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Clint Carter
Metal Cloak Nor Cal Stampede
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Story and Photos by Rich Walker
This will probably sound crazy, but the days leading up to this race were filled with a little more excitement than normal. Normally, we are in the truck for 25 or more hours to get to these races and we have grown quite used to this. However, this race was only 18 hours away, which was quite exciting for Matt and I as we could travel at a more leisurely pace and arrive rested and ready to race. The drive down was uneventful and we wasted no time getting to our hotel and finding an ‘In-N-Out Burger’ to satisfy our cravings (the other reason for our extra excitement). It just so happens the In-N-Out Burger was right across from our hotel.
Having never been to this track before we left the hotel early in the morning to find it, get our pit set up and see what we were getting ourselves into. It was quite surprising once we got there to see the size of the site and how big the track was as it meandered through the rolling hills. It's a good mix of jumps, whoops, fast straight sections, rock piles and even a shot-crete style man-made wall, which would challenge the competitors over the two-mile course. We could tell it would be a fun race.
Friday was a day full of tech inspections and practice heats to get a feel for the track. Having already been tech’d for the 2013 season Matt suited up and peeled out. He got in a solid couple laps and was getting faster each time. On the third lap, he came off one of the jumps (after the nasty whoops) a little sideways. He was able to save it from rolling, but the front ring and pinion was done. Luckily, one of the vendors on site was able to get us the phone number to a local shop so we could get parts and fix it up. Some wrenching and busted knuckles later we were back in the game (just before dark too)!
Saturday started like any other race day. We got to the track early and started prepping the race car and pit for the day. Before long, Matt and 15 or so other cars were lined up ready for their heat. And they were off! There’s nothing quite like the sound of 15+ V8 engines roaring to life off the start line of the race. The sound, the smell and the sheer feeling of power is something that everyone should experience at least once. The race was going well for Matt and he was working his way through the course making steady times on his laps. Then, all of a sudden the motor got hot and all the warning lights starting going off.
We got a tow back to the pits where we would have minimal time to diagnose the problem and get it fixed to make the next heat. We wasted no time tearing into the car. It didn’t take long to find that a $3 radiator hose had let go allowing all the coolant to leak out. It’s hard to explain, but the placement of this piece made it very difficult to fix, especially when we were racing against a clock. A few other people even pitched in and tried to help us, but we just couldn’t get it done before the next heat started. Oh well, that’s racing!
With nothing left to do, we grabbed a few bevies, hunkered down on the sidelines and watched the main heat. In the end, Jason Scherer would take the checkered flag, winning the MetalCloak Nor-Cal Stampede in his home town! It’s always exciting to win on your home turf. Congrats to him and all the other finishers.
Big thanks to the entire Ultra4 team and their volunteers for continuing to put on these great events. The level of professionalism and caliber of racing is what keeps us coming back race after race. We will be back to this track for sure… especially since it’s so close!