W.E. ROCK :: World Extreme Rockcrawling

Mello captures 100th career victory and Stephenson finds victory lane again!

By: Aaron Campbell

W.E.ROCK Live Editor-In Chief

With all of the glitz and glamour of the Reno Rocks event, the Formula Toyota and Modified Stock classes would be the first W.E.ROCK Pro-National classes to take to the temporary circuit. Strewn across half of the circuit, the teams of both classes would attack the “A” courses for their competition.

The four courses of the “A” section would have two separate layouts for both halves of the competition. Both halves of the competition would see the courses with a technical layout. With each course demanding different techniques to accomplish the technicality presented to the teams. For the teams to achieve success in this competition, a solid strategy would have to be in play. The teams would also have to be able to compromise with the course layout. The super tight layout of the courses would force teams to take cone penalties to complete the courses.

The Formula Toyota class would have a record total of 9 teams making the trip to Reno. Jeff Mello would return to the driver’s seat after missing Cedar City, and John James would not be able to take the green flag. Instead, James, would rely on a fill in driver, Mark Carter, to pilot the familiar #28 Marlin Crawler Formula Toyota. Former F-Toy driver, Matt Messer, would return to Formula Toyota competition driving his familiar #17.

The event for the Formula Toyota teams would kick off with a tough “A1” course. The tight twisty circuit would offer huge climbs, and tight twisty crevasses to force a vehicle through. Nathan Unruh would show the teams that he was in Reno to win. He would be the only driver to complete the course with a score better than 39 points. Unruh would take 32 points, and would hold the early lead as an 8-way tie for second place would form.

Obstacle “A2” would offer the teams more open area to maneuver their rigs through. The course would be highlighted with sharp break over sections, and neat full throttle assaults. This would begin to offer insight as to which teams were on their way to being contenders for the Reno Rocks crown. A total of 7 of the 9 teams would be able to complete the course, but only four would be able to score below 11 points. Nathan Unruh would again lead the way, and would set the low water mark at just two points. He would be followed closely by, Matt Messer, and Cedar City winner, Brian Ellinger who would cross the line with four points. Jeff Mello would cross the line with 11 points. Chris Dunkin, Mitch Burke, and John Blanton would also cross the line with 28, 32, and 34 points respectively. Unruh would be the leader and would hold a 9 point lead over Matt Messer and Brian Ellinger in the overall standings after two obstacles.

The third obstacle faced by the teams during the first half would be the “A3” obstacle. This tricky obstacle would show the field that line choice is vitally important on man-made courses. Only four of the nine teams would make it through the finish on this obstacle. For the first time, Jeff Mello, would be the low scorer at 13 points. Chris Dunkin would tie Mello for the low water mark. John Blanton would cross the line with 16 points, and Matt Messer would take 23 points. A lead change would take place at the top of the overall standings. Jeff Mello would leap frog over Matt Messer to take the lead by just three points. Nathan Unruh, would fall from the lead to third after taking a DNF on his run.

Obstacle A4 would be the first opportunity for the W.E.ROCK teams to tackle Mount Rose. Mount Rose would be the ominous concrete monster at the center of the competition arena. The teams would have to go over belly hangers before taking their run at the mountain. However, little area to grab momentum for the climb would mean the teams would have to get it right or else they would be denied the climb. Only four teams would successfully make the climb. For the second time in a row, Jeff Mello, would be the low scorer on the obstacle, and like the last time he would also have a tie for low score. Brian Ellinger would bounce back in a spectacular run to tie Mello at zero points. Nathan Unruh would find redemption and would finish the obstacle with three points. Taran Halarewich, would make a huge run and would also finish with three points.

At the halfway point, Jeff Mello, would be the leader. With his finish on A4, Nathan Unruh, would reclaim the second spot, 13 points, behind Mello. Brian Ellinger would slide into the third spot, 18 ticks, off the lead, and Matt Messer would sit in the fourth position overall a staggering, 40 points, away from the lead. Could Mello hang on to claim his first Formula Toyota victory, or would someone pull the upset and deny the legend at Reno? Four more obstacles would sit in front of the teams, and anything could happen.

The Modified Stock teams would tackle the same four obstacles as the Formula Toyota teams. A smaller field of just four teams would take the green in Reno. However, the four teams at Reno would deliver a ton of action. Obstacle A1, would see Team Those Gals, Crystal McAuliff, taking the early lead. They would put up a huge finish on the first obstacle. Stevenson, Hall, and Karver would fail to finish on A1.

On Obstacle A2, Justin Hall, would knock out a spectacular run to be the low scorer at zero points. Todd Stephenson would cross the line with 9 points, and Crystal McAuliff would finish with 11 points. Justin Hall would take the overall lead from Crystal McAuliff. Crystal would be just 7 points out of the lead, and Todd Stephenson would sit just 9 points out of the lead in third place.

Obstacle A3 would throw the teams for a loop. Todd Stephenson, would be the only driver to check in a finish, and would take 22 points on his run. Crystal McAuliff, would take one more progression to score 37 points. Justin Hall would check in 38 points, and Larry Karver would score 39 points. With his finish, Todd Stephenson, would take the overall lead by 7 points over Justin Hall. Crystal McAuliff would fall to third place, 13 points, out of the lead.

For their final run of the night, the teams would face down Mount Rose. The obstacle should have been called Mount Denial as all four teams would fail to finish their runs on the obstacle. Todd Stephenson would come the closest, but time would run out on his run for the finish. He would take 37 points. Justin Hall and Crystal McAuliff would both take 38 points, and Larry Karver would settle for 40 points.

At the halfway point, Todd Stephenson, would continue to be the overall leader. However with Justin Hall just 8 points out and Crystal McAuliff just 14 points out of the lead respectively anything could happen. Could Todd Stephenson hold on to take his second straight victory? Will Justin Hall make a run at Stephenson to retake his place on the top step of the podium, or can Those Gals steal a victory and pull a huge upset?

The second half of the competition would see some changes to the courses, but all the teams would face the same rocks as the night before. Coming into the second half of the competition, Formula Toyota, was in the middle of a battle for the win. Jeff Mello would enter the second half of the competition as the leader, but there were three teams, (Unruh, Ellinger, and Messer) within striking distance of Mello. The fight for the crown would now stare down the final four rocks of their competition.

Obstacle A1 would be changed to offer the teams better opportunity to finish, and finish they did. Brian Ellinger, would kick off the second half of the event as the low scorer for the fifth obstacle of competition. Jeff Mello, Matt Messer, and Chris Dunkin would all tie for the second lowest score at 23 points. In the overall standings, Jeff Mello, would continue to lead, but with Ellinger’s big finish he would jump into second place just 9 points off the pace. Nathan Unruh, would fall to third overall after a disappointing start to the second day. Matt Messer would still be 40 points out of the lead, and with just three obstacles to go Messer’s chances of picking up the win were starting to look slim.

Obstacle A2 would be the sixth obstacle of the competition, and the three-quarter mark of the event. A close race would explode as the entire field would be shook up on this obstacle. This obstacle would see the highest percentage of finishers with 7 of the 9 teams being able to finish. Mark Carter would come into event stepping behind the wheel of the #28 of John James. That is a tough set of shoes to fill, and the event was not exactly going the way the team wanted. However, they would throw down huge on this obstacle and would set the low score with an amazing -10 point run. Nathan Unruh would come close, and would also see negative territory with a score of -8 points. Jeff Mello would take zero points on his run. Matt Messer would finish with just 1 point. Mitchell Burke would cross the line with 4 points. Chris Dunkin and John Blanton would both cross the line with 10 and 24 points respectively. However, Brian Ellinger would not be part of the list of finishers. He would fail to finish and would take a devasting score of 40 points.

The overall standings would continue to see, Jeff Mello, as the leader. He would extend his lead to 19 points over new second place runner, Nathan Unruh. Matt Messer would move up to third, 41 points, out of the lead, and Brian Ellinger would fall from second place to fourth, 49 points away from the lead. It was starting to look like it was going to be race between Nathan Unruh and Jeff Mello for the win at Reno.

The penultimate obstacle would be obstacle A3. This obstacle would again only see four of the 9 Formula Toyota teams being able to complete their runs on the obstacle. However, it would be Matt Messer throwing down the upset with a run of just 1 point. Jeff Mello would cross the line with 12 points. Nathan Unruh would take 23 points, and John Blanton would cross with 28 points. Brian Ellinger would again not finish the obstacle.

In the overall standings, Jeff Mello would go into the final obstacle of the event with a comfortable 30 point lead. However, a tie would form for second place. Matt Messer would go into the final obstacle tied with Nathan Unruh for second place. Brian Ellinger, who was a contender for most of the event was now on the far outside looking in. He would sit a staggering 44 points out of second and his chances of taking a podium looked slim.

The final obstacle would be A4, and it’s full throttle assault on the ominous, Mount Rose. A win was on the line, and miracle would need to happen for anyone other than Jeff Mello to be the victor. All the teams that made an attempt on the obstacle would grab a finish. The only team to not attempt their run on A4 would be the team of Taran Halarewich. He would be the only team to take a 50 point score all weekend. Nathan Unruh would cross the line 32 points. Chris Dunkin would be able to up Unruh and take 26 points. Brian Ellinger would recover slightly, and would take 25 points for his effort. Matt Messer would be able squeak by Ellinger, and score 24 points. Mark Carter, would again grab a nice finish and take 21 points. John Blanton would throw down a great run to finish his event with a run of 16 points. Mitch Burke would take 15 points after an awesome run, but Burke could not sneak out the final low score. That would be left to Jeff Mello. Mello would cross the line with 13 points, and would take his third low score of the event.

For Jeff Mello, this would be his first win in Formula Toyota. However, it would be a milestone win for Mello. It would be his 100^th career victory in off-road motorsports. Mello’s margin of victory would be 41 points over Matt Messer. Messer, would be able to hold off Nathan Unruh to take second place. Nathan Unruh would complete the podium. Brian Ellinger would finish the event in fourth place. Chris Dunkin, John Blanton, Mitch Burke, Mark Carter, and Taran Halarewich would round out the Formula Toyota field.

The Modified Stock race would be close between three teams. Todd Stephenson took the lead after three obstacles, and would be the leader going into the second half of the event. However, Tucson winner, Justin Hall, would be right on his heels just 8 points off the lead. Crystal McAuliff would also be withing striking distance just 14 points from the lead.

The teams would tackle obstacle A1 first. Crystal McAuliff would kick off the second half of the competition just like she kicked off the first half with the low score on A1. She would again be the only finisher on the obstacle, and would make up ground in the overall standings. Larry Karver, would crash hard, and would be forced to take a DNF for the rest of the event. His event would finish at the 5^th obstacle, and he would take 4^th place for his efforts. Todd Stephenson would continue to lead in the overall standings, but the race for the lead would be narrowed down to six points with Crystal McAuliff being the driver in second place. Justin Hall would fall to third overall, 7 points, out of the lead.

On the sixth obstacle of competition, the three remaining teams would all go into negative territory. Todd Stephenson would be the low point scorer taking -11 points. Justin Hall would be right behind Stephenson, and would take -9 points. Crystal McAuliff would cross the line with a finish of -3 points. Todd Stephenson would continue to be the overall leader. His lead would expand to 9 points over Justin Hall. Crystal McAuliff would fall to third place, 14 points, out of the lead.

With just two obstacles left to go the Modified Stock teams were still in the midst of a close fought race. The victory would still be up for grabs, and all points gained or lost could be the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Crystal McAuliff would take A3 by storm, and would grab the low score. However, her score of 27 points would only give her a four point advantage over Todd Stephenson who would take 31 points on his run. Justin Hall would fail to finish. Todd Stephenson would continue to hold the overall lead, but his advantage would only be 10 points over Crystal McAuliff. Justin Hall would also be in contention just 16 points out off the pace.

The final obstacle of the competition would be a three way fight. Crystal McAuliff’s chances at victory would however come to an end on the final obstacle. She would fail to finish this crucial obstacle, and would be denied the win in Reno. Todd Stephenson would come across the line with a strong finish of 17 points. However, the ball would be in Justin Hall’s court. He would need to not only finish the obstacle, but would have to score 2 ponts. Hall would be able to finish, and he would take the low score. However, it would not be enough. Hall would score 15 points, and would be denied his second victory. Todd Stephenson would narrowly pick up the win at Reno. Justin Hall would come in second, and Crystal McAuliff would round out the podium. With one round left to go, Justin Hall looks to be primed to pick up his first W.E.ROCK Pro-National Series Championship in his rookie season. The teams will be in action next at the final round of the 2009 season at the new Oroville, CA circuit. A barn burner of an event would now be in the books. All eyes in Reno would be focused solely on the Pro-Modified and Unlimited teams for the second half of the W.E.ROCK Reno Rocks event. Who will join Mello and Stephenson as victors on the temporary circuit.