 | LOVELLS PUNISH FABTECH ROCKCRAWLER
Wednesday June 25th 2008 - Brad Lovell
TEAM ALMOST VICTORIOUS AFTER HARD DAY
Lovell Racing has returned from the second round of WE-Rock action in Cedar City, UT. The courses at the 3 Peaks OHV Park are always challenging and there was plenty of terrain to make this competition entirely distinct from the last. This, the third event in a series of four, was important for the Lovells so they could cement their series lead going into the final round.
Day #1 always seems to be the roughest day for the team. This event would be no exception. While the last two rockcrawls have been nearly mistake free, the FABTECH Ranger nipped a cone on the first course. The second course, A2, started with the pair easily missing a cone that was taken by all others. Regretfully, the effort was for not as a bad bounce left the truck hanging over the second gate with no way out but a risky front burn. Brad gave it his best but ended up on his roof in need of recovery. “At that point we knew we needed our best effort and some luck to get back in the game,” recalls Brad, “In two courses we were about 50 points behind where we should have been.”
The brothers kept their heads and cleanly navigated the remaining technical courses. In fact, all the pair had to do was exit the finish gates on the last course of the day. The lure of a bonus line caught Brad’s eye, however, and he lined up for what would be another costly mistake. Off a ledge and end over end the Ranger went. While the ledge was not huge, the impact was hard enough to fracture the radiator, bend tube, and leave bruises. The rough day left the Lovells in 6th place and scrambling to repair a damaged vehicle. Brad adds, “The whole family chipped in and we were lucky enough to have Above All Rockcrawling weld our radiator. We were done in time to get some rest and focus on day #2.”
Focus is exactly what the team did and it resulted in a remarkable second day. Brad and Roger made quick work of the remaining regular courses making all the right moves where others had difficulty. The team made up enough ground to be positioned in 2nd place going into the final round, but still a far cry from leader Brian Errea.
The Lovells watched in dismay as the final course deteriorated and holes were dug making the first climb impassible for other contenders. “We did not have much time to make a plan and it looked bad,” commented Roger, “We fell in the same holes but luckily I found some decent rock.” Roger muscled rock into the enormous holes and it proved just enough for Brad to throttle trough before stabbing the brakes to avoid a cone. They went on to a successful run and even cleared a treacherous bonus that nearly caused yet another rollover. “I saw my wife jumping up and down at the finish line and I knew we had done well. We put the pressure on Errea,” recalled Brad. Errea was under the gun, hit a cone, and had a heart stopping roll through the bonus line. Luck was with him though as he landed on his wheels and finished the course with seconds to spare. His efforts put him a well deserved 3 points ahead of the Lovells.
The 2nd place finish gives Lovell Racing a strong lead going in the final round to be held in Donner, CA on July 18th. Stay tuned as the team competes in their 3rd event in as many weeks at the R.O.C. Rock Race in Colorado Springs, CO this weekend.
Team note: One of our friends, Tom Guaraldo, died this last weekend while driving a new rock racer near Colorado Springs. He was not wearing his seatbelt while testing the transmission. He made a sharp turn, rolled, and was partially ejected. After my hard roll in Cedar City, I have little doubt that my seatbelt saved my life. Please, value yourself and your family – wear your seatbelt. If it is a custom application, check it regularly for damage.
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TEAM LOVELL GOES TO THE TOP AND BACK
Sunday June 15th 2008 - Brad Lovell
QUESTION AND ANSWERS
The question I have been asking myself for the last couple days is “How exactly did that happen?” A couple unusual things happened to our team at the XRRA Round #3 in our hometown of Colorado Springs that that left me scratching my head. The twists of fate during the day were almost as extensive as the turns, climbs, and drops at the RAM Off-Road Park course.
As luck would have it, Roger and I received back to back positions in the running order again. This reoccurring coincidence causes logistics challenges but did not stop both of us from bringing in respectable times for our first runs; mine was only 9 seconds off of the fast time by Shannon Campbell. I saw that I needed to ask more from the truck so I pushed it harder on the second run. My co-driver Mark Hayward and I crashed off of ledges to fast, brutalized the tires and wheels on boulders, and had little regard for the drive train when landing from jumps. I think we laid down the fastest time of the day but had no time to check as a clunk in the rear end signified a broken gear set. On top of that, our trusty set of BFGoodrich Baja T/A KRT’s was no more. After seven destructive races on the set and five years competing on BFGoodrich, I had my first flat.
As soon as Roger’s second run was complete (this one his fastest yet) the team headed to the pits. We furiously tore apart the rear axle and scrambled to find a spare tire. As we pulled the gears out, I was puzzled to see no damage but was intent on focusing on the job at hand. In less than 30 minutes we had the axle reassembled, a new tire, and a damaged brake caliper removed. We had about a dozen helpers from other teams that jumped in without being asked - we owe them greatly.
Back to racing – I now lined for the dreaded gap jumps that have plagued me for years. Roger and I had both decided before the race - NO MORE! Time to face the fear - no longer would we bypass these jumps. Green flag – ease down the drop, mash the gas, 3rd gear, keep it straight, hold on…. Up and over sailed the FABTECH Ranger with the smoothest landing imaginable on the Dirt Logic shocks. Around we sped through the rest of the course to the checkered flag. As soon as we crossed the finish line my wife Natalie ran up with news that Roger’s truck would not start. Given our past ignition problems I focused on the distributor while everyone and anyone checked sensors and relays. Unfortunately, our 60 second window ran out and Roger was forced to take a DNF. We would later discover that high temperatures combined with the addition of fire shielding had caused the fuel pump to get to hot and loose pressure. Couldn’t it have happened any place but the starting line?
With Roger out of contention for the finals, I made my final run and discovered I had nearly a 40 second cumulative lead. Roger followed by clearing the gap jump and marking a fast time but the missed course would keep him from the final round. All Mark and I needed to do from here is be smart and play it safe. In the first round of the finals we picked up at least another ten seconds on second place. Only one run left…. We left the line and were consistent until we got to a dug out climb. I tried and tried but could not get the truck to transition correctly due to the huge holes. I kept trying spot after spot and finally spun up to the top but got tangled in a banner. We finished the course but it was all for not as we timed out. How did I loose it on what I do best - a climb?
The times were tallied and the FABTECH Ranger ended up in a strong 3rd Place. We are proud as a team to have a podium finish but I must admit I am a bit puzzled and disappointed by my performance during the last run. That’s why we race though, to test ourselves. Final placing has not yet been announced so we are not sure where Roger ended up. I should also add that upon further investigation, the gear set and ARB locker were fine, the clunk was coming from the damaged brake caliper.
We have quite literally no break in the schedule as we return to Cedar City, UT this weekend for WE-Rock Round #3 before returning to Colorado Springs for a race the following weekend. Stay tuned, more news shortly.
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Lovell Racing Crawls Back to the Top
Thursday May 29th 2008 - Brad Lovell
BACK TO BACK WINS ON THE ROCKS
After a setback in Albuquerque, NM the Lovell Racing Team regrouped and head off to the rocks of Cedar City, UT. Three Peaks Off-road Park would be the location of choice for the second event in the 2008 WE-Rock Western Series.
As the sun warmed the rocks a record number of Pro Modified teams slowly trickled into the event site. With 25 teams ready to compete the rocks were busy with tight lipped talk of strategy and who to watch. An adventurous excitement filled the air that can be best described as a realization that this was a return to old school rock crawling. The courses were tight, technical and consisted of awe inspiring climbs and amazing drops.
Brad and Roger got off to a quick lead on the first course with a successful run but the first day of competition would still present challenge. After watching fellow competitors struggle with the bonus line on the B1 course the brothers decided to take the risk and go for the hard line. Brad carefully lined up the Fabtech Ford Ranger and Roger worked to place rocks in the perfect location. The Ranger bridged the enormous gap and as the nose pointed skyward Brad settled into the driver’s seat and lost his view of the rocks below. Driving by nothing but feel and the direction of Roger, Brad slowly tip-toed the Ranger through the gates. The gamble worked and team Lovell took a commanding lead over fellow competitors. “Brad did and incredible job, if he only knew how close he was to the edge” commented Roger.
After the end of the day, the brothers found themselves with a six point lead over veteran rock star Jason Paulie. “It’s a real honor to compete with Jason, he’s a smooth driver and always has a trick up his sleeve. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day.” Brad said and the sun dipped behind the rocks.
Day two brought new challenges and the W.E. Rock courses proved to be brutal on all competitors. Brad and Roger had another near flawless day and after battled though four courses to find themselves with a growing lead on Jason Paulie. Paulie was competing in Pro Modified for the first time in a borrowed truck. As the Unlimited Finals wound down six Pro Modified teams could be seen studying every rock of the final course. “We have five teams to watch before we run, so I feel pretty good but 12 points is not much of a lead” commented Brad. The course that had been set for the final round was the longest of the day and would push every team to the limit. The course also had two bonus lines but every team stuck to the regular course, except for Jason Paulie. After Paulie had competed his run, and under incredible pressure, team Lovell did some quick math and made a plan. But was their math correct? Would their plan work? After a long day of competition the Fabtech Ford roared to life the team was off. Careful planning paid off and Brad piloted the Ranger through gate after gate until the final climb. The team knew they had to make the last climb in one shot and Roger stood back and directed Brad to the perfect line. Like a pilot on a launch pad Brad romped on the gas and the BF Goodrich Krawlers pushed the Fabtech Ford to the top of the rock. With a single turn to the right the two carefully crossed the finish gates and captured their second victory in the W.E. Rock Western Series. With back to back first place finishes in a four event series Lovell Racing has a commanding lead in the series.
June 14th will find Brad and Roger racing head to head in the Fabtech Ranger and the Dirt Logic Ranger in XRRA round thee in hometown Colorado Springs, CO.
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Brad Lovell Claims XRRA Season Opener
Monday March 24th 2008 - Brad Lovell
ROGER’S DEMISE CATAPULTS BRAD TO THE TOP
Lovell Racing continued their two truck effort this past weekend at the XRRA Rock Race in Moab, UT. Roger Lovell debuted with his revamped #32 DirtLogic Ranger alongside Brad Lovell’s recently constructed #232 Fabtech Ford. The brothers went up against 40 of the nations top rock racers to see who would rise to the top.
The sun crept down the red rock canyon, a cold wind blew, and the drivers gathered to review the running order. As luck would have it, Brad drew poorly and was forced to face the toughest course without the benefit of watching others. The course had the usual jumps and rock climbs but also featured a massive boulder lined trench. “We flew through the jumps and rock climb then tried to straddle the trench,” recalls Brad, “In retrospect that was a bad idea. We got a tire caught, tried to back up, and rolled. It cost us 6 minutes and was a horrible start to the season.”
Roger, however, had different luck. The #32 DirtLogic Ranger made short work of lane #1 setting the fastest time. Roger comments, “Doing 50 miles of this at King of the Hammers really gave me the seat time to feel confident behind the wheel. We spent a day tuning the DirtLogic air shocks in the dunes and the truck felt great.” Roger then marked another respectable time by raking the truck through the rock trench that claimed his teammate and was sitting in 5th place as the afternoon came to a close. During the final race of the day, however, bad luck struck. The bell housing fractured, wedged itself against the flywheel, and immediately disabled the truck. “It was incredibly frustrating to finish a strong day this way. We were positioned to be in the final round but our luck ran out. It was a freak occurrence that won’t happen again.”
Back in #232 Brad and co-driver Mark Hayward were tearing up the track with the 400 HP Pro-Formance Unlimited Ford motor. “We figured we were out of the running and decided to go for experience and season points,” said Brad. The formula worked and #232 was shaving full minutes off of the competition. “The truck proved incredibly stable and strong. I never felt that I was pushing it beyond its abilities.” At the end of regular racing, Roger’s misfortune made room for Brad in the finals as the Fabtech Ford slid into sixth place with less than a 10 second margin.
With no time to develop strategy, Brad and Mark suited up for 2 more rounds of racing. In lane #1 Brad was fast but overshot a double jump that cost precious time. This effort was only a second faster than his previous time. He would fair well in lane #2 with a well paced clean run. With no knowledge of how the course times added up, the team finally relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the show. Brad would finish the day with a total time of 15:52, over 40 seconds faster than second place. “We came from last place to first place,” adds Brad, “I am amazed by what this truck can do, it is blistering fast. I am exceptionally proud of our team, sponsors, and family for building this vehicle and getting a win our second time out.”
The next competition is only 3 weeks away – WE-Rock Round #1 in Perris, CA April 10-12. Look for more news soon as Brad and Roger team up to test the #232 Fabtech Ford in the premier rock crawling circuit.
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