RockCrawler.com

Day: November 24, 2009

  • FOA Shocks Rise to be King of the Hammers Official Shock Absorber

    JOHNSON VALLEY, CA, NOVEMBER 23, 2009: It is with great excitement that Hammerking Productions, promoters of 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers announce FOA Shock Absorbers as the Official Shock Absorber.

    Dave Cole, Co-founder of Hammerking Productions, remarked ”FOA is a perfect fit for us. They cut their teeth in Desert Racing and immediately found a following in the Rock Crawling crowd. That type of cross over functionality typifies our style of racing.”

    “We think King of the Hammers is the ideal series to step up our involvement in rock racing and the rock crawling sport in general.” stated FOA leader Chris Farrell. “Our customer base is primarily the rock/Jeep crowd and with our knowledge of off-road racing, we couldn’t ask for a better fit. We are honored to be a part of the King of the Hammers family and look forward to growing with them.”

    FOA Shocks will use their race entry to host well known driver Jeff Mello and his FOA shock outfitted rig. Mello started on the pole position in the 2009 Griffin King of the Hammers but “not having good suspension was defiantly a contributor to the demise of last years race. I cannot think of a any single piece of equipment that would make a greater difference to this teams performance,” said Jeff Mello. “We have been looking forward all year to go to the King of the Hammers with some good shocks under us and can’t be happier to be hooked up with the Official Shock FOA.”

    FOA Shock Absorbers is based in Las Vegas NV. and specializes in a full line of off-road racing shocks and bumpstops from 2.0 remote reservoir models, to large 2.5 coilovers and 2.5 to 3.5 bypasses shocks for the serious competitor. Using a combination of proprietary design and American ingenuity, FOA Shocks offer quality products at a substantial savings over their competition.

    For More Information on FOA Shocks go to: www.F-O-A.com

    Hammerking Productions, Inc. created the “King of the Hammers” off-road race in 2007 (www.kingofthehammers.com) and released its first full-length film in 2008. The 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers will be held on Friday February 12th, 2010 where over 15,000 drivers and fans from around the globe will descend on the desert of Johnson Valley for over a week of off-road related activities. The 2009 running of the King of the Hammers was featured on Spike TV and in the film “Second Crusade.” In 2009, Hammerking expanded race action to include three additional regional qualifiers for the 2010 race. More information can be found at www.kingofthehammers.com.

  • R-SE wins prestigious Global Media Award at SEMA!

    Rock-Slide Engineering is pleased to announce that our R-SE Tailgate Table won the Global Media Award for “Best Engineered New Product” at the 2009 SEMA Show held recently in Las Vegas, Nevada!

    Now that we are back, we would like to introduce to the public our newest addition to the R-SE product line- the patent pending R-SE Power Step Slider.  The first of its’ kind, the Power Step Slider incorporates the R-SE Rock Slider and a revolutionary power step function that is activated automatically or manually when desired. The step provides a solid platform accommodating front and rear doors on all 4 door and 2 door JK and TJ Jeep models. The Power Step Slider kit includes: Durable exterior quality powder coating with primer base, all mounting hardware, actuator for step operation, and wiring harness with system shut-off switch to offer manual control when step actuation is not desired by door operation.

    Our catalog is available online at www.rockslideengineering.com or we can send hard copies upon request.  We are looking forward to a great year, and have many new ideas in the pipeline for product design and development.  We will be offering are products on a wholesale and retail level.  Please don’t hesitate to call our office @ 435-752-4580 or email steve@rockslideengineering.com for pricing, availability and quantity price breaks. Dealers inquires welcomed!!!

  • Joe Bacal Captures Second with Marathon Drive in Baja 1000

    Cancer Survivor Goes the Distance Solo in Punishing Race

    ENSENADA, Mexico, November 23, 2009 – After taking an “out of nowhere” victory at the Baja 500 earlier this season, cancer survivor and off-road rookie sensation Joe Bacal nearly stole the show again with an epic 27-hour drive in the Cancer Treatment Centers of America JTGrey Lexus LX 570 to finish runner-up in the 42nd running of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 last Friday and Saturday.

    “It’s tough to narrowly miss the big prize, but just crossing the finish line in the biggest off-road race—and doing it after battling cancer—is a victory, both professionally and personally,” said Bacal. “Even after driving straight through the night, I felt good at the finish. I was dialed in and so was my Lexus—this was fun!”

    Bacal and navigator Gerald “Smitty” King stormed out of Ensenada at 11:59 Friday morning in the LX 570 and quickly settled into a comfortably quick pace, making good time early on. “King Shocks’ new suspension setup made the LX fast and easy to control,” observed Bacal. But the infamous Baja 1000 lived up to its reputation. Many competitors noted that it was one of the toughest in memory, with dust and visibility a near constant challenge that made passing a precarious process at best. “There were a number of times that I came up to pass slower cars and had to wait a long time because the dust was so heavy and going off course (to pass) was very risky.”

    Driving through the dark desert night without the dust presents its own set of visibility problems but Bacal credits the banks of KC HiLiTES on his Lexus for helping him through. “The big KCs really light up the desert,” he noted.

    Aside from scheduled stops for fuel, there were few other surprises as Bacal used his considerable off-road skills to keep the big Lexus out of trouble for most of the race. As in his previous races, the BF Goodrich tires never failed, but Bacal did have one mechanical issue that required two stops to finally sort as the pounding desert landscape took its toll. Another unscheduled stop to free the rig after getting stuck briefly and Bacal and King never looked back, arriving back in Ensenada in just over 27 hours.

    Their extraordinary effort was only the third race for Bacal and his Cancer Treatment Centers of America-sponsored team, but his consistently high finishes also earned him a remarkable second place in SCORE International’s driver points for the Stock Full class. “I think we surprised a lot of people with our racing program this year,” noted Bacal. “My team, sponsors and family also made huge contributions. Another special mention goes to Long Beach Racers for their excellent race support.”

    NBC Sports will provide delayed coverage of this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, currently scheduled to air on December 19 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

    For more information and updates on Joe Bacal, visit www.controlamidchaos.com.

    Bacal and the JTGrey team acknowledge the following companies for their outstanding products, services and support:

    • Cancer Treatment Centers of America (sponsor)
    • Lexus (LX 570)
    • BF Goodrich (tires)
    • Toyota Racing Development (wheels, performance parts)
    • King Shocks (suspension components)
    • KC HiLiTES (lighting)
    • Long Beach Racers (race support)
    • Head First Design (graphics and marketing support)
    • Old Man Emu (off road accessories)
    • Débaufré Swiss Watches
    • Sparco (seats, safety equipment)
    • Mechanix Wear
    • Chet Huffman Motorsports (expertise)
    • Geiser Brothers Racing (vehicle build and prep)
    • Powertank (CO2)
    • Zeal Optics (sunglasses)
    • IonEarth (global race positioning)

    About JTGrey:

    JTGrey Performance Driving, LLC was created in 2007 by Joe and Teresa Bacal to provide expert high-performance driving services (on and off-road) to the auto industry and related companies such as parts suppliers, print advertising and marketing agencies and the commercial and feature film industries, among others. The company is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

    JTGrey Racing was created by Joe and Teresa Bacal in 2008 to support Joe’s off-road racing efforts and is also based in Phoenix.