Ty Wolfskill, a newly added member to the 4130 Flow Team, arrived with his team at Firebird International Raceway at 5:30 am on November 12^th, ready to take on and win the Arizona Short Course Championship. The crew prepared the #16 Honda Pilot FL400R for the first practice, then Ty suited up and headed to the line. With having his last car blow up during the last round, he had to drive a completely different car, and this practice was much needed to get used to the feel for things. Ty used the practice round to find which lines would be best to use during the race, and when he came back into pit, the team made all the necessary adjustments for the next heat.

Ty began the heat race in the last row. Though this race was only six laps, he knew he would have to work hard to get up front. He was struggling to perfect turn three and had lost a lot of time in this corner, but he managed to pass five other cars, which got him a 3^rd place finish. The points leader had won the heat race, which allowed him to gain an extra two points over Ty. The team had some down time between the heat and main race, so Ty talked over with his crew chief and spotter about the best possible way to get through the third corner. By the time the main race was to begin, Ty was confident that he would know the best way to handle the turn, and headed towards staging where he would start in the 3^rd place position.

The green flag dropped, and Ty was able to get the holeshot into turn one. He could not hold that lead for long as the current points leader, Adam Gruender, would pass him in turn two. Ty stayed close with Adam, and on the second lap, Adam passed one of the SR1s’. Ty needed to get by him too to stay with Adam, and he passed the SR1 in the final corner.  It was a tight squeeze, as that section of the track was meant for single file racing. The benefit of driving the smallest car on the track, is that it is able to fit into tight spots.

Ty chased Adam Gruender for the next couple of laps. When the mandatory caution came out, the field was stacked up to restart. Ty remembers the announcer over the loud speaker saying, “This is where some fun stuff usually happens under the yellow, where one driver likes to play a mind game with another driver, but I don’t quite see that happening between Wolfskill and Gruender.” At that time, Ty’s spotter got on the radio and told him to give Adam a small push. Ty did as he was told and tapped the Polaris, and Adam waved to Ty in his Honda. The crowd began to cheer and laugh.

As the field approached the green flag, Ty made a big mistake and got a horrible start. Adam started to pull away, and the SR1 got by Ty. The third turn was coming up, and Ty managed to pass the SR1 on the inside. His plan for handling the third turn had worked, and Ty had caught back up to Adam. The Polaris hit a pothole in the last corner, which caused the shock to break. With Gruender down, Ty was able to get by him in turn one and he began to pull away from the pack. Ty saw the white flag ahead of him and he knew the win was his!

Ty pulled up to the podium where he received his trophy and hat. He dedicated this race to his grandfather who passed away a month before. He also thanked his uncle’s, along with the rest of his family, and 4130 Clothing, for their continued support!

Congratulations Ty! We look forward to supporting you throughout the 2012 season!

The defending 2nd place finisher of the 2010 M.O.R.E. Powder Puff Race, Kimberlee Wertens and her co-driver, also her niece, Bree LaMee, came into this years 2011 Power Puff Race with hopes to finish at the top of the podium in the UTV Class. However, a brutal course with many jagged rocks, also known as “tire killers”, would make this very difficult for them.

Kim and Bree lined up bright and early on Saturday morning, and headed out for their first lap. They were having a good run so far, and getting used to the car out on the track again. Kim pulled up to the start/finish line to get their number, when the car died right on the line. The timing official also noticed a flat tire on the front drivers side, so the car was pushed off of the course, and the girls were towed back to their pit. While changing the tire, Kim noticed that she had managed to bend the inside of the rim as well. The team also determined that the car had an overloaded electrical system, so they got the car jump-started, and Kim and Bree headed back out on the course.

Their 2nd lap was the fastest yet, less than 50 minutes! On the 3rd lap, they had passed by their pit about a mile and a half, only to nearly roll it in a HUGE whoops section nearby. Kim hopped to the right at about a 30-45 degree angle, and then the car landed hard on the drivers side tires. She gunned it, and they made it through. It was only about 2 miles after the near-rollover, that they hit the worst of the tire killers. Kim was able to avoid most of them, but one jumped out of nowhere right in the middle of the track. Kim says “I was able to drive for a bit so I thought it was OK. But then we pulled hard left and I couldn’t keep it straight”.

She motored off the track, where they realized that both the front & back tires on the drivers side were flat. They limped it up to the next area to get help, but the damage was done. Both of the rims were crushed on the inside as well. At that time, they knew that the race was over for them.

The engine was still in great shape, so Kim and Bree were able to drive the car back to their pit very slowly. A full walk-around on the car was done, where they noticed that the pro-armor from the front bumper to about mid-car had been taken out but the last rock they hit. Calls were already being made Monday morning to get the parts needed to fix the car.

Kim Wertens and her team want to thank everyone who came out and supported her and her niece this year. She also hopes to race again after the first of the year, so keep a look out for more racing action from Kim!

Class: 1300 4 cylinder class. #1329
Result: 2nd/6

The MORE Balls Out 250 was a success for the Rauls Racing Team. Taylor Rauls started off driving the race for the first two laps with Zack Gorgone as her co-driver. So far everything was running smoothly, so they gassed up for the 3rd lap, and did a quick driver change. Taylor’s brother, Mike Rauls, jumped in with Zack, and then for the 4th lap, Mike stayed in the car while Zack switched co-driver spots with Mike’s sister, Carly Rauls. Her and Mike then completed laps 4 and 5, then Mike jumped out the 6th, and final lap, to let Taylor finish the race with her sister.

The team had no problems whatsoever until lap 5 when the car lost horsepower and the motor would cut out. Despite the problem, they limped the car through the last 2 laps the best they could and finished the race. The problem unfortunately cost the Rauls Team first place, but they couldn’t be more thrilled at how the car ran overall and how the team performed. Taylor Rauls would like the especially like to thank her father, Mike Rauls, for making racing possible for her.

Taylor would also like to thank her co-driver Zack Gorgone for putting many hours prepping the car. Her pit guys John Ingold, Scotty Silbermann, Chuck Camacho, Kris Stoll from TriggerHappy Co., Mathias Rubino, and Max Zelkwitz for taking care of Taylor out on course. A big thanks to Jorge Martinez and Gerardo Garcia from PCI Radio for getting the team all hooked up. Also Johnny Alagna at Trifecta Offroad and 4130 for their support!

After many long months and hours in the shed, Jason Galea and the Flat Out Off Road Racing Team finally had the chance to get the new Production 4wd Hilux out for its first race, round 1 of the WAORC, the Rod Hatter Memorial Yealering 300. A solid field of competitors, with a healthy 4wd contingent would be what they were up against. After passing scrutineering quickly and painlessly, the team headed out for a reconnaissance of the track. The track was a good mix of tight twisty tree lined sections as well as flat out paddock runs, rough sections and flowing salt flat areas. They would line up for prologue and keen for a good run to see where the car would fit in pace wise with the field, but unfortunately a driver error barely 1km in would see the hilux jump out of the ruts in some rough braking and collect a small tree stump. Though fearing a flat tire or a bent and broken front end, bent steering would be the worst of the damage.

Upon finishing prologue and returning to the pits, Jason’s dad quickly sprung into action, straightening out the front end trying to get some sort of alignment back into it before Section 1. Times were released and the team would be 3rd in class and would start section 1 directly behind Zeb and a few cars behind Greg. Not far into the first section, they came across Harleigh Uren’s car sidelined, which allowed Jason to pass him. Harliegh was back on coure shortly after though. As Jason and the team began to close on Zeb and the Flynns Super 1650, Harleigh was now close enough that they let him get by. After Harliegh moved on, Jason closed in and sat behind the Flynns and were finally able to pass them and then began their second 50km lap.

With 20km left of the second lap, the fule light came on and they realized that this was a really bad sign. Jason began to short shift and backed off the pace to try and keep with Zeb as best they could, without using up what fuel they had left. Upon crossing the finish line, Jason felt a massive sigh of relief that they had made it, still had a straight car and hadn’t run out of fuel. As it turned out, Jason and the team had won the section, and they were extremely happy.

The next morning, the team set off for Section 2 with no plan other then to see how hard the new car could go. As they chased down the 234 buggy of Rod Barton and tried to run away from Dirk and Danny, Jason was really settling into the car and getting used to what it could do. As he finished the 2 laps, they would jump out of the car, leaving it in parc ferme until all the competitors had finished. As times trickled through, the team discovered that they had put more time between them and their competitors, moving them into 6th place. Once the car was released from parc ferme, they would give it a check over again, and Jason set off to get some more fuel into the car. Unfortunately he hadn’t anticipated on using as much fuel as they had. Luckily for them, they were able to fid some fuel, fill up, and then be on their way for the final 2 laps of the 50km course.

Lining up for section 3, the Flat Out Off Road team would be the 6th off the line, starting just behind the Bat of Brad Cooper. The team was pushing hard in order to stay ahead of the buggies behind, but still remaining conservative in order to preserve the car to finish the event. As they continued on, they passed Danny pulled over on the side of the road fixing a loose bonnet. They started to catch a slow moving Harleigh Uren with a failing diff, and they were right in his dust trails at the worst possible point, a tight twisty treelined section with low visibility. Luckily Harleigh went bush to jump out the way and Jason continued on, now first tin top and running 4th on road. As the race wore on, a strange sound started coming from the car, which gradually got worse and worse. Jason diagnosed the noise as a hole in the exhaust or extractors. They continued on to finish the section, with a car that didn’t sound so good, but managed to maintain their position and winning the section in class. When they crossed the finish line Jason was absolutely stoked. The team had won all 3 sections for the weekend in class and steadily built up the pace to end up 4th outright, 1st in Production 4wd and first tin top.

The Flat Out Off Road Team would like to thank the Nissan Car Club for running a great event, the property owners, volunteers, all the other competitors, Jeremy Lia for the fuel, Sarah Davies for a good job navigating and Mum and Dad for all there support and help with the car. Thanks also must go to our sponsors and supporters, FJG Engineering, Down South Motorsports, Jason Galea Multimedia, Monster Rides, Ian Diffen Tyre Factory Joondalup and 4130 Clothing.

On January 8th, the Fabtech race team for the #1930 Rhino, traveled to Parker, AZ, for the first BITD race of the season, the Parker 250. Starting 17^th off the line, the team had a smooth 80-mile drive, and moved all the way to the 5^th place spot. The scheduled pit-stop and driver change went off without a hitch, and the car back onto the course to get to the finish line.

Unfortunately, around mile marker 15, the car experienced a catastrophic failure of the rear differential. This caused the team to receive a DNF for the race, still placing 10^th out of 19 vehicles. “We feel this was a remarkable outing for the team considering it was a new car and its maiden desert race, we showed all that are vehicle can compete at such a competitive level”.

The Fabtech team will have a few months of time off, for rest and prep, until their next race at the end of April, where they will travel to Mesquite, NV, for the Best in the Desert Silverstate 300. Fabtech Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors, especially 4130, for all of the support they provide. They feel that the support of their sponsors are a huge part of how the team performs. Be sure to head on out to Mesquite for the Silverstate 300, and support #1930 of Fabtech Racing!

4130 Industries Pro Team driver, Harley Letner, and his team with Letner Racing, finished 11th place at this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, as well as being the SCORE Class 1 champions! Kory Halopoff had a smooth start in the 2nd position, until a flat tire slowed them down. A quick tire change was done, and they continued now in 6th place onto the first fuel stop. With fresh tires and fuel, Kory attempted to leave the pit and buried the car in the sand. In an effort to pull the car out, the front bumper, including the lights, were completely ripped off. This would later turn into more problems.

At about race mile 300, Kory over shot a turn and hit three giant rocks, which resulted in severely damaging the lower pivot bolt on the driver side. Kory and Fotty (co-driver) had no choice but to slowly drive the car to the next pit at race mile 330. Once they arrived, the crew looked over the damage and realized it was un-repairable. Ron Brant and Jimmy Hook took over the driving duties, with strict instructions to take it easy.

Due to the dense fog and lack of lights, Ron was having a very difficult time driving, but he made it to his first fuel stop at race mile 560 where Kory was waiting. After the crew checked on the inner pivot and noticed the damage had not progressed, it was time to gas up and go. Ron asked Kory to take back over driving duties, due to the fact he could not see. Kory and Jimmy drove all through night, and made it to the next pit where Harley would take over, and drive the remainder of the course.

There, the crew checked the pivot bolt again, topped the car with fuel, and told Harley to continue at a safe pace. He made it to the next pit at race mile 890 for one last fuel stop and a quick look at the pivot bolt. After a quick Livewire Energy, and no further damage to the pivot bolt, Harley was on his way to the finish, which he said, “seemed like it took forever!” Several hours, and170 miles later, he and Sergio crossed the finish line, where they captured 11th place, and the 2010 SCORE Class 1 championship! Congratulations guys!

Letner Racing would like to thank their sponsors: Kings Off-Road Racing Shocks, Goodyear Tires, LiveWire Energy, 4130 Clothing, Lawrence Equipment, Redline Performance Racing, Harmon Racing Cells, CBR, Twisted Stitch Seats, Patrick’s, Checkers, Black Knight Lighting, Ochoa Custom Metal, ProAm, Sunoco Race Fuel, and TCS Performance.

4130 Industries Flow Team Driver Kimberlee Wertens and her team D.R.R.T (Diva Rhino Race Team) placed 2nd in the UTV Class at this year’s 5th Annual M.O.R.E Powder Puff Race for a Cure in Barstow, CA. The D.R.R.T team’s UTV had very little opportunity to practice and test before the race, after going through an entire engine rebuild by Custom Creations.

With a last position start in the UTV Class and after charging through a rough and heavily rutted start area, about 3 miles into the race the temperature gauge came on. Worried, they called into their pit crew and they were able to make a quick stop at mile 12 for a look under the hood. Everything checked out and they were sent back out onto the racecourse.

With some quick maneuvering they were able to get around other racecars, ran over a couple of bushes and took several splashes of dirt. Driver, Wertens made a quick pit stop at the start of Lap 3 to grab some much needed fluids; Gas & Gatorade.

Then headed out to complete the Race for a Cure, she said it was on the last lap that the “car finally felt like it kicked in to full gear” and they were “getting over 50 mph on some of the straight-aways and kicking some butt on the whoops.” With near heat exhaustion D.R.R.T was able to conquer the 28 mile, 4 lap course with a finish time of 2 hours and 48 minutes, and overall average speed of 29.8 mph. Way to go girls!!!

D.R.R.T would like to thank all of their sponsors: DIL, Custom Creations, 4130 Clothing, Ron Wood Racing, Sand Castle Industries, Monogram Magic, and Southern Cal Signs. And, Twisted Stitch, Partylite & Asombroso Tequila for making donations for the raffle from our team.