dustjunkieracing
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Redlands California
The season finale of the 2010 Jeepspeed challenge series came to an end October 15th and 16th 2010 in Parker Arizona. The Dust Junkies went into the race with great anticipation, with Tandi Hartman leading the Rookie of the Year points and sitting firmly in 3rd place for the championship. The team had some dissapointing races where they were leading the race and mechanical failures set them back. Fifth at Parker after losing a transmission on course, then replacing it and getting back on course dead last. Not finishing ORAF 500 after leading by over ten minutes and Tandi setting the fastest lap in class, blown head gasket. The team made changes for the better, a Marlin Crawler AX-15 transmission, a Griffin aluminum radiator, and better prep each and every race. The team had success as well, 2nd at the Mint 400, one of only two cars to finish after rebuilding a rear shock twice on course after a rock dinged the shaft. With new paint on the car, luck was about to change.
The pressure was on, Tandi was too sick to drive and Jeepspeed rules dictated that she had to be in the car on both race days. Scott Hartman was slated to drive and reluctantly, Tandi would co-dog the fast short course style race. The 1706 PRP Jeepspeed Wrangler drew a 3rd place starting position behind Bob Standage and side by side with Chris Wacker, MORE Chille Cookoff Jeepspeed winner. The key to Parker is get out front early and lay down some dust. Scott knew the dust would be bad and knew the start was crucial. It weighed heavily on his mind the previous week and the night before the race. The start of the race was a two lane, side by side drag race. DJR and Wacker raced to where the course came together and DJR had about a half a car lead and would not lift! Wacker was right there. They fought past the dust of the 3700's and passed as soon as they could, Wacker in tow. By race mile 3, DJR had passed all but eventual over all winner in 3700, Jon Krellwitz and Bob Standage. The heavy dust kept DJR back 200-300 yards from Standage until race mile 10 where the course came near the great Colorado River and moisture in the soil. It was on and Scott and Tandi were on a mission. DJR had a shot at second in points for the championship if they put 3 cars between Clint Malburg and Themselves. Standage had to be one of the cars! DJR caught Standage on the road and made up the 300 yards in the mile or two paved road section, putting the Painless Performance - LJ Engineering motor to the test reaching speeds over 94mph. Standage's hood dropped when he let off and Scott tasted blood. He stayed in it and passed Standage just before re-entering the dirt.
The second lap was perfect, keeping Wacker about a minute behind and driving conservatively but fast. About 10 miles before the finish the car died. A minute later, Wacker was on top of them when it fired back up, it was a drag race to the finish. The car died 4 more times, but they had enough time each incident to re-fire the car and keep the lead. They crossed the finish line :07 second in front of Wacker for a win on day one. The team waited at the finish line for 30-40 minutes to see where Malburg finished. He had been smooth and fast all year long. Malburg didn't finish.
Between races the Dust Junkie crew jumped on the electrical problem, cleaning grounds, replacing the alternator, replacing relays. On the phone with Jeff Abbott in Texas, the engineer who designed the engine management system. After everything done with nothing changing, they discovered a dead cell in a battery was shutting down the computer. Due to the format of the race, there was nowhere to test the car to make sure that the issue was resolved. Brian Hartman cruised up and down pit row a few times to see if the car would die. The car was good, the team was ready for day 2.
Day 2 began side by side with Krewlwitz and enough points to lock down Rookie of the Year and 2nd in Points for the championship with just a finish. Scott talked to LJ Ranney at the start line about race strategy. Scott and Tandi own the team, LJ makes all race decisions. "Do we race for a finish?" Scott asked LJ. "Race to win!", LJ replied. They left the line side by side with Krellwitz and had to let up in the dust until he cleared a few hundred yards up in clean air. Scott and Tandi drove a fast conservative pace with no problems with the car. At the pavement they saw headlights in the rearview mirror and thought Wacker was on the move. They pushed hard the rest of the lap and came into the Parker Python with concern with who was behind them. The crew radioed that it was a 7300 truck and that the next Jeepspeed was Perry Coan in his 1736 Wrangler, six minutes back. They took it down a notch and drove conservatively the rest of the race, winning the double points Jeepspeed finale.
DJR is nothing without the Dust Junkies team and sponsors. PRP racing seats, Rubicon Express suspension, Raceline Wheels, Marlin Crawler Transmissions, Painless Performance, JE Reel Drivelines, Motive Gear, Shockseals.com, King Shocks, Rockbuggysupply.com, LJ Engineering, Loosenuts enterprises, Delta Lights, and our friends and families that allow us to live the dream.
The pressure was on, Tandi was too sick to drive and Jeepspeed rules dictated that she had to be in the car on both race days. Scott Hartman was slated to drive and reluctantly, Tandi would co-dog the fast short course style race. The 1706 PRP Jeepspeed Wrangler drew a 3rd place starting position behind Bob Standage and side by side with Chris Wacker, MORE Chille Cookoff Jeepspeed winner. The key to Parker is get out front early and lay down some dust. Scott knew the dust would be bad and knew the start was crucial. It weighed heavily on his mind the previous week and the night before the race. The start of the race was a two lane, side by side drag race. DJR and Wacker raced to where the course came together and DJR had about a half a car lead and would not lift! Wacker was right there. They fought past the dust of the 3700's and passed as soon as they could, Wacker in tow. By race mile 3, DJR had passed all but eventual over all winner in 3700, Jon Krellwitz and Bob Standage. The heavy dust kept DJR back 200-300 yards from Standage until race mile 10 where the course came near the great Colorado River and moisture in the soil. It was on and Scott and Tandi were on a mission. DJR had a shot at second in points for the championship if they put 3 cars between Clint Malburg and Themselves. Standage had to be one of the cars! DJR caught Standage on the road and made up the 300 yards in the mile or two paved road section, putting the Painless Performance - LJ Engineering motor to the test reaching speeds over 94mph. Standage's hood dropped when he let off and Scott tasted blood. He stayed in it and passed Standage just before re-entering the dirt.
The second lap was perfect, keeping Wacker about a minute behind and driving conservatively but fast. About 10 miles before the finish the car died. A minute later, Wacker was on top of them when it fired back up, it was a drag race to the finish. The car died 4 more times, but they had enough time each incident to re-fire the car and keep the lead. They crossed the finish line :07 second in front of Wacker for a win on day one. The team waited at the finish line for 30-40 minutes to see where Malburg finished. He had been smooth and fast all year long. Malburg didn't finish.
Between races the Dust Junkie crew jumped on the electrical problem, cleaning grounds, replacing the alternator, replacing relays. On the phone with Jeff Abbott in Texas, the engineer who designed the engine management system. After everything done with nothing changing, they discovered a dead cell in a battery was shutting down the computer. Due to the format of the race, there was nowhere to test the car to make sure that the issue was resolved. Brian Hartman cruised up and down pit row a few times to see if the car would die. The car was good, the team was ready for day 2.
Day 2 began side by side with Krewlwitz and enough points to lock down Rookie of the Year and 2nd in Points for the championship with just a finish. Scott talked to LJ Ranney at the start line about race strategy. Scott and Tandi own the team, LJ makes all race decisions. "Do we race for a finish?" Scott asked LJ. "Race to win!", LJ replied. They left the line side by side with Krellwitz and had to let up in the dust until he cleared a few hundred yards up in clean air. Scott and Tandi drove a fast conservative pace with no problems with the car. At the pavement they saw headlights in the rearview mirror and thought Wacker was on the move. They pushed hard the rest of the lap and came into the Parker Python with concern with who was behind them. The crew radioed that it was a 7300 truck and that the next Jeepspeed was Perry Coan in his 1736 Wrangler, six minutes back. They took it down a notch and drove conservatively the rest of the race, winning the double points Jeepspeed finale.
DJR is nothing without the Dust Junkies team and sponsors. PRP racing seats, Rubicon Express suspension, Raceline Wheels, Marlin Crawler Transmissions, Painless Performance, JE Reel Drivelines, Motive Gear, Shockseals.com, King Shocks, Rockbuggysupply.com, LJ Engineering, Loosenuts enterprises, Delta Lights, and our friends and families that allow us to live the dream.
