Home » Jeep News » Event Three Write-Up - Dayton, TN
Event Three Write-Up - Dayton, TN
Monday August 10th, 2009
Well here we are at the Finals for the East Coast WeRock Series 2009. The Finals are being held in Dayton Tennessee. This event is the first night event for WeRock on Natural Terrain. We will be competing on Friday and Saturday night at 7pm until completed.
It’s Thursday night around 11pm. The trailer is packed and we just left for a 13-14 hour drive to Dayton. We arrived at the hotel around one in the afternoon. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel and headed up to the comp site.
The comp site at the MoRock off Road Park is a very spectacular site at the top of a mountain. It is approximately a football field and a half wide. With rock mounds ranging from 20 to 30 feet high, it consists of rock and boulder strewn climbs and steep uphills.
After getting teched in and spending an hour or so walking courses, we unhooked the trailer and headed back down the mountain. We then went back to the hotel to get cleaned up, eat, and get rested up for the night festivities.
We have a quick Driver’s meeting at 6 pm and then look over the courses one more time. We are first up on B1 which is a good thing for us. B1 is a similar course to what we ran here in the spring. The course started with a rocky uphill climb over to a 12 foot drop off that we took in reverse. Over to my right was gate three, a slick uphill climb. Just a quick spin around up top and a steep down hill through the bonus and we finished with a great score of -11.
Then onto B2. B2 consists of 4 gates and two bonuses, one up and one down. We entered from the left and had to cross the course to the right for an uphill gate and a double bump to the top. Then was a quick front dig and a 45 degree drop back down through gate two. After a backup, we were able to line up for the first downhill bonus. This was a large crack between two rocks; if not driven correctly, it could hang the rig up big time. We stayed a little high to the left and dropped in only dragging the roof on the other rock. With an off camber landing, we were through. We went across the rocks again heading for the uphill bonus. Suddenly, we hear a pop and see steam coming out from under the hood. I look down to see that the temp is over 260 degrees. I tried to back up but the engine shut down due to our over-temp sensor in the computer. We have about three minutes left so Bruce and I wait for about one and try to restart the Jeep. It starts up and I quickly back out through the finish gate for a score of -11.
I haul butt back to the trailer so we can check out the overheating problem. The fans are not working because a wire got pulled apart. I repair the connection for the fan while Matt fixes the blown hose. We added water to the radiator and get it back to normal temperature and head off to B3.
B3 will prove to be our toughest course of the day. Before even getting on the course, we’re already sitting in a muddy was out from all the rain they have had. We start into our course and have to cross a large flat rock to get to our first gate which is a steep uphill climb. Our intentions are to drive up the rock and get the front tires up on the climb. Then we will try to burn the front end over and down to clear the left cone. Unfortunately, that didn’t work and the Jeep went down on the driver’s side. Before I could shut the engine off, there was a noise and it shut down on its own. I asked Bruce if he thought I might be able to drive it back up on its wheels. I restarted the rig but it wasn’t happy. The engine had hydro-locked for the third time this season and this time it let the number 6 connecting rod go. With the engine hammering, I tried to upright the rig. But with it being down on power, and a fire under the hood, I had no lock. We flipped it back up and got a 39 on B3.
I told Bruce that we were not going to get a 50 on B4 and that if the Jeep could make it we were going to go as far as we could. To get to B4, we had to go out and all the way around the comp site and up to the top of the mountain. We made a quick repair to the ARB line and headed for the start gate. Once through the start gate, you had to run the ridge of the hill through a steep wash out that wanted to twist you down-hill. We cleared gate one with the engine hammering away. Bruce asked me, “What do you want to do?” and I said, “Let’s keep going”. We had a choice to go the normal way or to go down the bonus line. We took and backed down through the bonus line. This helped to line us up for gate two. Gate two was across a large, off-camber, slick rock. I raced down to the bottom so I could get lined up for gate 3. I had to back up through an uphill rock garden. When we got to where we thought I needed to be, the right rear suspension was really loaded up. Bruce said that when I let it go, it was going to leap forward and to be ready. The Jeep jumped forward violently through the gate but I was not able to turn it fast enough and it ended up on the passenger side. With the engine making as much noise as it was, I was not going to attempt to upright it. We still had time left so I climbed out and Bruce and I tried to flip it up but it is just too heavy.
We found an engine for the Jeep. Kenny Kizzard, the park owner, had one sitting in his garage. He said we could use his garage to fix up the Jeep in the morning. So we packed up for the night and went back to the hotel for some sleep.
It’s Saturday morning and we arrive at Kenny’s shop. Matt drops me off at the trailer to get the Jeep. While on the way down to the shop, the number 6 connecting rod cuts loose again and blows a hole about the size of my fist through the engine block. We get the Jeep in the shop to assess the damage. While looking things over we found the right rear suspension is damaged and the frame is torn. Matt and I discuss the situation and decide the engine is our prime concern. So we jump on that and get the engines swapped. After getting the new motor in, Matt jumps on the suspension to get that repaired and welded back together. With a half an hour to go before the competition starts, we get the Jeep out of the garage and head for the comp site.
Today we are running the A courses. We start on A1. Since it has been raining on and off for the better part of the evening, the courses are wet and slippery. Unfortunately, we slide into the downhill cone on gate one. I quickly run around the outside and up a loose slimy hill climb to clear gate two. Gate three is a steep drop off that we choose to do backwards. We dropped through perfectly and out the finish gate for a negative two.
A2 is next, and at this point, it is starting to rain again. We need to get through this quick. A2 is a steep uphill with several ledges and a steep drop off. We make gate one but take a cone. Gate two is a steep uphill climb with the cones at an angle to the hill. We make the gate but take a cone dirty. This means we only got three tires through the gate clean. We went up to the top and then did a quick dig around to line up for the bonus. The bonus is a steep double drop to the middle of the hill. I drop off well, but stop a little too far for gate four. One back up and then we are through gate four and out the exit for a score of 14.
By now, two of the competitors ahead of us are broken down and Kyle is trying to rush us through before the rain gets the courses even sloppier. A3 is a narrow up and down U shaped course with only three gates. We run the first climb for gate one with no problems. We get to the top and go around another course for the downhill side. We take two steep stair steps down and two backups to line up for gate three. Then we are out with a great score of negative one.
Next it’s onto A4, and by now it has been raining for about an hour. A4 is about a 30 foot hill climb with a run across the top and a steep drop to the bottom. I start by trying to make a big loop to get enough wheel speed to make the climb. But I am spinning the tires too much. With the Jeep in second gear, I wasn’t able to get the needed wheel speed and flipped the Jeep over backwards 360 degrees back onto its tires. After taking a moment to check things, I backed up to try it again. My second try put me just short of the top. So I grabbed reverse and backed down. This time I eased into the throttle at first to try and keep the tires from breaking loose. With enough wheel speed, my third attempt was successful. Once on top, I drove to my right and lined up for the drop down and out the exit gate getting a negative one for the course.
After waiting for about two hours, we found out that we were in fifth place and in the shoot out. The shoot out for Dayton is “bonus land”. Bonus land consists of 12 uphill bonus climbs side by side across the ridge. Bruce and I walked the course and decided on a plan. We were able to check in three of our four bonuses. I was told no one knew I had it in me to drive like I did. When trying to check in our fourth bonus, the Jeep took a high speed bounce and quit. We were unable to restart it. With a quick diagnosis, we decided that we had no power to the ignition switch. Apparently the landing had shorted out the ignition switch and blew the fuse. We were able to check in enough to hold fifth place.
With the 2009 season coming to an end, we are looking forward to try and go to the nationals since we did qualify. We are also looking forward to the 2010 season and hope to improve on an already great season. Thanks to all of our fans and families for following us through the good and bad times of the 2009 WeRock East Coast Series Season.
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