News

Wildfires Cause Havoc At The BITD Silver State 300

Jason Zindroski
Posted onJun 28, 2020 at 12:50
Updated onUpdated on Jun 28, 2020 at 04:54

It wouldn’t be 2020 if there weren’t some craziness at a race. News came out on Friday that a wildfire near the race course that started the night before from lightning strikes was burning near miles 288 and 17. BITD officials led by Donald Jackson were already working with the Bureau of Land Management on rerouting the course to avoid the affected areas.

Friday afternoon BITD sent out updated GPS files with the reroute that only had to take away 10 miles of race course and would swap the start and finish line to avoid the fires. Everything seemed all fine Saturday morning as the bikes left the line but 2020 had other plans.

As the day progressed the heavy winds spread the fires close to the finish line so BITD and BLM made the decision to shorten the race and have Pit 7 be the new finish line. As bikes and atvs began finishing the race the fires got worse and because Pit 7 was close to the highway and where the fires were progressing the decision was made once again to move the finish line. This time Pit 6 would become the finish line shortening the race for the four wheel vehicles to 220 miles.


Big props goes out to the entire BITD who adapted quickly to the situation and made due with the unavoidable circumstances they were dealt with.

All results are currently unofficial as there is some controversy regarding the winner of the Trick Truck class. Luke McMillin finished first physically but on time it was Concrete Motorsports who finished first on corrected times. Rumors started circulating right after that the #70 truck had cut the course near Panaca so BITD is reviewing all tracker information and a decision should be out later this week. In 6100 Kyle Jergensen finished first in time after starting in the back but we heard of protests since they started the race with no body on.

Unofficial Silver State Results

Here are a few quick photos to get you by but as soon as official results get put out by BITD we’ll get them up here along with a race recap and more photos so stay tuned!

Photos by HighRev Photography

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mgobaja

mgobaja

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the 6100 truck wihtout a body, didnt they ruin it during qualifying ? then also have to race from the back to win ? seems that they earned the win. BUT if the rules require a body to be on at the start, then thats something that BITD and other entries in that class should have approached before the green flag flew.
 
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BigBlue&Goldie

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Rules are rules, but it wasn't like they intentionally went out there without a body. If others in the class think the rules should be enforced then a protest should be submitted. I have a feeling most in the class will agree he earned his podium, and the lack of a body was probably irrelevant to the outcome.
 
jon coleman

jon coleman

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maybe qualification w body on to start constitutes having a leagal truck for race green flag, regardless of qualifying damage, , ?, is there post qual impound?, or is there open garage/ 'changes' before race, if it was brought up to race stewart as a ' safety' issue,& chief stewart can wave truck body to start race, the rule book Some where in the general regs.might have that clause stipulated??, ( did a little scca, now Theres a place for rules& regs .)
 
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Bro_Gill

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BigBlue&Goldie said:
Rules are rules, but it wasn't like they intentionally went out there without a body. If others in the class think the rules should be enforced then a protest should be submitted. I have a feeling most in the class will agree he earned his podium, and the lack of a body was probably irrelevant to the outcome.
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I wouldn't be so fast saying not having a body had no outcome. Plenty of cars over the years found 'losing' body parts was advantageous one way or another, from better cooling flow to aerodynamics changes to better vision. Recall the Ramsey el Hoodini move that jettisoned the entire front glass assembly at the start jump in Ensenada years ago with his class ocho.
 
MTPyle

MTPyle

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It’s my opinion that no body is a advantage at Silverstate. It’s so technical and tight. And our truck is faster without body. Visibility is also a big deal.

I think the rule was made so teams do not take advantage of no body. But if someone crashes at qualifying I don’t think it’s fair to say they can not race. Maybe a time penalty or something like that.

we rolled at V2R qualifying and were told we had to have our body on so we spent all night with tip ties. We started with a Frankenstein body. If I know I could just take off all my panels and go without I would have.

the other issue is Brenthel has done the same.Bader tore up a hood at qualifying last year and the brenthel team came up with another hood.

Kyle and Shawn are crazy fast so I bet they would have won either way. But the rules need to either be changed or enforced.

BITD does do a great job of being fair. They want everyone to race and be happy. Especially this event.

another factor is I do not push at qualifying for this rule. We do not have the resources to fix body panels before a race so I can’t go as fast as I want. The V2R qualifying roll for us was really bad and I think about that every turn I qualify. Not saying I would qualify as fast as Kyle if I wasn’t worried about my body panels. I know I would push harder for sure if I knew I could start without any panels.

Mike
 
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Ikaika

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MTPyle said:
It’s my opinion that no body is a advantage at Silverstate. It’s so technical and tight. And our truck is faster without body. Visibility is also a big deal.

I think the rule was made so teams do not take advantage of no body. But if someone crashes at qualifying I don’t think it’s fair to say they can not race. Maybe a time penalty or something like that.

we rolled at V2R qualifying and were told we had to have our body on so we spent all night with tip ties. We started with a Frankenstein body. If I know I could just take off all my panels and go without I would have.

the other issue is Brenthel has done the same.Bader tore up a hood at qualifying last year and the brenthel team came up with another hood.

Kyle and Shawn are crazy fast so I bet they would have won either way. But the rules need to either be changed or enforced.

BITD does do a great job of being fair. They want everyone to race and be happy. Especially this event.

another factor is I do not push at qualifying for this rule. We do not have the resources to fix body panels before a race so I can’t go as fast as I want. The V2R qualifying roll for us was really bad and I think about that every turn I qualify. Not saying I would qualify as fast as Kyle if I wasn’t worried about my body panels. I know I would push harder for sure if I knew I could start without any panels.

Mike
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Hey Mike,

First off.......you guys were on a good run !..........looks like all your hard earned experiences are paying off !....congrats.

I agree with your position regarding the body......rules are rules.
A time penalty assessed at the start of the event sounds reasonable.....in other words, the competitor in question would start the event with "time on the clock" before leaving the starting area.
The trick may be "what time penalty is assessed".....is it the same if a panel is missing vs the entire body ?
So many seconds or minutes "per body panel" ??.........this is where misery lives......in the details.

I don't have a "dog in the fight" YET......( in due time as our project is getting closer to completion )....but I browse these conversations to "ready" our Team & learn of all the intricate details of this sport, the spirit of the rules and the mindset of the competition......what a multi-faceted sport.

Anyway,......to address your concern of pushing harder in qually,.....a gallon of resin, bottle of catalyst & a roll of fiberglass matt does wonders for any mishap and those items do not take up a whole bunch of space in the chase truck......and is far stronger than "zippy-ties" !!
 
MTPyle

MTPyle

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Thanks Ikaika,

This was overall a very successful race for us. Not one truck issue. Only issue was the guy in the left seat. LOL. This is the first race we have had with zero truck issues, so thats a win. I watched some in car cam last night and was blown away at how fast we were and how great my Co dog did. But I was pushing and blew about 10 corners, one really mattered. I was also surprised how different it looked then I remember. its funny how we remember things when under pressure. I was on Terry's bumper for awhile and was pissed he didn't let us by, but after looking at the camera it wasn't as clear as I remember it. I still think he should have let me by though, LOL
Cant wait to share the video and the stories.

I hear BITD approved Brenthal to start the race without panels. So for this race case is closed, they won fair and square. But I think this rule needs some changing to make it consistent. The rule changes how we qualify and thats the problem that needs to be fixed.

To be honest BITD has helped us with rules in the past so I appreciate them being fair. We have lost a lot of wheels on course and should have got penalties. But BITD didn't give us penalty because they knew it was an accident. The rule was there to keep people from leaving flats to save time. So I have been on the receiving end of the fairness of BITD.

Mike
 
jon coleman

jon coleman

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i say qualification set up rules should allow you to remove as much stuff from race car as possible, spare tires, bodywork,ect..minus safety gear, , if problem in qualifying, no problem w bodywork come race day.didnt read all posts someone mighta' said same suggestion...