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Update 10:00 AM PST

Good morning everyone and welcome to day 2 of the Super Crawl competition. The morning has awoken us to a windy surprise. We arrived and found our cover tent blown out from where we left it. The dust is blowing hard enough to pick up all the fine dust and blow it into our equipment. The competitors aren’t stopped by this though as I look down the courses and see them scouting out their paths. As they hold onto their hats from blowing away and don their jackets for warmth, the teams are trying to figure out what it is going to take to win out here this weekend.

Yesterday was such a great start to the event. The day went fairly smooth with all the drivers finishing their courses. Each day, the teams have to battle over their 4 assigned man made courses. Then, the next day that they compete, they drive on the last 4 courses to complete out all out courses. The event is split over three days with A, B, and C teams. A and B on the first day, A and C on the second day, and B and C on the third day. Today will be the first time some of the drivers will hit the courses.

Yesterday the big question was, how good will the courses work. Today my question is, how have they held up. We have noticed a little bit of wear on the cement courses which comes in the form of smoothing and broken cement chunks. I don’t think there is any loss so far in rock smoothing, but a good hole was created on course #1 before the big climb. The hole is enough to push people over a little to take a slightly different line up the big wall which has only had two people make it thus far.

Speaking of the wall, as you recall, Becca Webster was the first person up and over the wall. Everyone else was denied until Brian Errea took it on. The crowd cheered like mad when he took a full charge at the hill and broke over the top. The wall of death is hard, but not impossible. Today we will see who has learned from Becca and Brian.

The opening ceremonies just started and the motors are coming to life. See you with more pictures and information in a few.

Update 10:10 AM PST

Just heard, Chris Durham and Mike Shaffer are first runners on Course#1. We are going to try and get some good action shots and video of that.

Speaking of video, We are uploading the videos now from yesterday. We should have those shortly for you.

Update 10:22 AM PST

The videos are up from yesterday. You can check them all out in the gallery by clicking here:
Day 1 Video Clip Action

Update 10:47 AM PST

A spectacular assault was made by Brett Epperly on coure#3. Brett Epperly is driving Shannon Campbell’s rig that he drove earlier in the year. In typical Shannon Campbell fashion, Brett used the gas pedal like a mad man as well to try and get over the steep wall on 3. Lighting up the tires, he hammered up the hill and nearly flipped it down the course. He layed it over on the passenger side, but was able to slam it in reverse and save the course points. He attacked it again, hit hi under belly, and it looked like he was stuck. With some throttle and work of the steering Brett was able to wobble the vehicle over the top and to a finish on the course. Talking with Brett the other day, he loves being the driver and not the watcher or spotter. Brett was made to drive and he is out here to prove it.

Brett “I can save this roll” Epperly

Team Mabey and Deboer in the #660 rig were on course #1 driving up the back side of the wall. Several attempts were made, but one was just spectacular. He unleashed the horses and motored up at a full charge. Hitting his front end hard on the wall, he kicked the front into the air and carried the tires till they were high above the top. He didn’t stop until his rear tires were up above the pink zero point line. If you don’t recall from yesterday, there is a zero point line painted on the hill. If the driver gets above the line with the rear tires, they get a zero for the course instead of a 40. Putting on a show for the crowd, they hammered their way to an almost victorious climb over the hill.

A wheelie like no other making an awesome climb

Update 10:52 AM PST

It looks like Mike Shaffer made it over the wall. He is now the third rig to make it over the top this weekend. The drive over the backside was spectacular out of control yet controlled landslide. We should have pics in a little bit.

Update 11:25 AM PST

Team Cook and Heimsmoth in the #41 rig were on course #2 for a fun challenge. Running in the Super Mod class, we caught them at the end of their run. “It was tougher than I thought to start with. It was tricky to get around the first cone
Once we finally got up and over the other side, we were almost out of time. We either make it or we don’t. It was a pretty sweet course.” They flipped over at the end of the course.

Wheelies galore this weekend at Super Crawl

Mike and Lance were up first today on course# 1. They were both nervous about this course knowing that it is a key to the success of this weekend. Being first on such a tough course would either make or break their spirits. In fact, Lance was nervous about it since tech inspection when they learned that that 1 to 4 courses were their first set. However, once they got here this morning, they stay focused on the job at hand and knew what they had to do. For the Super Mods, they are running them from the opposite side of the hill than the Mods. They get -10 for making the climb and -5 for the spotter ride. Then they have the opportunity for more bonus points by getting back up and over the hill. However, the climb back from the other side is required to be on the double bumping line on the far left of the hill. A big pocket and a vertical section disrupts any climb. Mike and Lance took the Superior Axle rig over the hill full blast then easily dropped in on the back side. Once on the other side, Mike took one simple shot at the pocketed wall, but backed off immediately to save the rig for the rest of the day. No reason to ruin it so early. They finished the course with an awesome -15 points.

Lance ascending the mountain of fear

Update 12:52 AM PST

We were using the local wireless connection here on site of the raceway, but we ran into problems. The speed dropped so bad that pictures wouldn't upload, so we are back to the trailer and firing up the satellite. We should be back up cranking out stories for you shortly.

Update 12:13 PM PST

Bob Standage in the #999 rig was cleaning house on course#8. An off camber with a twist section of crawling, the course has been brutal to many teams. Bob showed his true skills out there when he mastered that course. He wound up pulling the best score of the day with 2 points to finish out the course. When we caught up with Bob, he had this to say, “We are in Utah today with extremely awesome courses. They are very tough today, but we are on the comeback trail so look out guys.”

Bob Standage on a roll through course#8

Peter Wells is out walking the courses today. He finishes his second set of courses tomorrow. He had a tough first day with a couple unfortunate penalty makers. Peter told us this, “ Yesterday was tough. On our last course, the coil wire popped off during the run. We wound up getting a 40 on course 7 because of it. We couldn’t figure out what the problem was with only 1 minute left to go. We wound up timing out. It was a freak deal because in the 3 years of wheeling, this has never happened. We went ahead and finished the course anyway despite being timed out. We don’t have any changes for tomorrow. We did make some changes before the event though. We cut off the back part of the rig and totally redid everything. Shortened it up and tried to get more breakover. We shaved 200 pounds in the process. Tomorrow we are really looking forward to the wall. My buggy works awesome on the steep stuff.” We will keep an eye on Pete tomorrow when he hits the big wall. For now, he is off to mingle with the crowds.

Update 1:24 PM PST

With all the drivers out here competing and thousands of spectators to watch them, the vendors are here in mad force as well. We talked to one of the big dogs in the sport, the crazy creators of the Krawler tire, BFG. We spoke with Gary Enterline, inventor of the infamous tire.

Gary from BFG drops the Pirate team a few words

Pirate4x4 - "How is your tire working out here and on the trails?"
Gary - "They are working really good. Better than we ever imagined."

Pirate4x4 - "These are all new courses with their own challenges and completely new format to master. The man made courses are being accepted really well by the drivers, what do you think of them?"
Gary - "These courses are great. Some stuff out here is so hard only a few people are gonna make it. It's great to be here too and to see that 70% to 80% of the rigs running our tire are having great success. This totally exceeded our expectations."

Pirate4x4 - "So where do you think these new courses will take us in the future?"
Gary - "They make it more spectator friendly. Spectators are a major factor in our involvement. Patey has done a great job in getting it done. They had a great vision and they have realized it."

Pirate4x4 - "Thanks for the words. Good luck to you guys and we hope to see more out of BFG for the rock crawlers out there."
Gary - "Thanks. It's great to be out here and being with the racers and the fans."

Look for new things coming from BFG after SEMA. I hear they have a few little surprises that they couldn't disclose to me, though I really tried to budge it out of them. While we look forward to their news, check out their website at: BFGoodrichtires.com

Update 2:12 PM PST

Linda Adams in rig #303 was getting beaten up pretty good on course #3. Although she was having a hard time trying to get up a wall, she was laughing the whole time. She never made it up the wall, but she was laughing so hard we had to talk to her. She said, “I always have fun no matter what I do. I have had 40s on most courses, but I got a 0 on one. I had a blast. The man made courses are great and I am glad they work because I think this is eventually what we are going to have to do to continue the sport. And the fact that these courses are doable but are difficult, I think that is great.”

Linda making her laughing ascent

Looking at the scores, we have a pretty good race going on. On the Super Mod side, Mike and Lance are out to a an early lead thanks some great runs, but they still have 6 more courses to go. Jake Hallenbeck is running strong just 2 points behind Mike and Lance with John Gilleland just behind by another 6 points. Surprisingly, Pro series winner, Tracy Jordan, is way back in the pack, but then again, he started on the other side of the courses. Larry McRae dropped so far out of the points that his dream to take home another Super Crawl title for team Tiny has washed away.

For the Mods, Brad Lovell is top dog right now with Dean Bulloch hot on his tail. Joachim Schwiesow and Brian Errea, one of only two teams to make the wall of death yesterday, are back in third currently. This battle is looking really good.

Update 2:30 PM PST

Some bad news coming from course#1. Parker Garrett and spotter Ryan Goeller were rushed away to the hospital to get checked out after a really hard roll over. Spectators described the accident as Parker driving up and then getting sideways on the hill. It came crashing down onto the passenger side with Ryan right there. It is understood at the moment that Ryan’s shoulder is hurting pretty good and Parker got a little loopy from the crash as well. When we hear more details about their condition, we will report more.

Update 3:01 PM PST

More details about Parker and Ryan. Team EK Motorsports in rig #252 took a wicked roll trying to get to the top of course #1. Spotter Goeller was knocked unconscious and separated his shoulder. Driver Garrett was knocked and was still unstable as his spotter was being loaded into the ambulance to be transported to the hospital for further medical attention. Driver Parker Garrett is also being transported at this time. Let’s hope they are ok.

Parker and Ryan on their way up #1 before crashing down hard

Update 3:06 PM PST

Some more pictures were added to the Gallery. You can check them out now by going here:
Day 2 Action Photo Gallery

All the big hanchos are out here today. We just ran into Vic whom you may recognize from the Pirate Bulletin Board, but more noteably from Advance Adapters. Their products are used throughout many of the different driver vehicles out here, so they are under pressure when hoping that their products perform and not fail. So far and historically, the Atlas cases that is most popular from AA, has been anything but the weak link in these rock crawlers. Vic had his 2 cents about UROC's man made courses. He said this, "I am impressed with what UROC has doen here. Before the event we were a little skepticle as many others were, but as I watched the course build up on PBB, I knew it was gonna come together."

Vic hangs out at the Atlas booth awaiting to answer any of your questions

Update 3:51 PM PST

Late breaking news: DSI just took on course#1 and made the climb no problem. However, on the way down, the rear suspension bottomed out when he hit the bottom. It appeared as though he received some major spinal compression dazing him pretty good. We saw something similar at the St. George event. EMT was right there to assist him and he has been taken to the hospital with neck brace and all. As we hear more details, we will get it out to you.

Update 4:12 PM PST

As you know, course#1 has been tough. Although there were three people injured, it has been a good obstacle to try and overcome. The climb is tough and several of the Super Mod guy have made the challenge. One team had it really rough yet still made it. Carl Whitmore and Kurt Williams from the Rock Logic 4x4 team were on course and their front hub broke. This put them into a 3 wheel drive situation. Despite the handicap, they were still able to dominate the hill and come out with a -12 for a score. Where others couldn’t even climb it, they were able to pull off a superb run. It looked like they were going to get stuck at the top, but they did get it. Great job.

Carl racing down course#1

Speaking of Rock Logic 4x4, they allowed us to transmit from their booth and what a view that was. We had course 8 in front of us, but to our right today, we had Utah’s 2004 A-list bikini team modeling in the next tent over. Of course we couldn’t leave you without a nice little pic of these beauties. Of course this picture doesn't do justice, so you can see more of them over at http://www.a-listbikiniteam.com/

It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it

Mike Bailey is doing awesome as ever. After being distracted by the bathing suit beauties for a little bit, I watched Mike dance the #8 course. Mike, driving the #262 Maxxis tired rig, was doing well until his driver’s side rear tire blew a bead. He had to attempt the climb that has stopped many other drivers. Even with 3 tires only and 1 tire flat, he was able to scrub to the top and make a great finish to the crowd cheering. His comment was, “I only need 3 Maxxis tires to finish that course.

Mike and Troy Bailey psyched about their finish

Update 4:20 PM PST

An update on DSI. It turns out he refused to go to the hospital. He was in the medic van ready to go, but he got out and was just going to relax the rest of the event. Not wanting to end their run, they were out looking for Nick, his spotter during the UROC series to take over driving duties. Hopefully Dave’s decision to not go to the hospital doesn’t hurt him later on.

DSI on the way down before he hurt his back on #1

Update 6:13 PM PST

Course #1 has been an awesome course to watch all day. Crowds just gather in awe as each driver takes a run at it. Walker was one that we kept our eye on because we knew he had the ponies and the balls to make a good run at it. Before the run, we talked to Walker Evans. He said, “I am going over the top of that mother both ways no matter what” As he staged, the entire crowd gathered and cheered as he lined up to make his first pass. He made it up and without a stop at the top he raced back down the other side unlike others who would slowly drop in. The crowd cheered wildly with his full throttle pass. On the other side he staged for his second climb. A climb that no one has made nor really attempted with any passion. Walker lined up and with the crowd going nuts, he once again poured out the ponies and motivated the blue moon buggy up and over the pocket on the hill. He once again raced down and quickly did a burn to line up for yet another attempt at the hill. With the 4000+ people screaming, Walker was signaling to the crowd, “1 more time”. He tried to make the climb, but was denied when his rig caught wheel air and pitched sideways. He dropped back down the hill with a grin from ear to ear. Walker Evans is the man of the day for pulling off such a spectacular run.

Walker lighting them up on the second run over the hill

Walker taking his third blast up the hill

Ken Shupe and Rusty Bray in the #30 rig ran three courses pretty hard. In the process they gathered up two 40 point scores and a -2 along with two flat tires and twisted axle tube. Talking to Ken, he said, “I think the man made courses are the future. The crowd is phenomenal and I am still having a good time. Ken took a 4th in Pro UROC and is currently 2nd in NEUROC with 1 to go. Ken just pulled 22 points on course #3.

Ken getting onto the course

An update on DSI is that he is doing ok. We caught up with him and his tail bone is hurting quite a bit. Despite that, he chose to run his final course and was able to do so smoothly. Dave will be getting checked out, so you won’t have to worry about him doing nothing about it. Tomorrow we may see a new driver finishing out the courses. Glad to see you are doing ok Dave.

DSI back in the seat after a back wrencher