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SAN
DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – Four hundred miles of Nevada whoops,
rocks, and silt. With 194 entrants and only 85 finishers,
this year’s General Tire Mint 400 proved to be one of the
toughest on record.
With nobody
else in the class the team wasn’t under a lot of pressure.
The plan was to cruise to a finish and a win. As the day
unfolded it became clear that this race was destined to be
the biggest nail-biter of the season. Who would have
thought that the number one adversary was going to be the
desert itself?
Kent
Kroeker and Robin Stover drove the first lap. Vicious dust
during the start reduced visibility to zero, causing a very
slow speed average. Seeking clear air, Kroeker and Stover
passed Trophy Lites, buggies and trucks until they could run
a normal pace. Loose silt on rocky hills mandated the use
of the truck’s four wheel drive system. Each time it was
engaged, evil sounds emerged. Robin identified the noise as
a planetary gear dying in the transfer case. The team
swapped the transfer case in the pit, losing over an hour.
John
“Zambo” Zambie and Frank Martinek took over driving duties.
Within 30 miles they had destroyed the rear drive shaft and
mangled the front differential, losing another hour to make
repairs in the field. Zambo completed lap 2 in good style,
keeping a solid pace and delivering a perfect vehicle to
KORE’s main pit.
Rudy Iribe
and Joe Salas took control of the Powerwagon for lap 3. By
this time the course was even rougher due to other vehicles
repeatedly racing over the same terrain. Everything was
going well until a coupler in the steering system snapped in
half, leaving the team stranded in the middle of nowhere. A
spare part was not on the truck and the Mint sanctioning
body does not allow support vehicles to access the course.
Fortunately they were in radio contact with KORE Chase.
Salas transmitted their coordinates and Chase discovered
that, although not visible, they were only a couple of miles
from the race truck. Navigating by terrain features,
Kroeker and his dad then ran the part in on foot, doing
about six miles round trip.
Chris
“Mongo” Williams joined Rudy in the Powerwagon for lap 4.
With five hours of down time, in order to finish under the
limit, Rudy had to not only drive a perfect lap with zero
mechanical problems, but he would also have to go as fast as
humanly possible. The team was on edge chasing Rudy and
Mongo thought the various checkpoints. At one point Zambo
said, “We’re kind of like a squirrel that just got run over
but isn’t killed all the way. If anything else goes wrong -
a flat tire, a clogged filter, anything - it’s all over.”
The team
assembled at the finish line and soon heard the roar of the
Powerwagon’s Hemi motor hammering through the pits. The team
cheered and with only 58 seconds to spare, Rudy and Mongo
crossed the checkered flag for the win, proving that
sometimes you don’t need anyone else in your class to run
one of the closest races ever.
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For more information
contact: KORE
P.O. Box 2628
Valley Center CA 92082
760-749-8687
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