1708 Express Racing 2010 Blue Water Resort & Casino Parker 425 Race report
The 2010 ATK Engines Jeepspeed Challenge was finally upon us, and it was with great anticipation of a Championship run, that the 1708 Express Racing team of Eric Helgeson and Michael Slater, prepped for
the opening round: the 2010 BITD Blue Water Resort & Casino “Parker 425”!!! With 239 starters, and only 82 finishers, the Good Year Tires, Currie Enterprises, Twisted Stitch, Deaver Springs and Anaheim
Gear backed 1708 would flex its muscles once again.
Friday February 5th Contingency
Contingency started at 9:30 am. With the car 100% ready, we decided to get a jump on contingency and be one of the first cars in line. We arrived at around 8:00am only to find 4 other Jeepspeed teams in
front of us. We were already falling behind.
Contingency was smooth and uneventful. With weather in the 70’s impending rain was nowhere on the radar. It was great seeing all the old friends and fresh faces. The start of a new season, who would step
up? Who would make a run for the win? We would find out on Race day.
Saturday February 6th Race Day
Starting Lucky #7 off the line of 20 Jeepspeed racers, our strategy was simple. To finish first, you must first finish. We would take it easy the first lap and keep the car in one piece, then see where we stood
and step it up when needed.
Passing all but the 1736 and 1719 by mile 20 our strategy and resolve were put to the test. The 1725 came and put a competitive pass on us. Racing side by side, my adrenalin wanted to take over the control of the skinny pedal but reason and experience would prevail. It was just the beginning of a long race and we wouldn’t fall into that trap, we could continue our conservative pace and let him go. As we went by pit 2 at race mile 54 we saw the 1736 in for fuel, one down, two to go.
Our friends and team mates, the 1719 of Chris Nissley and Rob Renken were next. As team mates, there was some major trash talking prior to the race. I had told Chris that we would get him by mile 20. He wasn’t going to let that happen and was driving an incredibly fast 2nd on course. Going by pit 2 we were told he had a 3 min lead on us. As we stepped it up we had our first issue. A driveline vibration we had been chasing the weeks before in test sessions was back. We had a top speed of only 65mph before the car would start to shake violently. This would be a problem. Sections where we hit 95mph+ last year would be significantly slower. We would now have to work harder in the rough sections to make up time. Working through rough sections and sandy washes we started making time on the 1719. Catching them pulled over and broken at mile 76 our strategy of conservative racing was working. We were now second on course, second on corrected time behind the 1725.
As we worked toward our first stop for fuel at the Midway pit, we noticed the first class 1 car coming up on us. As we moved over to let him by, he was on the gas and sprayed us with gravel the size of golf
balls. After the dust settled and catching rocks in the face, my face shield was broken and cracked. Pulling into midway pit for fuel, we noticed the radiator. Not only did the class 1 shatter every forward
facing light on the car, but we managed to catch a rock in the radiator, putting a hole in it. Losing water, we called out for stop leak. At the remote pit, stop leak was not on the checklist. So we used the next
best thing… “Pepper”! Yes, a shaker full of pepper will work as radiator stop leak!!! Extra time in the pit had allowed the 1736 to pass us back.
Taking on 10 gallons of fuel and a shaker full of pepper, we were on our way to main Pit. Running third on course, but still second on corrected time.
The last 40 miles of the Parker loop can be described with two words, absolute hell. Surviving the goat trails. We finally made it to the infamous Parker Python. As we came into the second set of high
banked berms, the car suddenly lost power, stuttered and stalled. Rolling to flat ground we were able to get it restarted but had no idea what had caused the stall. Continuing to the next high banked turn it
happened again, keeping the pedal on the floor we realized what was going on… we were out of fuel and a mile away from our pit!!! Doing everything we could to get fuel to the pickup, we nursed it to main pit, completely out of gas.
Taking a full load of fuel and looking over the car we were out in 1 minute and 8 seconds. Ahead of the 1736 again but now 6 minutes behind the 1725. It was time to pick up the pace. With the exception of the driveline vibration, the car was running great. Our GoodYear Wrangler MTR’s with Kevlar were performing flawlessly in the soft sand and silt. Our little 100,000 mile junkyard motor driving the Anaheim Gear bulletproof transmission. Deaver Springs and King Shocks putting the power to our New Currie F9 rear end all working overtime ready for the challenge. Feeling secure in our Twisted Stitch seats, we would go chase him down.
With spotters relaying information back, we were radioed from main pit, “I need you guys to make up 8 minutes”… The leash was off, the rain was pouring down, it was time to go racing.
Without the Iritrack tracking website to keep track of all the cars, we were in the dark and wouldn’t know if anyone was stopped. We were on a fast pace, but had no idea if we were making up time or not. Coming up to pit 1 we asked our spotters to give us a time split. As we got there they told us we were the first Jeepspeed through. That had to be a mistake as we never saw the 1725. We would stay on the gas to pit 2. Approaching pit 2 we radioed in again for our team to give us a time split. Again, you guys are the first through. Not knowing for sure without iritrack, we couldn’t take any chances. We would continue on the gas, leaving instructions for pit 2 to tell us who and when the next car through was.
Approaching pit 4, the news was relayed. The 1725 was seen on a trailer heading back to main pit and the next car behind us was the 1713 of Clint Malburg, over an hour behind. We were first on course
with over an hour to spare, allowing us to take it easy the last 40 miles through the roughest part of the course. Another Parker win in sight.
Taking the Checkered flag gave us some time to reflect. The weather had been horrible again, but never even fazed us. We had showed great restraint and never drove the car harder than she could handle
despite the pressure, and stuck with our finish first plan. “Did that pepper REALLY stop that radiator leak”??? Even with a maximum speed of only 68mph on the GPS we had finished with a 1:15 min lead over 2nd place. A Great Day and Great finish indeed.
As we celebrate this win, we want to be sure to credit all those who made it possible.
Our Family:
Denise and Jennifer for understanding our racing fever. And enjoying it as much as us.
My Girls, Brittney, Megan, Devan and Daylee. Thank you for always being at the finish line. Proud no matter where we finish.
Steven, for working the remote pits and keeping all the split times.
Mike Slater Sr. Your support means more than you know.
Our Friends:
Tony Sato and Chris “Freebird” Haynes… communications and remote pits.
The Dodge… Not Racing Today team. Our AZ crew.
1719 Nissley team and family. Bummer on the DNF. You guys were super fast.
Our sponsors. Please support them as they make this all possible.
Deaver Springs, for an outstanding product and customer service. www.deaverspring.com
Twisted Stitch, Nets, bags, straps and seats. www.twistedstitchinc.com
Anaheim Gear , For our bulletproof transmission. www.anaheimgear.com
With Special thanks to Currie Enterprises. Your continued support through the years means so much.
www.currieenterprises.com
GOODYEAR Tires, This was our last race with Goodyear. It was a pleasure putting you on the podium once again.
And our new Jeepspeed series sponsors, without you, our Jeepspeed series would not exist.
ATK Engines-O.C. Motorsports-Orange Coast Jeep-Raceline Wheels-Currie Enterprises-General Tires
As we head into the 2nd round of the Jeepspeed challenge, The SNORE Mint 400, 1708 Express Racing is pleased to announce the addition of:
BFGoodrich Tires. www.BFGoodrichTires.com
and
Black Rock Wheels . www.blackrockwheels.com
to our family.
Thank you all for your support, “1708 Race Over and Out!”