Team Waggoner Recap of Donner Event

[Team Waggoner]

WE ROCK USA - EVENT #4
Donner, CA
4th Place Finish ~ 3rd Place Series Champions

Donner Ski Ranch has proven once again to be the best location to hold a rock crawling event! WE ROCK says there were a record number of spectators this weekend. The courses were probably the toughest and most extreme of the entire season, and some were just down right insane. It was a great weekend of wheelin?!



A1 was our first course and we knew it was going to be tough, especially after watching the first 4 rigs unable to complete it. One of which included our friend rolling off the side of the cliff. (Link to Berger?s Roll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39cgzWVOOBQ ). Cody and Jim had the course all planned out and knew what they needed to do to get through it. What they didn?t plan for was the radio?s to quit on them. So without the ability to communicate over the engine noise it made it difficult for them to maneuver through the course. Unfortunately our team was also unable to finish the course, and that makes for a rough start to the day.



By course A2 we had new radios and were ready to go. The start of the course was a tricky side hill which Cody and Jim moved through nice and clean. The guys were back on their game and ready for more.





Course A3 was one of the most exciting courses on Saturday. The cones were placed in such a way that the steep incline had to be taken at an angle which made it very difficult for everyone. Not to mention once you got up top, if you made it, you had to make a sharp turn to miss another set of cones. Coming back down wasn?t an easy task but it made for some great pictures. Cody and Jim got through this course while putting on a little show for the crowd.



Course A4 was tricky and had a couple climbs and drop offs to keep you on your game. And even though we took one cone it was the only cone of the day! Going into Sunday we were still in the hunt for a top place finish!

Sunday started out to be another beautiful day at the Donner Ski Ranch. The crowds were out in record numbers and familiar faces greeted us at our first course. Course B1 seemed to be a pretty straight forward but technical course. Then you take a look at the bonus option? Wow it was insane. We were thinking of trying the bonus to catch up in points, but quickly reminded ourselves that if you don?t finish a course then you are worse off then before. So the guys opted to just get the course done with minimal penalty points. And that is exactly what they did, starting Sunday out with a smile.





Course B2 was a long course with lots of turns and places to get hung up in. There was no time to waste, it was hurry up and finish type of course. Cody and Jim did a great job getting through the course only taking one cone, which seemed to be the cone everyone had to take to finish in time.





Course B3 and B4 had tight turns and hills climbs that forced all teams to be on top of their communication skills. Teamwork was absolutely crucial for perfect scores on these courses. Cody and Jim did just that! They took the backups where they needed finishing the courses with near perfect scores which secured their 4th place position in the Shoot Out!



The Shoot Out was set up a little different for this event. As always, a tough course was set up for the top 6 competitors to run through but with a new twist; when they finished the clock stopped and the competitor had the option to run through any of the bonus lines with the remaining time on the clock. With 10 minutes to run through the regular course it seemed possible to get a run at a bonus line. Well? the first two competitors didn?t end up with enough time on the clock. Cody and Jim were up next and ran through the course pretty clean and even showed the remaining competitors a line or two, finishing with a little over a minute left on the clock. The decision was made and off goes Cody racing to the first bonus line. He climbs up the bonus nice and easy but now he has to make it to the finish line before the time runs out or the bonus points don?t count. With the help of the crowd counting down 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4? he finishes with seconds left.

Team Waggoner finishes the event proudly in 4th place and secured our 3rd place series title for the WE ROCK USA 2007 Series. Our next event will be the Grand Nationals in September somewhere in Texas (location still to be determined).

Don?t forget to check the website for more event pictures!

Cheers!

Lindsay Waggoner
Team Waggoner Racing

[Joe Dillard]

That's AWESOME! Thanks for sharing. Excellent write-up too.

[chef]

I had fun in Big Bear, but it would have been a blast at Donner. Scenery looks great. Congrats on the podium for the season!