Rausch Creek Rock Race #1

[dan58]

Anyone heading to RC this weekend for the race? So far, it looks like 20 or 21 competitors will be gunning for it. 5 laps of 14 miles will tell the tale. This will be my first race in the "new" truck. I am already having trouble sleeping. Holy excitement.

This is the victim of Saturday's abuse:

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/pile%20rebuild%202010/STC_1104.jpg

[CESCO]

I am going on a poker run or I would be there.. prob not going to be able to race this year do to lack of funds, I still have some things to finish up on my junk to make it pass inspection. kind of sucks, I was pretty excited to give it a try this year.. GOOD LUCK!!!

[Deadman 94 xj]

VERY cool Dan! Will the guys like me that are staying home have access to the event? Video feed that you know of?

[dan58]

Thanks fellas. I don't know if anyone will have coverage. I somehow doubt it though. :(

[Deadman 94 xj]

That's ok. Just take lot's of pics while you're driving. :042:

[dan58]

Funny you should say that. I will have a GoPro Hero HD mounted for the race.

[Deadman 94 xj]

Well post up the pics when you get back! ...and good luck.

[dan58]

Thanks. I imagine you'll see pics from Will at HMC and Dean and 4Low. I'm crossing my fingers that we get decent vid from the GoPro, but dealing with 2+ hours of footage is going to be tough. I'll see if I can edit some clips.

[Krod]

Nice

[guy]

I'm not going to be able to make this race, hoping to make the next one. Good luck man :icon_super:

[dan58]

I am whooped. Pics and vid to follow, but we tool 7th place out of 22 trucks. Only 12 finished.

[hyperbuzzin]

That's a respectable finish. And ya didn't DNF!!

[Deadman 94 xj]

I'd say that's pretty damn goood!

[guy]

nice job. Your getting that rig dialed in pretty fast.

[dan58]

Cross posted by me on the MC site. I'll work on the GoPro today. Pics to follow at some point.

What fawesome time at the race. Prerunning turned out to be less than stellar, with a mystery hole in one of my tranny cooler lines, and the yoke nut on my D300 somehow came off. Stu fixed the lines, and I searched everywhere for that stupid 7/8 fine thread. Nothing. Pearson came through, and we were ready for the race.
The first lap was nothing spectacular because we only got to prerun about 3/4 of a lap. We knew the truck wasn't going to be terribly fast, but the goal was to finish. We pitted between each lap, mostly for an oil and tranny fluid check. We were able to get two laps per propane bottle, which was surprising. By midway through the 2nd lap, we got the shifting sorted out where Stu would operate the t-case, and I'd just drive. It's a helluva lot easier this way because I could keep my eyes on the course, and it's tough to look down at the shifters. I expect to have to change the shifters because I can't look down with the helmet and neck roll very well. The 4th lap was pretty quick once we really go into that "groove" so to speak. I think I pushed a little harder that time, but at no point in the race did I feel like I was really driving the truck really hard. We were too focused on finishing too much to make a mistake by overdriving it. The suspension worked very nicely, and it really worked better once we got the COs warmed a bit. The last lap was just cruise control it seemed. The fast guys were already done and were working on their 2nd beer at that point, so we didn't have to worry so much about the rear view either. :lol: When we got to the finish line, I couldn't believe how many people were out cheering for us. I figured we were about 18th or so, and I was one of the last guys out there. A 7th place was stunning. Like Lou said, not too bad for a shake down race. It was the 4th time the truck was on the trail.
Andy, thanks. Can't wait for you to get to a race to see it for yourself. Your work resulted in a helluva day for us. Huge thanks to Stu for helping prep the truck last week, the codriving, and the smarts to keep the driver's foot out of the gas. Nick did a killer job in the pits, and did everything I could as for. He makes a pretty good partner at cornhole too (we retired undefeated). Thanks to all of the other competitors who were cheering at the finish line. I'm still in awe of the camaraderie at these events.
Last, thanks to the RC staff and volunteers. We had an awesome time on that course. Can we add more black section rocks, please? :D

[dan58]

Short clip of a slow truck with a GoPro HD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJng0TrvZyg

[dan58]

Check out the front page of Randy Wood's website for some video of the race: www.adventurous4x4.com

Few more:
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0229.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0225.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0215.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0210.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0209.jpg

[dan58]

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0235.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0233.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0232.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Racing/IMG_0229.jpg

[Deadman 94 xj]

Dan, what's the wheelbase on your rig? Under the hood?

[dan58]

Wheelbase is 106.5"...86ish" wide. It's an AMC360 with a cam, intake, and headers.