We pull out a win on Thursday but just miss the overall!

Our goal in the 114 mile EMC race on Thursday was to take the class win in Legends but not destroy the truck chasing the overall win, however, short course aggresion runs in my veins and we passed 39 trucks in the first 46 miles. Only one remained as we entered the unending rock trails. We pushed hard treating it like a sprint race and took the lead (based on time) but still needed to physically pass John Currie. We reeled him in and were less than 100 yards from his bumper when I rolled.

I still can’t believe I rolled the truck but I did. A flat tire + a broken sway bar + a missed shift = a roll. Our hopes were dashed and Roger jumped out to work on recovery. He discovered the flat and also noticed the front axle was cracked and bleeding gear oil. I was feeling pretty desperate as I engaged the Warn and raked the truck across the rocks hoping the sidewalls would bite. The BFGs did their job and the truck was on it’s wheels but wounded. Roger jumped in and we hit ramming speed up Wrecking Ball still chasing Currie.

Unfortunately, that only resulted in another flat but we weren’t stopping until we had help at Pit 2. BFG makes the strongest tire on the market but class mandated DOT tires will cut at some point. Sitting in the truck, watching a flurry of action in the pit I began to contemplate the finer points of logistics, preparedness, and how they effect race results. Why you may wonder? In all the planning and prep work, we somehow never checked fitment of a spare wheel. That wheel now held our only good spare. I grimaced as the crew did the only thing they could and put a flat tire back on the truck.

Now it was a race to simply finish and our Legends class lead was in jeopardy. Just how long will a flat tire hold before it disintegrates? The answer depends on speed, weight, and terrain. For our tire that moment came at race mile 101. The bad news was that our only spare was the 2nd flat from Wrecking Ball. The worse news was that we left the impact wrench and socket at the pit!

With the clock ticking we began to improvise. We hammered our only wrench enough so that it would fit in the wheel and I almost popped a vein in my forehead pulling on that thing to loosen the lug nuts. Luck was with us and we were soon limping again on our “less” flat tire. We had to drive so slow it was killing us but needed to save the tire for the rough terrain before the finish.

Well the outcome is already known, we pulled off the class win by the skin of our teeth with a narrowly intact tire but missed the overall by 12 minutes. It was a great success and further proof that endurance races are won before they start. The celebration soon turned to business as we began to prep for another 194 miles of torture the following day.

12th out of 150+ ain’t that bad

The big day was here. Roger qualified our team for KOH and it was now my turn to navigate. With gallons of adrenaline spent the day before, we calmly started the epic race and watched truck after truck wail by us in the desert. Endurance racing is an excruciating game of patience, we took no chances in the dust and made sure to run at a pace that the truck could do all day. Before we hit a single rock trail, the rate of competitors passing us slowed and attrition became apparent.

The rock washes, trails, and climbs bunched the field up and time after time we were forced to wait in long lines at pinch points. Trucks were flogged, rocks were punished, yet Roger patient and consistent progress through the course. Our only unscheduled stop came when the transmission temperature was running well over 300 degrees. It seems the horn had vacated the chassis and took the transmission cooler fan wiring with it. A quick repair and we were on our way.

Around race mile 125 we pulled into BFG pit and were in the top 30. Our pace was paying off and the truck was uninjured. With clearer air we chased down several positions in the desert at that the same speed that seemed so slow earlier. The rock trails were littered with broken equipment and rollovers. We pushed through finding the line in the madness. As the sun got low visibility was terrible and we drove by brail. At times I lost track of where the path was at all.

Nearly 8 hours into the race and we had decided to switch seats to avoid fatigue. The course was getting extremely chewed up. Everything felt rougher and every hole was bigger. Finally we topped the last rock trail and set our sights on tail lights about a mile away in the desert. The dust was blinding and we were exhausted. It was hard to stay focussed but that is why its called endurance racing. We were able to pick up a couple more positions before seeing the lights of Hammertown. We finished the 2014 King of the Hammers in 12th place. Only 20% of those that started finished. We’re always looking for the #1 spot, but just finishing KOH makes it a good day.

I’m really proud of our team for basically racing King of the Hammers twice in two days – 308 miles. Everyone on the team worked themselves to exhaustion to make it happen – thank you. The camaraderie of all rock racers can’t be beat and we are grateful to competing teams, Ultra 4 volunteers, and all rock fanatics on the lakebed for their support. Thank you to our dedicated sponsors for sticking with us through thick and thin. Lastly, thanks to our families for supporting us in the most rewarding and testing endeavor anyone can pursue.

About Lovell Racing:
Lovell Racing is dedicated to winning off-road races at the highest levels of competition. The team is owned by brothers Brad & Roger Lovell. Together they compete in nearly every 4-wheel off-road venue including TORC short course races, desert races, rock races, and hill climbs. In 10 years the brothers have earned 9 championships and two Baja 1000 class wins. In 2014, the team will race for the TORC Pro-Light Championship and compete in a variety of other races including King of the Hammers.

Follow the team at: Facebook/44BradLovell

Lovell Racing Team Partners:
AMSOIL, Torchmate, BFGoodrich Tires, Spidertrax Off-Road, Kawasaki Team Green, Lincoln Welders, Method Race Wheels, WARN, Rigid LED Lighting, 4 Wheel Parts, Aeroquip, Fox Racing Shox, Magnaflow, FK Rod Ends, Howe, Motive Gear, Robinson Construction, Nissan, Ron Davis Racing Products, Eibach, Powertank, Kaeser Compressors

Inconvenienced by some “minor” burns Shannon had doctor’s orders to stay out of the car until the wounds healed to avoid infection. The plan was to put Wayland in the car hoping to maintain the national points lead. In order to do this, Shannon would have to qualify and start the race. Ripping out a 45 second qualifying lap time, 5 seconds faster than the next competitor, would put the #5az on the pole where it needed to be.

Taking the green flag with aggression, Shannon drove the first ¼ mile to the pits to make the driver change. Wayland took the wheel losing only 3 positions. Heading into his second lap he got hung up in the first rock section and struggled for close to 10 minutes before finally breaking free. Dropping back to 22nd place, Wayland quickly worked his way back to the front of the pack. Keeping it smooth, dodging water holes over 4 feet deep, sliding through the mud and the trees Wayland closed the gap on 1st & 2nd with 2 laps left. He made the pass on Erik Miller and Derek West who both had mechanical issues, then made a clean run up the hill that had claimed the fate of many cars throughout the day.

The last lap was a hair raiser, walking away with the lead, the brakes had faded to nothing, no radio communications, and the mud & water were taking a toll on the Monster machine. The last two climbs were blocked by lap traffic and with no time to waste Wayland tried an alternate line getting stuck, luckily competitor Nick Nelson who had suffered a broken A-Arm assisted him and sent him to the checkered flag for his first ever Ultra4 win. The smiles on Wayland, Shannon and Nick’s faces were priceless!

Round eight was very close to extending that record, but he finished in 2nd Place. “It was my own fault – total driver error,” explained Renezeder after Sunday’s Pro-4 race. “Going into turn four, I went to set the truck and hit the wrong brake pedal – So frustrating!” Renezeder has always run a split pedal system in his trucks, allowing him to use all four brakes or front only. Sometimes you just make a mistake. For the rest of us mere mortals, it reminds us that he is, in fact, human.

The team remains proud of everything he has, and continues to accomplish, and a second-place finish to follow up a nine-race winning streak leaves no room for hanging heads.

They headed home with three seconds and a win at a very tough track, and they remain in the hunt for two championships. All is well in the Team Renezeder camp.

Both days of the Pro-2 races proved how tough the Pro-2 competition is. Renezeder put up a good fight, but MacCacheren had a flawless truck, drove great races and kept Carl from the top of the podium both times.

“Rob didn’t come out to play today,” joked Renezeder from the second spot on the podium on Saturday. The same seemed to hold true on Sunday, and Renezeder held off some hard chargers both days to finish as well as he did.

“Our truck is good, but we obviously have some homework to do,” continued Renezeder. “We’ll get it figured out for Glen Helen next month. I’m looking forward to it.”The team has a few weeks to get some testing in before heading to rounds nine and ten, held at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino County, California – the first night races of the season – the weekend of July 26-28.

Results from LOORRS Rounds 7 and 8 at Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT (Jun 21-23, 2013):

Pro-2: Rnd 7 – qualifying: 5th; race: 2nd
Pro-4: Rnd 7 – qualifying: 2nd; race: 1st
Pro-2: Rnd 8 – qualifying: 2nd; race: 2nd
Pro-4: Rnd 8 – qualifying: 2nd; race: 2nd

Our team was excited to run in the bigger classes with new rear 39.5 cut tires. We entered 3 classes this time, Open, Modified, and the Big Tire D.O.T. class.

Open class was first up, had 9 trucks, including 2 rail cars, and some other pretty intimidating vehicles. The track was prepped really nice, very little standing water, perfect for some fast times. With the new cut tires, the truck hooked up really hard off the line, huge difference from the other ones, we ended up making 2 good passes, with a combined time of 9.642, good enough for 3rd place! We were really surprised to place in this class; there were a lot of fast trucks, including nitrous and injected motors.

Next up was Modified, 13 trucks total. Again a lot of fast trucks! Still running the cut tires, the lanes were getting blown out, enabling us to pick up some speed. The truck ran perfect and straight, with a combined time of 8.702 we took the top spot, 1st place! Picked up almost a full second in time from the previous class.

Last up was Big Tire D.O.T., only 8 trucks made the call, a few broke in earlier classes. We had to change the rear tires back to the regular non-cuts, which made about a 3 tenths of a second difference in our times. The truck slowed a little to an 8.97 combined time, still good for 3rd place!

Our next race will be back at 3 Fires Off Road Park for round 2 of the Triple Truck Challenge on July 20th.