do you think it might have made a difference in the finals? -Do you feel having a co-driver was a benefit? Most of the field seemed split on this, but you mentioned pulling the cutting brake for Cottin. -Do you think a spotter outside the vehicle on the sidelines would be more useful, providing information with headsets and saving overall weight? __________________ Harry Situations Harry Wagner Freelance 4WD Writing & Photography Vehicle Features, Tech, & Trail Reports

08-20-2007, 06:58 PM	#3
RedBullJeep Pirate is KING! Join Date: Jun 2002 Member # 12217 Location: San Diego Area Posts: 11,144	Thanks for the thrill ride Randy! You should write for Pirate too! You'll need an editor, but man, what a fun story! __________________ . Dustin Webster Red Bull RockCrawling Team www.beccawebster.com free 71PA_Highboy! banning info available now in the place we're not supposed to talk about. University of 4 Wheel Drive - Off Road Training DVD's and Instruction. U4WD.com RockHer 1 and RockHer 2 for sale...makin room to start on something new. PM for details.

08-20-2007, 08:48 PM	#6
RaceMoab#42 Outlaw Rock Racing Join Date: May 2007 Member # 90867 Location: mowwab ut Posts: 400	Randy, man that sounds intense,great story. I really hope to run a rockcross event this year, especialy after reading the stories. __________________ Outlaw Rock Racing, XRRA cars #42 and #21.. XRRA 7th place western division www.jimmys4x4.com www.moab4x4outpost.com www.maxxis.com

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08-20-2007, 07:22 PM	#4
100%Cottin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Member # 52106 Posts: 387	I thought three laps was perfect, for that course. Pomona and Phx az could be differnt. after talking to Ranch and seeing how he worked with drivers and was asking as many questions from us as we were him I know he is open to help make this work and let people help with ideas. some ideas will be better than others, it is going to be a learning curve. I really like being in the car and it helps, she watching lines and shifting the tranny. we have learned a lot about differnt ways to us the brakes and air lockers. we were take the t-case in and out a lot but now we just use the arb's and cutting brakes. we are still learning and progressing we feel that is a real privledge to be involved with both the XRRA and Rockcross. with the help of other's we are taking a deep look into SCORE..... I have to say thank you for coming to the event again and I really liked your coverage....it was what inspired me to write the story.......... we had a great time, and we were worried with all the stories we had heard but deep down we know Ranch, Mike and Jodi, big Rich there not getting rich they are dumping a lot of time and money in this industry. I wish I had the means to help them all, cuz I know with the right break they are all great events !!!!!!!!! Dustin, it was hoot.......after being on the man made course that was huge for rock crawling we are interested in maybe building a competion crawler that jason, cottin and myself could share......... __________________ Thanks to my 2009 sponsors; JIMMY'S 4X4- Maxxis International Tires, Turnkey engine supply, PSC Steering, Radflo Suspension, Griffin radiator, Art Carr, Twisted stitch seats, DJ Saftey and my fellow rock racers who steer me in the right direction .... Randy Roddie and Cottie Rodd Last edited by 100%Cottin; 08-21-2007 at 09:59 AM.