2008
W.E.ROCK :: All-Stock Nationals Presented By Cooper Tires
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10:00 am Saturday
Ok we are getting ready to kick off the LIVE coverage brought to you by Cooper Tires and 4x4directory.com. We will be starting the event momentarily. For all the coolest
updates, make sure you hit up this link Streaming Video Link.
Below are updates as we get them, please stand by for continous updates throughout the day...
Any ties are determined first by the number of wins each team takes, then by the last event finish.
This is where it all lies for the Modified Stock Class :: Photo Credit: England Photography
Update: 10:30 am
I was walking th courses with several of the teams before the event. Many were initially concerned about a large amount of homefield
advantage. It seems as though with the course design, there are so many new lines that the thought os advantages have been completely thrown out the
window.
Looking at the Cooper Tire effort here, well, let's just say it's huge. They brought their interactive display that allows fans to play video
racing games in simulators. We'll attempt to get pics of the display. The other large presence is the VIP tent that sits 30'x40' for the
complete hospitality package presented by Pepsi Beverage Company.
Teams are lining up right now for their courses. After the National Anthem, we'll kick off the show...
Update: 11:00
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Tim Florian just KILLED IT (Good Thing) with finishing a 10 point bonus that most teams thought would be nearly impossible. The Discription:
A sliding off-camber down hill that leads right now what I like to call "The Drink" (a river below it). Team Above All Was loving it as
Florian and Moulden finished the course with 20 seconds left.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Eli Auchubon just dropped down "Anarchy". A4 is the longest course of the weekend with the biggest danger if teams are not careful. Eli saved a
roll from the top with a blip, at one point lefted both driver side tires. He gets all the way down to the bottom, to the easy part and rolled
with 3 minutes left. Unfortunately they could have taken their time and made a successful finish. What stopped them? A huge hole that swallowed
the right front tire. Team SIK records a disappointing 37 points on A4. A missed opportunity that will surely catch him in the long run.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Team Rock Wild is getting the Crane of Shame on A2. It looks like they wedged their driver side front tire and snapped an axle. So keeping track of the race,
Florian from W.E.ROCK's Western U.S. Nationals (Champion) is currently in the lead with his amazing bonus line, while two seperate RROCK teams come out
with disappointing scores. There is plenty of room for a comeback, if anyone can do it, It's the RROCK guys.
Update: 11:35
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Chris Ozman just finished A4 with literally 1 second left. The crowd was YELLING for him to hurry and he had enough composure to settle down
and crawl out the finish with SPIKE TV's Extreme 4x4 filming the entire thing... It was cool, Ozman is one of those guys that drive his rig to
toe event and then turn around and drive it home. Awesome finish for an awesome guy!
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Bill Durham is going for the -20 pt bonus line. Known as Team 360 Bull Durham Racing is sponsored by Maxxis. This bonus was one that Nick Campbell
tried during the Grand Nationals. With no stickies allowed in the class and stock type suspension he was able to get the tires up to the top, but just not
enough clearance to go up and over...
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Eastern U.S. Nationals Champions Kurt Shramovich and Chris Walton just finished the bonus on A1, the battle between "Shram" and Florian is going
to be intense. The power rankings had Shram as an overall single point above Florian, We'll see what the final turn out is. Shram finished with
what seemed to be the lowest possible score, especially with an insane bonus.
Update: 12:10
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Team Digger and Giles Veerhhicki with spotter Chris Endres just defeated the "Anarchy" course. Hit lowest score with a 0. Next lowest was a 1
but after that it's all in the 30's. Remember it's all about the lowest score winning. Team Digger is running a black Chevy Blazer that is pretty tricked out
and they have high hopes of taking first. Chris Endres is a long time W.E.ROCK Unlimited Driver and spotter for Giles wife Julie who is at home
with a gift on the way.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Ricky Artes is on A2 and crawling his way through the Rock Piles of Hannibal. From Florida, Artes and the Jeepersden Team is one of the most exciting
teams on the circuit. Artes runs a stock 4 banger out of his Jeep CJ7. His throttle jockying is known throughout the stock class and his never
say die attitude stands for an amazing show.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
John Terhune Just went down Anarchy and got an amazing score. Sponsored by Pro Comp Suspensions and 4-Wheel Parts and Pro Comp Tires.
Terhune is driving a Jeep TJ and doing well with their stock axles and drivetrain. Even though it is the Modified Stock Class, there is
still those high dollar teams that you see in any other racing circuit, here Terhune is a lower budget team but producing big budget results.
Update: 12:30
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Kelly Young and Aaron Selway Just timed out their Jeep TJ sponsored by 4WD Hardware and Pro Comp. Kelly Young is an ambassador of the sport and
sits on the W.E.ROCK Team Advisory Panel for the Modified Stock Class. Their 4WD Hardware TJ has been doing well all season running out of
Ohio. This All-Stock Nationals features teams from all over the country.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Brian Cooper seems to be a crowd favorite. He built his own advertising campaign coming into this event. His entry was based off a Wild Card Entry
that would bring him Power Ranked in the event at 17th out of 20 teams. His results however are reflecting that of a Top 5 Team. Cooper runs
Cooper Tires and have been grapping his way through the courses with ease.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Wade Cameron is coming down Anarchy right now and it seems that him and his spotter/Wife to be, is arguing a bit. He is lifting tires in places other teams weren't
but he seems to be capable enough to drive out of it as it has happened on every course of the event so far. Coming down Anarchy is a dangerous thing
but put Cameron on it and it becomes SCARY! Being their rookie season with a wedding proposal happening at the first event of the year in Perris
was a good thing because it looks as though their Maxxis Tires held enough to get him through the course with a SUPER low score, even with the headaches
of lifting tires.
Update: 1:00 pm
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Lisa Catt just unfortunately timed out on course A2. After being highcentered for just about 8 minutes, they had to call in the Crane of Shame.
Catt is a Local to the RROCK Series and got in due to a Wild Card Spot. Running Cooper Tires got her so much traction it almost hindered her.
Where other teams were able to slide off the rocks to make it around a little easier, she kept traction and it got her into trouble.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Team Those Gals are on A4 right now wheelin through at what looks to be their best run so far. Running Pit Bull Tires, they just finished
A4 smoother than any other team so far. Even though their points don't reflect the best score, the run down Anarchy was the smoothest out of
all the current teams running. "I'm shaking, I feel great! What an adrenaline rush!"
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Kyle Bruso has been doing an amazing job but got a penalty for running the course the wrong way. He had to loop below a Cooper Tires Banner and didn't
follow course flow. The penalty was a 10 pt addition to his score but the judge, in the heat of the momment told him to go the wrong way, Marshall's overturned the
penalty. "We got out just in time and had a dispute with the judge, luckily it went our way."
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Shramovich is upping the anty on Florian, He is sitting only inches from getting the -20 pt Bonus. He just rolled off the side in his final attempt
at the finish. Luckily it was an "After Bonus" meaning he was not penalized.
Update After Intermission 2:00 pm
Scores
1. 832 Kurt Shramovich: -25
2. 17 Tim Florian: -6
3. 117 Jake Good: 9
3. 407 Ricky Artes: 9
5. 242 Chris Ozman: 20
5. 963 Tory Trinka: 20
7: 21 Kyle Bruso: 21
8: 360 Bill Durham: 41
9: 902 Paul Hornung: 42
10: 31 Wade Cameron: 47
10: 890 Jon Terhune: 47
12: 629 Crystal McAuliffe: 48
13: 421 Giles Veerhicki: 49
14: 207 Brian Cooper: 75
15: 311 Kelly Young: 76
16: 00 Eli Aubuchon: 77
17: 39 Pat McCartin: 78
18: 25 Lisa Catt: 79
19: 916 Travis Snyder: 86
Update: 2:30 pm
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Kyle Bruso Squeeking by a cone on course A4. Bruso is feeling the pressure with sitting in 7th place. It has been a tough day for him and
he came into the event ranked as the Underdog that could pull out the win. Like it's been stated all event, there are 8 courses and it takes
an effort all weekend to pull out a win. There is plenty of time for him to make a comeback, now he just has to engage it.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Tim Florian hauling it up to the top of the A4 course so that he can make a good drop down Anarchy. Tim, Sitting in 2nd place by 19 points
has one course left as A2. It has a -20 pt bonus. It's the same line that Shram Rolled on, but Florian is VERY confident. "I am going for it, I
can't let Shram pull away from me, and I am very confident in my Above All Suzuki Samari.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
BIG ROLL Jon Terhune just rolled off A1 from the Bonus Line all the way down. He didn't finish the course but he was ok. "We had very little damage
and we were fortunate to be able to run the next course." Jon, taking second in the RROCK Series and 4th in the W.E.ROCK series is having a little trouble
out here but he still has a top ten as of right now.
Update: 3:00 pm
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
The race to the finish is turning out to be a tight one. There is ten points that seperate 8 positions. Still with a few courses to go for a few
more teams to finish up, it seems as though it will all come down to The Shootout tomorrow afternoon. I can easily say that The Shootout Course
will make a possible 90 point swing. 50 pts in bonus' and 40 for a point out. It is really anybodies game. My biggest question is will it be
Pros or Joes that sit atop the podium?
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
The best score for a "Joe" is Jake Good sitting with 9 points and he just ran a flawless run on A4, which should put him in contention for 2nd pending Florian's
run on A2. Jake is tied with Ricky Artes, but Ricky just 40'ed on course A2 and it looks as though he moved right on down the line of teams. Now
Jake just has to put together a good A1 course, one that he could pull as low as a -14 on. That would definitely make a difference in the top 3
spots that everyone is vying for.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Kelly Young just looked as if she was going to finish her first course, literally ten feet from the finish and her vehicle died. They are trying to figure it out right now
as it looks like it may be fuel delivery issues. She has 1:30 left on the clock and it just doesn't seem to want to run. If she finishes it will
be a very dramatic finish. Unfortunately it has been the story for just about every course, Finished by=ut literally ten feet away from the finish.
Her Luck WILL change, but in Time?
Update: 3:30 pm
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Tim Florian had it all within reach. Shram is a mear 19 points ahead, Florian had a course that could give him a low score of -33 points, and it
all fell apart as Florian and his Spotter John Moulden blew an airline right off the bat in the their last course of the weekend. This puts
them possibly in 3rd or worse. He did manage to get it through the first set of gates, but could not progress further than that. Tomorrow's courses have enough
of a chance for a comeback, but Shram right now is driving near flawless.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Shram Meanwhile is wheelin course A3, right next to Florian. He has made short work of the course so far but even though he doesn't currently need
the bonus points, he is going for a HUGE Bonus. While getting lined up for the bonus, Shram nearly rolled as a rear dig in forward gears bound up the suspension and
nearly sent them going down. Now high centered, it looks as though he broke the steering. The drop was made regardless with ZERO control going out the
bonus and out the finish. This should put him in a pretty commanding lead. That was his last course of the day, he should be able to get fixed within the night
so that they can defend their current lead from today.
:: Photo Credit: England Photography
Pat McCartin has done a ton for the Modified Stock Class in the sport from helping develope the Spartenburg Series to creating event stickers for
the teams similar to what he used to have when he raced in the SCCA. He has had a tough weekend, but looks as though he'll live to wheel another day.
The day is wrapped up for the most partand it seems that the race which began as tight as one could be unfolded when a few rocks got in the way of many hopes
and dreams. The battle is developing into a good one and we will do one more update in about an hour for a post race into. Check it out and comeback in
a little bit, we will try to get streaming interviews set up with phone calls and all.
I will have interviews with Tim Florian, Kurt Shramovich, Jake Good, and a list of other drivers. Make sure you check out the following link below at about 4:30 pm
Central Standard Time as we bring you all the latest at the Cooper Tire All-Stock Nationals...
Live Interviews at 4:30 CST
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