Emmitsburg, MD – April 16 2012 – Doug Bigelow, the owner and driver of the #4413 Yukon Gear and Axle/Bigelow Motorsports Ultra 4 race vehicle, won the opening round of three, at the Rausch Creek Offroad Endurance race this past weekend. Battling a tough group of 25 seasoned Ultra 4 racers from the East Coast, Bigelow consistently put down lap times in the top 3 racers to take home the win. “This was a tough race to persevere through, at the end of lap one the race buggy started overheating bad and we lost the lower radiator fan. I thought for sure it was done at that point when I had a couple of racers pass us. The motor kept going into limp mode and out and fortunately we kept running it as hard as it would take it. I’ll say this; the little Chevy 5.3 will take a beating. It’s been overcooked, frozen and run upside down and somehow it is still going”, noted Bigelow of the race.
Clicking off laps Bigelow noticed there were a couple of racers at the top that were also having their own issues. Taking mental notes by the 4th lap he realized there was possibly only one other racer that could catch the #4413 Yukon Gear and Axle/Bigelow Motorsports Ultra 4 race vehicle if something didn’t happen. Sure enough halfway thru the last lap the throttle cable fell apart in a big rock section. The lead Bigelow had, got eaten up real quick while he was fixing the buggy. “I definitely thought we were done when I went to hit the throttle and nothing. I noticed the little nut that holds the cable to the pedal was gone and I surely didn’t have a spare. I remembered a piece of electrical wire that had a female end on it that I had zip tied to the back of the buggy that would work perfect as a hand throttle. I drove it the last 5 miles with electrical wire wrapped around my hand as a throttle cable and finished first overall”, Bigelow explained.
The 50 mile lap race at Rausch Creek Offroad Park was the first of three series events for the season. The next race for the #4413 Yukon Gear and Axle/Bigelow Motorsports Ultra 4 race team will be back at Rausch Creek on May 19 for round 2 of the Rausch Creek Racing Series followed by the June 2nd King of the Hammers Rausch Creek Qualifier for the East Coast.
Bigelow Motorsports would like to thank all of its sponsors for 2012: Yukon Gear and Axle, Bulldog Winch, Raceline Wheels, Maxxis Tires, FOA Shocks, Viper Spring Technologies, Tom Woods Driveshafts, Everlast Welders, Ruffstuff Specialties, Cool Shirt, Stage 8 Locking Fasteners, Baja Designs, PSC Steering, AJIK Overland Exchange, Reid Racing, Artec Racing, Powertank, Bink Fabrications, DJ Safety, Hinchman Racewear, and Micro-Armor Lubricants.