W.E. ROCK :: World Extreme Rockcrawling

::: Press Release :::

Rock Rod Racing Gives Insight To The Season

Branden Blume checks distance between the the vehicle and the cone that he's squeezing by ::: Photo Cedit: RROCK's Debbie Wombles

Hi Fans,

This is Ken Blume from Rock Rod Racing driving in the Eastern U.S. Nationals Pro Modified Class. Please bare with me as it's been a hectic time wrapping the season's events tugging me in different directions.... all is settling out now, in a good way.

Branden dropping in on one of the larger decents featured at W.E.ROCK's Regional RROCK Series which has developed to capture local and young talent ::: Photo Cedit: RROCK's Debbie Wombles

After the successes of our August events we were bound for the W.E.ROCK Grand nationals in sunny warm Houston TX. Our team was real excited about this new location, just north of the city and the event promised to be a spectacular showdown of all the nation's top talent. Mother nature gave us all a bit of a lottery effect as mid week rains left a considerably varying mud content in or near the courses. Ultimately, if the traffic was gentle there was little effect, but some courses had climbs that became slathered in the goo, creating quite a challenge to scale the walls. We ran fairly consistent on the first day, edging into the top 10 comfortably, ahead of some very talented and respected teams- but at the same time, a bit further back in the pack than we care for. Day two had us making some ground up, moving up in the scores, qualifying for the final shootout course holding onto 5th position. The muddy goo was a factor in the last course, once the damage was done, the climbs were near impossible and we fell back to sixth place overall for the event, something to be proud of, considering some of the talent we finished ahead of.

Blume navigating though one of the more difficult courses featured at the top notch RROCK Series ::: Photo Cedit: RROCK's Debbie Wombles

Moving ahead 3 weeks, we were entered as one of the 6 finalist teams in the Top shop challenge. We were one of three vehicles comprising Rokit Enterprises' team. Last minute issues had our Jeep going while Branden and I stayed behind. Friends Derek West and Richie Keller of Mod Stock class notoriety stepped in and ran our vehicle for the team that weekend. When the dust settled the team had netted another win, sweeping the Top Shop series.

The last race event of our 2007 series was the 4th and final RRock Series event in Hannibal, MO. We started Saturday off with our ProMod car again entered in the unlimited class, with Branden spotting for me. We were a bit off our game initially, but eventually started getting in the groove. We were able to post a strong second place finish for the event, losing to Jake Gochenour and his spotter Casey.... they were "on" that day and had a decisive victory.

A close up of young and very talented Branden Blume as he drops in for the win of the event and the RROCK series ::: Photo Cedit: RROCK's Debbie Wombles

The exact same picture as above but zoomed out so you the fan can see what this young driver of tomorrow is navigating over today ::: Photo Cedit: RROCK's Debbie Wombles

On Sunday, Branden took the wheel (A week after his 14th birthday) and the prep work the night before had us excited about placing well in Sunday's final ProMod event. The points race was tight and would be decided with the day's results. Karma was not on our side and we suffered a DNF on the very first obstacle. As luck would have it, only two teams were able to complete the obstacle, so we were still in the hunt, but suffered a 42 point gap to make up. We forged ahead, steadily gaining throughout the day. As we moved to the final obstacle we had a firm grasp on second place, 5 points in the hole behind the leading team. After they ran, we could see just how challenging the 3 climbs were, there were multiple attempts, mowed cones and time constraints which prevented some bonus points. We had contemplated using the winch for the nastiest climb, a strategic move that would ensure our assent and position us to win the event with a few points margin. Branden had the executive decision on that and reasoned we had a lock on second, he wanted to win in style... no winching Dad.

So we developed a strategy/line, stacked a few rocks to ease the transition and Branden smoked the climb on the very first attempt! He went on to finish the rest of the course using only one reverse and clearing the second bonus gate with 3 seconds remaining on the clock! Branden had captured the win with a 19 point margin and locked up the series Championship as well.

Reflecting on the way home, I realized just how much we "added" to our season this year. We have/had a total of 21 events, 18 of them competitions. Of the competitions, 2 were won using "hired gun" drivers and spotters. Of the 18 total comps, we had 15 podium finishes including 12 first place finishes. We participated in and delivered 4 of 4 series championships. It has truly been an outstanding year and I'm proud to be aligned with the partners who have participated in our success.