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| Phoenix, AZ - March 2000 | Short Cuts | ||||
| by: Josh Lowenstein, edited by: Randy Burleson |
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Course Two Phoenix 2000 ARCA
CLICK HERE to go back to the coverage of Stages 1-4.
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| "Jeepman" Jones tries to pull Rich Hudson's Jeep up Stage 5. Joshua Lowenstein |
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Stage 5
Stage 5 was the granddaddy to Course Two for pure nuttiness and crowd appeal. The stage consisted of a square boulder about 15 feet on each side with a split in the middle like lightning had cracked it. The object was to climb up and through that massive V and get straight down the other side -- all within 5 minutes. If it was not for Farmington Jeep-builder, trail guru, and ARCA official Jim Peterson winching all the rigs that had "planted" themselves deep into that massive crack, they would still be there today.
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| Don Robbins loses his battle with his FJ40 power steering (42" rubber can have that effect). Joshua Lowenstein |
For the rigs that could get up this obstacle without high-centering, getting lined up to go down the other side was the biggest battle. Don Robbins' FJ40 with 42" Swampers and front and rear Dana 60s crawled the massive V and began the descent down the other side only to have his steering box up and decide to quit turning right. With the tires now firmly turned to the left, Dave Gore, his spotter, attempted in vain to push/pull the tires from what seemed to be the intentional grip of the rocks, but they timed out on this stage. Several others got up on top of the rock only to get badly high-centered in the rocks protruding from the wedge.
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| Check out the twist of Mike Palmer's axles. Joshua Lowenstein |
Mike Palmer from Denver told his spotter Greg Noss, "Don't stack any rocks yet, I want to try it without." After 2 rock-jamming throttle-twisting crowd-screaming unsuccessful attempts, Mike jumped out of his Jeep and he and Greg filled the hole at the base (as everybody else had done before them) with rocks. With the excellent direction of Greg and a quick 6K of the aircraft 4.3 Vortec V6, Mike's dual-Dana 60 coil-over M38 flatty with 38" Swampers leapt up the rock and drove gently down the other side with a score of only seven points.CLICK HERE for more pictures from Stage 5.
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| Walker Evans busts a ball joint, axle, and knuckle. Joshua Lowenstein |
Stage 6
Stage 6 began with a four-foot vertical wall. By then end of the event, the base of the climb had gotten dug out to point that it could not be negotiated without filling the hole with a couple of rocks. The stage then came back down at an off-camber angle only to go right back up into a wedge that finished with a tight 90-degree turn through the end gate.
Walker Evans' super-trick S10 Blazer met its match on this obstacle. When Walker nailed the gas to get up that first wall, he tore the left front ball joint loose. The Goodyear pit crew worked quickly and got Walker ready for Stage 7. CLICK HERE for more pictures from Stage 6.
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| Pat Gremillion gets more air. Surprise, surprise. Joshua Lowenstein |
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Stage 7
Stage 7 was a two-part obstacle, starting with a short vertical wall that most contestants completed with no trouble. Once on top, a sharp 90-degree left turn forced teams right back down again. Some drivers turned right up the first wall and backed down through a pile of diff-grabbers. Others like Pat Gremillion in his Bronco, made the turn in only one cut. The second half of Stage 7 was a hole followed by a short wall to the end gate. CLICK HERE for more pictures from Stage 7.
CLICK HERE to go back to the coverage of Stages 1-4.
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