Riot 68 News
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Riot Racing moves into first in BITD series after taking fifth in Vegas to Reno
A fifth place finish at the TSCO Vegas to Reno race has put Riot Racing first in the Best in the Desert points series. The team is thrilled to be in this position, but they know that with this year’s format which allows for a dropped race, the championship is still up for grabs by any number of teams.
“First in points is a positive thing,” Sammy Zaranti, the lead mechanic said. “But it all boils down to the last race at the end of the season. You have to treat each race separately and go for the goal and wherever the points lay the points lay.”
As the team gears up for their next race, the SCORE Primm 300, Riot is still excited about the fifth place finish in their class, seventh overall, at Vegas to Reno on August 20.
“Fifth is pretty darn good and points wise it puts us in an awesome spot for the year,” #68’s driver, Marc Ewing, said, after starting the truck 27th overall in Beatty. While he is proud of the finish, Ewing can’t help but want to excel further.
“You’re psyched, but it’s not on the podium so I get amped up to do even better,” he said.
Everyone was very pleased with the truck’s stellar performance, which took many arduous weeks to achieve after completely rebuilding it.
“The truck was phenomenal,” Zaranti said. “Marc did a great job driving, and Josh (Daniel) did a great job.”
Daniel and Allen Hickerson of DanZio Racing finished the last half of the race for Ewing and co-driver Ira Conn.
“We did a real good job,” Daniel said. “Sammy prepped that truck really well. (It) ran ballin’.”
Ewing and the team were very happy with Daniel’s performance.
“Josh took care of the truck, and he’s an aggressive, fast driver for sure,” Ewing said. “Josh is a great addition to the team,” Conn added.
Allen Hickerson, Daniel’s co-driver was happy to be able to take over after Ewing and Conn set a decent pace throughout the first half of the race.
“Marc and Ira did a great job getting settled in. You got to get into a good groove. By the time we got in, a lot of the field… was spread out so we didn’t have to deal with as much dust,” Hickerson said.
With it being his first time co-driving in a trophy truck, Hickerson was impressed and happy to cross the finish line in Dayton for Riot.
“Every time you cross that finish line it’s a great feeling. It makes it even better when you place in a decent position. Thanks to Marc, Ira and the pit crew for doing a good job. There’s no way that truck could have done what it did without a team effort,” Hickerson said.
As time goes by, the Riot team is learning the ins and outs of the race vehicles and how to work together as a team. “The team really meshed together. The first pit stop was a little slow, but then we got momentum,” Zaranti said.
Ewing has confidence in his crew. “We’ve got an awesome team now and both trucks are in great shape,” he said.
He and the team are looking forward to taking on the challenge of racing at the Primm 300 on September 11. With the race taking place in Riot’s backyard, the team is hoping to do well.
Follow Riot Racing as they prepare for this exciting event on http://www.riotracing.com and http://www.twitter.com/riotracing. Fans can watch Riot Racing’s teaser video for the Vegas to Reno race at http://riotracing.com/videos/view/bitd_vegas_to_reno_2010_teaser-_riot_racing/. A full-length video recap by VitaBrevisFilms will be released on Riot’s Web site soon.
- Tuesday August 31, 2010
- By Riot Racing
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Excitement builds for Team Riot as Vegas to Reno race nears
Friday morning, Aug. 20, Riot Racing heads to Beatty, Nevada for the TSCO Vegas to Reno race, a 534-mile adventure that will test the team’s endurance. Riot is completing the finishing touches after spending eight weeks completely overhauling the trophy truck from bumper to bumper. After testing the past few weeks and nailing down loose ends, confidence in the truck and within the team is building.
“It’s definitely a contender truck,” Steve Sloan, Riot’s shop manager said. “It’s run better than it ever has before,” Ira Conn, Riot’s co-driver said after a test session this week.
Taking the reigns for the second half of the race will be Josh Daniel of DanZio Racing. He and his co-driver for his Class 1 car, Allen Hickerson, have joined Riot Racing as a back-up driver and a back-up co-driver. They come with an exciting race record of four overall wins in the past two years.
“I’m psyched to have Josh and Allen on Team Riot for the Vegas to Reno race!” Marc Ewing said. “They bring a passion for racing and record of winning with them. They are a great fit for Riot, and I’m looking forward to some great racing!”
Josh Daniel and his co-driver are thrilled as well.
“It seems like Riot’s going on the right track and I’m hoping to be a part of that and be successful. It’s a privilege to be able to race on a team like this,” Daniel said.
Time Trials on Wednesday in Primm will determine Riot’s start position on race day. The team has a 22nd start position for the trial, which begins at 1:30 p.m. They hope to use this opportunity to help them get in the front of the starting order.
In Beatty, Nevada, two hours northwest of Las Vegas, the first truck will start at 9:30 a.m Friday morning. The race will take approximately 10 hours to complete, ending in Dayton, Nevada, an hour south of Reno.
The course is a very fast, dusty race with a high attrition rate and drastic elevation changes. The first 150 miles are silty and require a higher level of finesse to maintain the drive line in areas of poor traction and visibility. There’s an extremely rocky decent that has to be negotiated toward the end. Ewing and Conn plan to start the race and then have Daniel and Hickerson take over about halfway through.
“It’s a long, silty, dusty race. The first half is trying to keep a good pace… and you start pouring it on in the end,” Daniel said. “I have a feeling there’s going to be about four or five teams in the hunt at the end. I think we can be one of them.”
Currently in second place in Best in the Desert’s points standings, it is vital for Riot to cross the finish line in order to stay in the hunt for the championship.
“We’ve got a great team, and a lot of people are working very hard. All I wish is just that we do our best and we get to the finish line,” Sammy Zaranti, the lead truck mechanic said. “Gotta finish to win it.”
Crossing the finish line bears much more meaning at this race for the Riot crew. At Vegas to Reno one year ago Tony Sorensen, Riot’s co-driver who was driving the truck, passed away while racing. It was a tragic day, and the loss was devastating for his family members, many of whom were present including his son T.J. Sorensen who was co-driving with him.
But what has brought some solace is that Tony passed while doing something he loved.
“For him to get to drive that truck in that race in many ways was a dream come true, and it’s tragic. The whole thing was tragic,” Ira Conn, Riot’s co-driver said.
Tony was an integral part of the team who has enabled the team to be what it is today. His brother Derral and Tony’s children plan to attend the race in his memory.
“I want to go to honor Tony and cheer on the team that’s continued on,” Derral said. “I really felt like that was Tony’s race and now it’s Marc and Ira’s turn to kick some butt and win, and I know Tony’s gonna be with them in spirit.”
Although it has only been a year since Tony’s passing, the team has transformed in many ways. It has continued to grow and reorganize with new crew members, but the road has been challenging. This was the new Riot mechanics’ first prep on the original Riot trophy truck, which was last raced at Battle at Primm in February.
“It’s tough learning a new truck. As time goes on you get to know the truck and it gets to know you,” Sloan said.
Riot welcomes a new mechanic, Brandon Johnson, who has been familiarizing himself the last few weeks with Riot’s vehicles in preparation for this race. Before Riot, Johnson worked at Collins Motorsports prepping trophy trucks and building pro-2 short course trucks. For six years he worked at Grove Lumber Racing in Ontario, California covering all aspects of truck prep for a Porter class 1500. In 2007 and 2008 that truck finished second in overall points for the Best in the Desert Series, and it finished every mile of every race.
“He’s a hard worker and a great prep guy,” Sloan said.
“It’s one of the nicest shops and there’s still room for it to grow,” Johnson said about Riot Racing.
“The talent that’s in the shop now is really impressive. They know how to do it right and have fun,” Zaranti said. “The guys have done a great job. It’s a long road and you cross your fingers every day and hopefully on race day it shows,” Sloan added.
On Thursday before the race, Riot will have a booth at Contingency and Technical Inspection at the Aliante Station Casino Hotel in North Las Vegas. They will be selling Riot apparel while debuting their new Geiser Pre-Runner from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The 650 horsepower Chevy engine has 26 inches of wheel travel in the front and 33 inches the back. It holds 90 gallons of fuel and weighs 6,500 pounds. It’s running 39” BFGoodrich Baja TA/KR tires and a Vision X 42” LED light bar. This was Geiser’s first four-door truck with four seats that each have five-point harnesses.
Ewing and Conn tested out the machine this week in Jean. “That rig is a cross between a Rolls and a rock crusher. Geiser Bros really outdid themselves on this project. Every detail was carefully manicured and expertly executed,” Conn said.
In addition to all of the action taking place at Riot’s shop, the team is also unveiling a new graphic design on the truck this race. Riot is excited to show off this new look and their talent in America’s biggest off-road race this Friday. Follow the team throughout this race on http://www.riotracing.com or http://twitter.com/riotracing, where photos, video and the latest information will be available. Listen to in-car communications and watch the truck kicking up the dust out on the course. Feel like you’re part of the crew as we hope to take you across the finish line.
- Wednesday August 18, 2010
- By Riot Racing
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Riot Racing welcomes Josh Daniel of DanZio Racing
As the Riot truck closes in on its last stretch toward Reno, Nevada this Friday there will be a new face behind the wheel. Josh Daniel of DanZio Racing has joined Riot Racing’s #68 Trophy Truck team as their back-up driver along with his co-driver, Allen Hickerson. Daniel and Hickerson will take over for Riot’s driver Marc Ewing and co-driver Ira Conn about halfway through the race.
Daniel is the co-owner of DanZio Racing in Henderson, Nevada, a team that spawned from DanZio Performance Engineering, an off-road engine building company he founded five years ago with co-owner and crew chief Chris Muzio. Daniel started the race team three years ago with a Class 1 car that he drives in the SNORE, SCORE and BITD series. Riot is excited to have him on board.
“I’m psyched to have Josh and Allen on team Riot for the Vegas to Reno race!” Ewing said. “They bring a passion for racing and record of winning with them. They are a great fit for the Riot team, and I’m looking forward to some great racing!”
DanZio comes to Riot with a strong race record of four overall wins. In 2009 they won the SNORE Midnight Special and Rage at the River, and this year they won at SNORE’s Battle at Primm and the Pro Baja 2010 Short Course in Cabo. They also took an overall win at the 2010 Laughlin Leap Challenge.
“He brings experience and confidence from a Class 1,” Brandon Johnson, a Riot mechanic said. “He’s comfortable at high speed and he’s very talented.”
Driving since he was eight, racing has been Daniel’s dream since he was young, and after starting DanZio Performance Engineering five years ago and building his own car, he was finally able to do so. He has been a back-up driver for Cameron Steele and Ashcraft Racing, and last year he joined the Desert Assassins. Now he’s eager to take on a more dedicated task in joining Riot.
“I’m real excited about joining the team,” Daniel said. “It seems like Riot’s going on the right track and I’m hoping to be a part of that and be successful. It’s a privilege to be able to race on a team like this.”
Joining Daniel this race is his Class 1 co-driver for the past five years, Allen Hickerson. From San Diego, California, Hickerson works for D&D Laser Screed, a company Daniel also owns. Daniel said Hickerson is a great navigator and mechanic, and their personalities compliment one another to create a great duo.
“I’m very comfortable with Josh. We make a good team up front,” Hickerson said. “I’m stoked to be able to do this with one of my best friends and with Riot.”
Not only do they have confidence in one another, but also in the machine they will be racing. Daniel has been out testing with the truck and the team the past few weeks.
“The Riot truck has all the best stuff in it. The Geiser truck is one of the best trucks you can buy,” Daniel said.
Coming from a Class 1, Hickerson is very excited for his first opportunity to co-drive in a trophy truck. “Trophy Trucks are the best of the best in desert racing, especially with a team that’s established,” he said. “I’m on cloud nine and I can’t wait.”
With Vegas to Reno quickly approaching this Friday, Aug. 20, they are both excited and ready to compete.
“It’s a long, silty, dusty race. The first half is about trying to keep a good pace… and you start pouring it on in the end,” Daniel said. “I have a feeling there’s going to be about four or five teams in the hunt at the end. I think we can be one of them.”
- Tuesday August 17, 2010
- By Riot Racing
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Vision X Off Road, Pole Position Raceway to sponsor Riot Racing for 2010-2011
Riot Racing is proud to announce Vision X Off Road and Pole Position Raceway as its new sponsors for the 2010-2011 season. The team is very excited to begin its partnerships with these companies that are both well respected in the racing community. With their resources, support and enthusiasm behind the team, Riot is expecting to continue its success as it heads into the biggest race of the year on the US calendar, Vegas to Reno on Aug. 20, 2010.
“We’re looking forward to sharing our successes with Vision X and Pole Position Raceway,” Marc Ewing, driver of the #68 Riot Racing trophy truck said.
Vision X, established in 1997, is one of the leading manufacturers of lighting systems in the world. With offices based in Washington and Arizona, its products are used across all seven continents. Vision X lighting is used in emergency and military vehicles, heavy equipment, public transportation, commercial vehicles, the mining industry and even on the NASA Lunar Rover.
Vision X is extensively used in the off-road racing community as well. Riot Racing for the 2010-2011 race series will be running the new Vision X 6.5 in. 50-watt lightweight composite body HID off-road light in both spot and Euro beam configurations.
Other race teams that are partners with Vision X include: Ballistic BJ Baldwin, Norman Motorsports, Jesse Jones, McBeath Brothers, Subaru Rally Team USA, LVDC, Wilson Brothers and McCallum Motorsports. In the past six years Vision X has worked with the top teams to provide the best quality product, whether its their new 50-watt composite body off-road HID lights or the new EVO-Prime 10-watt LED bars. More information on Vision X’s partners and products is available on their Web site, http://www.visionxusa.com.
“We at Vision X Off Road strategically align ourselves with teams that are cutting edge in the off-road industry. After looking into what Riot Racing has going on over the past years, as well as their tremendous track record, we thought it would be a perfect fit for both parties,” Joe Biro, national sales manager, off-road division of Vision X said of sponsoring Riot Racing. “We, as a lighting manufacturer, know we can get them to the podium!”
“In the short time that Riot has spent with the staff at Vision X we feel very confident that we will be using the best, most cutting edge products available in off-road racing. We’re looking forward to a long and lasting relationship,” Harvey Knapp, development manager at Riot Racing said.Also joining ranks with Riot is Pole Position Raceway in Las Vegas, a state-of-the-art karting facility that the Riot crew and other desert racing fans enjoy as their own racing entertainment. Their high-performance electric European karts can hit 45 mph as they navigate through the exhilarating fourth of a mile road course in a climate-controlled environment. They accelerate faster and handle better than any other indoor competition kart in the world, according to their Web site, and they are only found at Pole Position Raceway. These quality features combine to help make Pole Position Raceway one of the fastest growing companies in the sport.
“Pole Position Raceway is a business that means a lot to Riot Racing because we love to use their facilities and let off steam after a long stressful day of testing or racing in the desert. Their facilities are incredible, and it’s a great environment for the team to let loose and practice their skills while having a bit of fun,” Knapp of Riot Racing said.
Pole Position Raceway, founded in 2005, has five tracks open seven days a week. They have two Las Vegas valley locations, two tracks in southern California, one in Oklahoma and another facility will open before the end of the year in New York. P2R Karting, Inc., the company that franchises Pole Position Raceway, is currently working to create a network of 20-plus tracks.“Pole Position Raceway is excited to be a partner with Riot Racing,” said Kirk Babbington, sales manager at Pole Position Raceway in Las Vegas. “We feel it is a natural fit as Pole Position Raceway is the nation’s premier indoor kart facility and Riot Racing is one of the most technological and innovative operations in desert off-road racing.”
“Riot Racing strives to make its fans feel like they are a part of our team during races by using the latest in technology. Pole Position Raceway has already achieved this sense of involvement through their facility and attention to detail on the track,” Knapp of Riot Racing said. “With Vision X and Pole Position Raceway on board with the Riot crew we can be assured the future is bright both in and out of the desert.”
Riot Racing is making its final preparations for the nearly 600-mile Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno race this Aug. 19 to 21. Currently second in the Best in the Desert championship standings, Riot understands that the importance of this race to the team cannot be denied. Riot thanks their sponsors BF Goodrich, F&L Racing Fuel and Geiser Bros for their continued support. Fans can follow Riot leading up to the race on Twitter, http://twitter.com/riotracing, and read the latest news and watch the pre-race videos on Riot’s Web site, http://www.riotracing.com.
http://www.visionxusa.com
http://www.polepositionraceway.com
http://riotracing.com
http://twitter.com/riotracing- Tuesday July 27, 2010
- By Riot Racing
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Riot Racing takes second place at Silver State 300
Trucks clamored into the Alamo Truck Stop early Saturday morning awaiting the Bilek Silver State 300. After a long drive from the shop in Henderson that morning, the crew stopped for breakfast. Ira Conn, the co-driver, shoveled down the biscuit and gravy supreme breakfast at the Windmill Ridge Restaurant. Confident and full, they finished up and met with Rick Geiser and his Geiser Bros crew to begin the pre-race prep in the staging area.
Vehicles lined up behind the station for what proved to be an anti-climatic start. The trucks were escorted six miles out through an environmentally sensitive area to a remote start area. The Riot team wished them good luck and set off to their designated pits.
The first sighting of the truck was at pit one. Riot blew through the straightaway casting a could of dust over the crowd. At pit two, two cars pitted ahead of the truck, so the pit chief instructed #68 to head straight through and plan to stop at Pit 3 and 4 to splash gas. Everyone knew how critical pit strategy was in this 300 mile point to point race.
“Pit wise we were just playing it by ear where to pit for track position,” Rick Geisier, the stand-in driver for Marc Ewing said. “That all worked out really good for our pit strategy.”
The truck held strong through pits three and four and the crew was gathering at 5 for the full-service stop. They anxiously awaited Riot’s roll into Caliente. Riot was spotted along the tree line. “Here they come!” Tools in hand, the crew members got into position. The truck rolled to a stop and the guys pounced on the truck at full force, changing out the two rear tires and filling it up with gas. Before they knew it all hands were up and the truck was off in 34 seconds.
“I didn’t even know they changed rear tires because they changed so fast and it seemed like everything went so smooth,” Geiser said.
Geiser believes that the pit strategy gave Riot an edge at this race.
“It was a textbook day. All our pits were right on. We got quick splashes. The fuel pit was awesome,” said Sammy Zaranti, a Riot mechanic.
At that point the crew calculated that Riot was in third place and 10th overall. The truck was running well and they began counting down the miles to the finish.
Meanwhile, Rick Geiser and Ira Conn said they were having a blast together in the #68. “When you’re racing out there your going 100 miles plus and Ira pops up, ‘This is beautiful scenery. Look at this look this at that.’ That keeps a little of the fun in it,” Geiser said. “We kept on cruisin’ and movin’ forward and made it to the pits and did what we had to do.”
“The imagination shown in creating the course was great, and the diversity of the surroundings was unlike any other event,” Ira Conn, co-driver said. “I really look forward to doing that race again.”This was Ira’s first time co-driving for Rick in a race. “Riding with Rick was a blast, I learned a lot riding with him,” Conn said.
In addition, Rick said not only was this a learning experience for the co-driver, but for him as well. “Nobody’s ever read a GPS like that before riding with me… I would have never thought that me being in this for 30 years (that) this guy’s going to help me on the GPS,” Geiser said. “It put me up one more level, him riding with me.”
After peeling out of Pit 5 it was the final stretch to the finish and everyone was eager to beat the truck there and witness the finale. Pedal to the floor, streaming down the hills, the crew watched as the truck’s speed hit the high 90s on the IonEarth tracking PDA. Hopes perked as the finish was in reach and a strong one at that. Riot chase vehicles pulled into the finish just in time. Crew members trekked up a hill where you could see the truck squeeze through the mountains. Riot came hurling down the hill and around the final corner, the tail end spilling out just enough to kick up some celebratory dust before blowing through the finish.
The crowd of spectators screamed with excitement, and a sigh of relief came over the crew as Riot passed under the Best in the Desert banner and the checkered flag. The truck drove up onto the podium and everyone’s smiles grew as Riot’s second place finish in the trophy truck class became a reality.
“I think it’s exciting for everybody, not only for us driving, but the team, the car, owner the guys that prepped it, the guys that gave it gas and on and on,” Geiser said.
Steve Sourapas, Andy McMillin, Rick Johnson and Clyde Stout all congratulated Rick on the great race. The Riot crew was very proud of Rick and Ira’s finish and the truck’s performance overall.
“I’d call the truck flawless,” Zaranti said. “We could have washed it off and done another 1,000 miles. No issues at all, no problems with the tires, no flats. You couldn’t ask for much more.”
This was Zaranti’s first race as a part of the Riot Racing crew along with a few other new faces, including Mike Lucey, Jerry Walker, and Steve Sloan, who have all worked together for the last month prepping Riot’s new vehicle for this vital race.
“I think you have a top notch team with good people (who) are excited about racing,” Geiser said.
“We got a great team and a great group of guys and everybody puts in their effort and it shows,” Zaranti added.
Now with a strong finish in the books for the Riot team, they are already gearing up for their next race venture.
“Second place was a good confidence booster. Now you look forward,” Jordan Poole, a Riot crew member said.
The next Best in the Desert Race for Riot will be Vegas to Reno, which will be another chase race. Hopefully the lessons Team Riot has learned in the Silver State 300 will contribute to successful chemistry for the next race in the series this August. Keep up with the latest Riot news and watch videos from Silver State 300 at http://www.riotracing.com.
Fans can watch the preview video for the Silver State 300 here.
- Thursday April 29, 2010
- By Riot Racing
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Riot to start fifth in trophy trucks, 13 overall at Silver State 300
As the crew drove up to Apex Thursday afternoon for time trials dark clouds hovered over the mountaintops. Driving into the grey mist everyone’s confidence remained high. Riot had strong faith in the truck that is a month in the making and their stand-in driver, Rick Geiser. A little rain wouldn’t dampen their spirits.
Shortly before the pre run the clouds finally dissipated and the sun came out to greet the spectators. Jets flew overhead from the nearby Nellis Air Force Base as the trucks lined up before a magnificent view at the start.
Rick pushed the truck off the line moving swiftly in the long downhill straightaway decked out with whoops. The three-mile course was very tight, starting off hard packed and shifting to more of a soft, silty texture. The truck only reached high gear once and then quickly Rick shifted back down to second.
“We didn’t blow any turns. We didn’t screw up. I thought we pushed pretty hard,” Rick Geiser said about the run. “I think we did really good. We will be in a good starting position.” Riot placed thirteenth overall and is the fifth trophy truck starting in Saturday’s race.
With time trials under their belt, the crew has their eyes and minds set on race day. Friday will be packed with Contingency and Technical Inspection at the Aliante Casino and Hotel in North Las Vegas. Riot will be there selling their new t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats. By 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Alamo the real fun will begin.
The first 100 miles of the course will consist of track similar to grated roads that will create a fast running pace. “We need to keep track position,” Rick said of Riot’s strategy for the race. “We’re probably going to push very hard the first 100.” Those miles and pit strategy will be critical for Riot to make a strong finish. The next 200 miles become very tight and technical, making it more difficult to pass. Still, Silver State will be very exciting and action packed from start to finish.
While this course will be challenging, Rick is excited to be a part of it with Riot Racing. “I was already coming to help out at the races, and to drive the (Riot) truck and qualify put the icing on the cake.” As a builder of this truck he will be racing Saturday, Rick has confidence in its ability. “To drive one of our trucks that’s top notch and good, that makes it even better,” he said.
“I’m excited to drive for a good team and all the people that help.” Riot, as well, is thrilled to have Rick piloting their race vehicle for Silver State. It’s going to be a fun ride, and fans can track everything Riot on their Web site, http://www.riotracing.com.
- Thursday April 22, 2010
- By Riot Racing
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Riot readies for Silver State 300
Coming out of a rough ride at the Mint 400, Riot Racing has rebuilt and transformed its team for Best in the Desert’s next race. With new hands on board and the truck freshly prepped, the crew will head out to Alamo, Nevada this week hunting for a strong finish. Rick Geiser, of Geiser Brothers, will be piloting the #68 trophy truck this weekend to fill in for Marc Ewing, who is unable to attend due to air travel delays in Europe caused by volcanic eruptions in Iceland this past week. We are very grateful that Rick is stepping in and are excited to have him on board.
New to Riot’s crew is Sammy Zaranti from JS Pest Control Motorsports. He is now the lead mechanic on the trophy truck last raced at Parker 425. He brings with him a wealth of racing experience from a number of programs in the Las Vegas area. Also joining the team is Mike Lucey, a fabricator from Baldwin Motorsports, and Jerry Walker, a mechanic who has worked for a number of race teams. Steve Sloan came to Riot in February from Collins Motor sports and has been lead mechanic on the truck that will race at Silver State 300.
On Thursday, April 22, Riot will be prepped and ready for time trials. The team drew 18th for qualifying, and they hope to capitalize for a great start position on Saturday. Friday will kick off with contingency and technical inspection at 9:15 a.m. Riot will be there selling their new t-shirts, hats and sweaters. Come check our stuff out! By Saturday we will be ready to stage at 8:30 a.m. and roll off the line around 9:30 a.m. Silver State 300 is a point to point race, which creates a limited number of pit stops and makes every second count. Riot will need to be on the top of their game for this challenging, fast-paced and action-packed race.
Throughout the race fans can follow the team’s progress on http://www.riotracing.com where there will be live tracking provided by IonEarth and IRC. Video will be streamed live on Tracking International’s Web site on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at the start on race day. Look for Riot in the mix. Follow the team on twitter as well for the latest updates leading up to the race and on race day. Keep an eye out for Riot’s post-race videos, photos and news.
- Wednesday April 21, 2010
- By Riot Racing
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Mint 400 ends after 200 miles for Riot crew
Luck is a funny thing, sometimes hard or even impossible to find, but painfully obvious when it is present. As the Riot team waited our turn to run in the time trial for the Mint 400 starting position, we were not really thinking about luck. With a new truck, or next to new, freshly prepped by both Geiser Bros and our own team, confidence in the machine was high. The weather was cool and bright, and the SNORE team had put together a great loop for the trial that had a little bit of everything: high speed, potentially huge air, technical ridge top running and some molar chattering g-out chassis twisters.
After what seemed like a very long wait, #68 rolled up to the start box and got the green. Marc Ewing’s new machine exploded off the line and into the first straightaway like a scalded rabbit. With a conservative game plan for the jumps and the sketchy ridge line, the flatter sections were seeing no reservation at all. The lap fell away in a blink and as Marc charged down the last straight section. He yelled @#$%&* and the truck started to veer left. A marker stake jumped right up in front of the truck, and Marc yelled, “No STEERING!” He lifted and every warning light on the dash turned on. This was not good. The truck was quickly shut down and after a very quick chat Marc started the truck back up and moved it off the track.
Under the hood we found the crank pulley assembly lying below the motor and the drive belts for the oil pump, alternator and steering pump all spread around like Mardi Gras beads. Not a good look. Luck though, was there. This was not race day. Hard to imagine after multiple test sessions and the careful inspection by many skilled eyes that this had happened, but it was repairable. While starting 44th rather than somewhere in the top 20 was not as desirable, we were not stuck 15 miles into the rock garden on the race course thinking about all of the other places we could be. Luck.
Race morning came and after a long night that left all a little wanting for sleep we shuffled around the Riot camp with the usual list of pre-flight jobs to do. Laura Ahlquist rocked the griddle and hot pancakes with maple syrup and bacon for some unexpected comfort. After a long day of repairs at Kroyer Racing and then tech inspection at the last hour and then more thrashing at the Riot shop, the truck was ready and the team rolled it towards the staging area with high
hopes.The start came and the webbed clad truck rocked off the line and into the infield chicane. These first turns were no more than a blur and the desert opened up and the real course called for the ante. Miles three to nine were fast and fun with some high speed graded road, some wash action and a few road crossings. Then the coin dropped. The rock garden that rolled for the next 15 odd miles is hard to describe. Imagine a dry mountain riverbed with a single lane scratched out in it designed to give the racers a photo op of each large boulder. We passed a handful of vehicles either fixing flats or wisely picking their line at a less grinding pace. The hail of rocks coming into the cab as we closed on a couple of rigs was pretty impressive and a little scary as 10 pounders flew around like confetti. We tapped the #44 truck once or twice, and in a spot that was almost wide enough to pass we caught an unlucky bounce off of a rock on the front left and sort of side swiped the whole right side of their truck. Sorry, guys.
Eventually, we came out of the lunar mine field and into better running— this was short lived. With dust trails to chase #68 blasted into a straight section somewhere around mile 35 that at first glance looked like endless small whoops of high speed fun. The reality that was quickly revealed was a bit different. The interval between bumps was painfully short, the whoops were square-faced and every quarter mile or so a gotcha peek-a-boo truck flipper was hidden in the dust cloud like the mythical Halloween apple razor blade.
Marc charged on but had reported that the throttle had stuck on once or twice. Huh, that is not good. The sight of another truck’s dust will do wonders for forgetting about sketchy terrain. The track braided out into two or three pretty equal lanes with two rigs ahead of us in the far right lane. We took the left and caught up quickly. A moment after passing the other two a g-out appeared just ahead of us. Without time to really check up the truck compressed into the hole and launched out like a jack in the box on steroids and crack. Nose down and almost vertical with the throttle stuck wide open we both were damn sure the next part was going to hurt. Somehow though, Marc kept driving and with some violent correction as the ass end bounced side to side and in a second it was over and we were cruising through the desert again. Marc dialed the speed down for a minute and then poured the coal back on and started flying again. No sooner had the truck regained race pace when the exact same sequence played out a second time.
We were flying through the air, nose way down and really, really hoping that Marc could squeak it out again. He did. Cool. Maybe we should slow down…. Nah. The sticking throttle thing was a concern. We hailed Pit B and gave our Pit Captain Jeff Edwards as much information as we could. The guys in Pit B dove in and inspected everything they could think of and sprayed WD-40 on each link and ball joint between the pedal and the throttle body. They reported a hose that could have been causing a snag near the throttle body. This was zip tied out of the way, and we blasted out of the pit and into the back half of the course. The course alternated between hellishly rough to just flat and treacherous over the next 30 odd miles. The service road that followed under the power line would open up in straight sections just long enough to lure you into speeds, just big enough for a good pucker on the next loose hairpin turn with high stakes for blowing the turn in the form of a 150-foot drop on one side or the other for miles.
Between the throttle still sticking and a distinct feeling that the rear suspension was not quite right, a bit of the competitive ferocity had faded. Unable to predict the next crazy Ivan that the truck was going to throw, Marc dialed the volume down from 11
to about a six. We pitted at D for another inspection of the throttle and same intermittent sticking. The last 30 odd miles back into the main pit were long and down speed. Designed to absorb the dynamic energy of high-speed induced loads. the suspension
system was throwing us around like a rat in a terrier’s mouth at the slower pace. Reaching the main pit the crew hit the truck with everything they had and in a minute or two the truck was back out on the course and flying. Somewhere around mile six or seven the throttle stuck again for a second— just enough to keep the thought of it close to the front of Marc’s mind as he picked his way into the hellish rock garden. We ground through the waterless riverbed, and just before the end of the worst we tagged an erratic boulder that was big enough to take out the left rear tire. Marc carried on to the beginning of a wash before we stopped for a quick tire swap. Rolling again and glad to be out of the relentless rock pile, Marc started to stoke the speed.No sooner had we established a good pace when the throttle stuck wide open. Marc tried to pull the pedal up without success, and we spun out and stuffed up into a berm on the right side of the wash before the ignition could be ripped down to cut the motor. Stopped perpendicular to the course with the nose of the truck up on a bank and the rear end sticking out on the track was not a comfortable place to be while Marc feverishly worked to free up the gas pedal. In 10 seconds that felt quite a bit longer the linkage freed up and we started. Unable to go up the bank we had to back into the course and get moving forward fast. This spin out was a game changer mentally. Most of the other throttle-related events had been at mid range revs— this one was full bore. Pit A was not that far down the track, and we immediately hailed them to let them know we were inbound.
Entering the pit the thing stuck again causing us to overshoot the ready crew by about 100 yards. Marc stopped and we rolled upstream to the waiting pit, wanting to exit right way around we went to spin around before stopping. About two-thirds of the way through the turn the damn throttle stuck again and with people diving out of the way and Marc simultaneously standing on the brakes and trying to free up the pedal under his right foot we nosed into the open tailgate of another team’s support truck parked in the pit. Pretty scary for everyone both in and out of the truck. Darryl Putman and about four others worked intensely to sort out the gremlins in the linkage. Adding several return springs and replacing the existing ones with heavier versions seemed like the best option as nothing else looked obviously wrong. The guys gave us the thumbs up, buttoned the hood back up and sent us. Not 200 feet out the pit and it happened again. Marc hauled it back around for another look. After further inspection and the addition of another spring we were on course. The gas pedal could have had a Bowflex sticker on it as it required about 70 pounds of pressure to move the thing with all of the return springs pulling it up. This solution was not going to be a sustainable one. Working along to pit B was slow. Jeff and the others in B jumped back in. Marc hopped out to allow a more complete inspection of the area around the pedal and the linkage within the cab. A couple of new springs were removed and everything was hit with WD-40 again from stem to stern.
We rumbled back out onto the course just as the green Ashcraft TT #78 rolled through. Still down speed and questioning when the next convulsive burst of power was going to appear we humped along and put miles behind us. Pit C cheered and called for more speed as we passed them. The course between Pit C and D was a gyroscopic carnival of monster holes, steroid-grown moguls and ragged trenches of silt. Climbing up onto a narrow ridge without any really standout hits, the brake pedal went to the floor. Marc pulled back into first gear and pumped the brake like mad as we descended a 30 degree hill. Reeling the speed in as he found a bit of pedal, Marc hauled over and I hopped out. A quick glance showed brake fluid all over the left side of the rear axle housing. We repositioned the truck and I grabbed a cap out of the tool bag thinking we had just torn a brake line. Crawling under for a closer look and to throw the cap on I realized that our problem was bigger than just a torn line. The left track rod was broken exactly in the middle. I worked to wire the two ends away from other things they would damage as they flogged around, and Marc radioed in to Pit C/D and explained the trouble. With no rear brakes and the back end flopping back and fourth like a fish that had met the priest we hobbled in to Pit D.
Jordan Poole, Todd Salazar, Graig Dickinson, Skylar Nielsen, Smitty and a few others all jumped in and started the work of swapping the track bar— not a common failure and definitely not a quick fix. Eventually, with the help of a boom truck from a neighboring crew the new rod went in and the truck was back on all four and sitting a little more squarely after about an hour and forty-five minutes. Still with no rear brakes we rolled back out onto the course. The two or three miles we rolled before reaching the pit after the rod had broken had hurt the sway bar link rods and had definitely caused some alignment issues in the rear end. Speed over 70 mph created a heavy vibration, and with no rear brakes the cornering was a bit spicier than normal. Traffic was pretty light on the last 30 miles to the main pit. We traded positions with BJ Baldwin as he passed us like we were parked, only for us to roll back over him as they changed a tire. Baldwin hunted us back down about four miles from main in another uncontested pass at speed.
Riot rolled back into main and the guys dove right in to address the brakes and a handful of other smaller jobs, but sadly we were done. Grossly out of the hunt for a finish that was not in the cheap seats and uncertain still about more than a few components, a brief meeting led to the decision to retire. The truck could have probably made it around the last 200 miles of course, but in an effort to manage the time on the engine and on a course that had already proven to be a complete wrecking yard the towel was tossed as damage control trumped completion.
- Wednesday April 14, 2010
- By Ira Conn
-
Update from IRC
Update from IRC: The #50 of Jason McNiel rolled over near pit B. #129 rolled over on their side in the course. Weatherman got a retrieval crew and got moving again. According to IRC, there have been some injuries, but nothing critical.
- Saturday March 27, 2010
- By Riot Racing
-
Current Mint 400 running order
8- Roger Norman
96- Bobby Baldwin by BJ Baldwin
71- Rick D. Johnson
170- Harley Letner
07- Bryce Menzies
100- T.J. Flores
124- Terry Householder
22- Damen Jefferies
24- Adam Householder
60- Michael Voudouris
125- Richard Boyle
65- Rusty Stevens
85- Scott Whipple
13- Edward Stout
41- George Rosenbaum
5- Todd Wyllie
107- Becky Wick (Leading Class 10)
39- Ron Whitton-Information provided by George Antill, Mint 400 announcer
- Saturday March 27, 2010
- By Riot Racing
-
Crank pulley failure ends qualifier for Mint 400
The crew awoke to a cool and windy morning in the pits and hustled out to the early time trial for the Mint 400. By the time they arrived at Apex, the sun began to break over the mountains and warmed the gathering crowd. The new Geiser built trophy truck was sporting its fresh graphics, the sunlight gleaming over the black finish detailed with white webbing across the panels. Riot had high hopes for its new addition to the team and was looking forward to a strong performance.
As they waited for their start, the team saw a lot of intense action on the pre run lap. Cameron Steele flipped his trophy truck end over end twice, and then barrel rolled a few times. Their truck frame was bent, and the co-driver seemed to have some injuries on his knees and elbows. About 10 minutes after Steele came back into the pits, the Potts trophy truck turned over on its side near the end of the practice lap. The truck was then pulled upright with a tow strap, and then it drove away seemingly unscathed. Two more buggies flipped before the finish as well.
Finally, Riot reached the start line after a long wait, peeling off the line and sounding fantastic. The truck disappeared past the line of spectators in cloud of dust, and everyone was hopeful. Minutes later, the truck reappeared on the crest of a hill. With all eyes on it, Riot came thundering down with a long stream of dust floating behind, everything looking great. As it approached a turn, a sharp snap sounded and suddenly the truck slowed and pulled off the course. According to the guys, Marc first felt the power steering go, and feared navigating the upcoming whoops. Warning lights had lit up inside the truck. Marc pulled over, turned off the engine and they climbed out of the truck to diagnose the problem. They found the crankshaft pulley that drives the power steering pump, oil pump and alternator laying in the engine compartment, three bolts that hold the cluster of pulley’s in place had sheared off. Our hopes of a good qualifying run were dashed. We packed up the truck and headed back to Kroyer’s to get the truck up and running for tomorrow’s race.
- Friday March 26, 2010
- By Riot Racing
-
SNORE Rage at the River
In a blur of a week the Riot crew had turned a thousand-point punch list into a handful of jobs as they eased the little convoy of race and chase vehicles down from the mountains and into the valley at Laughlin. With the still bitter taste of a mechanical failure limiting our success the prior weekend at the Henderson Desert Classic the team was determined to create a different outcome on this ground.
Early arrival gave us a choice spot to place our camp, right on the infield straightaway with a commanding view of all the action. Immediately upon arrival we began assembling the hospitality suite. The frame went up easily enough, although the canopy proved to be a real trial in the 15 to 20 mph breeze that seemed to magically appear as the canopy came out of the bag. Eventually, we had it all together with carpet, heat and Christmas lights creating a nice atmosphere for the work left on the truck and in the days to come a view of high octane thunder only feet away.
Shortly after dark we made our way down to the hotel and joined the group of racers looking for the illusive meet and greet that SNORE was holding along with registration. After a couple of laps between the parking lot (34 degrees) and the lobby, it was determined that registration was the meet and greet and anyone who was tough enough to stand out in the parking lot could meet themselves.
Morning brought the drivers meeting which was held in a loose crowd around the start/finish line and was conducted from the back of a pickup. You have to love the SNORE style: no non-sense and completely adequate with room for some good color commentary. Aside from the usual safety and rule information, the meeting addressed the time trial which was to be run mid-day. The time trial was quite short, and rather than being run in a loop it was the first two miles +/- of the course in reverse. A lottery for start spots put us pretty close to the front of the TT and Class 1s. As we waited for our turn it was hard to not notice that the actual timing was not quite as scientifically controlled as one might hope for, but given the spread in the field this probably did not matter in all but one or two racer’s bids for start position.
Saturday, with all of our last-minute prep complete, we cruised to the line-up at the start to take our place alongside Robert Strunk’s #22 TT, and with Skylar Nielsen of VitaBrevisFilms overhead in a heli shooting video as we charged off the line. With the rev limiter pinging as Marc stoked the RWR-built demon under the hood we moved through the first half mile with the hordes on the hills cheering. The first test section on the track was a fourth mile of g-out whoops that followed a narrow ridge before spitting the trucks out into more open ground of the power line. #68 devoured the climb uphill in style, and within the first five miles of the race we were on the bumper of the #53 truck and looking for an opportunity to get by. The track stayed up on the hill for a mile or two before a puckering drop off delivered the trucks down about 150 feet to the track below.
At one point while chasing the #53 truck, a misread on a hard left resulted in a slide over a berm and a stalled motor, which cost a bit of time, but we reeled them back in before long. On #53’s heel is where we lived for the better part of four tough laps. We would charge into the choking hail of rocks and dust off of their ass only to be slowed by peek-a-boo g-outs and jumps that would send us into a series of linked recoveries just long enough for them to once again gain ground on us. The track did not offer that many spots for a clean pass and it seemed more and more certain as we gained and lost on #53 that the infield was going to be our passing zone.
As the infield strategy was developing, so was an increasing vibration in the back of the rig. We could not believe it. After the previous weekend’s troubles it was impossible to accept that the differential was taking itself apart again. With the format of the race there was no plan other than to go for it, so with the mental baggage of an exploding gear Marc bore down and drove the truck like a rental car. On the last lap after eating the dirt off the bumper of the #53 for 54 and a half miles we finally had our chance. With their truck’s right rear quarter exposed on the first button-hook turn in the infield Marc took the high ground and let them out of the turn clean despite my screams of “Hit the fuckers!” But this gave us great speed coming out of the turn, and with enough runway in the straightaway we caught and finally passed them, in the air no less, and right in front of our own cheering pit.
After the first day of racing we were third in class with six minutes to make up to Cameron Steele’s first. A long afternoon and evening of a differential exchange was a bit of a buzz kill in the Riot camp as the question loomed: How long will this one last? Despite tireless support and vigilant effort to remedy the issue, the Riot team and every bit of support from Gear Works still could not erase the plaguing doubt about the fifth third member in two weeks.
Day two of racing had us starting in the fourth flight off the line. We were lined up next to a class one #124, and they moved off the line a little faster than Riot, but became nothing more than a memory as soon as we hit the first section of g-outs in the now familiar loop. With time to find on the course and clear air ahead Marc screamed around the track in what would prove to be our fastest lap of the weekend.
In that first lap about two thirds of the way through we saw how quickly we were gaining on Ron Whitton’s G&R TT. With rekindled fury Marc hammered the now utterly torn-up, whoop infested, organ grinding highway to hades that the course had become. After about two miles of gain and loss we had an opening in the bottle-necked crucible of violence just before the infield. As we won the inside line on the last hard right Whitton slammed the door on the pass and we traded some paint. Again, despite my screams for blood, Marc showed his class by lifting and waiting rather than driving through the right side of Whitton’s pretty yellow truck. Blasting into the infield we hovered over the bumps in Fox Shock-induced invulnerability, and in a heartbeat we won the inside line on Whitton again and this time passed them cleanly. Our pit cheered loudly enough for us to hear them inside the truck as we passed the Riot camp.
Before we knew it the truck was flying up the power line again. This is where we felt the same old shit starting to emanate from the poisoned pumpkin again. Feeling it and also recognizing how well Marc was moving on the course I did not dare to even talk about it for fear of distraction. The second, third and fourth laps were much like the first with mostly clear air and a comfortable knowledge of the loop. The growls in the rear end of the truck, however, were not the same. The power line straightaway saw us moving at speeds approaching 100 mph earlier, and now with the truck completely wrung out in third it was making only 84 mph. With the same same list of options (none) we charged on and crossed our fingers for just 20 more miles out of this gear to capture a place on the podium. We had passed Cameron Steele parked on the side, and the reports from our pit had us clearly in first. Having passed Whitton all we had to do was maintain our position and finish. Another lap down and into the fifth and final lap, reports of Whitton being close on our heels caused us to hammer out of the start for the last time around. As Marc pushed up through the gears it was pretty clear we were in trouble. The differential sounded like a blender full of lug nuts. No speed build and then the death rattle of the pinion gear throwing whole teeth as the oil in the axle tube became expensive chunky ferrous chowder. Marc had the wisdom to rip the truck to the left just before it stopped in a convulsive screech. Game over. Whitton blasted past and I started swearing like an over-caffeinated Tourette’s victim in a cigarette burn contest.
Tough break and still impossible to accept, but with an incalculable number of things that can go wrong we had managed to have only one slow us down in the last 360 odd miles of racing between the two events. Even with the short turn around, the truck ran exceptionally well on a course that was wicked in every way. Marc drove his heart out and the desired results were so near. Finishing third in class despite the DNF on day two is pretty okay. The whole team worked hard, long hours leading into and during this race, and despite the failure being a bit out of anyone’s control it still made for a long and quiet ride home (except for the hose incident at the gas station leaving Laughlin).
- Wednesday January 27, 2010
- By Ira Conn
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F&L to Sponsor Riot for 2010
F&L Racing Fuel announced its sponsorship with Riot Racing for the 2010 race season. Riot Racing has used F&L fuel since the team’s start last year. F&L will supply SP1 — 111 octane fuel for the Riot trophy truck’s 750 horsepower engine throughout their SCORE, SNORE and BITD series races.
With over 30 years of experience, F&L is well-known and proudly used in the motor sports industry. They have fueled numerous overall winners of the SCORE Baja 1000 series as well as many other champions. They have a tremendous product that will reinforce Riot Racing’s bid for podium finishes at every event this year.
“F&L Racing Fuel/Amber Racing Services is proud to be a sponsor of Riot Racing for the 2010 season. We are excited to see what the future will bring!” Cristy Chavez of F&L Racing Fuel said.
Riot entered the off-road race scene last season at Parker 425 with a surprising seventh place finish. Years of grueling mountain climbing from Alaska to Patagonia gave Marc Ewing, #68’s team owner and driver, the grit to pound through rain and mud in conditions that 30-year, off road veterans called the worst they had ever seen. From there they vaulted through the rest of the season with enthusiasm and perseverance as Riot reeled in top 10 finishes. Met with challenge and hardship as they battled to establish a competitive race program, Riot Racing has proven resilient and will be a force in the 2010 season.
“We are very excited to start our 2010 race season, the addition of F&L fuel as a team sponsor is fantastic,” Marc Ewing said. “F&L supplies us with an excellent product that has proven itself to be consistent, and from our experience in testing and racing an overall superior fuel. Thanks to everyone a F&L! See you in the desert!”
Riot’s debut in the 2010 season will be at the Parker 425, and their eyes are already set on the podium. Their presence at events will be an easy one to spot with the 2,000 square foot hospitality suite and a new communications trailer with live satellite uplink streaming media and tracking information throughout race events. Fans can follow the Riot team at http://www.riotracing.com, which is constantly updated via twitter, videos, photos and the latest news.
http://www.fandl.com
http://www.riotracing.com
http://www.ionearth.com
http://www.twitter.com/riotracing- Monday January 18, 2010
- By Marc Ewing
-
BITD 2010 Henderson Fabtech Desert Classic
Marc Ewing – Driver
Ira Conn – Co-driverIf midnight mechanical thrash sessions and an unexpected major component replacement are a good way to practice days before and during a race, then Team Riot has been to Olympic boot camp and back in preparation for and during the Fabtech 400. Despite the setbacks, #68 charged into the race and started reeling in the competition from the flash of the green at the start. Casey Folks crafted a signature serpentine switchback fest off of the line that put Marc’s truck into bicycle mode for half a breath at the start. This peek at the shiny side pulled a cheer out of the crowd as the truck came back on all fours and charged off. The first lap was a blast as the course unfolded to reveal devilishly toothy technical sections with violent g-outs, miles of corkscrew berms and wide open runways with Marc’s right foot trying to push the fun pedal through the firewall.
Flying through the pits the Riot went into the second lap with a fierce pace and growing familiarity as the previously unseen portions of the course now were woven with the areas that had shaped many practice sessions earlier in the year (albeit backwards). A third of the way around we caught our first glimpse of yellow as the Zorba TT #60 bounced through the green hell of a lunar scape that formed the track. There is nothing like having a bunny to chase and the fluorescent fenders of that truck called out like a taunting lighthouse. We quickly started to gain ground, and in the course of a few minutes our two trucks were separated by less than a hundred yards. Just as we entered the heavier dust in Zorba’s wake an unsettling vibration began to rumble from the rear end of our truck. As we confirmed the vibration a class one car slammed into the left rear quarter hard enough to slide us sideways. In the dust cloud visibility was terrible and seeing the class one we charged after it realizing a moment later that in the impact the buggy had spun out also and neither of us was on course or certain of where the track was. We re-oriented ourselves, took a hard right and steamed back into the battle with a fresh dose of adrenaline and a temporary distraction from the growing vibrations in the truck.
Between the short side trip off the track with the class one and the increasing drag in the driveline the Zorba TT had done a horizon job on us, and a quick inspection stop was in order. A cursory glance showed no obvious impact related damage, nor did the rear brakes look like they were melting off. This along with a very recent similar vibration narrowed the trouble to the differential. Bad. Hammering as hard as we could we finished the second lap and pitted for fuel and a drive line diagnostic investigation. Before the truck was even stopped, Braxton Southwick, crew chief for #68, dove under the back end to inspect the third member and instantly received a backwards brand reading Tubeworks on the palm of his hand as the blistering pumpkin quickly confirmed a new diff had to go in. All hands ripped into the trouble with electric intensity and in 38 minutes the Riot charged back onto the course with a new gear and jaws clenched in the determination to try and run the clock back with a go for broke attitude.
As we neared the last quarter of the third lap the track opened into braided whoop-filled lines that crisscrossed for a couple of crazy miles providing some exciting passes and a break from the hellish fog-like cloud that enveloped us as the moonless night closed in. Ripping towards the pit, an intermittent warning light and high coolant H20 temperature on the Race Pack data screen caused concern enough to make a fast inspection of the cooler cores and cap. All visuals and hand-felt temps seemed okay, so we charged along and cruised into the fourth and final lap. With little traffic to disrupt the visibility the now familiar loop was disappearing under the truck in record time. Three-fourths of the way around Marc passed a few slower rigs, and in the final whoop infested straightaway hauled in a class one with only feet to spare before the medians of house sized boulders closed the passing zone to the finish. We finished just 11 seconds behind the Nunley’s, which put us in 10th for class and 31st overall. Despite the setback of the tortured differential, Team Riot was happy with the way #68 ran, and given the simple math of the long pit we hope that Marc Ewing’s Riot is going to be a truck to try and catch in the coming year.
- Thursday January 14, 2010
- By Ira Conn
-
Riot Racing’s First Race of 2010
Team Riot will charge into the new decade February 4th to 7th in Parker, Ariz. at the Best in The Desert Blue Water Resorts and Casino Parker 425. Last year, Marc Ewing and the Riot team had their debut at the Parker 425 and battled through rain and cold temperatures to finish 7th in the Trick Truck class. This year we hope to continue to improve on our results. With new Crew Chief Braxton Southwick and new Co-Driver Ira Conn, Marc expects to be finishing on the podium this year!
Everyone on the team is busy preparing: prepping the truck, making new modifications, assembling and outfitting new support vehicles, creating a whole new graphic look, improving the website, and planning the year’s schedule. In a few days we will be back on the dirt for the first time this year to prerun the Parker course. We are all anxious for the season to start!
This year we are planning a number of new and exciting ways for fans to follow the Riot team throughout the year. With more action photos, videos, twitter updates, audio reports and advanced race tracking than any other off-road race team, fans will feel closer to the action than ever before. Visit http://www.riotracing.com and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on all things Riot.
- Wednesday January 6, 2010
- By Marc Ewing
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Schedule Change
Well, this is a drag. Due to what we believe were permitting issues, the SNORE Midnight Special race was moved to about a week before the BITD Vegas to Reno race. Given that we are going for BITD series points, it just doesn’t make sense for us to risk the truck at the Midnight race with so little time to prep before the Vegas to Reno.
I’m bummed because the SNORE people put on a great race at the Mint 400, and I was looking forward to another one. But we’ll just get a lot of driving in, and we’ll have the truck in great shape for the big race.
- Thursday May 28, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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New Photos and Videos
If you haven’t looked in a while, there are a bunch of new photos and videos up from the Terrible’s 250. Check it all out here:
http://riotracing.com/races/view/terribles_2501/
Also, we had a fun testing and just playing around session in Salt Lake City last weekend. There are some good photos and a video up:
- Thursday May 21, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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Two Races Added to Schedule
Just added to the schedule:
SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300, September 11th to 13th
SNORE 250, October 2nd to 4th- Thursday May 7, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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B.O.R.E. Wendover Update
WIth a giant front bearing down on us in Utah, we decided late the night before the race that we would not make the 2 hour trek to the racecourse. Instead, if the weather improved, we’d find a place locally and try to get some driving in. That didn’t happen either. Instead we spent the day with the photographers and videographers that worked at the Terrible’s 250 and had a look at a very quick edit they threw together. The heli footage is so cool to see, and if that video is what they can do in hurry-up mode, then the final product is going to be awesome. We also spent time filming a little tour of the race truck and hopefully we’ll have that ready to put on the site in a couple weeks.
- Thursday May 7, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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New Race Just Added to Schedule
We just recently decided to do a race run by a smaller grass roots organization called Bonneville Off-Road Racing Enterprises. The race is Saturday, May 2nd in Wendover, NV, which is about 1 hour 45 minutes west of Salt Lake City.
The truck is in great shape from the Terrible’s 250, so we plan to just dust it off, change the oil and go. Or something close to that. Harvey and I will fly in to SLC Friday afternoon (hopefully in time to go karting!) and we’ll get up early Saturday morning to make it to the race. Probably we’ll be driving the truck off the trailer right to the starting line…
Supposedly this race is about a 40 mile loop, and we’ll go 5 times for a total of about 200 miles. Since this is not a BITD points race and we are just doing it to get seat time, I’m hoping to get Harvey and TJ in the truck for at least a lap.
We will still attempt to send Twitter updates and photos and will hopefully have some good stories from the ride-alongs.
- Wednesday April 29, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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Terrible’s 250 at Primm Info
The next race is nearly here! The SLC crew has the truck back together, with a new motor and transmission, and reportedly it is faster than ever! As we do each race we are slowly getting our act together as far as getting information out. This race we will have both Ira and Harvey sending live updates via Twitter, including photos. Also this time hopefully our IRC tracking will be working so you can see the progress of the trucks around the track.
This will be our first race where we plan to “qualify”, which means we will run a short lap of a few miles to determine our starting position. Qualifying is Thursday around 12:30pm, and we will be sending updates as that progresses. The race itself is Saturday also in the early afternoon.
If you haven’t already, you may want to sign up for twitter and turn on device updates to your phone, which will cause you to receive all our twitter updates via text message. A great way to follow the race while not sitting in front of a computer.
http://www.twitter.com/riotracing
Course map:
http://www.bitd.com/images/stories/pdfs/terribles250/maps/Map-2009PrimmT250racer.pdf- Wednesday April 15, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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Mint 400 Report
The Mint 400 was 4 laps of about 100 miles through the Valley of Fire, north of Las Vegas. The race started at 7am, with the trophy trucks starting first, 30 seconds apart. We were 7th in line for the start. After pretty long days on Thursday and Friday for the pre-run, fan-fest, contingency and tech inspection, we were a bit rushed on race morning, but managed to get everything together and get in line with a few minutes to spare.
Things got interesting immediately as about 2 miles out of the start was what seemed like a few miles of silt. The dust cloud sitting over this area made it pretty exciting, but we made it through without incident. Our first lap continued on quite well (I think it ended up our fastest lap), but with two exciting moments. First, about on hour in, we hit a rise awkwardly, kicking the back end up to just this side of going end over end. After staring straight down at the ground for a second the back returned to the ground, and then we came fairly close to rolling. With some luck we managed to get things straight and continue on.
Our second bit of excitement came only a few minutes later when we hit a large sandy whoop, augering in pretty hard and causing our hood to basically explode off the truck. As luck would have it, there were a bunch of photographers around and they got some great photos of the action. The rest of the lap was fairly uneventful, relatively. At various times we appeared to be in 5th place.
The pit stops and second and third laps all went smoothly. Our pace was about the same, if slightly slower that the first lap, and we still hovered in the 5th to 7th place range. As the race went on and the course got rougher and rougher, both Tony and I were remarking on how incredibly the truck performed and how happy we were not have any flats! The one item of note is how bad I was at making hairpin turns at 20mph through the pits! Each time I pretty much trashed the berms and nearly ran over all the equipment in the neighboring bit areas. I’m sure no one was happy about it, but was pretty entertained watching the idiot in the trophy truck!
The fourth and final lap, as with the the others, ran straight into the silt bed. This time the visibility was so bad, we eventually decided we should try to edge out to the right and see if we could peek out of the cloud. I did, and no sooner did the could clear up then we saw a giant ditch in front of us. We flew into it, hitting the other side violently, launching the truck up out of the ditch and about 20 feet into another ditch, where we came to rest. Our final resting place was nearly three feet deep and almost perfect trophy truck size. After a few stunned moments, we determined we were OK, but we weren’t getting the truck out easily.
A couple guys who were walking nearby, having worked on getting another truck unstuck, stopped to help. They were super nice and helpful, digging for about 30 minutes and changing our exploded front wheel. Still we couldn’t get out under our own power. TJ, Ira and Jeff drove to the close point on the highway and hiked in about a mile and a half carrying food, water, a jack and other stuff to try to help out. Was great to see them, but we still weren’t getting out without a tow. Eventually, Jamie came by in the rescue truck and pulled us out. According to her she’d never in all her years of racing seen a truck in such a spot.
By the time we got undone we had lost about 2 hours. We were a bit banged up, and there was a small crack in the frame and a possible bend. Probably we and the truck could have made it around our last 97 miles or so, but this was not a Best in the Desert points race and I decided we should call it a good day while we were still in a spot where we could get off the course easily.
Despite not finishing and having a few questions about the truck (with a short prep window before the Terrible’s 250!) we all had a great time, and I definitely learned a lot. We were running really well and within striking distance of a top 5 finish, so we’re pretty happy with that. Hopefully we’ll take what we learned and do even better in our next race, including finishing!
- Thursday April 2, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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Follow Riot on Twitter!
During the Mint 400 we will be sending updates out via Twitter. Check us out at http://www.twitter.com/riotracing starting at about 6am Pacific Time.
- Friday March 27, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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New Parker Videos Up
Three new videos up today.
First video, put together by Harvey with music and everything, has footage from the end of the race, and a little stuff from the Henderson test sessions. Check it out!
The next two videos we didn’t make, and don’t have the Riot in them (except for a short spectacular sequence in the Mud Bog video), but they are very cool. They show some of the horrendously wet and muddy conditions from the last lap of the race. The in-car footage is particularly interesting as it give you an idea of how much stuff was dumping into the car on a regular basis. Check them out: Man Over Board and Mud Bog.
- Tuesday March 3, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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New Photos
Two new galleries up: Mint Prep, and Parker Contingency.
- Saturday February 28, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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The Beginning
Over the Summer of 2008 I had shoulder surgery, which laid me up for many weeks. In that time I decided we should drag out a old RC car that Henry had sitting on a shelf in the garage for a few years and see if we could make it work. We did, and it was pretty darn fun. At least, more fun than sitting around on the couch waiting for my shoulder to heal. We ended up buying a few more cars and racing them around the back yard, making a complete wreck of the landscaping.
In mid-October there was a hobby expo in the Chicago area, and Traxxas, the makers of the RC cars we were running, was exhibiting there. So I went along with the kids. Turns out that Traxxas sponsors a Pro-2 (I think) off road racing truck and they had brought one to the show. It was an incredible piece of machinery. Let’s just say the security lady had to drag me away at the end of the show.
I decided I’d had enough of the RC cars and needed to look into the real thing. As it happens, an old friend of Harvey’s, Tony, was a long-time off-road enthusiast. So we all ran off to Vegas in early December to watch the Fabtech Desert Classic and learn a little more about it all. Well, the first time a trophy truck flew by us at 80+ MPH like 15 feet away, that was it. First hook in.
A couple weeks later we were all in Phoenix to meet up with Rick Gieser, builder of the best Trophy Trucks around, to learn some more and get a ride in one of these things. It was kind of wet from rain the previous day, but Rick, awesome guy that he is, took me out anyway in a truck he was prepping in his shop. It was unbelievable – I just couldn’t understand how the truck was able to do the things it did. It really seemed to defy all my understanding of vehicles and physics. Second hook.
The next day we met up with Todd Wyllie at his shop. He had his Gieser truck for sale and we were going to go for a ride. Todd is a great driver and he took us for a very cool run that included my first jump. I sort of braced for impact, but the suspension on those trucks is so amazing, I couldn’t even sense the transition from air to ground. Really amazing. After the run Todd turned to me and asked, “Do you want to take it for a drive?” I kind of looked around like “who me?” and was a bit nervous about driving someone else’s truck having never driven one before, but of course I said yes. It took a bit of getting used to the way these things are set up – shifting with no clutch, left foot braking, etc, but I eventually got the nerve up to get the thing into the 60s, which was certainly way faster than I’ve ever driven anything off the pavement. And that was it – the third and final hook. I had to do this. I bought the truck.
- Thursday February 26, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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Welcome
Keep your browsers pointed here for news and great photos and video of Riot, the #68 Trophy Truck, as we work through our very first racing season. We intend to do all the Best in the Desert races, and a few others as well.
- Tuesday February 10, 2009
- By Marc Ewing
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