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Unlimited in Hannibal
Matt Deas attmpts to save a roll only to be hit with an out of bounds penalty seconds
after this photo was taken ::: Photo Cedit: England Photo | Pirate4x4.com
The Unlimited Class has been shaken in a big way. In Hannibal we saw many big names bounce out of the
Top 6 through weird circumstances, all of which were completely unpredictable and partially caused by
the varying terrain that RROCK offers.
Alan Woodson in a roll on A3, he pulled the save and a 5th place ::: Photo Cedit: England Photo | Pirate4x4.com
Some of the big news came when Eastern U.S. Nationals Champion Matt Deas had an unfortunate series of
events that rolled him over on his first course (A boulder moving kept the save from landing of all
fours), possibly blew his motor on the second course, and timed out of his third. Unfortunately the
competition was just the icing on the cake for Deas as truck and trailer problems arose before the event
resulting in a string of bad luck. Deas, with no doubt had a bad weekend, but not due to his driving,
just plain old bad luck. We report this only due to the incredibly strong amounts of fan mail wondering
the status of Deas and Howard (Spotter).
In his first appearance of The Shootout, Tom Campbell set the bar getting further than any
other in the course. This pic is taken amid a roll on The Shootout Course ::: Photo Cedit: England Photo | Pirate4x4.com
George Negron found great runs throughout the weekend but pulled up in the final courses due to breakage
as the same with Wayne Kidder who featured a new creation in Hannibal. Still the bad luck progressed as
both Alan Woodson and John Boring blew engines on day two, though Boring moves through engines more than
most move through a tank of fuel. Odd problems attacked all nearly all unlimited teams to some extent and
with Hannibal as the season opener, it is very understandable as teams either took the winter off or
pushed themselves to the limit and had problems going into the event.
Carl "Wild Nut" Shortridge was the first to complete The Shootout Course ::: Photo Cedit: England Photo | Pirate4x4.com
These freak accidents and breakage left the door open for many new faces in the top ranks. 3 of the 6
teams in The Shootout had never entered the top 6 in their duration of competing on the Pro Circuit and
this opened many new ideas and lines going into the highly anticipated final course. A broken axle and
blown motor would push John boring comfortably into the 6th position while Alan Woodson's blown motor
would have a similar effect on his outcome at 5th place. A few new faces in The Shootout came in at the
4th, 3rd, and 2nd, positions. 4th place slid in as Tom Campbell AKA "Major Rock" moved through the course
like a hot knife though butter until an unexpected roll-over through Gate 4 resulted in a high score.
Even though Jake Gochenour rolled here at Gate 1 in The Shootout, it
was still enough for him to hold onto 2nd place ::: Photo Cedit: England Photo | Pirate4x4.com
3rd place was Carl "Wild Nut" Shortridge and Mike Fox in their Campbell Enterprises Moonbuggy. Carl's
first appearance in The Shootout was a great one as he was the first to finish the entire course and did
so with the lowest score of that final event. 2nd place Jake Gochenour found trouble at the first set of
gates that resulted in a rollover but faired well enough through the qualifying to hold onto 2nd. 1st
Place was dominated by Brad Styles and Ken Shupe who displayed the lowest score in all classes by nearly
50 points.
Brad Styles in his typical "Southern Style" wheeling making The Shootout look
like a walk in the Park... ::: Photo Cedit: England Photo | Pirate4x4.com
Styles has pulled in the win at every single event held by W.E.ROCK at Hannibal, MO and expects to carry
on the tradition come September 6th and 7th at the W.E.ROCK Grand Nationals.
Related Links:
InCar Cameras with W.E.ROCK Drivers |
The Pro Modified Class Story |
The Unlimited Class Story |
The Modified Stock Class Story |
The Formula Toyota Class Story |
Live Coverage |
Itinerary, Directions, Weather |
Hannibal Rocks Event Poster |
2007 Eastern U.S. Series |
Official Scores
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