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Pro - Super Modified

Pos	Driver	Rig#	A1	A2	A3	A4	A5	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	Final
1	Jason Paule	0	-3	-11	-4	2	-6	2	-9	-4	-12	-7	-52
2	Ken Shupe	30	1	-8	-3	-7	-6	6	-13	0	-12	-8	-50
3	Robbins / Lilland	100	-2	-4	-4	8	-4	3	-9	-4	-11	-12	-39
4	Larry McCrae	80	0	4	-6	0	-6	9	-14	-1	-11	-8	-33
5	Joel Randall	333	-2	-9	-2	7	-3	6	-4	0	-12	-11	-30
6	Rob Bonney	167	1	-4	7	-6	-4	1	-9	12	-11	-10	-23
7	Tracy Jordan	112	-1	-11	-4	-8	3	4	14	-4	-12	-4	-23
8	Mitch Guthrie	28	-4	-6	4	-9	-6	9	30	1	-12	-10	-3
9	Peter Wells	707	40	-8	0	-7	-6	10	-4	-2	-8	-13	2
10	Jon Nelson	82	40	-6	4	6	-6	6	-16	7	-12	-8	15
11	Mike Shaffer	5	-6	-6	1	-5	2	13	-14	40	-1	-8	16
12	Shannon Campbell	35	40	-6	4	4	-4	19	-4	-3	-11	-8	31
13	Nick Sessions	330	11	-6	8	12	-3	27	-4	10	-12	-9	34
14	Jen Little	64	-2	-6	7	15	-3	40	-4	2	-12	-3	34
15	Troy Myers	15	17	-9	7	13	-1	7	7	9	-2	-3	45
16	Matt Peterson	212	1	-9	-5	40	-3	10	19	10	-11	-4	48
17	Jeff Mello	888	-4	-6	36	10	-1	17	7	8	-10	-8	49
18	Chris Durham	36	1	-6	17	-6	-2	13	18	40	-12	-8	55
19	John Gilleland	722	-6	-1	6	7	-6	40	10	13	0	-1	62
20	Eddie Casenueva	111	3	-9	-2	9	4	40	40	0	-12	-7	66
21	Larry Trim	123	-5	-3	9	32	1	12	-4	40	-10	-5	67
22	Mark Berger	777	40	-6	6	4	5	2	38	5	-12	-10	72
23	Ken Blume	192	0	-6	8	1	-2	40	4	3	-12	36	72
24	Jason Bunch	29	40	-4	-1	8	1	24	-12	38	-11	-4	79
25	Terry Howe	8	40	12	17	6	-4	40	-4	0	-10	-8	89
26	Dustin Webster	747	40	-6	-1	34	1	22	38	1	-12	-22	95
27	Ron Christensen	249	0	-6	-1	24	-4	46	6	40	-10	3	98
28	Dave Schneider	49	9	7	11	40	7	8	8	40	12	5	147
29	Joel McClure	248	50	-4	-2	-3	40	6	40	40	-2	-11	154
30	Charlie Melchner	101	10	-9	1	1	-6	40	21	38	40	40	176
31	Walker Evans	20	40	-3	-3	40	-6	17	15	-3	40	50	187
32	Bart Jacobs	22	40	-4	36	36	40	16	6	40	-3	-7	200
33	Matt Woolley	59	40	-4	19	40	40	40	16	12	22	-7	218
34	Nate Williams	723	38	40	20	38	2	9	8	50	50	36	291
35	Brandon Gillen	10	40	50	50	38	40	15	-10	40	40	-6	297
36	Mac McMillan	75	40	9	9	40	38	17	50	50	50	-2	301
37	Curt Hildebrand	26	50	50	50	50	50	40	40	40	50	-6	414
38	Ricky Garrett	76	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	500

Pro - Modified

Pos	Driver	Rig#	A1	A2	A3	A4	A5	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	Final
1	Dean Bulloch	9	-12	-15	8	-6	-15	17	-4	0	-12	-18	-57
2	Errea / Schwiesow	1	-10	-20	0	-5	-11	2	7	9	8	-16	-36
3	Bob Standage	999	-9	-10	-3	-8	-5	40	6	7	-12	-9	-3
3	Craig Stumph	16	6	-5	-1	36	3	8	4	13	-4	-13	47
4	Becca Webster	698	38	-16	10	6	-16	30	-4	40	-10	-16	62
5	Sisson	32	1	-6	10	29	-4	40	7	40	-2	-11	104
6	Alan Ball	11	40	-6	21	15	-6	21	7	38	-3	-5	122
7	Bailey	262	14	-6	7	38	-4	18	4	38	40	-20	129
8	Ted Grady	464	40	-6	36	6	-6	12	16	40	23	-7	154
9	Aaron Clough	40	40	-3	23	38	-4	40	18	40	-1	-4	187
10	Amy Bulloch	211	1	-6	9	7	-5	50	50	50	50	-16	190
11	Shane Waechter	686	40	50	18	10	3	40	17	40	-10	-12	196
12	Adrian Dognin	327	40	50	26	-2	-5	1	16	40	50	-15	201
13	Chris Holley	61	13	-3	8	-4	-3	40	40	40	40	40	211

Update 01 Apr 2004 10:50 PM (Thursday) PST

Good evening all and welcome to the next installment of your LIVE Pirate 4x4 event coverage. This time we are back with UROC here in sunny...... err.. make that cloudy and rainy Vernal Utah. Our last endeavor here in Utah was a shiny and warm weekend of action. It looks like this time will be the opposite. With thunderstorms in the forecast, it might make for an electrifying weekend.

This should be a very interesting weekend as UROC tries to recover from what many have called a disappointing first event. I have been told that the courses are more reasonable this time around and that there are only 40 competitors (because its the Pros only at this event). This should make for a very low scoring event and one that will happen quick. As you recall from the last event in St. George, there were 100+ competitors and the first day ran late where the UROC staff had to cut off 2 courses from day one in the scoring. On the secnd day, they started bright and early at 7AM. Most were not happy about it, but I saw a new life in most drivers on the second day where they were driving a lot smarter than on day 1.

Unfortunately you will notice that there are no tech in pictures. Nobody was here early enough to snap up new photos. So you will have to wait until tomorrow to get a taste of some of the new rigs on site.

A new feature for this event coverage is the ranking order for the competitors. Also, for some (not all) competitors, their names are clickable so you can see who the heck they are.

So, until tomorrow. Wheel on

Update 02 Apr 2004 9:10 AM PST

Good morning everyone and welcome to the first day of the Vernal event. We are amidst the start of the event. The weather looks to be better than what was forecasted which was thunderstorms and rain. The only threatening thing at this point is wind which will pick up the sand. Overall though, it is looking to be a good day of rock racing.

A look at some of the vehicles lining up and the crowd.

I had a chance to look at some of the new creations out there. In fact there are several that have come out to play today including the Nelson & Nelson buggy and Shannon Campbell’s new high high high horsepower crawler (?). I spoke with Shannon’s father, legend Don Campbell, who was on hand helping to fine tune the new buggy. If you don’t know, Campbells origins come from high horsepowered vehicles for attacking things at full speed. Although this is a crawling sport, they have the knowledge of HP for when things can’t be finessed. A burp of the 500+ horse powered buggy should launch him up anything. The new buggy looks really slick and is a lot lower to the ground than the previous rig. The lower CG (center of gravity) should help to give them another advantage.

Also as I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of new buggies including the new Nelson & Nelson rig. They have only had about ½ hour of seat time in the vehicle and that was last night. These also come from the high horsepower and high speed racing circuit, so slowing to a crawl should be pretty neat for them to attempt. The new #82 rig is similar to their original one they built for Jon Bundrandt to drive except it appears lower and more compact.

The Nelson & Nelson racing team and the new buggy

Of course, to round out the desert racing crew, we have Walker Evans back in his Chevy. Nothing really new appears on his rig this time out although I have heard him knocking on the Campbell door to get him one of those new fang dangled moon buggies. They work well, so why not.

Walker warming up on some rocks

We should be starting any moment. I can hear engines revving up now.

Update 02 Apr 2004 10:20 AM PST

Mike and Lance had a good run on A3 with a score of 1. They spanked it. No word on points at this point, but the run was quite nice and a great start for their day.

Mike on A3 pushing around the corner

Jason Paule just conquered B2 with a very impressive -9 points for the course. He is coming off a fresh victory from the CalROCS Boulevard Brawl event. Let’s see if he can repeat his performance here at the UROC event. With more runs like what we just saw, I don’t think he will have a problem. B2 is actually a fairly hard course with an optional line on the uphill side that has a good crack in it. It is a steep ascent mixed with an off camber narrow turn to the left at the top. With 4 wheel steering sliding the tires back and forth, he was able to avoid all cones and pull the negative score. It will be interesting to see how a Moon Buggy without 4 wheel steering can handle this one. I assume the low CG will save them on the side hill. Tracy Jordan will be following Jason all day. They both have similar rigs so Tracy should be able to adapt what he sees from Jason and possibly pull off even better scores. It is a good spot for Tracy.

Jason Paule on course using the rear steer to walk away with a -9 on A3

Matt Peterson was running his first course at the same time as Jason. This is a new buggy which showed its first run at the St. George event. He was able to take a second place at that event. Unfortunately on his first run out today, he flopped it onto its driver’s side as he took the climb up. The rig is very narrow and low to the ground so it was a surprise to see

Matt Peterson getting denied and flopping it like a fish

Charlie Melchner is back in action again with his East coast buggy. He was on course B3 and he was having tough climb up the notch. The notch is this gnarly crack line that just engulfs a vehicle. See the pictures for proof. He took many attempts to get up the notch and it wasn’t looking good. He finally hooked the right line and was able to make the climb. Once drivers get up the climb, they have to make a u-turn around a tree at the top and come back down the same hell they came up. So on his way down he was running short on time and made a charge for the finish line. Wedging hard into the crack he sadly came up short only a couple seconds from the finish line when the judge called time. Great attempt but no finish. I look forward to see how others attack that crack.

Charlie wedging hard

Update 02 Apr 2004 11:49 AM PST

What a great day it has been. The courses are so much better this round and the event is happening fast. Almost too fast for us to even keep up. The weather is warm and the breeze has now died off some. We hope to get some chick shots for you too now that things are heating up.

As for the action on the courses, the competition is tight and we are seeing a lot of negative scores. You can really see the teams separating out at this event. The scores range from negatives all the way to the 40s and 50s (when a team doesn't pull onto the course because of breakage).

We have just spent some time updating the scores. On the Super Modified side, we have Joel Randall out to an early lead with Mitch Guthrie back up in the top percentile and Jason "rear steer master" Paule pulling in third. Our fearless home sponsored team Mike and Lance, despite their impressive scores, are all the way back in 24th. Lets see how they come up in rank.

For the Modified class, our boy Bob Standage is back in the top spot again. Dean Bulloch and Amy Bulloch are hot on each other's tails taking both 2nd and 3rd place.

More pictures have been uploaded also. Check them out.

Update 02 Apr 2004 12:48 PM PST

Craig Stumph (#16), former course designer and event promoter at this very same spot, is on hand with his vehicle attempting all the lines that he made others go through. We cought up with him and he had this to say, ”The wicked wedge is pretty good on B3. It’s more difficult than it looks like. We tried 3 times to take it and once up, at the top we hit a cone, which didn’t help. However, the ride down was worth it. I got the shakes from that one”

Craig Stumph coming down the “Wicked Wedge”.

We also caught up with Becka Webster in between courses as she looked on at other competitors. We asked her what she thought of the day. “I took more cones than I wanted to, but we are still in the game.”. She is currently sitting in 11th place in the Modified class.

A big attempt at making points today was Mike and Lance, who always seem to try different lines and techniques. This time they tried A5 without the use of Lance’s help. By having the spotter outside the course and not able to help, the team can earn bonus points including no strap points. They felt the course was doable without the spotter and were on a great charge. Mike had some problems on the wall climb at the top which cost him several backups. He was able to pull it over though and finish the course with 2 points. Not what they had hoped for by taking that gamble.

Mike attempting the top wall on A5

Dustin Webster didn’t have such luck on A5. He wound up rolling but gave the hangloose and a smile.

Shannon Campbell floating the valves and smoking it up.

Update 02 Apr 2004 2:15 PM PST

We are winding down the day and a few groups have finished their courses. All in all, the weather has been good, though the wind picked up at the end of the day. The event has also been going great. It’s nice to see that the event should finish before the sun goes down. The competitors are really tight on scores right now. It will be great to see which side, A or B, will have the tougher courses. So far it seems that the B courses had the better scores. Was it better scores or better drivers? Tomorrow will tell.

Another installment of pictures has been put. The scores have been updated as well though the scores were different this time that we looked at the cards from UROC. They aren’t official, but they are as close as we can get.

Walker Evans has been getting beaten up today with a few rolls. Check out the following picture series as he takes one to his driver side.

Update 02 Apr 2004 3:23 PM PST

As always the end of the day slows down significantly. Today though is a tough one because the wind has picked up so much here. If you don't have goggles on, it is nearly impossible to open your eyes. I can see the paint getting sand blasted off my rental car from here. In hindsight, I think I should have purchased that insurance.

At the end of the day I caught up with Jason Bunch. Jason has borrowed Darren Runyon’s rig for this competition. They spent several weeks prepping the rig just for today. He said, ”It’s been a little bit of a challenge to get used to. The vehicle has a small and odd shaped steering wheel which makes it difficult for me since I am not used to it. Furthermore, I am not used to that hydraulic steering. This is the first time I have competed in a year and I love dong it again”. He normally drives the blue and yellow Jeep from their shop, Tri-County Gear. Its heavier and a different beast to drive. Jason felt that they had more learning to do with the vehicle and getting comfortable with. Watching them on course, I thought they were doing well. At last check, they are in 26th place which isn’t bad at all. They won’t pull home the trophy, but it’s a good showing on their first day in the rig.

Jason bunch on A5 taking just 2 points on a crossover crack wall climb.

Most rigs are packing up right now and heading out as the stragglers complete the last of the courses. It was a great first day to the event. We will have more pictures up tonight and hopefully a final tally at the end of the day. The scores were just updated, but as you can see, we are still missing quite a few.

Update 02 Apr 2004 8:09 PM PST

We are now into the evening and things are of course over. We weren’t able to get our hands on the last round of scores. We should have those in the morning for you. We have more pictures going up now and have some video clips for you to enjoy too.
Check out some of these clips:
Mike Shaffer on A5 attempting the upper wall climb (avi)
>Another attempt on A5 by Mike Shaffer (avi)
Rollover on B4 (asf)
Mitch Guthrie making a good run up the top of A5 (asf)

Craig Stumph and Ed Purcell on course.

Craig Stumph and Ed “Give him hell” Purcell stopped by to talk for a little bit. As stated earlier, Craig was one that was putting on these events in the past. So it’s an interesting perspective to see how designing the courses and competing on the courses compares.
Sam: “You used to design the courses and now you are driving them. Which do you prefer?”
Craig and Ed: ”You know, we really enjoyed making them a lot. It was a challenge to come up with courses that were challenging and fun.”

Sam: “What did you think of the courses today?”
Craig and Ed: “They were definitely a challenge. We had a good time on them today for sure. We really liked B3. It looked a lot easier than it was.”

Sam: “So you had a hard time on it?”
Craig and Ed: “Well, I think we looked at it too long. Many rigs were getting stuck in it, so we sat in front of it for a long time. I think we just over analyzed the lines. We would have been better off just seeing it, deciding the line, and going up. We try to not look at courses too much.”

Sam: “So now that you are competing again, how was the damage to the rig?
Craig and Ed: Actually, we did pretty well. The damage we received today was nothing in comparison to how we would beat up the rig when designing and setting up courses.”

Sam: “I noticed the rig was looking good and didn’t even recognize it from the old paint scheme.”
Craig and Ed: “Yeah, we and many other liked the camouflage paint. We had a free paint job and cleaned up the look of the rig.”

Sam: “Yeah, it looks really clean. The sponsors must like that. Your sponsors are Maxxis tires? How are those tires working out for you? I hadn’t really heard of Maxxis before.”
Craig and Ed: “Maxxis is actually a pretty big tire company, but they mostly dealt with motorcycle tires and other types of tires. They are now really getting into making these tires.”

Sam: “So are they set up special for competitions? Softer rubber? More grip than standard tires?”
Craig and Ed: “Actually, they are a street compound and are working exceptionally well for us today. We were very surprised even with how loose some of this stuff is out here.”

Craig and Ed are having a blast out here at the Vernal event. With the momentum they have from today, there performance tomorrow should be one to pay attention to.

Chris Durham taking a far left line up B3.

Bob Standage leading the pack for Pro Modified.

While others have kids… we have chicks and kids.

Yeah, we also have chicks and chicks too.

In summary for the day, I think most drivers had a great time out here today. The biggest fear for the UROC group was another St. George event. So they made absolute sure that the courses were well laid out and the courses were much safer. This was evident with crowd zones further from the action, rebar caps, safety straps, and all around safer courses. What makes for a poor show is when the action hurts the drivers and damages the vehicles. The courses here today were really good in not being either one. On the other hand, some drivers expressed concerns that the UROC team would go too far in making the courses too easy. Some were easy, but they weren’t too easy. There was plenty of challenge and it also made good for the spectators. On the other hand, if you listen to some of the top pros, the courses were too easy. Their thoughts are, if there are too many people getting negative scores, then there is something wrong. Courses shouldn’t be won by having the least backups. Whichever camp you are in, you can’t say the action wasn’t good. We look forward to more action tomorrow.