Intro, Goodyear/Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling Nationals
Moab, UT
MAY 21, 2003 SKYJACKER ROCKING
UPDATE-MOAB,UTAH
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Upper Proving Ground Trail: It was a quiet morning and completely uneventful until Factory Tubular Motorsports co-owner, Matt Wooley, called the busy cellular telephone of ORC's Desertbull. He was holed up at the Spanish Trails RV Park after a night of Speedvision with the crew from Team All-Pro on the satellite. Little did he know what was in store for him and this wild adventure.
Matt & Jamie Wooley and their young son and the next Factory Tubular Motorsports competitive driver, Cooper, arrived to Campo ORC with the Rock Force Chassis ~ Factory Tubular Motorsports high-performance rock crawler on the trailer. It didn't take long and the trailer was swapped over to the ORC Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel and we were down the road to meet up with the boyz from Campbell Ent. and Dustin Webster at the turn-off for the trail.
With the Rock Force Chassis off the trailer, we were up the trail to the upper Proving Grounds trail, but the engine temps were rolling high. Five minutes later, we were back at the truck and the ol' Desertbull monkey wrenching on a super hot motor came into play and we swapped out the thermostat.
A short time later, we were crawling the first steep face. With the Desertbull saddled into the shotgun seat, Matt expertly blasted up the first hill while in second gear. Around the corner and down a slight embankment and the next obstacle. The Factory Tubular Motorsports Rock Force Chassis vehicle handles so easily, that rough obstacles are merely barely an obstacle at all.
However, soon enough we were at the bottom of a steep face and Matt gave the order to winch up to the axle mounted in the rock at the top. Desertbull asked, "Dude, how do you get up there?" Matt said, "Go boy...climb." Sheesh, that stuff is straight up steep. A few minutes later, Desertbull was on top and the FTM Rock Force Chassis was hooked up. The vehicle was winched up the hill and we were off again. A few more obstacles and soon enough the day of wheelin' was over.
Desertbull says, "Wow...that was incredible." Thanks for the wild ride Matt.
The Factory Tubular Motorsports Rock Force Chassis performed almost flawless, more on that next month. The RCAA rock crawlers have arrived to the Moab Valley. The bustle of the Moab Valley has increased and the locals are excited to have everyone in town. Stay tuned for a full report from contingency and tech inspection beginning tomorrow at the 12:00 noon from the Spanish Trail Arena in Moab, Utah. Competition begins on Friday at the Proving Grounds south of downtown Moab, Utah at 9:00 am.
MAY 20, 2003 SKYJACKER ROCKING
UPDATE-MOAB,UTAH
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Hell's Revenge Trail~ Moab, Utah: With the skies full of sunshine and the temperatures hovering around 76 degrees, the Moab Valley is gorgeous this time of year. The Team All-Pro crew led by world reknown rock crawler, Jon Bundrant and his crew of family and friends, were off to do some easy wheelin' at the Hell's Revenge Trail outside of downtown Moab, Utah. The only person missing out of this crew was Larry "King Full Pull" McRae and of course, Cheri McRae.
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TEAM ALL-PRO'S Jon Bundrant takes
his personal rock crawler through the slickrock of Moab, Utah as he
putt's along enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Moab Valley.
Donde es Larry?
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ORC's, Tim "Desertbull" Sanchez, invited himself along piloting the Polaris 400 4X4 Xplorer ATV. What an adventure this was going to be...Soon enough we were at Potato Salad hill and the hoots and hollering from Team All-Pro for the Desertbull to climb the slumpy hill were ringing out. Ol' Desertbull thought twice knowing that this was a long week ahead of Team ORC here in the Moab Valley and for once the better judgement to drive around the messy rock garden was made. We still had a couple days of riding to go.
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Next on the agenda was the Bump Dump and onto Hell's Revenge. Along the way, the Team All-Pro crew ran into the RP Film Crew and professional rock crawler, Dustin Webster, driving the Red Bull competition rock crawler. They all blasted up and down the Bump Dump without problems, but not the Desertbull. Searching towards the North for a better access, he and Pat Gallagher discovered a possible route. Ah...now these two moron's have an idea. We'll put Pat, the skinny guy weighing in at 110 lbs soaking wet, riding the ATV up the hill and the big guy, Desertbull, pushing the ATV up the hill. Say no more...Duh!!!
DESERTBULL?
Nah, no photos of the bloodied and battered
Desertbull from this adventure. Just a shot of the Desertbull's
furry brother who was in much better shape then the Desertbull was
on this date.
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Moments into the ascent it turned into a rapid head over heels descent. Say it once again friends...Morons!!! The crash pinned Pat Gallagher underneath the ATV, while the Desertbull was scraped up and bloody from attempting to save the four wheeler from the big crash. No luck though. With gas pouring out, and Pat scrambling to escape from beneath the 4-wheeler, this was a scene right out of some horror flick.
We'll everyone survived. The two morons had minor injuries and the damage to the ATV was limited to cosmetic and so we continued. That was until we arrived to a steep ascent of the slickrock and after an initial attempt with the front wheels bouncing high off the rocks during the ascent, the Ol' Desertbull pulled the plug. With surviving one crash already on this adventure, the last thing we needed was to make a bigger mess down the trail.
The other two professional rock crawling crews rode into the horizon as this day of wheelin' was over for Team ORC. Just another day at the office and another lesson learned. Don't try to keep up with the likes of professional rock crawlers while riding an ATV.
LOVE HIM OR HATE
HIM?
Big Phil has spent over 70+ hours
in the past four days designing the latest rock crawling
competition creation. Using calculations of mathematics and good
old boy rock crawling karma, this guys knows how to build an
awesome course. Good job Phil.
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Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we met up with RCAA's course designer, Big Phil, who was busy engineering the latest rock crawling course here in Moab, Utah. Phil designs courses for RCAA and he's been busy at it since last Thursday. From the looks of the course and based on his own comments, these Goodyear/Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling competitors should come ready to put all their combined rock crawling experience to work, because they have some serious obstacles in front of them. Be prepared for some spectacular rock crawling and head out to the Moab Valley for loads of fun.
The action is set to begin on Thursday, May 18, 2003 here in the Moab Valley. Stay tuned for a daily updates here at ORC.
MAY 19, 2003 SKYJACKER ROCKING
UPDATE-MOAB,UTAH
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Moab, Utah: The Off-Road.com team has arrived to Moab, Utah and already the action is going off here in this gorgeous rock town in Eastern Utah. The digs at the Spanish Trail RV park are the best in town and if you're looking for the nicest recreational park in this area check them out at www.spanishtrailrvpark.com The afternoon weather pattern showered the Moab Valley with large rain drops yesterday afternoon, but the weather today is a gorgeous 78 degrees here in downtown Moab, Utah.
ORC staffers ran across Team All-Pro's Jon Bundrant, and "Tiny's" builder, Jon Nelson, from Nelson & Nelson Racing. They arrived to the Moab Valley late Sunday afternoon after putting in several hours of practice in the Cedar City, Utah rock zone. However, missing in action until Thursday's contingency is Larry "King Full Pull,"McRae, who had commitments back in Southern Calfornia. You can be sure that he and Jon Bundrant are ready to rock for a big win here in the Moab Valley.
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TEAM ALL-PRO : Of the few teams already in Moab, Utah for the Goodyear/Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling Championships, Jon Bundrant is awaiting the arrival of his spotter, King Full Pull, Larry McRae. The rocks of Moab, Utah await the arrival of all the competitors as the Moab Valley fills up with rock crawling fans from around the nation. King Full Pull...your fans await your arrival!!! |
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ORC staffers spoke with a RCAA official who has revealed that competitors should expect to work harder than ever before at a Goodyear/Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling National event. They have set the most technical course ever designed for a rock crawling event. The action should be wild.
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SLICKROCK CAFE~MOAB, UTAH I t was a big party at the Critter Bar inside the Slickrock Cafe. The afternoon staff, Lisa, Matt, Diana, McKenzie & Vanessa took care of us and they provided the entertainment free of charge. The ice tea was cold and the food was awesome. Stop by and visit the Slickrock Cafe when you're in Moab, Utah at 5 North Main Street, Moab, Utah 84532. You can visit them online at www.slickrockcafe.com |
RP Films film maker is also in town and has arranged several of the top competitors for a trail ride and filming session for a soon to be released production. Leading the trail ride is the world reknown top rock crawler, Tracy Jordan and his friends from the Rock Runner Racing Team The town is primed for the crowds of rock crawling spectators to arrive this weekend in search of some outrageous Skyjacker/Goodyear Rock Crawling action.
KING TAPPER: Rob is the Night Manager here at Slickrock Cafe and the King Tapper. Rumor has it the Hefen Wiezen tap was icy cold and very tasty. Rob is a transplant from So Cal and lives here for the daily chance to climb the peaks surrounding the Moab Valley. He states life in Moab, Utah is all that. Currently, he's serving a blond goddess an afternoon refreshment. Rock on at Slickrock Cafe. |
Skyjacker Suspensions and Goodyear Tires have the stage set for a radical event in the rocks of the Moab Valley. This Colorado River town of Moab, Utah is about to be rocked with life during the Goodyear/Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling Nationals which is set to begin on Thursday, May 18, 2003. Stay tuned right here at Off-Road.Com as we provide you the latest crawling action in the Moab Valley.
SLICKROCK CAFE~ MOAB,
UTAH:
Our friends at the Slickrock Cafe
were all smiles as we took up residency for a couple hours here in
downtown Moab, Utah. The food, drink and the atsmosphere is where
it's all at here at the Slickrock Cafe. Lisa and Diane were ever so
helpful and big Jeff is the head cook handling the best of the food
in all of the Moab Valley. Stop by for some grub.
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May 1, 2003 SKYJACKER ROCKING
UPDATE, LAS VEGAS,NV
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Las Vegas, Nevada: The second series event of the 2003 Goodyear/Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling Nationals season heads to Moab, Utah on May 22, 2003. Located in one of the premier rockcrawling locations in the United States in Moab, Utah, you can be sure that the action will be intense. Off-Road.com is on top of the action. Off-Road.com, in conjunction with its sponsors, supporters and countless readers, will follow the premier series beginning with daily coverage of the Goodyear/Skyjacker Tech Inspection on Thursday, May 22, 2003. Off-Road.com will be broadcasting nearly live updates directly from technical inspection and you can be sure that your favorite driver will have much to say. Look for interviews, comments and photographs from your favorite rockcrawler. Come out and visit us in Moab, Utah during contingency and technical inspecation from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Fresh off a big win in the first event of the season on the moon rocks of Reno, Nevada, Johnny G will take his Karnivore buggy and push it to the limits as he makes his way towards another big win for JohnnyGRockRacing. Armed with one of the best spotters in the business, Kipper Gilleland, will be on hand with a hallpass from his bride for the epic action. After a huge win in Reno, Nevada, and with Johnny G relieving some of the big sponsor pressure off of JohnnyGRockRacing, he's ready to capitalize on his momentum and put another notch in his belt.
However, they have to go through the likes of Team All-Pro's Jon Bundrant and Larry "King Full Pull" McRae who have been living in the rocks for the past month. I believe these guys are are starting to turn into lizards they live in the rocks so much.
Then the likes of Jason Paule, Tracy Jordan, Mike Shaffer, Mitch Guthrie and Joel Randall come into the mix and it's like lions in the feeding den. Who will end up on top? The Goodyear/Skyjacker event will tell the tale of Springtime in Moab, Utah.
Skyjacker's own Vice President,
Lonnie McCurry Jr., will be back in action as he puts the Skyjacker
Jeep through the paces in the Modified Stock Class. In his first
ever competition in the first Goodyear/Skyjacker event of the
season in Reno, Nevada, Lonnie McCurry Jr. finished 7th in the
Modified Stock Class. Look for him and his king kong spotter,
Dillard DeLasalle, to be banging the rocks hard in search of their
first big win in the rock crawling series sponsored by his company.
Visit them at www.Skyjacker.com
And don't count out Tracy Jordan and his spotter, Don Robbins, "The Maverick," and the entire Rock Runner Racing Team to show up with what it takes to tame the rocks of Moab, Utah. These guys regularly play in the rocks of Moab. As one of the top competitors in professional rock crawling arena, Tracy Jordan already has one rock crawl win under his belt this year. Look for Tracy and Don, "The Maverick" Robbins to jump to an early lead and wait for the others to chase them down.
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These are just some of the big names who have told Off-Road.com that they will be at the Goodyear/Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling Nationals in Moab, Utah on May 22-24, 2003.
The action will be outrageous as the spring weather on the warm rocks of Moab, Utah is set for action. The long days of summer are around the corner and you can be sure the crowds will pack into Moab, Utah for a wild weekend of rockcrawling.
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