Bench Racing

The last race of the 2008 SNORE season is the WDC held in Ridgecrest, California on November 15, 2008. This race would determine the Class 11/Stock Bug Champion. Mark Murrell and I are in a battle and I’m only 89 points ahead. (Lucky 89) With five cars entered I needed to finish no more than two positions behind Mark, but not last and I would secure the Class 11 title.

We left Las Vegas at about 3:00 PM. Loaded in the RV are Cindy, Haley, Bob, Melinda and myself. Corey had agreed to haul the #1189 and run it through tech inspection for me. We arrived at the main pits just outside of Ridgecrest at about 7:30 PM. Corey picked us up and we made it to the drivers meeting with time to spare.

At the drivers meeting I met up with J.R. Nichols and Mark Murrell. They were the only two other Class 11 cars to make the drive to Ridgecrest. J.R. and I made a $100 side bet and we all headed back to the main pit area.

The next morning we lined up for the start. J.R. (#1102) would start first, Mark (#1100) second and Bob and I (#1189) would start last as usual. There would be a thirty second interval between cars. We were scheduled complete three 46 mile laps. I planned on stopping each lap for a visual inspection, water and a splash of fuel.

When the green flag dropped I set off on a fast pace with my usual goal of getting out front early. I caught Mark in a fast sand wash at about race mile 3 and set my sights on J.R.’s #1102. We saw J.R.’s lights at about race mile 4 and were on his bumper by mile 5 or 6. We road his bumper for a mile or two and watched him drive the wheels and fenders off it for awhile.
When the course opened up a little we went to the left and tried for the pass. I had a good half a car length on the #1102 when the course merged back to single track. Neither one of us let up so there was a bit of a collision. J.R.’s left front tire smashed my passenger door and made a pretty loud bang. I think J.R. should have backed off because I had the clear advantage but rubbing is racing and luckily neither car was badly damaged. The #1102 got smaller and smaller in our mirror and finally disappeared. We passed some of our pit guys a couple of miles later and asked for a damage report of the #1102 and told them we had some contact. They called in later with a time split of 1:00 and said his left front fender was hanging. (we would see that fender on the course the next two laps) We settled into as good of a rhythm as we could on this rough course and finished the first lap with about an 8 minute lead over the Murrell #1100 car.

After a quick stop for fuel and water we were off on our second lap. I pushed the car hard in the fast sections and took it really easy in the rough in an attempt to keep her together. We made it to about the 40 mile mark and got a right rear flat. The two of us got out, I took a quick potty break and then changed the tire. Once we were belted back in I called in to Victor at main and said “we’re coming in for fuel, water, a new spare, check the lug nuts on the right rear and Bob needs a band aid”. The mirror had broke about a mile or two before the flat and cut Bob’s wrist. We made our pit stop and were on our way for the 3rd and final lap.

Like the second lap, I pushed the car hard in the fast sections and took it extra easy in the rough. I didn’t want any flats or other problems to cost us the race and/or championship. I also didn’t know that Mark was as close as he was. At about mile 10, Bob says “the Fire Guys are right behind us”. I glanced at my mirror and could see Marks hood about 200 yards back. The gas pedal got smashed and we were off and running like Forrest Gump. For the next 35 miles Mark would catch up, fall back, catch up, fall back, catch up, fall back all the while I must have asked Bob over 300 times, “where are they”.

We finished a whole 54 seconds ahead of Mark and about 20 minutes ahead of the #1102. I went to shake Mark’s hand and with a big smile he shook my hand a gave me a hug and said, “you deserve that one man, that was racing”. We both waited for J.R. and all had a session of bench racing right there at the post tech area.

This was a great year of racing and we have the Class 11/Stock Bug Championship to show for it.

Mark and J.R. finished the season 2nd and 3rd in points. Mark is 9th overall in SNORE and I am 6th. Of all the racers in our Class these two guys are the class of the field and it’s been a great pleasure racing (and trading paint in J.R.’s case) with them.

The 2008 SNORE 250 was held on October 4, 2008. Tech inspection was held at the Boulder Station on the 3rd and we had to wait around until 9:30 that night for the drivers meeting.
The race started at 9:00 AM and there were four class 11’s entered. This would be my 5th straight SNORE 250 and the 3rd in Class 11. J.R. Nichols (1102) and Derek Krumm (1165) would be the first two cars off the line and Mark Murrell (1100) and myself (1189) would follow thirty seconds later. My co-driver was my buddy Bob “Digger 2″ Moakler. Corey was racing the #989 in Class 9 with Cody Reid going for his first SNORE 250 win. Mark and I got the green flag and we were off. We were side by side for a bit and I slowly pulled ahead. The car felt really good and the nerves and breathing were somewhat normal for a change. We quickly got to the ruff stuff and had to back it off just a bit. We caught Derek and Chuck in the (1165) and they moved over and gave me plenty of room. I set my sights on the (1102). We got stuck behind the #8888 for a couple of minutes until they pulled over to let us by. Funny, at the drivers meeting I sat with them and they made a comment about moving Class 11’s out of the way like a desert tortoise. We never saw them again! I caught up to J.R. and his co-dog Beauhawk shortly after passing the #8888 truck. We planned on staying on his a$$ and making him set the pace. The plan was working pretty good. The 1102 was hopping and swapping and bouncing and keeping the pace. Bob and I were riding pretty smooth because we were watching all of their lines. All of a sudden my car dies and we pulled over. Bob quickly got out and checked some wiring and was getting back in as Mark (1100) passed by us. As soon as Bob shut the door (maybe sooner) I was off and running. Bob has nearly mastered the art of buckling his seat belts on the go. I had Mark in my sights a few times but the wiring problem and an intake issue persisted throughout the first lap. We would lose power, get going, loose power. On the way back from the Valley of Fire Road, we got to within maybe 600 – 800 yards of Mark but that would be the last I saw of him or J.R. until I congratulated them after the race. We were both out of the car in the last mile of the first lap. The car was stopped near the top of a small hill that we just couldn’t make it up with the lack of power. The clutch was out of adjustment and it took a running start in second gear to finally get up the hill. We finished the first lap and cut off the course over to our main pit for Victor to do some repairs. Since we weren’t belted in anyway, we both got out and checked out the car. Victor and the crew went to work and Bob and I got some water and belted back in. Once the repairs were completed, we drove back over to the start finish and entered the course where we exited earlier. Our second lap was really good. We may have even got a fast lap had we not turned off for repairs. I’d be less than honest if I was to say I wasn’t hoping to see a broken 1102 or 1100 or both somewhere on the second lap but no such luck. We got about a mile and a half out and heard a loud hissing sound coming from the left front. I figured it was a shock and Bob was guessing we were dragging something. Of course I was right. We nursed the car the last mile and finished the race in 3rd place with a broken shock and shock tower. Mark Murrell was second and J.R. NIchols scored his first win. Derek Krumm did not finish the second lap and came in fourth. After Bob’s eight trips in and out of the car on lap 1, we were happy with a finish. I found Mark and gave him a congrats hand shake and wished him luck at the next one. We are 89 points ahead of him for the championship with one race left. Lucky number 89!! I have to finish one position behind Mark (not last) in order to secure the championship and take Marks #1100. I eventually found J.R. leaving for the hotel. I gave him the side bet money ($20 from each driver plus an extra twenty because I never passed him) and a congrats hand shake. J.R. has worked hard for this win and he deserved it. My nephew Corey Torres got his first SNORE 250 win in Class 9. He has now won the hardware (Trophies) for all of the MORE and SNORE series six races. A good day for the team. Until Ridgecrest…………….

On another note. The NEW Class 11 is under construction.

The 2008 SNORE Midnight Special was held on August 9th, 2008. The Cold Forged Team #1102 had put together a Challenge Cup for Class 11/Stock Bug. Although there were 20 cars pre-entered, on race day the total was 13. The best showing of Class 11 so far. At the request of Cold Forged there were no rear starts. In the drawing for start positions, I was set to start 6th.

The race was scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. A BLM issue caused over an hour delay to the start of the race. The sun was just a memory when the green flag dropped. I was behind the wheel and my co-driver was Bob Moakler. (Corey was racing his #1689) My plan was to get out front and set a good pace. Right from the start the dust was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I caught the #1165 (Krumm) in the first mile and was able to get past him. I did not pre-run the course but I had been out for course marking of the first 15 miles a week earlier. At mile 2 or 3 the course was about 150 yards wide with several different lines. I took the line to the far left. This was about the only area I remembered from course marking. There were two Class 11’s and a Trophy Lite truck to the right of me going through the large wash/valley and we able to pass them without eating their dust. We got by the Bugweiser car and a Trophy Lite just after the wash. We were now the 2nd Class 11 on the road and had some clean air. When we got to the first long stretch of whoops I could see the blue strobe of the lead Class 11 way up in the distance. I thought it was the #1199 (J & J) but I couldn’t be sure because I wasn’t clear on who we passed in the wash. We were moving pretty good through road crossing #4 and the sandy turn at the railroad tracks. Whoopville is the long sand section that leads to pit “A”. The blue strobe of the lead car was only a few hundred yards ahead of us when we went blazing through pit “A”. When I say blazing I mean blazing! About a half mile after pit “A” the car just dies. I pulled as far to the left
as I could but we were in a bad spot half way through a turn. Bob and I got out to see what was wrong and to our shock, the engine compartment was on fire. Bob opened the deck lid and I was right there with the fire extinguisher blasting out the flames. (I should be an honorary member of Fire Guys Racing) I then ripped a reflective triangle from the car and ran back on the course to warn others we were around the turn. The Class 11’s we had passed came rolling past us. (I read on Mark Murrells website that he asked his co-driver when we passed him; I hope the above explanation clears it up) The #1103 (Hendrickson) stopped to make sure we were okay and we waved them on. Good Sportsmanship! After inspecting the damage and not being able to reach our pit on the radio, we started walking back to pit “A” in search of John Poling and the LVDC pits. At the start of our “walk of shame”, the #1102(Nichols) passed us and I told Bob, there goes $100 bucks. I had bet JR that they wouldn’t pass us. Oh well! As we reached the end of pit “A” we were greeted by many spectators and pit crews offering us everything from water to beer to hot dogs. We found John at the very beginning of the pit road. I got Victor on the phone and explained what had happened and then I called SNORE for a retrieval pass. SNORE would not allow us to take a vehicle to the car but they did have a course worker (Bill Dickton) come pulls us out of the desert and tow us all the way to road crossing #4. John had loaned me his phone before we walked back to the car. Milo Torres
(Digger) arrived at RX 4 at about the same time as us. He had the parts we needed and him and Bob made the necessary repairs. The metal oil lines had melted the fuel filter and the fire melted alot of wires. I got the pleasure of meeting Oldmanx and Mace who were taking photos at the road crossing. (Class11Coalition members) We watched a few Class 11’s go by and I was doing the math in my head trying to figure out if we had enough time to finish. We got going again and had to re-enter the course at RX 4 and ended up having to go through whoopville twice on the first lap. We pulled into pit “A” and gave John his phone back and then we were off and running. Shortly after going through beer bottle pass, the car was on fire again. The fire extinguisher was empty so I used a bottle of water from the cooler. (we travel in style) We could not get the car started and sat in the middle of nowhere for about a half an hour. It was pitch black out and we had to turn the tail lights on every time we heard or saw a car coming. We finally got the car going and were heading to pit “B”. We were nearly five hours into the race and still on the first lap. My spirit was going quick. I was debating in my head whether to call it a day and cut our losses. I knew we could not finish 3 laps. I got Victor on the radio and I wanted to get SNORE’s permission to pull off at Knight Ranch Road and drive back to main. (I didn’t want to risk a DQ) I was worried that if we went past pit “B” and had a problem we would be out there all night. We were creeping along and hadn’t heard back from Victor when a Trophy Lite came up on us. I moved over and let him pass and all of a sudden I was eating his dust. It didn’t taste good so I started pushing hard and I blew past him in the rough (in front of spectators of course). I left him behind and never saw him again until we were in the main pit area getting the car worked on. We ended up going out on our second lap at about the same time as the #1199 finished. I knew the #1100 (Murrell) had broke on his second lap so we just had to complete the second lap to beat him in the points. I had seen #1102, #1188, and another car broke just past pit “B” so we figured 2 laps would place us in the middle somewhere. I drove the car as hard as I ever have trying to beat the clock. At the last road crossing the cars steering was going crazy. I was fighting to keep the car straight but it was all over the place. We ended up taking a sharp right and planted the car in about a foot and a half of silt. When we got out and inspected the front end; the front tires were pointed in opposite directions. The long tie rod was bent at a 90 degree angle. We timed out while changing the tie rod. I jacked up the rear of the car, dug out under the passenger rear tire and placed our spare in the hole. We lowered the car on the tire, put the jack away, got in and drove off leaving the tire there. Corey found the tire during course clean-up and he was laughing at our tire tracks leading up to where we got stuck. He said it looked like a giant snake had been through there. We finished the second lap at about 6:00 AM. The main pit looked like a ghost town. JR came by for his $100 and I paid him after reminding him that we still beat him. We had a beer and a couple of laughs with what was left of our pit crew and then went to the hotel for shower and a little nap before the awards. At about 11:00 AM I woke up and realized we missed the awards. Long night! When I made it home, I received a call from the gloating winners Jason and Jeremy of the #1199. I assured them their $100 would be in the mail and apologized for not making it to the awards. I sincerely congratulated them and tried to explain that I was in their dust when the car went up in flames but that doesn’t mean crap. They won. We didn’t. Now we have to live with these guys being the Stock Bug Challenge Champs (for now). THUGS!!!

The Dusty Times 250 is held every year in Caliente, Nevada. I rolled into town on Thursday afternoon with the #1189 in tow and a cast on my right wrist. I had broken my hand about 4 weeks prior but the first doctor I saw was a moron and could not read an x-ray. I had an appointment earlier that morning with Dr. Koe who has done my knee operation a couple of times and he informed me I had a broken hand and needed a cast. He knew I was racing so he gave me a little extra movement of my fingers in the cast so I could shift. Friday morning there was a pancake breakfast made by the kids at the elementary school. Alot of drivers brought their cars to the school for a meet and greet with local kids. T-shirts, photos and autographs were handed out to all the kids from five different schools as they checked out our racecars. I had several Sharpies and let the kids sign the fenders on my car and also my cast.

There were 6 entrants in Class 11. We started in the back with me behind the wheel and my co-driver was Bob Moakler (Digger 2). I had altered my cast a little more for shifting. We had to go through a short speed zone area because one of the locals would not allow the race to cross his property. At about mile 2 or 3 we caught up to the #1100 (Murrell). Mark or Aaron saw us coming and gave up room to pass when it was safe to do so. The next car we passed was the #1112 (Palacios). Bob hit the horn and we flew past him on the left. There’s a few videos on this site of the passes. We started seeing the dust of the #1165 (Krumm). I closed on him pretty quick but there was no room to pass at first and then we were able to get around him on the right. I thought that I might have hit his bumper on accident. When I saw him and his dad at the next race I apologized if I did hit them but they didn’t think I did. Cool. The next car to get around was the #1111 (Leavitt). I started seeing Garey’s dust, but when I caught up to him it was in the nasty, silty, rough single track section of the course with no room for passing. We followed behind Garey for few miles and ate so much dust I still have the gritty taste in my mouth. I tried to stay close but it was rough, rough, rough. (I sound like my dog) We couldn’t see much of the course so we watched Garey’s car. When it bounced or swapped, we checked up. I eventually got around the #1111 after pit “A” going up a sand wash. I set my sights on the #1102 (JR Nichols). JR had promised to get some of my orange fender paint on his car so I was going to give him a shot at it. It took about 10 miles to run the #1102 down. We started seeing the lingering dust when we were heading through the trees. Finally I got a peek of his rear bumper rounding a turn. I pushed hard and closed in and tried to set up a “clean pass”. We didn’t have much room to work with but right as I was behind JR and going to go left, his car swapped out a little as he was going right and they ended up kissing a tree that split the two lines. We were now first on the road and first on time. I didn’t want to get too comfortable because this was a two lap race and the other guys weren’t going to just lay down and take it. After we went under the railroad tracks at about mile 27 – 28, I was able to look to the side and saw the #1100 coming the other way. We started heading up the dreaded sand wash and I was pushing through it pretty good. Just then, we round a turn and there’s two trucks stuck right in the middle of the course. The rut was to deep for me to turn my tires and go around so we were “stuck like Chuck”. SHUCKS!! Bob and I were both out of the car trying to figure out our next move. The #1102 comes around the corner and in an effort to avoid hitting me or my car, he ended up getting stuck behind us. I’m pretty sure that JR used profanity but I can’t print it here. Now the log jam was extended around the turn so other cars could see a problem before it was too late. We guided a few cars around us and continued to try to get our car free. JR and Beauhawk of the #1102 dug in and helped get us going. We had to dig the middle of the rut down to turn the front tires and we put rocks under the rears. I headed for the brush for traction and drove up the wash a good ways before I could safely stop and wait for Bob to run up. Thanks again to JR and Beau. Bob got back in and I drove the car like I was running from the police. I knew the #1100, #1112 and #1111 had got past us and JR when we were stuck. We quickly came across the #1112 (Palacios) and they appeared stuck or having other issues. We caught one of the trucks that got us stuck on the long fire road. They finally pulled over and let us pass. Right as we passed them, we hit a wash out in the road in 3rd gear (pinned) and the car launched into the air. It was the hardest hit I ever took in the #1189 and I about threw up from the pain in my hand. When we came down the big hill leading into town, my dad was working the course for SNORE at the bottom and motioned that we were in second. I thought he was mistaken because I knew Mark and Garey were still ahead of us. We stopped for fuel and I saw Corey and Jared standing there in their race suits and helmets. Corey was racing his #1689 and had a problem so he was done. I was still fuming from being stuck and I wasn’t getting out of the car. We got our fuel and a splash of water and we were off. I pushed as hard as I could and Mark (#1100) later told me he could feel me coming and he was pushing just as hard. We never did catch up to the #1100. On the last rough uphill section my car died. It was a connection that Bob was able to trouble shoot and get fixed. The next issue was a busted front mount on the transmission. We were stopped half way up the hill and the car would not stay in first. I yelled at the top of my lungs across the valley. That didn’t help. I kept looking behind us thinking we were going to get passed with less than a mile to go. Finally, with alot of double clutching and Bob pushing, we were able to get up the hill. The next hill was not as steep but it was rough. We had to get a running start at it in second gear and it about beat the heck out of us. Coming down the big hill, Bob was holding the car in 2nd gear and I was steering with my left hand and holding up the cast on my right. With all the bouncing around we did, my cast busted my mirror. We finished up the race in second place. (So much for three in a row) I drove to post tech and got out and congratulated Mark and Aaron on their win and asked that Mark not squeeze my hand too hard. Mark and his team come from Grand Junction, Colorado to race SNORE so they headed out of town before the awards. I accepted their trophy and prize money and threw it in the mail for them.

On a sad note. In the 39 years SNORE has been running off-road races there has never been a fatality. This year was the exception. Two chase trucks collided on the Beaver Dam Road and we lost a young mother. I did not know the girl but she is in the prayers of the SNORE family. At the awards, Wesley Stephens (who won Unlimited Sportsman) started the donation going by putting his winnings on the table. I threw mine in as well and throughout the school gym, in about 15 minutes over $4000 was raised to be put in a college fund for the deceased girls son. That’s SNORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

March 29th 2008 was the revival of THE MINT 400. After 20 years, SNORE resurrected the race I looked forward to every year as a teenager growing up in Las Vegas. SNORE decided that racecar numbers would be drawn for this race for easy staging. Since I requested my usual rear start, I was awarded the #1199. The #1189 would have to be temporarily replaced.

The Class 11’s were scheduled to complete three of four 96 mile laps. There were 11 entrants on race day. It was me behind the wheel and Milo Torres was my co-driver (Digger). The field started out 2 at a time every 30 seconds. Since we were the 11th car off the line, we started alone. My goal was to get to the front in a hurry and then set a pace that would keep the car together for the long day. I passed the #1112 (Palacios)pretty quick and then got by #1106 (Lee) and #1105 (Cote) who were tied up on a hill. I was able to skirt the side of the hill and work my way past both of them. Once I went down the hill to the long whoop section leading to the rock quarry, I could see dust in the distance and could tell there were some more Class 11’s up ahead. In a few minutes I had caught up to the #1102 (Nichols) and was able to make the pass right as we got to the pavement. Not much further up the pavement was the #1103 (Johnson) car. I pushed as hard as I could up the road and was able to make the pass right as we exited the pavement back into the desert. The car felt great and I was feeling pretty good. My co-driver Milo reminded me it was going to be a long day and to take it easy and keep the car together. A couple of miles later, I see dust again and realize it is the reigning SNORE Class 11 Champion #1100 (Mark Murrell). I got behind Mark and he moved over when it was clear and gave me plenty of room to pass. We gave the usual thank you wave and set our sights on the remaining four cars that started ahead of us. After honking the horn behind a Class 3 Blazer for what seemed to be forever, we were finally able to pass him then it took us a while to catch up to the #1101 (Ledyard) but we did catch and pass them at about mile 18 – 20. The next car we caught up to was #1108 (Vandemark). We were in a rough single track section so I just settled in behind them and stayed close until the course opened back up and it was safe to pass. They also gave us plenty of room. We were now the third car on the road and we hadn’t even made it to the Primm bridge crossing yet. When we did get to the bridge, we saw the #1111 (Leavitt) crossing the bridge after the stop check. We abided by the speed limit and crept across the bridge anxious to dice it out with Garey Leavitt. He had started 30 seconds ahead of us and must have been moving pretty close to my pace for it to take as long as it did to catch up to him. Within a couple of minutes were were getting really close and then he came to a stop in the deep sand we went right past him. One more car to pass to be first on the road. I set a pretty good pace and headed up the rough sand wash leading up the mountain trying to catch the #1107 (Krumm). At about mile 44 we started getting some lap traffic. A Class 1 car came up on us and I made the idiotic move to give the bigger car some room where there wasn’t any. I moved to the right up a berm and the darn Class 1 clipped my left rear fender and my tail light comes flying past me. The hit from the Class 1 caused me to bury the right side of the car in the deep gravel and we were stuck like Chuck. SHUCKS!!! Milo tried to shovel us out (hence the name Digger) and I ended up having to get out of the car and help him. We dug, sweated and dug some more as we watched 5 or 6 of the cars we had passed come cruising by and two of the drivers slapped a high five. Talk about being frustrated. We eventually got the car going after about 20 minutes. I had to drive a little ways up the hill to some hard packed dirt and Milo had to run up and catch me. I was getting belted back in and reaching over and honking the horn while screaming for Milo to get back in the car so we could get going. I remember saying he could rest once he’s in but we have to catch some cars.
Milo barely got the door shut and I was moving. I tend to drive the car a little hard and throw caution to the wind after getting stuck or getting a flat. We passed #1111 again and set our sights on the other cars that got past us at mile 44. We were coming down a huge wash and could see dust heading up across the desert so we knew we were catching someone. After making the right turn onto a fire road we saw the scary sight of the car #1108 (Cory Vandemark) and it was flipped on it’s side on the right of the course. We could see Cory and his co-driver out of the car with a course worker and they appeared okay. Obviously rattled by okay. I remember asking Milo how the heck they could have “stacked it up” on the fire road. We found out later they had a little help and when I saw the car up close after the race, I realized how much damage there was and I was glad they were able to walk away. We pushed on were able to catch up to #1100 (Murrell) and make the pass. As usual he gave us plenty of room. Shortly after passing Mark, we came up on the #1105 (Cote). Dave gave us the room we needed and we were able to get past the “Pump Gas 1″ car. We kept pushing and saw the dust of the #1103 (Johnson) and were setting him up for a pass when we saw the Class 10 (#1000) of C.J. Hutchins closing in our mirror. Milo waved to acknowledge that we saw him and we were going to give him some room. Right as C.J. passed me I immediately turned left behind him and made the pass on Johnson in the draft of Hutchins. We had still not seen the #1107 (Krumm) and were wondering what kind of pace he was running and if he was still running. I made a quick stop at pit “C” for a splash of fuel since we weren’t sure how much we had burned when we were stuck. We set out for the last leg of the first lap. At about mile 85, we see the dust of the #1101 (Ledyard). After rounding a sandy turn, we closed in on them pretty quick. They had nowhere to go so we just got on their bumper. I could actually see the co-drivers eyes in their mirror as he motioned with his hands to let the driver know we were there. They tried to give us some room to pass and then their left rear tire caught an edge and swapped the car to the right. I had to MASH the brakes to avoid a collision. The swapping must have rattled them a little because we got right past them after that and they disappeared in my mirror. (But not before Milo and I exchanged a high five because I’m nearly certain they were the ones that did it when we were stuck and out of the car; if I am mistaken, I’m sorry.) Somehow we had lost radio communication with our main pit (Classic Door & Trim) so we just pulled in and stopped for our scheduled fuel. Clay and Wayne filled us up and I was told we were in second. Looking at the times, the #1107 (Krumm) was 12 seconds ahead of us on time. We set a good pace for the second lap and never saw the #1107 once. I figured he was out of the race because we were running such a good pace. Turns out they did not do a second lap. We were now the first place car and we were going into survival mode in order to stay out front and keep the car together. By the time we made it to the pits behind the Primm, we were way out front and a bunch of friends beside the course were holding up the number 1 sign. When we got to the bridge to go back across, the car died at the stop check. It turned out to be a clutch issue, but we were finally able to get going and get back to the open desert. I was really nervous about going back out with a shakey clutch but at the same time, I did not want to risk losing any time. I just had to make it to Victor. We got back to the dreaded mile 44 and a huge rock got caught up between the fender and the left rear tire. We came to a stop and the car was stuck in the middle of some single track. After about 10 minutes I was able to get the car free and we were off and running again. We stopped at pit “C” and my brother in-law Victor adjusted the clutch and sent us on our way. When we finished up the second lap and were pulling in for fuel, I see my nephew Corey standing in the course with his suit and helmet on. As I stopped, I pointed at myself and then back at him. He gave me the palms to the sky response and I tore my belts off and told Milo to get out we were doing a drivers change. Corey and his co-driver Jared got in the #1199, we helped get them belted in, I warned Corey of a couple of problem areas and told him to drive like he rented it. They were off and in first place. Corey was teamed up in a 1600 car and by the time it was his turn to drive, the car made it a mile. The plan was for me to do the whole race, but since his day was over and we’re partners in the 11 car, I didn’t think twice about turning over the car to the Class 9 Champion. The next three hours were the longest of my life. I just wanted the race to be over. I drove over to the silty section about a mile from the finish and watched as Corey and Jared came screaming by. The car had a broken exhaust and sounded like crap but there was no doubt we were going to win. I made it back to the finish right after our car crossed the line. Corey drove the fast lap of the day. I still say it was because I did all the work of passing and gave him a first place car and clean air. Good driving on his part might have come into play just a little. #1100 Mark Murrell finished second, #1103 Robert Johnson third, #1102 Richard Nichols fourth with just minutes to spare. A race for the books.

The 2008 Battle at Primm was the first race of the SNORE series. This year there were 10 Class 11 entries and alot of hype leading up to the race. The #1189 had a brand new Victor Torres Racing Engine installed the day before tech inspection and a new Fox Shock set-up. The only testing done on the car was up and down a half mile road near our house. We didn’t slow down for the speed bumps though. The first time the car saw the desert was driving to the start finish from our pit.

I was able to round up side bet money from 8 of the 10 entrants for a total of $800. The majority request was that winner take all so it was winner take all.

We requested our usual rear start but on race day, they lined us up in two rows of five and we all went at the same time. Corey was behind the wheel and I was the co-driver for day one. We were off and running on the first of our three required 14 mile laps. Going into the first turn we were third on the road and by the time we got to the infield section we were first on the road. We had passed the #1103 that was pulled off with a problem and then got past the Thugs in the #1199. I had to remind Corey a couple of times that we were in the Class 11 not the 1600 car because he was really moving and putting some distance between the #1199 and us. We ran three laps in the with an average time of 20:46 and and the two fastest laps of the weekend. Only one other car ran a one lap time in under 21 minutes. The new Victor Torres Racing Engine was bad a$$.

Going into day two, we had a 2:02 minute lead over the Thugs in the #1199 car. It was me behind the wheel and Corey was in the co-drivers seat. The SNORE officials started all ten cars lined up at an angle (Grand Prix style) with us the furthest back and on the inside and had also shortened our race to two laps because of the course conditions and time constraints. When the green flag dropped it was the #1189 out muscling the #1103 and getting the “hole shot” where the course narrowed into the bottle neck. We flew across the money jump in first place and went into the first turn. The #1103 got past us after the second turn but we had about 7 minutes time on them. We were more worried about the #1199 because we knew there were fast and were not going to give up easily. The #1199 Thugs (Jason & Jeremy) got past us at about mile 4 or 5 but we stayed within 200 – 300 yards from them all the way until about mile 11 or 12. We made the turn heading back downhill towards the start finish and we were stuck in second gear. Talk about freaking out! We muscled through the next two sand washes by doing a little double clutching and were able to finish our first lap. We had called Victor on the radio and he had instructed us to stop at our pit after the infield section to try to figure out what was wrong. Corey and I made the decision to keep going and try to salvage a top three finish. When we got to the infield section, I took a line that kicked the car into the deepest sand in the berm and we were stuck like Chuck. Corey got out and with the help of the infield workers he slid the front end down a little and we were able to get going. When we exited the infield we saw the Thugs from the #1199 stuck in a corner with a missing wheel. (I might have smiled a little) We knew if we pushed it we could probably salvage a second place finish. I would get the car going and then I’d let off to let the engine breathe. We muscled through the sandy areas again and drove towards the finish. The #1121 passed us on the fast road heading to the California state line. We were able to stay in his dust and ended up passing them on the last turn before the finish. We finished 3rd for the day and took the overall win by a little over two minutes. Good thing we didn’t stop at our pits. Had we done the scheduled three laps it would have been the #1103’s race. That’s racing.

When Corey and I were at the starting line on Day 1, we looked around at all the Class 11’s and joked that “this could have all been avoided and we had started something and we had to finish it”. Who would’ve thought we could revive Class 11 in SNORE and keep it going?

The SNORE race season was over and we decided to head down to the MORE series in Barstow to try our luck again. There were eight cars entered and we requested our usual rear start. Due to a late entry and a no show, we ended up starting 7th out of 8 Class 11’s.

Corey was in the drivers seat and I was in the co-drivers seat. The plan was for Corey to drive the first three of six 14 mile laps and then we would do the drivers change and I would take 100LB Nate’s cousin Gabby around for the remaining three laps. Corey was the Driver of Record in Ffffrancis Wagner and Rob MacDonalds Trophy Class 9 car and had to finish the race in their car in order to win the Class 9 MORE Championship.

The race started a little late, but once we were off, Corey was driving the wheels off the #1189. We picked off a couple of cars in the first mile and then four more that were in a row through a rough hill section. Corey had the car half on a hill and while passing and I could practically touch the ground from the co-drivers seat. We made contact with the Silcock car and left some Duchess blue on his front fender. It was Doug’s dad Allen Silcock that was driving and he went wide and hit a bump that threw his front end straight up and then right into us. So much for that new paint job. (heh heh heh) The last car we had to contend with was none other than the #1191 of Pump Gas Racing. We ran in their dust for a couple of miles but eventually got around them by mile 6 or 7. We were smiling from ear to ear until we saw the Silcock machine getting bigger in our mirror. Then, as quick as he caught us he was gone. We later learned that he got a flat. We went through start finish first on the road after one lap. The second lap, we didn’t see any action and went through start finish first again. On lap three the car died at about mile 3 or 4 and Corey got out and rigged up the coil that separated from the fan shroud and we watched several cars come passing by. We got back going again and passed one car back and then the car died again at about race mile 10. We were out of fuel and guess who was in charge of fuel calculations? That’s right it was Corey. I tried to tell him but he never listens to me. Actually, all the blame falls on ME. I don’t know why I would try to run light in a 2000LB car but I did and we kissed away any shot at a decent finish. I walked back and begged for some fuel from another Class 11 racer. He said once his car comes by, we could have some fuel. At the time we were running pump gas but I wasn’t going to turn down the 111 octane that was being offered. We were on our way in about 20 minutes and Corey was able to get in Ffffrancis and Robs Trophy 9 (after finding it with Victor and doing some repairs) and finish the race for the Class 9 MORE Championship. Gabby and I blazed around and ended up taking 6th place. The #1199 of Gavin Drake took the win. Looking back at the lap times, there’s a good chance he would have beat us or at least made us pick up the pace.

I paid the guy for the fuel that was loaned to us. Back then it was only 5 bucks a gallon. We met up with Chip and Dave from Pump Gas Racing and tipped back a couple of cold ones and did a little bench racing.

Note to self! Next time you see Victor calculating fuel mileage on the side of the trailer with a dry erase marker, don’t make fun of his arithmetic skills!!!!!!!!!

The 2007 SNORE Filtermag 250 was the last race of the SNORE season. The location was changed at the last minute from the Nelson Hills course to the Jean area. It was a great effort by the volunteers at SNORE to scramble to get the race moved and to coordinate all of the logistics.

There were four Class 11’s signed up for the two 53 mile laps we were running. Corey was in Milo’s #1689 so it was me in the drivers seat and my buddy (webmaster) Bob “The Flying Squirrel” Moakler in the co-driver seat for his very first race. We started last as usual. We were pretty close (150 yards) to the #1183 of Benson until the dry lake bed and then we got blasted so bad I had to back off for fear of hitting something or someone in the dust. As we moved forward and the dust cleared a little, we saw the #1121 car of Leavitt on the side of the course with a problem. (I told Bob we would see him again soon) We were now third on the course and we caught up to the #1146 of Mark Murrell. Mark gave us room to get past him but stayed visble in my mirror. We were now second on the road. After a couple of miles, we were going up a sand wash and my co-driver Bob says the Fire Guys (#1146) are gaining on us. I had my food through the floor but I couldn’t shake them. I gave them room and they went right by. I actually said out loud that the engine was laying down on me. Well, it wasn’t the engine, it was the old drivers side rear tire flat as a pancake. We did a less than stellar tire change, watched #1121 go by and eventually buckled back in and were running last. We pushed it pretty hard for the remainder of the first lap but never saw another Class 11. Murrell and Benson were dicing it out up front and I was slowly catching Leavitt. On lap two, we were really moving fast (on pace for fast lap I think) when we rounded a turn and a champ car was sideways on the course. Someone tried to guide me around it but I ended up plowing into a Yucca Tree. We got around but the fender rub was killing our forward progress. Bob got out and pryed the fender and bumper of the tire with the jack handle and we were off and running.
We passed the one and only pit and I could see dust ahead in the distance. As we got closer, I realized it was the #1121 of Leavitt. I pushed the car as hard as I could through whoopville and passed him right before the turn going back up the wash. I never saw him again until the finish. We had third place in the bag. At the awards, I ended up getting second due to a disqualification. Not the way I wanted it to end, but that’s racing and all involved were at peace with the ruling as far as I know.

Bob and I have done numerous flat tire drills in the desert since this race and I can be back in the car in about 1 minute from the time I stop.

After missing a couple of races, I was really starting to get the itch to get back out there. My brother-in-law was building his garage and Corey was running full time in MORE and SNORE so we were spending alot of time on the Class 9 car.

The Wednesday before the SNORE 250, Victor asked me if he was able to get an engine together for me, would I be ready to race on Saturday. I think he was hoping I would say no, but I didn’t. We pulled a couple of old motors out from under a tarp and leaked tested them both. We chose the better or the two and he went to work on it. By Friday night I was rolling the #1189 through tech inspection at the Boulder Station and then rushing out of there to get to my mother and father in-laws 50 Wedding Anniversary Dinner. After dinner, I drove out to main pit at Apex and ended up sleeping in my truck. a.k.a. The Avalanche Inn. Cindy, her brother Tracy and Haley came out in the morning with breakfast for all.

There were four Class 11’s entered to do the two 56 mile laps. I took my usual rear start. Corey was in his #989 car so it was me in the drivers seat and 100LB Nate Himmelrick in the co-drivers seat. Mark Murrell and I were the last two off the line and I got a little jump on him. He was close in my mirror until I got stuck on a hill and in the process, got him stuck. I was able to back down the hill before he was and went up a different route. He had his sweet revenge when he caught me at the next silty hill that took me about five tries to get up (with help). I watched as his amber light faded into the silt and slowly out of sight. At some point we got past the #1121 of Leavitt who down with a problem. (I knew we’d see him again)

After we finally made it over Silt Hill. We were moving along pretty good and hoping to see some dust from another Class 11. No such luck. Instead, we were heading south along the fence at the Valley of Fire road and I saw the #1121 of Leavitt in my mirror. I tried all my James Bond silt screen tricks but he was coming by me whether I liked it or not. When he got close I gave hime the room he needed for a clean pass.

By the time I finished my first lap, the #1183 of Benson was way out front. We would come across a red fender every once in awhile and wonder if it was Marks or Bensons.

When we started our second lap, we came across the #1146 Murrell car on the side of the course and Mark and Aaron were not in the car. We were now in third and #1121 Leavitt was only a couple of minutes ahead of us but clearly faster. I pushed the car hard and had trouble again at Silt Hill. (don’t be suprised if that hill is paved in 2008) We were moving along pretty good after the road crossing and fire roads heading out to The Valley of Fire when all of a sudden the car died. After some trouble shooting, we discovered the coil was bad. Having no spare and no access roads near us, we were in trouble. Corey had finished second in Class 9 after some steering problems and he was trying to get close enough with Victor to run a coil out to us since we couldn’t get a truck out there. I look up the course a little and I see a driver walking back towards us. He must have been about a mile away and when he got close, I could see it was Brian Benson (#1183’s dad) who was racing a 1600 car. He asked if he could borrow a jack. I gave hime our floor jack and a cold water from the cooler (we travel in style). Just then, I see this crippled Class 11 with no front fenders creeping up behind us at a near crawl and realize that it’s the #1146 of Mark Murrell. I flagged him down and asked if he would take the jack up the course to Benson’s car so Brian wouldn’t have to carry it all that way. The co-driver Aaron reached out for it and at the same time I asked Mark if he had a spare coil. Without blinking he said yeahhhh!!!! He pulled over a little more to get off the course and directed us to where it was. We thanked him and waved him on. A few zip ties later Nate and I were off and running and looking for Marks dust. We eventually caught Mark and passed him. It’s a crappy feeling passing the guy that saved your day but we were racing the clock and Mark. He said he new I was coming and had a tranny problem shortly after I passed him. We ended up taking third place and missed the Jean Calvin Last Official Finisher Award by a couple of minutes. Brian Benson won that honor with the help of two Class 11 driver and co-drivers.

What a day. What a race. What sportsmanship!!!!!!!!!!

The Make A Wish Event was the next day and was even cooler than 2006. Be there or be square in 2008.

The #1189 missed her second race. I spent the day at the lake on my boat with my wife Cindy, daughter Haley and one of our dogs Comet. We parked the boat at the marina and went to the race just as it started. Mark Murrell (The Class Act) found me and we loaned him a valve cover so he could finish. He still thanks me to this day and repayed the favor at the next race. Corey won Class 9 in the old #989. After engine tear down at post tech we went back to the boat, found a nearby island (don’t like snakes) and went to sleep.