The Jackpot 230 could also be called the Jackpot Brutality. Or at least the 14 miles of the course I saw from the co-pilot seat of Mathilda. But before I get the pre-mature end to our race how about we find out how we got there.
Marc arrived early enough on Friday to join the drivers meeting and get an idea of what were we were info. Part of our pit crew, Troy and Scott, showed soon after. The rest of us; me, Darren, Ryan, Hampton, Helm and Trent arrive a little bit later. Like 2am. Not ideal but a late start out of SLC put us behind schedule.
Saturday we grabbed food, filled the car and rolled out to the pits. After teching in and setting up our command post we began the prep on the car. Warming the tranny and motor, checking comms, gps etc. Before we knew it staging was on us. And the one item we hadn’t checked, the parker pumper, wasn’t working. So off came the hood, and the cowl and some quick wiring magic by Ryan and we were ready to roll. Marc and Dave would be starting the race and running the first 3 laps. Darren and I would then take over and run the last 3. Marc was in El Salvador doing dental work during the Wendover race and Dave is a late addition to the team so we thought we’d let them have a go at it. In retrospect probably might have been a good idea to split them up but hindsight is always 20/20, right? The good news is Marc and Dave drove it like they stole it.
Despite a poor shifting tranny they made very good time on the first lap having passed 3 cars and getting up to 4th overall. Our GPS mount broke so a pit stop was required. A quick fix and they were back out. Marc, being a little too anxious, cut through the pit which would result in a 30 second penalty next time they entered the pits. Another quick lap, and a GPS mount fix now broken required another pit. However, by this time Marc had climbed to within 15 seconds of 2nd place and right behind the two 10 cars. So GPS fixed, Dave now behind the wheel (for the first time ever in the car), and they were back on the course. I think Marc had way too much adrenaline flowing because he pretty much talked on the radio the entire lap from the co-driver seat. Non-stop talking. Giving us mile by mile detail. Mainly about the brutal nature of the course and the hidden harshness Darren and I would expect on the next lap.
During the Wendover race our communication with the pits was non-existent. As a work around we had used a SPOT device to signal the pit we were close. Ham tech and uber-nerd (a compliment) Ryan Davis had gone through our system and fixed every bug and set up a fantastic command post at our pit. It made for a very different race, both in the car and in the pits. Can’t thank him enough for his knowledge and willingness to help out. Including towing the car to Jackpot and back. (that is me eating a lot of crow, btw. I’ve always made fun of ryan of his love of HAM radio because he’s the only person using it that’s not over 68 years old. I’ve now seen the benefits of his knowledge)
The next pit was the hardest logistically. Darren would be taking over driving duties with me climbing in as co-driver. I would also need to get my helmet from Dave, replace the water bottle and have the pit crew add gas. We were very efficient but overlooked some of the basics, like checking all our suspension and steering links for loose bolts. Very happy with a sub-four minute stop and we were rolling again.
Within about two miles I made mention to Darren that the car sounded different. Not quite the same as we were used to. He agreed but we both dismissed it as a result of the rough and rocky course. During the high speed section leading up to mile 12 everything felt and sounded fine. We could see the 10 car’s dust on the horizon and we were determined to catch it. After turning back north and entering so called Easy Street things took a turn for the worse. According to Marc and Dave it was one of the hardest sections of the course. Watermelon sized rocks filled the narrow two track for about 1.5 miles. Well somewhere in the middle the ‘doesn’t sound right’ turned into ‘darren pull over I think something is broken.’ I climbed out and instantly knew we were done. Our micro-stub, or rear hub, had cracked due to our swing arm bolts coming loose. We radioed the pits and told them our location. Fortunately we were only a few hundred yards up the hill from highway 93 so we were able to get our crew and tools to the car. Unfortunately we were unable to get the nut off the end of the CV and thus we couldn’t get the hub back together. Ryan and Trent Ashby worked non-stop for 4 hours and couldn’t manage to get it fixed . I was beginning to feel guilty about letting them do all the work then I realized that my skill is so inferior to theirs that I would do no good. So I helped by hauling gear and water up and down the hill.
Eventually the sweeper came through and told us the course was clear and we could get the trailer on the course and load up. Well that was quite an adventure in itself. Ryan showed great skill and patience in driving his Tundra down Easy Street to load up the car. A late dinner at the casino and we were headed home. About 4 am we were all home safe. It sounds so easy to type but it was a long exhausting day. Lessons learned. A lot of fun had and one more step along our path to Baja. We can’t thank Ryan, Trent, Hampton and Troy enough for their help. Although I think they feel as much ownership of our success as we do. Let’s just say we’re very happy to have them as part of our team.
(pics by troy and Hampton)