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Article by: Bart Jacobs
Photography by: John Foutz

Extreme was the word of the weekend as extreme temperatures and extreme courses ruled the 3rd event of the 2002 RCAA (Rock Crawler Association of America) series held in Cedar City, Utah, July 12th and 13th. Phil Collard again proved he is a master course designer in extreme off road events, getting every team way out of their comfort zone, and pushing rigs and technology to their limits.

The obstacles at Cedar City were set up to throw competitors out of their comfort zone. That's 4x4Wire Jeep Staffer Bart Jacobs (second from the left) and Jeep Section Editor Terry Howe (far right) running hard.

Ken Shupe, teaming up with Moose Nalley, managed what no other team has done this year, to beat the team of Mike Shaffer and Lance Clifford, who finished second but still hold first place overall in the 2002 RCAA series. Last year's #1 team of Currie and Waggoner had a solid first day and a strong second day to take third place overall in Cedar City. John Gilleland managed to overcome a bad first day and post a second day score of -19, tying Shupe for the low score of the day, and finished in fourth. Jason Bunch broke into the top 10 by claiming a 5th place finish. Jeff and Scott Price had their first top 10 RCAA event finish, coming in 6th. Don Robbins, Tracy Jordan, Walker Evans, and Curt Hildebrand completed the top 10 respectively.

Noticeably missing from the top 10 were Jason Paule and Joel Randall, who were sitting 2nd and 3rd overall after Vernal. Jason had a tough first day but managed to come back on Saturday to finish 11th, moving him to back to 4th place overall. Joel fought mechanical problems and overheating all weekend, finishing 15th for the weekend and moving him to 5th in the series. Another crowd favorite, Rich Hudson and Steve Jones, were not only missing from the top ten, but were MIA the entire weekend. Hopefully this was just for Cedar City, but according to a source close to Rich, it may be ongoing. If this is true they will be missed.

Phil has done a great job building courses that continue to challenge teams. He has built 42 unique courses over the past three years in the Three Peaks area alone. Word on the grapevine is that RCAA will give the Cedar City, Utah and Farmington, New Mexico venues a break next year. The rumor mills have mentioned possible replacement sites such as Reno, Nevada and other sites in Arizona, and South Dakota. What ever is decided, a strong recommendation from this competitor would be not to do Cedar City in July ever again.

As these photos illustrate, the action was red hot during the Cedar City event.

The series this year is taking on a whole new look and feel. Not just the name change to RCAA, but the technology and teams are evolving. This is inevitable as the sport progresses and the courses become harder. Compare the rigs today with those just three years ago, and well, there really is no comparison. Teams are already in the process of taking what they've learned this year, and designing new rigs, or at least major modifications for next year.

But hey, let's not jump way ahead of ourselves. There's still the RCAA season finale coming up in Johnson Valley, California, on September 20th and 21st. It's going to get radical and even more extreme as teams push the limits again, not only for the event, but for the final series points and places. With Shaffer only 14 points ahead of Shupe, and Gilleland not far behind, nothing is sewn up yet. Anything can, and probably will happen. It's going to be wild!

click here: PHOTO GALLERY

Place	Rig Number	Team Name	Friday	Saturday	Total
1	30	Shupe, Ken	23	-19	4
2	6	Shaffer, Mike	46	-1	45
3	1	Currie/Waggoner	38	30	68
4	5	Gilleland, John	94	-19	75
5	204	Bunch, Jason	48	46	94
6	136	Price, Jeff	35	82	117
7	2	Robins, Don	109	10	119
8	112	Jorden, Tracy	45	75	120
9	20	Evans, Walker	83	39	122
10	26	Curt Hildebrand	75	47	122
11	3	Paule, Jason	83	43	126
12	208	Guthrie, Mitch	60	108	168
13	41	Copsey, Charlie	62	117	179
14	212	Peterson, Matt	59	121	180
15	4	Randall, Joel	68	121	189
16	34	Liljiblaad, Ian	120	78	198
17	36	Durham, Chris	93	108	201
18	238	Barber, Drew	144	64	208
19	115	Lillard, Neil	86	131	217
20	141	Bart Jacobs	123	112	235
21	10	Ellis, Randy	-1	238	237
22	54	Nantz/Bonney	124	119	243
23	245	Forenbaher, Chris	194	53	247
24	58	Le Baron, Ted	167	83	250
25	256	Standish, Jay	136	123	259
26	40	Harmuth, Mike	185	79	264
27	235	Terry Howe/Lazzelle	152	112	264
28	155	Casanueva, Eddie	139	136	275
29	8	Campbell, Shannon	157	127	284
30	258	Hall, John	178	123	301
31	139	Weaver, Mike	186	118	304
32	262	Bailey, Mike	120	195	315
33	242	Hamilton, Bryan	151	172	323
34	261	Boehmer, Dan	90	235	325
35	257	Wooley, Matt	170	163	333
36	205	Campbell, Kerry	262	80	342
37	230	Rowlette, Bill	161	189	350
38	49	Burket, Matt	250	119	369
39	248	McClure, Joel	157	214	371
40	46	Wilson/Harris	177	215	392
41	222	McCullen, Todd	201	201	402
42	142	McNeil, Curtis	142	260	402
43	247	Tidwell, Gary	133	280	413
44	251	Gadsen, Scott	151	280	431
45	59	Off/Werkmeister	170	280	450
46	140	Brown, Dan	268	185	453
47	32	Sisson, Garrett	202	280	482
48	119	Palmer, Mike	225	280	505
49	236	Nilsen, Jan	280	238	518
50	133	Johnson, Brandon	246	278	524
51	211	Bulloch, Amy	280	249	529
52	244	McCullen, Jack	262	280	542
53	240	Feldt, Brannon	271	280	551
54	260	Gremilian, Pat	274	280	554
55	225	Johnson, Casey	280	280	560
56	221	Baucum, Jeff	280	280	560
57	249	Christensen, Ron	280	280	560

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