Crawlin Column #18
By Rich Walker, photo by Kelly Walker
I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it’s 2014 already. Last year was a huge year for us with the opening of our shop and the arrival of our twin girls. Time sure flies when you’re having fun and accomplishing goals, but man I hope it slows down for a while. With that being said, I hope you all had a great holiday season and I wish you all the best in 2014.
As I write this, my phone is buzzing as a reminder to book my flights for the King of the Hammers (KOH) race coming up in February. I always look forward to spending a week in the desert representing Canada at what’s turning out to be the most amazing spectacle in off-road racing. As I mentioned before, we (Canada) will have four or five cars racing this year. I was really hoping to be able to bring you guys a feature on Eric Brinker’s new car for this issue, but due to some issues with the engine builder, we are way behind getting the car done and out of the shop for some photos. I wouldn’t say we are worried just yet, but are definitely chomping at the bit to get this thing out to see some daylight and dust. I will be sure to take some pre race photos on the lakebed for you guys and get them printed in an upcoming issue. Stay tuned. This thing is a beauty!
Two of the other Canadians in the race (Matt and Rocco, who are no strangers to these pages) are moving along nicely on their race prep and will be good to go for race day. Matt has changed the color of his car from green to blue and will have a rather different (for lack of a better word) theme for his panels. You will have to wait and see, but it is just plain cool! Rocco also tore his car down to a bare chassis and re-built it with some new mods to the engine (more power) and some bling in the differential and powertrain department. I can’t wait to see them both get their first dents and scratches.
One last thing to mention about KOH, is a new competition during the week of already awesome racing. If you haven’t heard of the world famous obstacle named “Backdoor,” then I suggest you research it on YouTube before you read on... There, got it? Well, King Shocks and a few other sponsors have kicked in $10,000 in cash to whoever can conquer the obstacle the fastest. Oh yeah, this is going to be good! As someone who has both driven and been shut down by this obstacle, I can tell you that this will be one of the biggest highlights of the week. I have already seen a bunch of side betting on the Internet forums as well. Rock Bouncers are talking trash. Ultra4 guys are talking trash. Trail guys, locals to Johnson Valley, everyone seems to think they know what it will take to slay the obstacle. Who do you think will win?
There hasn’t been a whole lot going on as of late in the racing world. With the holidays and colder weather, a lot of the teams are tearing down their vehicles to prep for future races in 2014. Even when there’s no racing, teams are still hard at work. It seems like there is never any rest… or is that the guy with new twins talking?
Some of the more “funded” race teams have traveled to South America for the Dakar race. Anyone that is into off-roading or racing knows of the Dakar. Probably two of the most popular off-road events (even to lay people) are the Baja (500 or 1000) and Dakar. It is hard to summarize a race as huge as the Dakar, especially in just a short column, but it is a race that many people strive to get to. With classes ranging from dirt bikes and quads, to rally cars and 4 wheel drive based vehicles, all the way to semi based cab-overs that seat four people, the race sees well over 500 teams try their hands at racing (in stages) through many countries in South America. I have been following the Dakar for many years and have always had a small place in my heart for the dedication and shear determination these racers have to complete a race across such vast terrain. Much like Baja, teams come from all over the Earth to race and even major vehicle manufacturers come out with new builds and sponsored racers to highlight their products. The race generally takes up to two weeks to complete all the stages and for 2014, I believe they are racing across Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Again, it’s tough to try and explain it all, but if you do a quick search out in Internet land, you will find thousands of web sites, personal or team blogs and videos from recent races as well as historic races.
So for now, I plan to get out snow wheelin’ a few more times in my 4Runner before I take flight to California in February for KOH. I hope to see you out there.
Stay safe and see you on the trails!