“We’re doing 108 miles an hour."

“How fast?” 

“One Zero Eight.” 

“Roger. Where’s our turn at?” 

Do you trust your equipment?  

That’s a question you better be able to answer when you’re ripping through the open desert at 108 MPH in choking dust with helicopters and trophy trucks whipping by you. One mishap and you’re doing multiple barrel rolls, strapped down to a frame that’s packing 30+ gallons of fuel and very little else. 

“Do you trust your equipment” takes on a whole new meaning when you depend on it for your life, and is at the core of the LetzRoll Offroad Racing philosophy that, “it all starts with the welder.”

We’ve been busy since the King of the Hammers with a steady round of “Race it, Wreck it, Fix it” as we work out new car bugs and get comfortable in two new machines. 

Immediately following KOH, the team went in two different directions – both literally and figuratively:  Alan and the 4511 went to a smaller regional race to get seat time in the new Modified Class car and Andrew and the 4493 stepped up to a huge stage and raced the 2015 MINT 400 in Las Vegas, NV.  

Tech and Contingency on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. 

The MINT 400

Known as “The Great American Off-Road Race”, the MINT 400 has a storied history that includes such legendary off-road icons as Steve McQueen and Walker Evans and is steeped in lore dating back to when Hunter S. Thompson covered the race and eventually wrote “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” 

Today’s iteration of the MINT 400 draws big names such as Robbie Gordon, B.J. Baldwin, and Rob MacCachren.  The race is split into two groups, with the morning race being classic vehicles and dune buggies, while the afternoon race is the main event of Trophy Trucks, Class 1 desert cars, and Ultra4 buggies.

Sticking the landing in the 4493 at the MINT 400.

400 miles of anything brings on the stress, and racing 400 miles through the Mojave Desert is no different… There’s stress on equipment, stress on a driver’s focus and stress on support teams…. 

The race itself was three grueling laps in the punishing southern Nevada desert, just outside Las Vegas near Primm. The ESAB Welding & Cutting 4493 was the last car to leave the line as the 4400 Class started at the rear of a field full of Trophy Trucks and Class 1 powerhouses. 

The dust was as thick as smoke and contributed to an accident 31 miles into the race. Two people were injured and airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital. While not fatal, both have had their lives altered forever. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the racers involved. Their roll cage and safety equipment saved their lives. Do you trust your equipment?

Eating up desert in the 4493 in Las Vegas.

Once the race was live again, the leaders (who did not have to stop until back at the start/finish line) were only 30 miles behind the 4493. As Andrew likes to recount: “Jay and I looked out the window and went ‘Hey look!  The helicopter!  Cool!’ After a few seconds, though, I realized this wasn’t KOH and I was like ‘Oh no, Jay.  They aren’t here for us!  Check your mirrors!  Check your mirrors!’ and sure enough, BJ Baldwin goes blowing by us in a cloud of dust. I don’t think we saw clear race track again. We just put our foot down, trusted the GPS and our ADS Racing Shocks, and put the Jimmy’s 4x4 IFS chassis to the test."

Three wide racing: Trophy Truck, Class 1, and the 4493.

Challenged throughout the race, the team persevered and raced deep into the night, claiming a 2nd place (in class) finish in The 2015 Polaris RZR Mint 400, presented by General Tire and validating the entire effort made by the race team, Andrew, and Jay. Thrilled with a podium finish in our first MINT 400 and the first podium finish in the new IFS car, the team is looking forward to taking the top spot at the MINT 400 in 2016.

Lucas Oil Short Course Success in Phoenix 

A few weeks after the MINT 400 Adventure, the team got to completely switch gears and go from epic desert distance racing, to the speed and adrenaline of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Regional Series at the Wild Horse Pass speedway in Chandler, Arizona. A two-day event with two separate races yielded the second and third podium finishes of the year for the LetzRoll team.

Not on the original race schedule, the short course racing allowed for some great family time at the track, as well as shock tuning – a must with the Ultra4 season turning to short courses for the next 2 races. The Ultra 4x4 class was lumped in with the Unlimited V8’s and Andrew ended up leading both fields for an in-class and overall win on Saturday. Sunday’s racing brought a phantom overheating issue that caused a delay and resulted in a 2^nd place finish in-class. Three podium finishes in three outings. The 2015 season is starting to turn in the right direction for the team.

High flying short course action in the ESAB Welding & Cutting 4493. 

Dirt Riot Disappointment in Congress, AZ

While the 4493 is busy knocking out podium finishes, the 4511 is taking a little longer to ramp up. After only racing one race since the King of the Hammers, Alan and Mike entered the Dirt Riot race in Congress, Arizona. The 4511 had only seen the limited run at KOH, so the team was looking forward to stretching her legs a bit and getting a feel for the new Modified Class car.

The 4511 powering around a corner. Photo credit: Kyle Wells Photo

Qualifying went well, with the car placing in the middle of the 4400-Class pack and within mere seconds of the top qualifiers. Not only is the 4511 a new car, but it’s also a big step up from the straight 6 stock Jeep engine to the tuned LQ9 in the current car. Learning to drive with the skinny pedal and shaking down new racecars is what regional racing is all about.

The “new car blues” set in during the first lap, however, with a loss of steering and air in the brakes. The resulting impact into a rock that didn’t want to get out of the way snapped the sector shaft on the steering box, ending the day for the 4511 team. Still, the impact only affected the steering box and the boys were well protected in the new chassis. Do you trust your equipment?

Yes, and we’ll get to prove it next weekend at the Ultra4 Racing Stampede in Sacramento, California. Alan has a history with this course (missing a gap jump in 2014 basically ended the season) and is looking for vindication in 2015.

Muddy fun at Dirt Riot. 

What’s New + Upcoming Events

The next few weeks promise to be eventful for the team. We’re going to be in Sacramento, CA, for the opening round of the Ultra4 Racing West Series. We would love to see you out at the track if you are in the area. Hit us up on our Facebook page via FB messenger and we’ll be sure to take time to visit. Who knows, we may put you to work on the pit crew if you can run a welder.

The following weekend is the second round of the Dirt Riot Southwest Series in Tucson, AZ, where Andrew is the defending course champion and all three cars had podium finishes in 2014. Back to back weekend races are tough on the cars, the team, and the two vehicles, but make for an exciting kickoff to the summer racing season.

Matt and Megan Salyers racing and taking a podium together. 

In other team news, LetzRoll Offroad Racing is saying goodbye to Matt Salyers, our longtime stock class driver in the 4634 Jeep Cherokee. Matt and his amazing wife Megan are expecting their first child soon. Combined with a career change and other life events, Sally (as he’s known by us) is taking a break from racing. There are currently no plans to fill the 4600-class opening, as the position is Sally’s when he’s ready to race again. In the mean time, we wish him and his soon to be expanded family the best of wishes and we thank him for his contribution, attitude, success, and inspiration. Once family, always family.  Read more here.

The newest members of the LetzRoll family: Randy, Brandy, and Tyler Southall.

As we say goodbye to one team member, we are also excited to say hello to a new family member. LetzRoll Offroad Racing is proud to announce the addition of Randy and Brandy Southall as the official Rock Crawling (cone dodging) division of the team as we expand into a new rock sports arena. Stay tuned for a new ESAB wrap and more information, but for now, please join us in welcoming them to the family.  You can read more here. 

4 classes, 3 series, 2 continents, 1 team.

Check out Larry Chen and his MINT 400 write up on Speedhunters. 

Finally, stay tuned for more stories from the road, an update on the development of the cars, and a feature on the ESAB Crossbow and the impact it has on the shop, our customers, and our race team in the summer edition of the Ready to Roll blog! 

We’ve mentioned it a couple of times in this blog, but it’s not a light question: Do you trust your equipment? Taking the time to do quality work with quality products and testing them repeatedly is the best way to build that trust. It might not be as dramatic as a barrel roll in the desert at 100 MPH, but someone is counting on your work for their safety. For us, it all starts with the welder. Be safe, build stuff you love, and make sure you are Ready to Roll.

~ LetzRoll Offroad Racing

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