hoeker
July 13th, 2004, 09:39
The Ross Hoek Motorsports team arrived at the Heartland Park raceway Thursday just before the gates closed for the evening to setup and do the final race prep on the truck. We were fortunate to get a nice pit spot before the Thursday night down pour and Friday morning rush.
The team spent all day Friday making sure the Superlift Ford could handle 3 races in a 20 hour period. Eager to check out the new track Ross went out for the Friday night practice despite muddy track conditions. This proved to be a mistake as CORR didn't let us run all our laps and the track was far greasier than anticipated. After practice we washed the truck in time to watch the Friday night Pro races.
Saturday track conditions were perfect; the Kansas clay holds water to make the ground hard, yet tacky almost like a large piece of rubber sponge. We went out to get some good seat time on the now perfect track and were very happy with the trucks performance. The cooling and steering changes seemed to be huge improvement for the ultra-technical short course.
The Saturday afternoon race started with the Superlift Ford on the inside of row 4. As we learned in the Pro races the night before we would have to be very patient and it would take many laps to work our way to the front on the narrow race track. As the Green flag flew we held our line into the first turn with 9 other trucks, with a huge potential for disaster we were happy to get through clean and in 6th position.
With the field now spreading out it was time to start moving up. Ross was able to start passing trucks and moved up to 4th position in only a few laps. We were very happy with the truck and the progress made coming up through the field when only 6 laps into the event the incredible traction provided by the Kansas clay shattered the gear in our rear end! Still not sure what was broke and with no hope of victory Ross attempted to limp through a few more laps for points.
With only 3 hours to prepare for the next race the team quickly went to work on the truck. The dry track conditions left the truck pretty clean so it required minimal washing. Concentrating on the rear end we quickly confirmed the rear gears were shot and went to work replacing the 3rd member. With 2 guys working on that Ross checked over the rest of the truck. Finding only loose front wheel bearings he quickly replaced the bad one and confirmed the truck was race ready.
Saturday night’s race started at dusk. The setting Sun was an initial concern, but proved to not be a problem as Ross forgot all about it when the green flag flew. Playing the same game as earlier Ross was patient coming into the first turn when he saw one of his competitors push wide in the turn forcing several trucks off the track. With no time left for patience Ross dove into the hole created and came out of turn one in second place.
With a slower truck in front and the biggest threats in the class several trucks back Ross knew he had plenty of time to take the lead. Ross was right on the leaders bumper for many laps, loosing ground in turns one and three, but gaining every where else. The tire groove we had chosen just wouldn't work in turn 3 where Ross really wanted to get a run heading into the super fast front stretch.
Several laps past the half way point Ross decided to try the pass in turn one at the end of the fast section of the track. The leader was pushing wide in this turn every time so Ross set the turn up a little wide planning on being on the leaders inside by the exit of the turn. Right as Ross made his move in the turn Dan Baudoux ran way hot into the turn and used the Superlift Ford as the banking. The contact cost Ross the chance at the lead and left us in 3rd place.
Hoping for a black flag Ross followed the leaders for a few laps. About this point in the race the engine started to loose power. With another race so close Ross quickly took the time to check the gages good and with no temperature problems decided to continue on to a third place finish. Post race inspection found one plug wire off the spark plug! At least it was an easy fix after an excellent race, but a disappointing 3rd place finish.
Sunday morning the team made some tire groove changes and more steering changes and went out for another practice session. The track had dried a little bit more, but still looked to provide and excellent racing surface. The practice went perfect; the truck was the best it had been all weekend! We were ready for the final race of the weekend.
As the green flag flew Ross was given the opportunity to gain one position even before we got to turn one, putting us right in the heaviest part of the battle. Now racing a much slower truck for position Ross was on the outside heading back into the 1/3 mile dirt oval when he saw another truck outside of him! Not willing to give Ross held his line and forced the other truck to slow before entering the rhythm section of the course where he lost a little time letting the slower truck back in front.
Ross followed back through the dirt oval and again made his move on the slower truck exiting turn one. Once again Dan was on his outside forcing a 3 wide battle coming into the infield. Sandwiched in the middle Ross held his line and came out in front of the other 2 trucks but with no time to slow before hitting the rhythm section of the course. The Superlift Ford ran this line many times but at this speed the suspension couldn't handle it, before Ross knew what was happening he was lying on his lid at the exit of the rhythm section!
The course workers righted the truck and with no sign of serious damage Ross refired the truck and ran more laps. With the leaders close behind Ross wanted to stay only one lap down and finish the event in front of them but the gauges were starting to show signs of problems under the hood. At this point Ross elected to save his equipment and exited the race.
With high hopes for a great weekend of racing the team was disappointed with 2 bad races and an acceptable 3rd place finish. Our hopes of being able to get our first championship are gone, but we are still third in points and well within striking distance of 2nd. The truck is already being prepped for testing at the Crandon International Off Road raceway next Monday July 19 where we will prepare to save our season with a couple more wins in the last 4 rounds of racing!
Racing action resumes August 14 at the Bark River UP Off-road 100 in Bark River, MI. For more information check out www.rosshoek.com (http://www.rosshoek.com), www.corracing.com (http://www.corracing.com), www.upoffroad100.com (http://www.upoffroad100.com), and www.crandonoffroad.com (http://www.crandonoffroad.com)
The team spent all day Friday making sure the Superlift Ford could handle 3 races in a 20 hour period. Eager to check out the new track Ross went out for the Friday night practice despite muddy track conditions. This proved to be a mistake as CORR didn't let us run all our laps and the track was far greasier than anticipated. After practice we washed the truck in time to watch the Friday night Pro races.
Saturday track conditions were perfect; the Kansas clay holds water to make the ground hard, yet tacky almost like a large piece of rubber sponge. We went out to get some good seat time on the now perfect track and were very happy with the trucks performance. The cooling and steering changes seemed to be huge improvement for the ultra-technical short course.
The Saturday afternoon race started with the Superlift Ford on the inside of row 4. As we learned in the Pro races the night before we would have to be very patient and it would take many laps to work our way to the front on the narrow race track. As the Green flag flew we held our line into the first turn with 9 other trucks, with a huge potential for disaster we were happy to get through clean and in 6th position.
With the field now spreading out it was time to start moving up. Ross was able to start passing trucks and moved up to 4th position in only a few laps. We were very happy with the truck and the progress made coming up through the field when only 6 laps into the event the incredible traction provided by the Kansas clay shattered the gear in our rear end! Still not sure what was broke and with no hope of victory Ross attempted to limp through a few more laps for points.
With only 3 hours to prepare for the next race the team quickly went to work on the truck. The dry track conditions left the truck pretty clean so it required minimal washing. Concentrating on the rear end we quickly confirmed the rear gears were shot and went to work replacing the 3rd member. With 2 guys working on that Ross checked over the rest of the truck. Finding only loose front wheel bearings he quickly replaced the bad one and confirmed the truck was race ready.
Saturday night’s race started at dusk. The setting Sun was an initial concern, but proved to not be a problem as Ross forgot all about it when the green flag flew. Playing the same game as earlier Ross was patient coming into the first turn when he saw one of his competitors push wide in the turn forcing several trucks off the track. With no time left for patience Ross dove into the hole created and came out of turn one in second place.
With a slower truck in front and the biggest threats in the class several trucks back Ross knew he had plenty of time to take the lead. Ross was right on the leaders bumper for many laps, loosing ground in turns one and three, but gaining every where else. The tire groove we had chosen just wouldn't work in turn 3 where Ross really wanted to get a run heading into the super fast front stretch.
Several laps past the half way point Ross decided to try the pass in turn one at the end of the fast section of the track. The leader was pushing wide in this turn every time so Ross set the turn up a little wide planning on being on the leaders inside by the exit of the turn. Right as Ross made his move in the turn Dan Baudoux ran way hot into the turn and used the Superlift Ford as the banking. The contact cost Ross the chance at the lead and left us in 3rd place.
Hoping for a black flag Ross followed the leaders for a few laps. About this point in the race the engine started to loose power. With another race so close Ross quickly took the time to check the gages good and with no temperature problems decided to continue on to a third place finish. Post race inspection found one plug wire off the spark plug! At least it was an easy fix after an excellent race, but a disappointing 3rd place finish.
Sunday morning the team made some tire groove changes and more steering changes and went out for another practice session. The track had dried a little bit more, but still looked to provide and excellent racing surface. The practice went perfect; the truck was the best it had been all weekend! We were ready for the final race of the weekend.
As the green flag flew Ross was given the opportunity to gain one position even before we got to turn one, putting us right in the heaviest part of the battle. Now racing a much slower truck for position Ross was on the outside heading back into the 1/3 mile dirt oval when he saw another truck outside of him! Not willing to give Ross held his line and forced the other truck to slow before entering the rhythm section of the course where he lost a little time letting the slower truck back in front.
Ross followed back through the dirt oval and again made his move on the slower truck exiting turn one. Once again Dan was on his outside forcing a 3 wide battle coming into the infield. Sandwiched in the middle Ross held his line and came out in front of the other 2 trucks but with no time to slow before hitting the rhythm section of the course. The Superlift Ford ran this line many times but at this speed the suspension couldn't handle it, before Ross knew what was happening he was lying on his lid at the exit of the rhythm section!
The course workers righted the truck and with no sign of serious damage Ross refired the truck and ran more laps. With the leaders close behind Ross wanted to stay only one lap down and finish the event in front of them but the gauges were starting to show signs of problems under the hood. At this point Ross elected to save his equipment and exited the race.
With high hopes for a great weekend of racing the team was disappointed with 2 bad races and an acceptable 3rd place finish. Our hopes of being able to get our first championship are gone, but we are still third in points and well within striking distance of 2nd. The truck is already being prepped for testing at the Crandon International Off Road raceway next Monday July 19 where we will prepare to save our season with a couple more wins in the last 4 rounds of racing!
Racing action resumes August 14 at the Bark River UP Off-road 100 in Bark River, MI. For more information check out www.rosshoek.com (http://www.rosshoek.com), www.corracing.com (http://www.corracing.com), www.upoffroad100.com (http://www.upoffroad100.com), and www.crandonoffroad.com (http://www.crandonoffroad.com)