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SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
– On 25 April, the best Stock Full class racers in the
country gathered at Primm, Nevada to pit their machines
against one another on one of the roughest courses in the
Best in the Desert Series.
Normally it takes over a
month of full-time work to prep a vehicle for a race.
Everything must be rebuilt or replaced. Only two weeks had
passed since competing in the Mint 400, so there was very
little time for KORE to repair and prep the Powerwagon.
“Basically, Fox rebuilt
our shocks and Les Black rebuilt the carb. We changed
filters, belts and fluids, threw in a fresh set of plugs,
some new Grabbers and drove to Primm. We dropped in a new
transfer case in the hotel parking lot and rolled her
through tech inspection,” said John Zambie.
KORE’s late entry
guaranteed a rear start. At just after 6am the Stock Full
class was roaring into the desert. Kent Kroeker drove with
Frank Martinek in the right seat. Within ten miles they had
passed half of the Stock Full competitors.
“Despite the partial prep,
that truck never felt so good. The suspension and power
were dialed. Everything felt perfect and we were crushing
everyone,” said Frank.
After the first 80 miles,
the four top competitors, Foutz, Griffin, Kroeker, and
Merritt rolled through the pits within two minutes of each
other! With two more laps to go, it was going to be an
all-out battle for the win.
By the end of lap two,
Kroeker and Martinek were leading on time, less than a
minute behind Griffin. At the KORE Pit, the team put in 20
gallons and Rudy Iribe swapped into the left seat while
Martinek remained in the right to provide up-to-date course
information.
Everything was looking
great, but within ten miles the Powerwagon’s serpentine belt
had snapped.
It took six minutes to
change the belt and during that time Foutz and Merritt got
past them. Rudy drove like a madman to get back into
position, but by that time the gap between Griffin had grown
to 4 minutes.
“I was hoping this would
be a repeat of Primm last year when we finished just behind
Griffin, but won on corrected time. All it took was six
minutes of bad luck and we were back in second place. The
Stock Full class is just that competitive,” said Kent
Kroeker after the race.
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For more information
contact: KORE
P.O. Box 2628
Valley Center CA 92082
760-749-8687
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