After experiencing a devastating transmission failure only hours before the start of King Of the Hammers 2011, Kevin Sacalas of Big Ugly Racing asked In the Pink Racing if they’d like to join forces to race in the main event. In the Pink missed qualifying in the Last Chance Qualifier by only a couple spots. When Sacalas discovered the transmission was irreparable, he decided to make the best of a bad situation. He had a spot in the race and no car, and In the Pink had a car but no spot. So they decided to join forces. Both teams spent months preparing for this event and combining their efforts just made sense. “Both of our teams have a lot of heart, and I remember when I missed qualifying in my TJ by a couple of spots. We both had crews fully prepped and ready to go. Joining our teams and being able to work with a group that loves this sport as much as I do is a win for all of us.”
In The Pink’s owner and driver, Robert Foster is active military, and currently in Louisiana preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. Instead of asking his team to sit out King Of the Hammers this year, Robert Foster asked his good friend, Michael Stowe, to race the car in his absence. Foster, like Sacalas, built his car with the help of his friends in his garage over the course of a couple months.
Kevin Sacalas and Big Ugly Racing still intend to race the 2011 Ultra4 Series as part of Team Genright, and as driver of record, Sacalas will be eligible for Ultra4 series points for driving In the Pink’s car. He will be sharing driving responsibilities with Michael Stowe. Sacalas explained, “While our goal was to win in Big Ugly 2.0, the goal with In The Pink is to have a successful finish.” In the Pink’s team manager and Robert Foster’s wife, Melinda “Roxy” Foster was elated that her team would have a chance to race in the main event. In the Pink’s crew chief describes the car as having “4 cylinders of fury and 125 horsepower at the crank.” What the car lacks in performance it makes up for in personality. In fact, Sacalas will now be starting tomorrow’s race in a car with hot pink skins.
“While I’d love to be racing my own car, I’m happy to see that two teams who are passionate about King of the Hammers have a chance to be a part of it this year. This type of camaraderie is what I love about the Ultra4 Class.” Said Sacalas. He was looking forward to running the new car as he had just gotten his Bilstein shocks perfectly tuned to where they floated over whoops, and his BFGoodrich 42” red label Krawlers on 20”Raceline Wheels had been working perfectly during pre-running. As disappointed as Kevin was he made a point of saying, “Big Ugly may be In The Pink this week, but you haven’t seen the last of Big Ugly 2.0. We are still racing this season as part of Team GenRight and it will be back better than ever for Silver State 300!”