If I am able I will help in the pits when I can.

alanzona wrote:Possible future races within decent driving distance:
March 16 – 17 So. California (DIRT RIOT) (out of town for work)
April 7 – 8 Moab (DIRT RIOT) (Easter weekend, can't make it work)
May 4 – 6 Cinco De Baja (Albq, NM) ULTRA4 (out of town for work)
May 18 – 19 Congress, AZ (DIRT RIOT)
July 13 – 14 Cortez, CO (DIRT RIOT)
July 20 – 22 4 wheel parts glen Helen grand prix (San Bernardino, CA) ULTRA4
August 16 – 18 Vegas to Reno (Vegas) ULTRA4
Sept 21 – 23 American RockSports Challenge (Tooele, UT) ULTRA4

right now the only "sure thing" is the Dirt Riot race in Congress, AZ on May 19. I need more details from Ultra4 on the Ultra4 series dates for mod/stock.

and the Congress Dirt Riot race is the only sure thing still. I can't make Moab (grrrrrr) or the New Mexico race (just found out my little local lecture got bumped for a national lecture in Washington D.C. that day so I definately can't get out of it now... double grrrrrrr).

Good news, though.. the CA race earlier in the year was cancelled and will be rescheduled, so it might still be in play. The Tucson, Congress, and Gorman races were the 3 for the Southwest series. No one raced my class at Tucson, so if I can do Congress and Gorman (date not announced yet), I could (conceivably) with the Dirt Riot Southwest series for the 4500 class... LOL

Alan, I looked at my future schedule and I might be available to pit for you on the Congress dates. I will know more when I get back to work on April 7th. I will text you then.

still in for Congress race.

My new "night job" is writing press releases for LetzRoll Offroad... a job I took just after the Dirt Riot race in Tucson and continued through the KOH events.

LetzRoll Offroad Racing / Dirt Riot racing series: Moab 2012



For Immediate Release:

MOAB, UT APRIL, 2012

LetzRoll Offroad Racing competed with 2 cars in the Dirt Riot racing series this past weekend. The race was held at Area BFE and was the first of the Dirt Riot Mountain Division races. Shawn Passmore in the Dirt Riot 4600 class series points leading Yukon Axle #4669 took 2nd place in the stock class. Andrew McLaughlin, in the #4493 black and yellow ESAB NA/Yukon Gear and Axle race buggy, took 7th place in the Unlimited/Ultra4 class. To incorporate more of the incredible Area BFE trail system, 2 heats were run, three laps on the top loop and 3 laps on the bottom loop. The two combined times determined the final ranking.





Andrew McLaughlin shares his experience of the race weekend:

“After finding out the course would be tons of rocks, we felt right at home. We arrived Thursday afternoon, took a quick look at the course and got the details of the race. Hitting up the Raceline Wheels party at Grampa’s Garage, we were able to run into all our friends who were there for the race and for the Easter Jeep Safari.

Friday was full of pre-running and vehicle testing. Everything on the race car felt great! We made a few changes to the cars and loaded them up on the trailers to hit the show. We went straight to see our friends at Yukon Gear and Axle to say hello. I was pumped to see the new D60 Lockouts! Hurry up and get these out! Chromoly internals and a default to lock if there is ever a failure… HOOK IT UP! Way to go, Yukon.

After visiting with Yukon at the show, we headed to tech inspection and the meet at greet at Cabo Grill. We enjoyed some good grub, a few suds, visiting with fans, and seeing the other drivers and cars.

Saturday was full of fun! We pulled a #12 start position for qualifying, so we had a few minutes to watch and go over last minute race plans. We had a strong showing during our qualifying run and started 11th for the main race, smack in the middle. It was time to show everyone what we could do.

Shawn and Jim took a great 2nd place finish in their stock class rig. Keep in mind, this rig drove the streets the entire trip! There is nothing like a TJ that loves to haul ass. [The 2nd place finish in Moab, combined with the 1st place finish in Tucson, continues to build the #4669 and team LetzRoll Offroad Racing’s position as the National Dirt Riot point leader for 2012 in the 4600 class.]

Finally, it was our turn in the #4493. Matt and I had a good game plan to keep it easy on heat one and keep the car together. That plan stayed strong, though we ran the buggy through its paces for sure! We came in after heat 1 and moved up the 9th starting heat 2. Heat 2 was a new strategy. Keep the car together, but show everyone what were made of. We didn’t see a single rig until the last lap. We reeived constant communication from our crew letting us know who was where so we were able to run a clean race. We came through the line to take a nice solid 7th place finish, only missing 6th place by 2 seconds! It was a tight race that was a ton of fun.

I would also like to thank those that make this happen for us each race.

Yukon Gear and Axle – Not a single axle failure in 3 races this year! It is so nice to be able to count on components like this. It gives us total confidence to hammer down.

PSC – Great steering as usual. Always there when we need to dart and weave!

Raceline Wheels – We were going to add a bit more air since we came down on the rim a few times… I couldn’t even tell! Tough wheels!

Goodyear Tires – 2 races this year and close to 200 challenging miles. No flats. I LOVE THESE TIRES!

ESAB NA – Great welders. I didn’t need to pull it out this race, which is a great thing!

Thanks everyone and we’ll see you in New Mexico for the Ultra4 Cinco de Baja on May 5th!”



Next up for team LetzRoll Offroad in May 2012:

May 4 – 6: Cinco De Baja Ultra4 race in Albuquerque, NM
May 18 – 19: Dirt Riot in Congress, AZ

A very special thank you to our racing sponsors: ESAB North America, Goodyear tires, PSC Steering, LetzRoll Offroad, Yukon Gear and Axle, Radflo Suspension Technology and our media partners at Bower Motorsport Media for event coverage of the race.




Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LetzRollOffroadRacing or at www.letzrolloffroad.com

More about the #4493 Unlimited team: Since the age of 16, Andrew McLaughlin knew he was meant for wheeling. After attending ASU while serving in the military, Andrew graduated and worked in the corporate world for 7 years until his passion for off-roading got the best of him. Andrew started LetzRoll Offroad in 2008 as a part time business through the internet. In 2010, he left corporate America and followed his dreams of owning his own business and opened LetzRoll. Andrew turned his passion into a business. LetzRoll Offroad began in 2008, mainly offering internet sales of quality off-road parts (www.letzrolloffroad.com). With the support and encouragement of his wife plus a growing group of loyal customers requesting custom fabrication and installation, Andrew made the move into a full time custom shop and the rest has been history. Today LetzRoll Offroad has 3 full time employees (all active wheelers in their own right) who have been racing together for years in Jeepspeed events. The move to the Ultra4 and Dirt Riot series was a natural fit for their experience in both rocks and desert. Andrew lives in Mesa, AZ.

More about the #4669 Stock class team: Shawn Passmore has been a wheeler for the last 20 years, starting with a 1979 CJ5 then moving to a 98 TJ that has wheeled everything from back roads to 4.5 trails all over AZ. “My family enjoys the outdoors as much as I do and we have continued the long standing traditions that I was raised with such as tread lightly and respect the land/other users just like they were family. I was born is AZ and have raised my child here because of the many opportunities to ‘get away from it all’ that we enjoy so much.” Co-Driver Jim Rosato has been an Automotive Technician for 10 years, and has been the chief designer for the electrical and engine management systems on both the #4669 and #4493 cars. Outside of vehicle design and fabrication, Jim has served in the US Army Reserves as a Wheeled Vehicle mechanic since 2001. Jim served in Iraq from 2003 – 2004 as a mechanic and as the companies MK19 grenade launcher gunner. Both Shawn and Jim reside in Mesa, AZ.

Alan,
Do we need to do anything to get you ready for the Congress race?

sweathog wrote:Alan,
Do we need to do anything to get you ready for the Congress race?

Not really. The Jeep is at Andrew's getting the rear axle upgraded. I may need a hand with winch install a little close to date, but the rig is pretty much buttoned up and ready to race again.

OK. Word on the street is that the Gorman Dirt Riot race will more than likely NOT be rescheduled. The event organizers are leaning towards making the Cortez, Utah race a combined "Mountain and Southwest division" race, meaning you'll get double points for racing. Currently, we are the points leader in the Southwest Dirt Riot series. The Cortez race is July 13th and 14th. Start marking it on your Calendar if you're interested. I can take 5 folks comfortably in my vehicle.

Calendar marked! I'll ride in the jeep on the trailer if that's cool...

That's cool with me... The cops are up to you.

Unfortunately I am out for this race. I work that weekend.

Guys, I have a TON of updates I need to do from the last few months, but here's a quick re-cap:

We went to Cortez and we whipped ass. I installed a 4 speed Atlas, ran it in 2:1 and kept up with Ryan Miller (who was doing 15 minutes laps in Congress and we were doing 20 minute laps...). Ivan was the co-driver. We finished 3rd over all, but had a 2nd place finish in our class for the Mountain series and 1st place in the Southwest series! These points gave us the Dirt Riot Southwest Series championship!!!! HG's first year of racing is kicking butt! This also put us as the points leader by 30 points NATIONALLY. There is one more regular season race in August in Indiana. I can't make it. I hope the guy in 2nd place from Utah can't drive that far also... if so, WE WIN THE NATIONAL POINTS SERIES FOR DIRT RIOT FOR 2012, THE FIRST YEAR OF DIRT RIOT!!!!!!!!!!!! As you can tell, I'm stoked.

Since we won the Southwest Series, we are automatically qualified for the Nationals in Dallas on October 13th. It isn't a points race, but a champions race. Season awards ceremony is that evening. We've locked up Southwest, but we might get the National award that night if we win it. So stoked. Mike will be co-dawg for the October 13th race. My last co-driver can't miss school for the race. ;-)

Anyway, pictures from Cortez haven't surfaced yet, hence no write up, but when they do, I'll do a big Cortez write up. Great race and we're so much faster with the gearing the 4speed Atlas give us. Ryan Miller has also been acting as my driving coach since Congress and has helped a lot with driving technique and my lines. We are going to actually be competative at KOH 2013 in the EMC. VERY competative.

In regards to KOH / EMC 2013 - good news! They are having LCQ and time trials the Tues/Wed before the race like last year, but the EMC has been moved to the THURSDAY night, day before the big race! We'll be able to take in the entire event next year. Too cool for school.

Love you guys. Thank you for the support, the prayers, and the help. I can't wait to see where this keeps going!

AJ

A new edit I just knocked out usin footage from the January Dirt Riot race in Tucson.

Enjoy.

Good stuff Alan