Cook Off-Road Racing Press Release:
Parker AZ.
January 7, 2012
Best in the Desert Parker 250
“This past weekend saw Cook Off-Road Racing taking on the Best in the Desert at Parker Az. The weekend began with tech and registration at the Blue Water Resort on Friday, UTV’s were rolling in right until the close of tech. At final count we had 24 vehicles signed in, a new record for Best in the Desert. The Rigid Industires / Fabtech / Torco Motor Oils / Griffin Radiators sponsored UTV was through tech with flying colors. We headed out to the main pits for final prep and to put our race plan into action. This race we teamed up with our racing partner Dennis Jean in the #1949 XMF sponsored UTV. Since the vehicle was so well prepped by our crew chief Jeff Correia there was very little to do, checked all the nuts and bolts and put the car cover on for the night”
“5:30 AM rolled around pretty quick on race morning, but the team was up and getting ready before the sunrise, and by 6:45 we were staged and poised to run. At about 7:30 our race began, and the mighty RZR left the line in a blaze of glory. The ride was pretty uneventful for about the first 15 miles, but after that the RZR began to sputter on the low end, our new throttle body was not performing as it should, as we continued on. We found the RZR ran fine at the top end wide open, but when we slowed into the turns it was evident we had an issue. Our team worked very hard trying to overcome the issues at hand and it seemed we had. At the mid way pits we had moved into second place behind Matt Parks in the Jagged sponsored Polaris, but as we entered the mid way pits I noticed our team mate Dennis Jean hard on our tail as we exited the pits Dennis took us on the inside line and never looked back. As we continued on Dennis had stretched out and we kept a 2 mile buffer between us.”
“We finally found our rythm in the dirt and things seemed to be on pace, we had settled into 3rd place with about 15 minutes over 4th place. Then it happened, the dreaded flat tire… I can’t really say I was to surprised after the rock garden we had just gone through. Since my co-rider (Brendan Cook) and I have had so few flats on our Maxxis Tires, we were a little rusty on the procedure, took a little longer but we got the job done. By the time we were back under way, the train of vehicles chasing us had not only caught us, but passed us. From this point on I put it all out to try and catch up. At the end of lap one, we rolled into the pits, took on fuel, did a once over on the car, and then it was back to work hunting down the pack. We only had one lap to get back into the hunt and try as we did the mighty RZR was able to finish in 8th place. Our partner Dennis Jean came from way back in the pack to pull off a truly David v. Goliath finish by placing 2nd against the Polaris factory backed team of Matt Parks and Team Jagged-X.”
“Just finishing this race was a big accomplishment after our dissapointing 2011 season. The RZR S motor supplied by Cal Custom Polaris never missed a beat, the motor stayed well lubricated by the fine products supplied by Torco Motor Oils, the motor was exhaling with ease
due in part to our Muzzy Performance exhaust, and of course you could see the car even through the thickest silt with our Rigid Industries lights. All of our sponsors had a pivotal role in our finish and all of us at Cook Off-Road Racing would like to thank, Fabtech Motor Sports, NOS Energy Drinks, Grant Steering Wheels, OMF Wheels, Zamped Helmets, Pink Divas, 4130 Clothing, Cal Hot Coatings, Optima Batteries, Cargo Buckles.”
“Stay tuned for more exciting off-road racing action, you can find us next weekend at the Sobobba Grand Prix co-piloting with Team Jean. In February I will again be on board with Team Jean at King of the Hammers. In March you will find the mighty Cook Off-Road Racing RZR on Fremont St in downtown Las Vegas preparing for the Mint 400, see everyone soon….”
The Fabtech team came together early in 2011 when they added one of their newest sponsors and co-driver, Tammy Faulkner of Pink Divas apparel. Also joining with Tammy was her husband Dan, Tammy’s father, as well as Deanne and Velvet… all who became the instant pit crew. Jeff Correia, The Fabtech Crew Chief, was simply amazing and was always working late-nights at Sean’s house, pulling the motor countless times. Sean describes Jeff as the “cornerstone of the program”.
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”. 
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. 
