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Big Boulders Bash at St. George

Shannon Campbell wins!

Brad Lovell takes Modified Stock Win

Superior Axle 6:30 PM Update

St. George, Utah (June 18,2005) It was wild action here in the Main Event, but Shannon Campbell pulled off some calculated strategic moves in the final obstacle to take top honors in the Super Modified Division.

In the Modified Stock Division, Brad Lovell captured the win at The Big Boulder Bash here in St. George, Utah after going head-to-head with Dean Bulloch in the final obstacle of the event. Lovell bested Bulloch by a mere 2 points to take the win. In third position was Brian Errea of Rock Runner Racing after climbing from the bottom of the points after a not so good first day competition. Becca Webster, led by Lil' Rich Klein fought back today from nearly last place to finish in fifth spot and take some of those season points towards the series points championship.

The Super Modified Main Event was off-the-hook starting with Tracy Jordan. Jordan dropped off the first ledge of the obstacle without a problem and then his first vertical climb up a steep incline straddling the crack provided a couple tense moments. Jordan put the Eco-Tech turbo charged motor in high-speed and popped up on top easily. Shouting out orders to spotter, Jerry Watson, Jordan combed the top of the ridge with his rock rig, but it looked like he and Watson crossed some communications when he hit the cone on the top flat ridge. Jordan dropped down back into the dirt canyon and Watson began stacking rocks on the bonus wall. UROC Judges informed the duo they could not stack rocks for the bonus wall and Jordan screamed out his displeasure in words that perhaps should stay on the rocks even though we're sure everyone at Pirate has heard those words before. Let's just say the King Chicken Bone had a front seat to the action and was smiling as everything unfolded. Jordan made a few stabs at the wall and rolled hard eventually ending up on his lid a couple times. However, the spree nimble Campbell Ent. rock rig was able to right itself and continue on the obstacle. Watson was standing on top as Hot Spot was yelling out orders to grab the spotter rope when the Judge announced they only had ten seconds to finish the obstacle. Jordan didn't succeed in climbing the bonus wall, but he did move up positions.

JohnnyG, competing in his first 2005 UROC Pro National Series Main Event, put the Karnivore 2 over the first drop ledge and into the soft dirt in the canyon for the first of three vertical climbs in the Main Event. JohnnyG put his BFG Krawlers on the steep incline and straddled a two-foot crack. He launched upwards towards the top where his front tires just didn't clear the top left ledge where gravity took charge. In only a couple seconds, JohnnyG was upside down in the dirt of the steep canyon. Surrounded by screaming fans and other teams, JohnnyG motored the Karnivore 2 back and forth in the dirt sliding down the canyon, as he churned for a tire to bite and grab and right his rock rig. Eventually, he was unable to get it done and after jumping out of his rig in an attempt to turn the rig over, he and his spotter, Nate Williams, could not muscle the heavy Karnivore 2 back onto four wheels. JohnnyG was done.

Randy Torbett and Eric Nixon, Sale Creek, Tennessee fought the rocks in the Main Event and had no problems until they reached the final bonus wall. Torbett did everything he could to put his car on top, but it wasn't to be here in the St. George for Torbett.

Bruce Zeller put on some great moves throughout the final obstacle including pulling off a rear dig on the top of the ridge shelf, where everyone else had taken a cone, to position him to miss a cone and head towards the bonus line. BZ headed down the canyon to towards the bonus line vertical, however almost missed exiting through the last gate before he was redirected by a few hundered professional fans and other team members watching. BZ lined up on the final vert and after a few attempts he backed off and took his -4 points on the final obstacle of the day.

Jason Bunch took his turn at the final obstacle and by the time he reached the bonus line vertical wall he had taken a cone and had several other penalty points dropping him from any chance on catching Shannon Campbell.

Shannon Campbell put his rock rig in position and used strategic placement of his big BFG Krawlers as he eased through the entire obstacle. With Eco-Tec powered rock rig, Campbell had no problems as he climbed the verticals of the last obstacle easily. Campbell finished the obstacle heading through the end gate, but turned and headed to the vertical wall that no other Main Event competitor had climbed. Campbell put the rock rig into motion and climbed the wall without any troubles capping off a final run in winning big at St. George.

Campbell extends his lead in the UROC Pro National Series points race and we'll bring that to you in a couple days with our wrap up story.

Superior Axle 5:15 PM Update

St. George, Utah (June 18,2005) UROC called the teams listed below to the top of the steep canyon and after about 30 minutes they determined they made a mistake and miscalculated the scoring of the top six competitors. In the end, it was Mastercraft's Team Carnage Crew who didn't make the cut as Randy Torbett's score had been miscalculated. Torbett fell into fifth postion and Jordan in sixth position for the final team in the Main Event.

Superior Axle 4:15 PM Update

St. George, Utah (June 18,2005) UROC's Big Sarge has just announced the final six competitors for the Super Modified Main Event. Stay tuned for a winner in the next hour or so.

1. Shannon Campbell

2. Jason Bunch +26

3. Bruce Zeller +38

4. Johnny G +42

5. Tracy Jordan +50

6. Aaron Dusenbery +53

Superior Axle 3:45 PM Update

St. George, Utah (June 18,2005) Tracy Jordan took +36 points on Obstacle # 8 that pushed him into a tie with East Coast Krawler - Randy Torbett with +54 points who are both tied in 6th place.

Mastercraft's Team Carnage Crew finished up here at the Big Boulder Bash and are in fifth position after completing all the obstacles today. They scored a zero on their last obstacle after putting the stinger of the Mastecraft Lil' Bastard into the dirt during a front stand. Dusenbery drove off the rock ledge and put the car on the front stinger straight up and down, which he later said "seemed like an hour." The Lil Bastard landed hard, but Dusenbery belted in with Mastercraft safety harnesses and seated in a Mastercraft seat took it all in stride. Dusenbery said, "Good thing I was strapped in and sitting in a Mastercraft Seat or that could have been ugly." They're wrenching away preparing for the Main Event after ending the day with +53 points. Aaron and Jay are swapping out the control cable to allow them to front dig and they'll be ready to put the Lil' Bastard up against the best in the business here at The Big Boulder Bash. Missing here at St. George is Team Carnage Crew Team Owner - Kim "King Schmoe" Dusenbery to watch the boyz hammer down in search of their first top ten finish at a UROC Pro National Event.

Superior Axle 3:15 PM Update

St. George, Utah (June 18,2005) Walker Evans and his crew have come down off the steep rocky canyon and are loaded on the trailer and pulling out of the competition site. Evans and his spotter, Nick Campbell ended up with +120 points. The suffered two rollovers and a +38 on another obstacle that took them from being in contention for the Main Event.

The friendly seat manufacturer battle has taken a turn as Beard Seat's Jason Scherer timed out on Obstacle #8. Scherer followed the Mastercraft Seat Team Carnage Crew who completed the same obstacle in front of him with a broken control cable that did not allow them to front dig. Team Carnage Crew took the conservative line on # 8 and took a +10 points and were happy coming off the rock pile. Scherer attempted to take the bonus line and ended up timing out scoring +39 points.

Mastercraft Seat's Aaron Dusenbery is in sixth position with +53 to Beard Seat's Scherer at +75, so the race is far from over.

Goodyear's Jason Bunch just finished his second obstacle of the day, #8 and had a perfect run to score 0 points on an obstacle that many teams have struggled on. Bunch is in second position with one obstacle to go.

BFGoodrich's JohnnyG has performed at his best throughout the event and is sitting in fourth position with one obstacle left to run. JohnnyG put the Karnivore II over through obstacle #7 with ease crawling the rock with to the cheers of the fans. JohnnyG and Mad Max Rock Racing Team Owner - Bruce Zeller are only separated by a point between fourth and fifth position. However, Zeller still has two remaining obstacles to complete.

Finishline Racing's Smitty let us know today that although Zeller told us at contingency that Geiser Bros. had worked on Tracy Jordan's rock rig, Smitty clarified that Finishline Racing actually completed the work on the Campbell Enterprises re-worked machine and not Geiser Bros. Geiser Bros. is a top-rated off-road racing fabrication shop located in Phoenix, Arizona and they build a variety of off-road machines. However, they are well-known for building the most advanced Trophy Trucks that race in the desert. Maybe that's what we got screwed up yesterday...maybe Geiser Bros. is building Tracy Jordan a Trophy Truck for the Baja 1000...Anyway, sorry Smitty for not giving you the well-deserved props on the remake of Jordan's rock rig...

Got Summer?

Superior Axle 2:45 PM Update

St. George, Utah (June 18,2005) Mad Max Rock Racing's Tracy Jordan leads all Super Modified competitors with +18 for the day so far. Although, Jordan has two more obstacles to complete before he gets to the Main Event. The competition started at 10:00 a.m. this morning and Jordan's only completed a single obstacle. Led by his long time spotter - Jerry Watson, who came out of rockcrawling retirement for this event, Jordan/Watson seem to be on a great roll.

Things here at the event are slow-slow and slower. Along side of the steep canyon where the event is being held, the competitors are parked on the ridge with rigs bumper-to-bumper fighting off the gusting wind, stinging sand and nice hot temperatures.

UROC Officials have just provided us with a scoring update and here it is. Ignore the chicken bone sauce on the scoring sheet!

Superior Axle 12:45 PM Update

St. George, Utah (June 18,2005) Bart Jacobs rolled his rig on Obstacle 6 after Don "The Maverick" Robbins and his spotter stacked rocks for a couple minutes before heading up the six foot vertical. Robbins took a cone that most teams have been taking. Nate Williams on #8, deep in the canyon where many teams have struggled with this obstacle, used brute LS1 power to rage war on the hill. Williams, with only 22 seconds left put it on his side and then pop up and roared through the gate blasting the cones to the side, but timed out.. Jason Bunch has been wheelin' hard and has positioned himself in the top three. He's currently rockin' on #7.

Peter Mazzoni and Nick Socha

Nate Williams told us about his ride up obstacle # 8. "I crawled the whole thing including that big crack and got out and around the side of the crack with my cage and tires pushing through the rock, but finally I was in a position that I couldn't get up and over those top two boulders. I powered up a little with some LS1 motor and ended up going over on my side. We ended up blasting out of that hole and up and over those two boulders, but we took out a coupld cones and timed out. The exhaust got pushed into the radiator and I'll get to that right now. One to go so I'm hoping to keep it together."

Superior Axle 11:45 AM Update

St. George, Utah (June 17, 2005) In the Modified Stock Division Dean Bulloch leads Brad Lovell by a single point with one obstacle left before they move on to the Main Event later in the day.

Tracy Jordan ran a clean first course here at The Big Boulder Bash as he chases down Shannon Campbell in the hunt for his first win of the season. Trailready's Scott Gadsden is in the parking lot at the top of the steep canyon awaiting his turn at one of three obstacles before UROC determines who goes to the Main Event. Gadsden told us he's nine back in the line before he gets a chance to rock and roll on his next obstacle.

We're trying to find out what's up with Walker Evans, he and Nick Campbell have returned to the pit area with their vehicle and support rigs. We'll let you know as soon as we have the info.

We had Satellite Uplink follies for about an hour as the Hughes Satellite in space, which brings you this coverage, apparently had a hiccup according to our Satellite provider.

Superior Axle 9:45 AM Update

St. George, Utah (June 17, 2005) The steep canyon at the Big Boulder Bash is starting to come to life as teams head towards the obstacle's starting positions on the side of the mountain. This morning the sun is shining bright with temperatures hovering at 81 degrees and the wind has yet to pick up.

UROC is in the progress of arranging the running order for the Super Modified teams this morning. Since all the Super Modified teams ran five of the eight obstacles yesterday, the five Super Modified groups will have to be remixed for today's three obstacles. Teams are asking what group they run in and who they follow as the running order has been scrambled about as much as Chicken Bone's brain last night.

UROC changed three of the obstacles that the Super Modified ran yesterday for the Modified Stock Division in order to ease up the choke point of yesterday's competition. With only three obstacles for the Modified Stock Division to run today we should expect to see them finish in the mid-afternoon.

Talk of the town last night was all about the seat sponsored teams. Mastercraft's Team Carnage Crew and Beard's Rage 4th team are all tied in 6th position. The details were worked out last night and the run off is going to be between Jason Scherer's fiance and Aaron Dusenbery's wife, both who have apparently been driving their man's respective rigs in the past month. Will it be Beard or Mastercraft in the end! In today's final competition, Jason Scherer will follow Aaron Dusenbery in the conga line of rock crawlers as they tackle each obstacle.

Karnivore Rock Racing's Nate Williams nearly destroyed his Mt. Logan built rock rig in a serious rollover where the right front knuckle was dragging on the ground from Obstacle 1 all the way to the trailer. Williams told us this morning that he made a decision that they could not fix the car for today's competition, however his teammates had a different plan. One of the Karnivore Rock Racing team took Nate out for the night while JohnnyG, John Williams (Nate's brother) and Josh wrenched away till the wee hours of the morning and rebuilt the right front knuckle and more so Nate could rage on the rocks this morning. Nate said, "We're hoping to keep it together and move up in the scoring standings after a long day yesterday."

The Campbell crew worked late into the evening finalizing their strategy for today's competition. When we drove away from the strategy meeting last night plans were being made for a quick run to Sapphire's restaurant in Las Vegas. Something about some bringing some bigger boulders to the Boulder Fest in St. George.