Huntington Beach, CA – Coming into the last race of the BITD season, points were close and championships could be won or lost in a blink of an eye. Camburgs approach to this race was to finish at all costs while being conservative. With Camburg only sitting 7 points out of 1st place in the Mini TT 7200 class, the pressure was on the class leader #7223 Daniel Bolton to finish and finish well.

Coming into the drivers meeting, everyone was notified of course changes since the day & night before the race had some heavy rains and flooded many sections especially the dry lake bed areas. Jerry Zaiden driving and Scott Zindroski navigating suited up and got into the truck to find out the intercom system and race radio were not working do to the extreme moisture. Lined up at the start, they were given the green light and were under way.

The first 10 miles was riddled with flooded sections, muddy trails and poor visibility. Jerry set a cautious pace, especially with Scott having to give him hand signals to help navigate. Trucks were slipping and sliding in every direction, almost to the point of getting stuck in the flooded areas. Once past pit 1 the field began to spread out and a rhythm was set. This section of the course was extremely rocky and headed towards a narrow trail that went up and over a mountain. Even this early in, cars and trucks were scattered throughout the desert with flats and chassis damage.

Coming into the mountain trail the Camburg Edge was slowed by a class 1 buggy that was stuck behind a 10 car that wouldn’t pull over. Miles later both faster vehicles were able to pass once the trail widened. Coming into the pit 3 section the dirt got very loose with the whoops already becoming really deep. As they headed back towards the start they hit the detour that re-routed them away from the now flooded Jean Dry Lake Bed. Coming into the start finish area and navigating through the infield Jerry pulled into the pits.

With a splash of 11 gallons of fuel they were back on their way. The start of the 2nd lap had a faster pace as the course was becoming more familiar and the trails some what improved with the race traffic prior. Lap 2 was pretty uneventful with Jerry focused on handing the truck over to Jason Campbell at the end of the lap with zero problems and interruptions. After all, with zero communication and not knowing where everyone else was at on the course, the race had the potential to go in either direction for the team. The later portion of the course opens up and they were able to gain some ground on the field.

Coming into the pits at the start of lap 3, Jerry jumped out and Jason got in while the pit crew topped off the fuel cell, cleaned the mud off the numbers and mirrors and did a quick visual inspection. With Jason taking over the driving duties and still no radio & intercom communication, Scott had to get Jason up to speed with the course till he found his groove. The Ranger Edge was working flawlessly and was able to cruise the rough trails back into the infield of the start/finish area.

Jason stopped into the pits for a little fuel and was back under way and focused on the finish 81 miles away. By this point in the race most of the slower classes were finished as they did fewer laps than the faster classes. Jason set a pace that was moderate yet didn’t beat up the truck, which could easily been done on as rough as a course as Henderson was. It by far was one of the most technical of the year because of the terrain and weather. Midway through the last lap they came up on a team that unfortunately was sidelined and took their yellow stuck card to the next BITD checkpoint official. Safety and tracking is always a priority for BITD and its racers. As the sun lowered and the temps dropped, Jason and Scott entered the infield for the last time and crossed the finish line on the same Nitto tires they started the race on and in great shape to hand over the truck to the new owners for the 2008 BITD season in a few weeks.

The Camburg Edge finished 5th in class and 22nd overall in 8hrs 43min 12sec. Bolton Racing finished 6th in class 21 minutes later and was able to hold onto their narrow points lead to take the BITD Mini TT 7200 Championship with Camburg only 5 points behind them in 2nd place for the year.

“This Henderson race was one of the most technical and the weather didn’t make it any easier for anyone.” – Jason Campbell

“This race could have gone in 20 different directions with how close all the class leaders were in points.” – Jerry Zaiden

Camburg would like to thank everyone who came out to the race to lend a helping hand, Casey Folk’s and everyone at B.I.T.D. to give them the opportunity to race in their premier series with some of the best racers and teams around. Most of all they would like to thank all of their sponsors for their continued support, family and friends.

Sponsors: AEM Intake Systems, American Racing ATX, AMSOIL, Beard Seats, Bilstein Shocks, Blue C, Board Ford, FMF Racing, Glassworks Unlimited, Hella Lighting, IRC Tracking, Ironclad Gloves, JBA Exhausts, Monster Energy Drink, Mothers Car Care Products, Nitto Tires, Precision Gear, Sparco USA and SPY Optics.

For more information on Camburg products and race team involvement, check out their websites www.camburg.com and www.camburgracing.com or contact them directly.

Camburg Engineering has been building off-road truck suspension systems since 1997 and is at the forefront in technology and innovation.