W.E. ROCK :: 2007 Grand Nationals, Spring, Texas
Brad Lovell trying to save a roll as he drives through the finish gates ::: Photo Cedit: Josh England
As the largest event in Rock Sports, The Grand Nationals continue to grow every year, raising the bar for
not only other events but also the W.E.ROCK Staff. This year was no different as W.E.ROCK saw 20 more
teams, thousands more spectators, many more major sponsors and vendors. Maxxis, RedBull, BFGoodrich,
Toyota, NOS Energy Drink, and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco were on hand to display products and give support
to teams and fans alike.
The track, unique in many different ways, would have different surface textures to aid or hinder traction
while teams had to navigate through natural terrain that included trees, crack like crevasses that that
could swallow vehicles whole, and large natural looking climbs to test the vehicles, teams, and
strategies of the event entrants. "We took a different look at rock crawling and decided to hit the
roots of the sport with the way we designed our courses, yet still bringing the spectator the show of
the sport. The large cracks make the track fun for drivers and fans alike with cone placement, yet the
big climbs were available and build for safety for the fans sake," Explained Lil' Rich, Event Director
of W.E.ROCK.
Becca Webster with new spotter Don Robbins finishing A4 in front of the RedBull tent ::: Photo Cedit: Josh England
Day One of the event would see scores hitting all over the board with lead changes happening by the
minute. Over 26 lead changes in the Unlimited Class alone would make for an exciting afternoon full
of drama down at trackside while spectators could here every bit of the action from the very energetic
voice of W.E.ROCK Dustin Webster. Webster gave the show yet another angle for the fans to hear creating
an overload for the fans from seeing the action, to hearing the reason, and feeling the excitement, all
of which the Grand Nationals bring to Rock Sports.
At the end of Day One, Jesse Haines and Brian Howard were leading until their last course where the duo
hit a cone, pushing them back to 2nd and moving Shannon Campbell and stand in spotter Lance "King Pirate"
Clifford into 1st. Brian Errea and Joachim Schweisow finished with leading the Pro Modified Class at the
end on regulation on Day One, yet Day Two would show more difficult courses bringing the pressure on for
the top teams. Amongst the top two classes were the Modified Stock and Formula Toyota Classes that would
show Derek West and Ritchie Keller of the Mod Stock Class leading, though their past 2 attempts at the
title would show no higher than a 2nd place, both times losing to Dan Patterson and Bob Roggy in the
Maxxis Sponsored Jeep YJ. John James in the Formula Toy class would lead as well after Day One, his first
lead since his win at the Western U.S. Nationals Opener in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Shannon Campbell and Lance Clifford Attempting the Bonus Line on A3 ::: Photo Cedit: Chad Jock Photography
Day Two saw course changes that prompted higher scores due to difficulty. Many teams battled back with
strategy and amazing driving though a large portion were successful, the goal was to reach "The Shootout"
which would only take the six most successful teams and place them onto one final course for the Grand
Finale'.
The Unlimited Class would see Brad Styles and Ken Shupe from the East as their run would take them from
6th to 4th place passing both Jason Paulie and Bruce Zeller after rollovers during their shootout run.
Matt Deas would take a comfortable 3rd place after watching the rolls of Paulie and Zeller. The battle
would be for first between Jesse Haines and Shannon Campbell. Haines, who scored a 2, made a huge push
during his shootout run to put the pressure on Campbell. Campbell would nearly give the entire
championship away by scoring a 30, would go into the gauntlet (Bonus Round), 2 points behind Haines.
In the bonus round, Campbell would grab one bonus, which is all he needed to win the event.
Brian Errea squeezing through the crack line on A1 ::: Photo Cedit: Josh England
The Pro Modified Class on Day Two would be completely dominated by the reigning 2006 Grand Nationals
Champions, Brian Errea and Joachim Schweisow. Though countless efforts were made to cover the ground
between points of first and everyone else, Errea of Rock Runner Racing would play the consistent game
and take the overall victory for the second year in a row. Right behind him was Terry and Troy Dagen in
2nd place sponsored by Monster Energy Drink while 3rd place was Maxxis Sponsored Rusty Bray from the
East Coast. Next was Todd McCullen, whom before the 2007 GNC's would never take higher than an 8th place,
pulled out a 4th place with his newly built Jeep Liberty. McCullen would surprise the masses with his
calm and collective driving, "You can tell that this won't be the last time we see McCullen as a
contender," Stated Course Designer Chris Pilafas. 5th was "Rookie of the Year Nominee" Tim Florian who
started in Sixth and made the move up after a great run and having 6th place Ken Blume DNF his shootout
course.
The Modified Stocks were completely controlled by Derek West and Ritchie Keller, capping an undefeated
season and finally pulling in the elusive National Championship with has been eluding the duo for the past
few years. Next was 2nd place Troy Bailey, who also went through an undefeated season in the Western U.S.
Nationals but came up short on the National Championship by 21 points. 3rd was rounded out by Dan
Patterson who was reigning 2-Time National Champion. 4th came in as Buzzy Bronsema, 5th Ricky Artes,
and 6th with Kurt Shramovich.
The Formula Toys would come all the way down to a tie for first place. With a limited Number of entrants,
the FT's would not be able to run a Shootout, and therefore resort to the second tie breaker of the lowest
score on C1(A1 equivalent). At that point, W.E.ROCK found a winner with Hobie Smith as the tie breaker
would separate 1st from 2nd place John James by a mere 1 point. Matt Messer would take 3rd, only two
points away from 1st. 4th was rounded out by John Scheidhauer.
Related Links:
2007 Grand Nationals Event Write-up |
2006 GNC's |
2006 GNC's Pre-Write |
2005 GNC's |
Eastern U.S. Series |
Western U.S. Series |
Scores
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