WE ROCK USA - EVENT #2
Cedar City, UT
2nd Place Finish
Capistrano Beach, CA
– Team Waggoner Racing was on their game in Cedar City, UT for the second event
of the WE ROCK USA west coast series. “It was a close one this weekend.” states
Cody. “The First Place Series title is still in our reach and I know the guys
can do it.” adds Lindsay.
With warm weather and spectators out in numbers the event was promising from the start. Four tough courses set for Saturday, each with their own element of difficulty. Tricky hill climbs and off camber sections definitely had each team planning their lines carefully. Cody and Jim ended up running their courses alone after the one team in front of them broke on the first course of the day. “In my opinion, the guys seem to work better when they focus on what they need to do to get through the course, instead of worrying about what the other teams are doing.” comments Lindsay. That is exactly what they did too; they got through the first three ‘A’ courses with ease.
Word was getting around that it was a “roll over frenzy” and lots of carnage at this event. Team Waggoner seemed to be unaffected and kept the buggy on the rocks with no issues. With the help of BF Goodrich Tires the buggy gripped the rocks and remained stable through the tough off camber sections and steep hill climbs. Winchline provided the team with a hook that Cody welded to the front axle and allowed for the front end to be “sucked” in to assist in the more extreme hill climbs. Cody seemed to drive through courses comfortably and felt safe even through the extreme sections. He attributes his comfort to the new Ryan Safety custom one piece two-layer firesuit and new 5-point belts. Not to mention his cushy custom PRP Racing seat.
Saturday passed by
quickly and by noon the team was ready to tackle course A4; which seemed to be
the one course causing problems for the majority of the teams. Right at the
start of A4 Cody had trouble after backing up on top of a boulder when he was
trying to get line up for the climb. Revving the engine and spitting dirt
everywhere Cody tried everything to get unstuck; and to no avail. Jim was able
to stack a smaller rock under the tire and that little bit helped Cody climb up
and off the boulder.
“Having a
great custom built motor from CBM Motorsports in combination with terrific
products like K&N Filters, which keeps our engine free of excess dust and
debris, and Torco Racing Oils keeping everything lubed, it still couldn’t keep
us from vapor lock!” laughs Cody. The engine heated up and then the fuel tank
heated up which caused the fuel pump to vapor lock! Not able to complete the
course because of the vapor lock issue earned the team their first 40 points of
the event and set them in fourth place overall for the day. These 40 points
would come back and haunt the team come Sunday.
Sunday was a new
day for the team and with 54 points separating them from first place, there was
some serious catching up to be done. With vapor lock issues a thing of the
past, thanks to some ice packs around the tank Cody and Jim were determined to
catch the first place competitor, Jesse Haines.
The team completed course after
course with minimal penalty points and narrowed the gap to 32 points, moving
them into second place prior to the shootout. The shootout is where the top 6
competitors compete to see who will rein champion of the two day event.
Nothing is impossible and as they always say “it’s not over until it’s over”.
The shootout was intense for all top six teams. Fellow competitor Brent Bradshaw was one of the only two competitors to actually complete the final course. He had 182 points going into the finals and only needed 24 points to catch Matt Messer in third place. Even though he was 113 points from Team Waggoner in second place, he put the pressure on all the teams. Brent and his spotter Chris did an amazing job completing the course with a -1, taking third place overall. Cody and Jim knew they needed to complete the shootout to keep the pressure on Haines and hoped to close in on the point gap even more. That is exactly what they did completing the course with 11 points.
Haines
struggled at the last gate and was unable to complete the shootout. Nerves were
being tested while the judges worked their fingers on their calculators to
figure the final scores for the top two teams. Who was the winner?… With only 7
points separating the teams Jesse Haines remained in first place and Team
Waggoner earned a proud second place for the Cedar City, UT Event.
Two more events remain in the series before the title is locked in. Team Waggoner is still in the hunt for that First Place Series title.
Lindsay Waggoner
Click
HERE for our event pictures on Webshots.
Visit Pirate 4x4 for additional coverage
| Class: | Unlimited | ||||||||||||
| Driver | Rig # | A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 | A5 | B1 | B2 | B3 | B4 | B5 | SO | Total |
| Jesse Haines | 199 | 5 | 14 | -6 | -15 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 36 | 73 | ||
| Cody Waggoner | 117 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 80 | ||
| Brent Bradshaw | 12 | 0 | 9 | -1 | 40 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 22 | -1 | 181 | ||
| Matt Messer | O17 | 8 | 21 | 38 | -14 | 38 | 21 | 37 | 9 | 38 | 196 | ||
| Jennifer Little | 64 | 3 | 24 | 26 | 40 | 39 | 20 | 38 | 14 | 37 | 241 | ||
Congrats to Jesse...again! We almost got it this time around! (wink)
