TOOELE, UT – AUGUST 23rd, 2014: More than 90 teams registered for the Discount Tire American Rocksports Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park. With double the car count from 2013, the racing was some of the tightest and most intense of the 2014 ULTRA4 season to date. After a fierce battle in the main among 4 former Kings; Campbell, Healy, Scherer and Miller, it was Healy who climbed to the top of the podium for his 2nd consecutive ULTRA4 win. Fellow Nitto Tire drivers, Jason Scherer and Erik Miller took 2nd and 3rd place respectively for a Nitto Tire podium sweep at the Trail-Gear ULTRA4 Western Regional finale.
Saturday morning’s prelims proved challenging for all classes with a muddy short course and slick rock obstacles due to heavy thunderstorms on Friday night. Shannon Campbell had the fastest qualifying time on Friday followed by Jason Scherer and Loren Healy respectively. All three drivers had pole position in Saturday morning’s three prelims for the 4400s. The top 7 drivers from each prelim made it into the Main event, and the remaining drivers competed in a B Main with the top four drivers from the B Main also earning spots in the Main race for a field of 25 drivers for the 4400 Main event.
Campbell, Healy and Ferravanti Sr. each won their respective prelims. With Campbell’s prelim being the fastest of the 3, he won pole position in the Main with Healy starting along side him and Ferravanti Sr. starting behind him. The main event for the 4400s was 12 laps long, and early in the competition Healy had the lead with Campbell overtaking him in the rocks. By mid race, Campbell and Scherer were battling it out for the lead on the short course when the two vehicles tires touched sending Campbell into a race-ending roll that he was able to walk away from. In the final laps, Healy overtook Scherer and Erik Miller was able to work his way from a middle of the pack starting position into 3rd by the final lap of the race.
The limited class racing was also some of the most exciting of the season. The 4500 Rubicon Express Modified class raced with the 4700 Spec class while the 4600 Pro Comp Stock Class raced with the 4800 Legends class. In the 4500 Rubicon Express Modified class, John Currie was back on the top of the podium after overtaking Jordan Townsend who had a rollover in the rocks and finished second followed by Shawn Rants in 3rd. Kevin Adler took the checkered flag for the 4600 Pro-Comp stock class followed by Brian Behrend in 2nd and Discount Tire driver Mel Wade III in third place. In the 4700 Spec class, Jeff Rector made his debut racing in the class by taking the checkered flag, followed by Bailey Cole who was also racing in the 4700 class for the first time, Jessi Combs claimed a 3rd place finish while battling some vehicle issues likely caused by the morning mud. Dave Schneider took 1st place in the 4800 Legends class followed by 4800 rookie Dennis Lapp in 2nd and Ernie Hardaway taking 3rd in the class racing in Alex Hardaway’s old 4400 car.
In the UTV race, Mike Slawson, brother of former King of The Hammers, Randy Slawson came out to his first regional ULTRA4 race and won the UTV Sportsman class followed by the youngest driver in Utah, Discount Tire driver, Mel Wade IV, and 3rd place went to Discount Tire driver Andrew Gorman.
The next race in the ULTRA4 Nitto Tire National Championship series is the series finale for the 4WD Hardware Eastern Regional Series taking place September 12th and 13th in Sturgis Kentucky at the Sturgis Off Road Blowout sponsored by Lifetime LED and Bill Baird Motorsports. On September 26th and 27th is King of Portugal, the ULTRA4 Europe series finale. And the Nitto Tire National Championship race is going to be held October 17th and 18th at the Wild West Motorsports Park in Reno, NV.
4400 Main Race | |||||
1 | 67 | Loren Healy | 12 | 21:19.100 | |
2 | 76 | Jason Scherer | 12 | 32.21 7 | 21:51.317 |
3 | 4421 | Erik Miller | 12 | 1:25.9 76 | 22:45.076 |
4 | 4775 | JAKE HALLENBECK | 11 | 1 Lap | 21:42.352 |
5 | 5252 | Bill Baird | 11 | 1 Lap | 22:03.596 |
6 | 4444 | Jason Pickett | 11 | 1 Lap | 22:40.116 |
7 | 4493 | Andrew McLaughlin | 10 | 2 Laps | 21:29.998 |
8 | 4459 | Keith Xavier | 10 | 2 Laps | 21:49.258 |
9 | 966 | Jason Blanton | 10 | 2 Laps | 21:53.475 |
10 | 4477 | Jake Yeoman | 10 | 2 Laps | 22:16.366 |
11 | 4483 | Raul Gomez | 10 | 2 Laps | 22:26.993 |
12 | 4457 | Doug Evans | 10 | 2 Laps | 22:30.256 |
13 | 4477 | Brian Wood | 10 | 2 Laps | 23:07.575 |
14 | 4425 | Brandon Johnson | 10 | 2 Laps | 23:22.265 |
15 | 75 | scott foley | 10 | 2 Laps | 23:26.77 6 |
16 | 4431 | Mike Klensin | 9 | 3 Laps | 22:17.216 |
17 | 4481 | Levi Shirley | 9 | 3 Laps | 22:20.334 |
18 | 7779 | Kenneth Goodall | 9 | 3 Laps | 22:29.905 |
19 | 4775 | Robert Daly | 9 | 3 Laps | 23:31.420 |
20 | 3 | Wayland Campbell | 8 | 4 Laps | 22:01.091 |
21 | 5150 | brendon thompson | 8 | 4 Laps | 23:16.950 |
22 | 5 | Shannon Campbell | 7 | 5 Laps | 11:55.395 |
23 | 444 | Rick Waterbury | 5 | 7 Laps | 22:39.456 |
24 | 4482 | JP Gomez | 3 | 9 Laps | 5:23.2 24 |
25 | 44 | Gary Ferravanti sr. | 2 | 10 Laps | 21:30.855 |
4400 BMain | |||||
1 | 1977 | Jake Yeoman | 12 | 25:39.026 | |
2 | 7779 | Kenneth Goodall | 12 | 1:45.748 | 27:24.774 |
3 | 4457 | Doug Evans | 11 | 1 Lap | 25:52.148 |
4 | 4775 | Robert Daly | 11 | 1 Lap | 26:10.203 |
5 | 54 | mike bou | 11 | 1 Lap | 26:22.866 |
6 | 4455 | Andy Brown | 10 | 2 Laps | 28:35.661 |
7 | 11 | Bruce Szember | 8 | 4 Laps | 18:37.256 |
8 | 4205 | Jason Waits | 7 | 5 Laps | 18:29.900 |
9 | 4437 | Dustin Sexton | 4 | 8 Laps | 26:34.3 95 |
10 | 4441 | Darren Henke | 3 | 9 Laps | 6:54.90 3 |
11 | 902 | Steve Bray | 3 | 9 Laps | 8:38.6 69 |
12 | 4481 | Alex Hardaway | 2 | 10 Laps | 9:16.8 05 |
4500 Rubicon Express Modified Class | |||||
1 | 88 | John Currie | 10 | 23:04.2 61 | |
2 | 4580 | Jordan Townsend | 10 | 2:01.0 34 | 25:05.295 |
4 | 4531 | Shawn Rants | 9 | 1 Lap | 23:30.501 |
5 | 4503 | Adam Arsenault | 9 | 1 Lap | 25:00.002 |
7 | 4510 | Matt Oakeson | 8 | 2 Laps | 24:27.7 63 |
8 | 4511 | Alan Johnson | 8 | 2 Laps | 24:57.7 70 |
9 | 713 | Doug Faloni | 7 | 3 Laps | 20:49.209 |
11 | 4578 | Paul Bickerton | 3 | 7 Laps | 11:16.206 |
12 | 63 | Jimmy Jack | 2 | 8 Laps | 7:03.8 02 |
4600 Pro Comp Stock Class | |||||
1 | 4602 | kevin adler | 7 | 3 Laps | 27:38.111 |
2 | 4648 | Brian Behrend | 7 | 3 Laps | 27:40.836 |
3 | 4651 | Melvin Wade III | 7 | 3 Laps | 27:50.591 |
4 | 4654 | Bailey Cole | 7 | 3 Laps | 28:08.033 |
5 | 4696 | Sean McNamara | 7 | 3 Laps | 28:46.241 |
6 | 4623 | David Miller | 7 | 3 Laps | 32:29.111 |
7 | 4612 | Ben Varozza | 3 | 7 Laps | 13:57.467 |
4700 Spec Class | |||||
1 | 4704 | Jeff Rector | 9 | 1 Lap | 23:04.9 68 |
2 | 4705 | Bailey Cole | 8 | 2 Laps | 23:43.859 |
3 | 4703 | Jessi Combs | 3 | 7 Laps | 8:09.747 |
4 | 4701 | Mitch Funk | 1 | 9 Laps | 1:09.3 23 |
4800 Legends Class | |||||
1 | 4871 | Dave Schneider | 10 | 27:02.78 2 | |
2 | 4840 | Dennis Lapp | 8 | 2 Laps | 27:40.909 |
3 | 4881 | Ernie Hardaway | 7 | 3 Laps | 27:21.407 |
4 | 4852 | richard fenton | 6 | 4 Laps | 27:41.953 |
5 | 4813 | rory romero | 5 | 5 Laps | 18:13.142 |
6 | 4824 | Sean Leonardini | 3 | 7 Laps | 28:19.405 |
UTV Sportsman | |||||
1 | 307 | Mike Slawson |
8 |
32:53.852 | |
2 | 1951 | Melvin Wade IV |
8 |
1:53.2 41 | 34:47.093 |
3 | 1958 | Andrew Gorman |
7 |
1 Lap | 36:02.866 |
4 | 1915 | Brian Hogue |
6 |
2 Laps | 35:25.082 |
5 | 203 | Jared Murch |
2 |
6 Laps | 4:33.9 30 |
ABOUT ULTRA4 RACING
ULTRA4 is a vehicle type, class and series. ULTRA4 Racing was born from the popularity of the annual Griffin King of the Hammers Presented by Nitto Tire, considered to be the toughest one-day off-road race. The vehicles are unlimited four-wheel drive, capable of competing in multiple racing disciplines – extreme rock crawling, high-speed desert racing and short course. In seven years, the sport has grown significantly from the inaugural King of the Hammers to an eight race national series, and a four race International series. ULTRA4 Racing is managed by Hammerking Productions located in Temecula, CA. To learn more, log on to www.ultra4racing.com.
ULTRA4 SPONSORS
4 Wheel Parts
ATX Wheels
Axial
Bestop
Blue Torch Fabworks
Corona Motorhome Rentals
Dynomax Exhaust
GenRight Off Road
Griffin Radiator
Impact by Mastercraft Safety
Kawasaki
King Shocks
MavCoat
Miller Welders
Odyssey Battery
Nitto Tire
Procomp
PSC
Poison Spyder
Rubicon Express
Smittybilt
Spidertrax
Trail Gear
Warn
WIDIA
ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING MOTORSPORTS IN THE US – ULTRA4 RACING ULTRA4 racing began in 2007 with a dozen friends competing for bragging rights. Seven years later, more than 400 cars compete nationally and internationally in ULTRA4 races. In 2014, races in the United States will be held in the following states: Utah, Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, California and Nevada. Additionally, 4 European races will be held in Scotland, Wales, Italy and Portugal.