Battle Rock Offroad Park Was Perfect Location for Dirt Riot Double Points Showdown

Pro 4400:  Chris Hoyt  ;  Pro 4500:  Jeff Rector  ; Pro 4600: Jason Kaminsky  ;  Mod Trail Class: Ryan Miller  ; UTV Class:  Stephen Lee  ;  Stock Trail:  Jason Davis

Battle Rock Offroad Park

PLACERVILLE, CA   JULY 16, 2013:  Battle Rock Offroad Park in Cortez Colorado was the scene of some high horsepower action and thrilling finishes for both the Mountain and Southwest 2013 Dirt Riot 4×4 Endurance Series.  The heat of the day was minimal compared to the heat of the competition, as the points would reveal multiple series champions at the end of this one race.

“The Cortez, Colorado event is always a good time with great support from the Jimmy’s 4×4 crew and the drivers that come from all over for the one opportunity to earn double National points at a race,” said Rich Klein, President and founder of W.E. Rock Events.  “The course was fast, dusty and hot. But that didn’t detour anyone from joining us on the holiday weekend, and we appreciate that.”

In the Pro 4×4 Unlimited class, Chris Hoyt took the pole position in qualifying, followed closely by Brian Shirley.  Even though Brian’s car broke early in the race, he did solidify his 2013 Dirt Riot National Championship title!  Chris Hoyt went on to win the race, followed by Andrew McLaughlin who would take the Southwest Series title.  2013 newcomer Airen Patrick made his first trip to the podium to capture third place, with Colorado Ben Swain in fourth and first time Dirt Riot racer Travis Leach in fifth.  Brad Lovell was back in the driver’s seat for Lovell Rock Racing bringing home a sixth place finish and enough points to secure the Mountain Series title.  Todd Seawell took seventh, Jeremy Hammer eighth, host Randy Rodd finished ninth with Brian Shirley finishing 10th.  Todd McCullen would also have his race cut early finishing 11th and Levi Shirley finished 12th in a “rental” while his car is in transport to the King of the Valley’s UK race this summer.

Battle Rock Offroad Park

Every Dirt Riot race has a common theme of Sportsmanship as the core of the highlight story.  Cortez has a breakaway bridge that all the racers have to cross in each lap.  Ben Swain came into the bridge too tight and his passenger tires slid off the edge, leaving him in a precarious position.  First on the scene was Andrew McLaughlin, chasing the leaders with Randy Rodd right behind him.  Seeing the position Ben and TJ were in, he threw out a winch line and deployed “his Tim.”  Tim Ray hooked them up while Randy moved in to the front position and threw a line on them from there.  Recovery was made without incident; Randy’s winch line was removed first, followed by Andrew’s.  As everyone got strapped back in, Randy pulled over to let Andrew take the lead that was rightfully his.  Great sportsmanship all the way around!

In the 4500 Pro Class, Ironman Jeff Rector took the class win, although Jeff was not in contention for the series title having missed the Colorado Springs race, he secured a third place finish in the series.  Mitch Funk took second, Alan Johnson took third, Jesse Bayne finished fourth and Shawn Rants finished fifth.  Alan Johnson and Shawn Rants were working for points in both series, each had mechanical issues in this race but Alan was able to hold on for the National Title, followed by Shawn.

The Pro 4600 class race saw the Superchips buggy of Jason Kaminsky secure his spot as the National Championship title holder, as well as the Mountain series title holder.  Jason was the only car in his class to run consistently throughout the day, averaging 11+ minute laps.  All the other cars in this class broke sometime during the day, each only completing 7 laps.  The places were determined by who completed that seventh lap first; Cody Folsom ended up second, followed by Ferris McCollum, even though neither of them saw the checker flag.  Matt Salyers finished in fourth and Josh Jackson finished fifth.

In the Sportsman Classes, Ryan Miller once again took the win in Modified Stock, sweeping both the Southwest and Mountain series.  Rawlin McGhie finished a strong second with Carlos Gonzales in third.  Jim Rosato finished fourth and Jayson Mitchell took fifth.

Jason Davis from Spring, Texas won the Stock Trail class with Keith Sach in second. Rob Flandro and Mike VanZyl both had issues early on finishing third and fourth respectfully.

UTV class was stacked with 9 stock and capable UTVs!  Local Stephen Lee brought a stock RZR to the gunfight, jumped out into the lead by the third lap and hung on for the win!  Only about a minute behind was second place Justin Meador and then Cody Nygren in third, all completing 7 laps.  Miss Darian McClure took fourth, Ocean Rodd finished fifth and Cade Gallimore finished sixth.  Having early issues Frank Minice would take seventh, Brian Rector took eighth and Jeric Sona finished ninth.

There are many more stories, photos and videos at http://www.werocklive.com/2013/dirt-riot-mountain-and-southwest-3-cortez-co.

The next Dirt Riot race will be the final Southeast Series race at the Durhamtown Plantation in Union Point, GA.  More information is available: http://www.werocklive.com/events/dirt-riot-southeast-round-3   The final race of the season will be the National Rampage where all the series winners will be awarded and the final race will put a new set of National Champions on the list.  The National Rampage will be in Bridgeport, TX on October 12.  Information will be released soon.

Dirt Riot is an Endurance Racing series that is composed of 4 series of 3 races that stretch across the country.  There are 3 Professional 4×4 classes, a Trail/Sportsman 4×4 class and a UTV class at a standard Dirt Riot race.  The classes are built to encourage local 4×4 or UTV participants to join us in a day of fun racing.  For registration information go to http://www.werocklive.com/2013-fees-payout.

Past Event Coverage: http://www.werocklive.com

Event Sponsors: Maxxis Tires, Spider Trax, Trail Gear, Tom Woods Custom Driveshafts, Branik Motorsports, ADS Off-Road Racing Shocks, Artec Industries, ASR Offroad, Nitro Gear & Axle, Raceline Wheels, CRAWL Magazine, The SickLine.com, I’m Not Just a Girl

About W.E.ROCK Events, LLC.
W.E.ROCK Events, LLC. A Placerville, CA based company, sanctions, promotes, and hosts specialty off road events, including the W.E.ROCK Rockcrawling US Pro-National series, Dirt Riot Endurance Racing Series and 13 international and sub-sanctions. Attracting thousands of spectators to each event, W.E.ROCK reaches a broad demographic of off-road enthusiasts and casual motorsports fans. The sport of rockcrawling has grown by giant leaps in the last decade and is now host to over 300 registered national-level competition teams. Major competition supporters and partners include Red Bull Energy Drink, Monster Energy, NOS Energy Drink, Home Depot, MAXXIS Tires, Cooper Tires, and Crown Royal. With the off road industry exceeding 4 billion in sales annually, the sport of rockcrawling leads the way in print media and advertising for the sport’s 12 major publications. For more information, visit www.werocklive.com

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