What a weekend for VORRA and Two Larrys alike! Personally, Two Larrys’ weekend started on Friday morning at 5am. We had a date with the charismatic Melissa Cabral of Channel 31’s Good Day Sacramento to promote our wonderful racing association and single-handedly destroy a supposedly indestructible wallet. Bright and early, race promoters Wes Harbor and George Henley played an integral part with the Booger to VORRA’s promotion of the weekend’s activities, thanks to Jim Graham of Desert Dingo Racing. When Melissa had us do the “Friday Dance” on the Booger, we told the camera man it was the longest 37 seconds of our lives. To our and VORRA’s delight, the phones were ringing off the hook during and after the television coverage with interested families who wished to view the races.
Saturday found us in the company of familiar friends. Also attending the Class 11 races were Desert Dingo Racing #1107, Meek Racing #1142, and Team Desert Dawgs #1106 for three motos with six laps each of racing spread throughout the day. Even part of CBCFS Racing (#1116) came to support the 11’s. The Booger sported it’s short course tires painted black and orange for Halloween, which is something it hasn’t done since 2010. Also familiar is the pent-up feeling of anxiety, coupled with short throat-clearing and knucks to the Booger from Larry G and Larry M at the starting line while watching the Trophy Truck class finish their moto. VORRA certainly deserves recognition for their course this time – not only did they construct an amazingly technical and exciting 1.4 mile track race for Saturday, but they changed it up and once again outdid themselves for the fast and semi-brutal Sunday 1.2 mile races. Such is demonstrated by the video released by Desert Dingo Racing and ZM Interactive, a company that sports a camera helicopter deemed “Cinestar 12” and is remotely operated:
Desert Dingo Racing from ZM Interactive on Vimeo
We couldn’t have been more pleased with the Booger’s performance on Saturday, despite the tough competition and the fact that our tow strap managed to bounce out and trip the car up during the first moto. We secured three wins in each of the motos, taking first place for the day. The Halloween festivities commenced before the third moto, starting with the pumpkin carving contest. After the races, the delicious Halloween Barbeque was enjoyed by many, and once again VORRA did not disappoint with the tasty treats offered. As racers and families meandered back to their respective pit areas, children in varying costumes could be seen trick-or-treating among the pits. The courageous children even braved Nine Town.
Sunday’s races were quite exciting. Not only were the Class 9 and UTV cars included in the Class 11 races, but the course had changed and presented different challenges to all. With the amount of dirt and rocks thrown, we were once again grateful for our windshield. It was a fast course, but that also takes its toll on cars. The Booger performed excellent until the second lap in moto one – then we knew that something was devastatingly wrong. We weren’t sure what, but we suspected our tire had blown and was off of the rim. That would make our first flat in competition! We navigated the course with some eye-opening wheel skills from Larry G to secure a third place. Upon inspection, we found that our tires were just fine, but had actually broken the long tie rod. It’s quite a feeling for the car to decide to shoot in one direction and flat-out refuse to make a turn – straight-aways were navigational with acceleration even, though.
After a quick change to the spare tie-rod afforded us a second go-around on the track. We found we weren’t the only ones affected by the track – the Desert Dawgs suffered a broken ball joint, flat tire, and bent tie rod (the same as ours), while Meek Racing suffered a failure of a shock mount that required quick welding. Meek Racing entered the second moto without a rear shock while repairs were being made and competed to secure points, while we pushed on hoping for a win. Except half-way into the first lap, the Booger’s throttle pedal broke and we were left with about 60% throttle as the pedal was sideways and hitting the tunnel. The Desert Dingos re-jetted their carburetor for something more appropriate for the elevation and ran the race much better. We took first place for the second moto on Sunday. When we post-race inspected the car, we found we had once again bent the tie-rod in exactly the same place. Two zip ties fixed the throttle pedal problem temporarily. Moto three promised to be interesting.
With more knucks to the Booger, we started off the line for Moto three carefully and hoping for the best. The car really does try – it hung in there for nearly four motos and had held first place. We could see spectators laughing at our sprint to the jump in front of the stands, then brake hard and a little hop over the jump to save the car. In one of the last turns towards the fourth moto, we heard that all too familiar crack/snap and felt the sudden jerk of the passenger wheel giving way to wherever the track desired it to be, independently from the car. Knowing we had already made it four laps in the first moto without a tie rod, we decided to keep on trucking and see if the Booger could finish the race once again without steering. Poor photographer Kathy Durrett was quick on her feet during one corner when the Booger decided to go on a jaunt into the weeds. Larry G worked the wheel like a mad-man, and maintained difficult control of the car enough to secure a third place for moto three.
It was to our surprise at the awards ceremony that we were awarded with second place for Sunday, despite our problems. Congratulations to the Desert Dingos for their first place finish for Sunday’s races! We really are happy with the way we the car ran, and how well it holds its own – especially considering we did pretty much hardly any prep work to it between the USA 500 and the Season Finale, plus the 200ish highway miles for promotional appearances. We are so pleased that our family and friends have surrounded and supported our team, and how one little obnoxiously green car can bring so many people together for a great time. Many thanks are due to our families and friends – Mike and Mollie Herrod, Don and Marsha Carlson, Chris Herrod, Shannon Dynes, Heston Schmucker and Mariah, the other Class 11 teams that really make it so fun to be a part of this sport with their good sportsmanship and willingness to help one another. There’s so much to be thankful for, and each of you play an integral role.
It is unfortunate that Two Larrys must make the announcement, but the Green Booger will have to take some time off. But not before a promotional car show in early December with Heston Schmucker and WyoTech for fundraising for Hurricane Sandy victims! The Booger has been running with a deteriorating front clip for quite awhile now, and it’s time to do her right and replace what is damaged with our donor body. A-Pillar isn’t even attached any longer, making it difficult to open the driver’s door, among other issues. Also on the menu is a new wiring harness, which our current one originally came from a rainwater-logged bucket on someone’s lawn. An engine rebuild is also necessary as we ran Friday through Sunday suspecting we needed to replace rings and rod bearings. Which isn’t too shabby considering the parts are the best old stuff we had lying around in the barn. Class 11 is a stock car, how expensive could it be, right? We do not have a projected time frame for the Booger’s return to the race track, but we will provide status updates, photos, news, and more throughout the winter as our work progresses. Thank you for your interest and support, and as always if you have questions, please feel free to contact us!
Don’t forget the VORRA Year-End Awards will be held December 1st at Harvey’s in South Lake Tahoe. Please visit http://wwww.vorra.net/ for more information.
Photo by Troy Robinson in his Race-Dezert recap of the VORRA Season Finale.
More VORRA racing videos! Class 11 love can be seen at about 3:25 in the video.
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