“This was a huge victory for the team,” commented co-driver Brad Lovell. “Roger has had a tough first season and earned every bit of this win.” Some may not realize that while Roger is a veteran of spotting and co-driver duties, 2007 was his first season behind the wheel. After suffering mechanical problems in three of four races this season, he barely qualified for the finals. Things looked no better when the team drew the first starting position for the finals.

As the morning sun illuminated Pikes Peak and race fans filled the parking lot, the green flag dropped on what was unanimously declared the best rock racing course yet. Jumps, climbs, side hills, and cracks challenged the teams and the Lovells tested their risky strategy. “We played everything conservative. The course was tough enough, and jumps big enough, we knew people were going to be breaking and hoped to win by driving smart.” As the times were compiled during the day, the pair was not the fastest on any single course but instead, was extremely consistent. The final round started with the Alloy USA Ranger in 3rd place, 2 seconds ahead of 2006 champion Shannon Campbell.

The team did some head scratching and decided not to change the tactic that put them in the finals. “We wanted so badly to lay it all on the line because we have seen how fast Shannon is, but after some thought, decided to run everything as we had before. We were going to make sure we finished.” Again, the strategy paid off as Campbell hit a banner while landing a jump and then got wedged in a notch. 2nd Place qualifier Joachim Schweisow suffered a similar fate after loosing steering. With one race left, the Lovells now had a lock on 2nd if they only finished within the time limit. They narrowly escaped the rock notch without rolling and carefully, but quickly, crossed the finish line. The brothers were ultimately rewarded for their patience when the last runner of the day (and race leader) Brian Shirley exploded a rear axle housing while landing a triple jump. Lovell Racing was now the only team to finish all the courses.

The Lovell Racing crew went wild and the celebration immediately started. Roger paraded the checkered flag through the hometown crowd before claiming the XRRA National Championship Cup. He adds, “We never had the fastest single time, but we did run the smartest race. I owe so much to Alloy USA for making this racing season possible. We also greatly appreciate the help from all our sponsors including Spidertrax, Howe Performance, Fabtech, and Art Carr. They kept helping us put the truck back together this season and it finally paid off.”

The race season is not over yet! Brad Lovell will race the Fabtech Ford Ranger at the UROC Rockcross Oct. 6 & 7 during the Off-Road Expo in Pomona, CA. Stay tuned for more news!

Since Roger had previous obligations, Brad teamed with co-driver Mike Foster for this race. Brad explains, “Mike has a lot of history in off-road racing that is helping us go faster on the track.” No matter how fast the pair went, however, they couldn’t outrun terrible luck on the first day of racing. During practice, the team blew a transmission gasket that was un-repairable. Later, during qualifying, they had a hydraulic failure in the steering system. “We felt like we couldn’t keep the truck together,” continues Brad, “We qualified in 2nd place but were loosing confidence.” With the Ranger bleeding transmission fluid, Team Lovell lined up for their first heat race. The bad luck continued after a tangle with another vehicle destroyed the steering ram. Brad could only watch from the sidelines as long time rival Dean Bulloch won the race. Discouraged, Mike and Brad returned to the pit to make repairs for the last-chance race Sunday morning.

Sunday was indeed a new day for the team. The first last-chance race was against the 600 hp Toyota of RJ Brown. Surprisingly, the Fabtech Ranger was only a nose behind off the line and first over the rocks. The lead would never change and Lovell would win. Next was a race against Rockcross #1 winner, Jimmy Maybe. “Brad was sweating this one,” said Mike, “We both knew Jimmy was fast and if we lost, we were done.” Both trucks were fast off the line but Lovell took the lead on the rocks, now on to the finals!

The finals were held in a unique manner. Rival Dean Bulloch had not lost a race and would need to be beaten twice in order for Lovell to win. When the green flag dropped, Dean got in front and had a big lead. When Brad and Mike rounded the sweeping bend they found Dean slowing to climb a rock face. Brad comments, “We put some pressure on him and he made a bad choice.” Dean’s truck pushed off the rock and he ended up rolling. Lovell would go on to win the race and have another chance to go for the win.

“We have gone against Dean Bulloch for about 4 years now and he is one of the best,” recalls Brad, “I knew he would not make the same mistake again.” The green flag dropped and the FABTECH Ranger roared off the line. The trucks raced side by side over the rock and into the dust. When the track narrowed they came together and Dean’s wheel pushed under the Ranger, inciting a roll. “I felt it lift and all of a sudden I knew that nothing else mattered except keeping it on the wheels.” Brad veered to the right to recover and gave the line to Dean. “When I came back in the groove, I noticed a good line through the rocks and was just able to cut in front of Dean.” With Team Lovell in front, both trucks were fast through the next 4 laps but the pair held off every charge and took home the victory.

Lovell Racing owes the victory to BFGoodrich Tires for a new breed of rock tire – specialized Baja T/A’s that are extremely stable in the turns and grip like Velcro on the rocks. These same tires put teammate Roger in the winners circle a weekend earlier. The team’s next stop is the Off-Road Proving Grounds at the gigantic SEMA show in Las Vegas, NV on October 30 – November 2nd.

The season finale UROC Rockcross was held at the Firebird Raceway under what are usually sunny skies. The weather was not cooperative, however, as it rained several inches the day before the event. Mud and standing water was everywhere on the course. “One thing about rockcrawlers is that they hate mud,” says driver Brad Lovell, “I think more than one team was reluctant to drive out of the pits.”

As racing started, the trucks quickly became indistinguishable brown clods. The Lovells got smart fast and procured some tear-off goggles. The Lexan windows in the foot-wells were also removed. Doing so gave them precious visibility. They had the fastest qualifying time and took pole position for the first heat race. The green flag then dropped and 6 vehicles left the line. Brad & Roger got the hole-shot and lead the pack into the jumps. The tangle of trucks went around the track but the FABTECH Ranger pulled away for a win.

In the next round of racing, and while in the lead, the brothers jarred an oil line loose and were forced to stop. “Brad kept pushing it after the cloud of white smoke went away,” recalls Roger, “After a while I noted the pressure gauge at zero. I don’t know about other oils, but I think we owe AMSOIL an engine.” Even with the malfunction, the brothers won the Modified Class by forfeit as the other qualified vehicles were broken before the final round.

Next up was the Pure Adrenaline Shootout which was a race between any vehicles left running. “Campbell has almost twice the power to weight ratio we do and got a car length on us before the first turn,” Brad says, “We were putting some pressure on him and he started to roll as we entered the turn. He never lifted and almost carried it through on 3 wheels but missed the corner. We were fast the first lap but developed an electrical problem with the fan unit. We held off the rest of the pack but the fan breaker kept popping and killing the truck.” In the end, Campbell was DQ’d for missing the turn and Lovell Racing was once again declared the winner.

The brothers could have taken home their 3rd Championship this year with two wins and a 2nd, but unfortunately did not enter the Rockcross Series. “Our initial schedule did not allow us to attend this event and that changed,” comments Brad, “You can’t win it if you don’t enter.”

There is not much of a break before the 2008 season takes off. The first event for the team will be the inaugural King of the Hammers 40 mile Rock Race on Feb, 22nd. Look for more news and website updates as the team has many exciting things coming together for 2008.

Nervousness and excitement abounded as teams ran time trials to determine start positions. Brad Lovell, with off-road veteran Mike Foster serving as co-driver, qualified in 4th place. This put them in the first heat of the first ever Rockcross. “My skin was crawling and I wanted nothing more than to have that green flag drop. Nobody knew how this was going to work out. We took off and all the excitement turned into sheer focus on beating the two trucks next to me. Luckily, we got the hole shot and hit the rock first. From there we never looked back and got a ticket to the semi-finals.”

The next race pitted Team Lovell against Stumph and Schiesow. “These guys have good cars and are good drivers. We didn’t have lane choice and barely got to the rock first. Stumph hit us and drove over our hood onto the rock. We squared in behind him and made a quick pass on the backstretch. He was bumping us in the fast turn but lost control. We had clear sailing for the next two laps as Stumph and Schiesow battled it out for the rest of the race.” Lovell was now in the finals.

Lovell, Maybe, and Schiesow made it to the final round and had a pretty even launch from the gate. Maybe made it over the rock first and Lovell was on his tail. “This guy was fast and we had a good race going. We would get right on him in the rock but there was no room to pass. We came out of the rock with me on two wheels looking to roll. I had to lift to get the inside tires down and Maybe got ahead. We then came within inches of rolling off the next climb and I was forced to back up. We plunged over the rock and into the unlighted dust. I couldn’t see the hairpin turn and ended the race upside down with a face full of dust. I got to hand it to Jimmy Maybe for some extremely fast heads up racing.” Brad and Mike walked away with 2nd Place after the ride of their lives.

After the FABTECH Ford Ranger gets extensive inspection and repair, Brad and Roger Lovell will again team up for the WE-Rock US Finals in Houston, Texas Sept. 15th – 16th.

FABTECH driver Brad Lovell had a poor draw at the front of the pack with step-in co-driver Shawn Lazzelle. Undaunted, the team launched the Ranger from the start gate and the pair had little trouble setting the fastest time. The second run went equally as well but their luck ran out on the third race as a brief rainstorm muddied the rock. “We struggled on a climb and had to hit it 3 times,” recalls Brad, “We were slipping in the mud but the BFGoodrich rubber grabbed and we went up.”

The slow run was a setback but there was still a chance. The pressure mounted during the final race as Brad laid it on the line. The team was fast in the rocks and jumped off a 4’ rock ledge just before bouncing across the finish line. Once the times were added up, Brad & Shawn found themselves on the podium in 3rd place. “I always see ways to improve but am happy with the result. We expect to be faster next year.”

Roger’s race started well in the ALLOY USA Ranger and he put in a respectable time on his first run. The second run went as planned until Roger reached the same double jump that ended his last race in Cortez. This time, he decided not to jump it. Unbeknownst to Roger, however, he had cut a brake line. The truck plummeted into the bank. Roger saved a rollover but the impact broke a cross-member and rear driveshaft. He crossed the finish line with extensive damage to the back half of the truck. Roger contributes “I got towed to the pits and didn’t waste a minute. The whole team chipped in and somehow got it fixed. Everything from the brakes to the fuel cell was split open.”

Roger made it back to the starting line with seconds to spare for race #3. He cautiously drove the hurt truck through the course and calmly made a climb that was stopping others. The lack of brakes once again bit him though, and he was unable to control the truck on a rocky slope. Over he went only feet from the finish line. Frustrated but determined to not be beat, Roger focused on his last race. He went for broke and somehow the Ranger held together. The crowd went wild as he launched full throttle off the ledges and sailed across the finish line. “I have had a tough season with a lot of repairs but was still able to qualify to the US Finals in September. That was one of my goals and it was met.”

The big unknown of the year - the UROC Rockcross (August 18th, Salt Lake City) is only two weeks away and the Brad will enter the FABTECH Ranger. Look for a report on how this new elimination format of racing works out.