This past weekend, I raced for the first time in over a year.  Actually, I raced two different events on Saturday.  So, because I was a bit out of shape, I’m now so sore that I’m holding my arms in the striking position you always see a T-Rex in just when they’re about to eat someone!

   In any case, since the GNCC event was only a few hours from my house, I figured it would be a good test bed to take out two of our Mod Quad projects evaluate.  In the morning, I raced our upcoming Mod Quad project Suzuki King Quad 750 in the ultra-competitive 4×4 Open class in the morning.  I got a decent start and heading into the 6^th and final lap, I was swapping positions back and forth with 3^rd place racer Greg Condon.  As we headed into a tight, slippery, swampy section about a quarter of the way through the last lap, I slid sideways, tagged a tree, and went over the bars.  I landed on top of my head on the softest ground found anywhere on the course.  I was very thankful to land there rather than on the rocks typical of the area.  That’s pretty much the end of the good news though.  The sweet looking Genuine Suzuki front bumper that used to proudly hang on the front of our machine was now reduced to a crumpled version of it’s former self.  I guess I didn’t realize how bad it was bent until after I crawled back on the machine and tried to chase Condon down again.  The quad worked awesome until I tried to make a right turn.  At that point, the left tire would completely rub on the bumper, which made turning my ride a real pain in the arse.

   I figured I’d be able to limp the machine in to the checkered flag and deal with a respectable 4^th place finish.  But….like most things in my life….things didn’t go as planned.  About a mile from the finish, riding as hard as I could on a crippled machine, my bright yellow King Quad decided to turn right, on it’s own, and drive itself off of the trail.  I had the bars pointed straight, so I had no idea why.  It wasn’t until I looked down that I realized what happened.   The right upper A-arm bolt had somehow worked itself loose…which cause the A-arm to pop out of the frame mount and pull the right front axle out of the differential with it.  With every bit of strength in me, I tried to get that darn quad to the finish line.  But, with no tools to put my bright yellow humpty dumpty back together again, I was forced to get towed back to the pits and accept an 8^th place finish.  It was a complete bummer.  But, I’m thankful the A-arm bolt fell out where it did rather than on the high speed straightaway that was about a mile previous. 

   Because I had to get towed back to the puts, I completely missed the start to the pro race.  I was bummed because by the time I got changed and gathered up my camera equipment, the race was nearly over.  Chris Borich took the checkered flag in his home state and shared the podium with Brandon Sommers and Matt Smiley.  You can’t even imagine the pace that the GNCC pros are running at this year.  It’s unbelievable to imagine they can get through the trees that quickly.  Yet, somehow, they seem to get faster and faster each year!

   Later on in the day, I got a chance to run our Mod Quad Dragonfire Racing Polaris RZR in the Modified UTV class.  I chose the craziest copilot I could find, which just so happened to be my buddy Jim Stack.  I had never raced a UTV in my life, so neither of us knew what to expect.  Stack lectured me for hours before the race about how I should do everything, even though he’s never raced a UTV either.  Needless to say, when the flag dropped, I think Mr. Stack was second-guessing why he agreed to get in the car with me.  We were rolling through the course at a blistering speed.  It wasn’t long until I figured out how to set the car up to drift into the corners.  The long-travel Dragonfire suspension allowed me to fly through sections that were beating up the competition.  On the contrary though, without any sway bars hooked up, we looked like a leaning trophy truck going around the corners.  We managed to stay out of trouble, keep the RZR off its lid, and keep all of the important parts together.  In the end, we finished a respectable 4^th place.  Now I’m hooked.  There is no greater feeling than having someone next to you screaming at the top of their lungs out of sheer enjoyment or complete fear.  I think there may have been a little of both that day! 

   William Yokely was the eventual winner of the UTV race.  That dude hauls the mail!  I think I can definitely improve on my finish if we race again.  But, I’m not sure if I can drive at his pace!   The greatest lesson I learned all weekend is that racing a UTV is so much fun it ought to be illegal!  If you’re looking for some great family oriented fun, make sure you check out the GNCC series.