SNORE Racing’s inaugural Rage at the River event held in Laughlin Nevada drew a deep field of Class 1450 racers for the 2nd time in 2009. The 2 day race format broken up into heat races divided by vehicle class is proving to be a hit with both the racers and spectators. 32 class 1450 drivers signed up for the $5000 BMS purse. Nasty winter weather surrounded Laughlin throughout the weekend but excellent weather and mild temperatures hovered over the 11.8 mile race course.
TOTAL CHAOS racer Dan Vance drew a front class start and was eager to battle with the field of 21 racers. Race format was side by side starts every 30 seconds. Saturday’s race for heat 2 had chilly clear skies and dry conditions. The dust lingered in some areas and the door to door battles on the beaten and whooped course ruined some racers hopes early on day 1. “We had to gamble a little bit this race,” stated Vance. “Front starts earn you clean air but they also prevent you from knowing your competitions race pace! We left the line and never looked back. We drove conservative and did not beat the truck too hard to save the equipment for the Sunday race.” When the first race was over, a mere 11 seconds separated 1st and 2nd place. Kevin McMurray edged out Dan Vance and fueled a battle that would be determined on day 2.
Stormy weather still pounded near by cities but the early roll call Sunday morning had dry conditions. In a elevators ride from the 8th floor a storm cell developed over the track and dumped steady rain for nearly a hour. Heat 1 competed half their race in driving wind and rain. Seconds before the green flag dropped for the 1450 races in heat 2, clear blue skies rolled over the race course. The scheduled side by side start landed Vance & McMurray a picture perfect scenario for a door to door battle from start to finish. And that’s exactly what back up driver Austin Farner had for all 4 laps. Vance had been recovering from pneumonia and was unable to compete in the Sunday event. At the last minute long time co driver Austin Farner was called to take the wheel and campaign the truck with zero seat time.
From the second the green flag dropped the battle pursued between the first and second place racers. The squall that passed though watered the entire track tacking up the soil and eliminated the challenging dust. “Vance’s GoodYear tires gripped every corner and had amazing traction on the sandy course. They made my job much easier”, stated Farner after the race. Austin battled 4 laps with racer split times in the seconds each lap. The DNFracing.com Toyota is equipped with a stock Toyota 4.0 V6 power plant and held its own running against McMurray’s 500 horsepower custom motor. Vance’s Fox shox set up proved that dialed in suspension can compete with horse power when the course is brutal. It became a Laughlin battle of high speed terrain versus classic super nasty and deep ruts, with Austin pulling away in the rough, and McMurray reeling him in on the straights. Austin led the entire race while McMurray paced the back bumper knowing he had an 11 second cushion. When the corrected times were posted for positions after the checkered flag, McMurray edged out Vance & Farner by 8 seconds.
After the event Vance stated, “It was a great battle and we gave it all we had. I’m looking forward to the SNORE Battle at Primm in February 2010. This race format is great for the racers and the sport!” By the next race, Dan Vance will also be a first time new dad.
DNF Racing would like to thank the following sponsors: TOTAL CHAOS Fabrication, GOODYEAR, Fox Shox, K&N, Lift Safety, Currie Enterprises, Makita, Light Force, Toyota T-Ten, Doug Thorley Headers, KMC, PRG, ORW, PCI and my family & friends. Their support throughout the entire 2009 season has kept us on the podium at every event.
Laughlin, NV January 28,2008 – For the 3rd consecutive year the SCORE Laughlin season opener eludes Dan Vance and DNF Racing from a finish. Thursday night during the SCORE Laughlin Leap Vance launched 116 ft and finished 2nd place, less than a foot from 1st place in his class. “We got here late and ran our GoodYear yellow label race tire in the jump contest. I should have mounted my street legal Wrangler MTR’s tires that are lighter and we could have made 1st and 2nd place differ by inches,” stated Dan after the contest.
The team did however attempt to stiffen the rear shock set up before the event to better handle the landing in the jump contest and completely closed the rear bypass tubes. This caused the rear bypass shocks to hydro lock. The result as 2 bent rear driver side shock shafts and a bent passenger side shock shaft as well. Todd from Fox Shox was at contingency equipped to aid Fox Shox racers. He assisted the team in rebuilding the shocks during contingency. He had to replace the damaged components and fully repair the shocks for the race. While he added a little custom touch that he recommended for Dan’s custom internal set up.
#1548 requested a rear class start for the 5 lap 6 mile 2 day event. The class had 9 Sportsman entries battling for the checkered flag. Saturday at 9am it was business as usual for Dan Vance and Team DNF Racing starting last in the field with the drop of the green flag. The course had already turned brutal from Trophy Truck qualifying Friday. “The truck ran flawless off the start! The Fox shocks were dialed and the motor felt strong. By the end of the first lap I think I had already sat in first place for our class,” stated Dan. With a flawless 5 lap race on day 1, Dan Vance drove #1548 to a 1st place finish in the Sportsman class. Saturday’s results were a 1st and a 3:12 lead from the rest of his field to start the 2nd race on Sunday.
Mother nature turned brutal overnight! Unleashing the perfect storm on the event, it dumped a steady downpour of rain in Laughlin from midnight to noon on Sunday. The course was saturated, and in some areas looked like a lake, making navigation nearly impossible for the entire field. Recovery vehicles and racers were scattered all over the 6 mile course stuck. Dozers were sinking trying to extract race cars, and double strapped recovery teams at times needed to call in a 3rd vehicle for extraction assistance. Every rut and pot hole, some the size of a VW bug, were filled with water which added an even greater challenge to all the drivers in maintaining their equipment to try and finish day 2 of the race. Lap 1 was so brutal on DNF Racing that before mile 3 the truck lost all electrical communications, dropped 3 cylinders, and packed so much mud into the bell housing which it made shifting impossible!! With race vehicles stranded everywhere and no way to shift the truck, Dan made the decision to pull off at the infield and call it a race to avoid any additional equipment damage that was already sustained. “I just had to call it a day. Knowing the SNORE Battle at Primm is the next scheduled event and that there is hundreds of hours of prep work ahead for Team DNFRacing.com, Sunday’s results are far from a perfect season opener,” stated Vance.
“I’d really like to thank all my crew members and sponsors for their support! My motorsports program is made possible by an effort on behalf of many great people. Good Year Tires, TOTAL CHAOS Fabrication, Fox Shox, Light Force, American Racing, PCI Radios, LIFT Safety, K&N, PDC, California Mini Trucks, Team DNF Racing, and OC Driveline.
today started out easy. work our way up to first place and just crusied the course waving at the cameras. but half way through last lap we eneded up getting the first flat since the night race in 2006. nocked the tire off the bead on a berm pasing someone. while we where slowing down from the flat the coil wire came off so i eneded up changing the tire myself while dan took care of the coil. ater that we got back on our way and got all the way to fourth. if we had anothe lap we could of got first. the race is not over one more day.
Dan Vance got 2nd in class off the Laughlin Leap flying a impressive 116 feet.
While jumping the leap Dan broke both rear driver side shocks.
Thanks to Nicole from Total Chaos for driving all the way from Laughlin to Corona to pick up replacement parts, Dan will be back up and running today to pre-run the course and get ready for tomorrow's action.
What DNFRacing.com for updates from SCORE's Laughlin Desert Challenge. I will be updating this page as the information comes race updates, pictures etc...
Also DNFRacing will be in full kill at the SNORE Battle for Prim Feb 15 - 17th 2008. DNFracing will be 3 trucks strong in the 1450 class. Each day we will be updating this site with the newest info as it comes it.
Check out the new stickers. We will be selling these bad boys in the next couple weeks as we gain stock. They will come in sizes from 6" wide to 3' wide.
Dan Vance and Total Chaos's New poster, presented at the office expo. Click on the picture to go to Total Chaos's website to download the high res version.
DNF Racing give a speech to Taft Elementary School students
Dan Vance of DNF Racing went to Taft Elementary School in Riverside to visit with the students of the Advanced Readers program to talk about the importance of reading in relation to off road racing. The students of Taft Elementary School have a program setup that rewards them for the amount of books they read throughout the year in a race style format. For the students that reached the checkered flag(read all the required books to be recognized as an advanced reader), they were given the opportunity to attend an assembly where team DNF was lucky enough to get to have the race truck on display, and talk to the students. It was a GREAT time with just over 100 students attending that had met the requirements to be advanced readers of their school. I hope the students got as much out of the experience as team DNF did.. More pics to follow soon from the event in the pictures section of DNFRacing.com.
So the DNF crew and Metcho's crew decided to have some fun while testing the new v8 in the race truck, so wheres the best place to have fun with 400hp, crazy amount of travel and a top notch driver? Glamis.
The pull of the truck with the new engine is insane, it throws you back in the seat. The only issue we had this time out was a little drive shaft problem, but other then that the truck ran great, the valving of the shocks and the spring rate is perfect, and now the truck just handles.
so all and all it was a great weekend with some good friends i cant ask for more.
Since we missed a few races this season , we are way off in the points chase, so that gave me the opportunity to run the truck harder than I usually would . It proved to be very successful !!!
I started the race with Greg Gagnon as my co driver . We started a few spots from the rear of our class in the MDR/Camburg 200 night race in Lucerne on 8/12/06 . I was expecting to get passed by the trucks starting behind me within the first few miles to the "Rock Pile" as it is a pretty straight shot and both of the trucks have almost three times the hp my truck has . Surprisingly the 3 miles seemed to not be enough for them to overtake me with the 30 second intervals in start times . As I turned the corner , I could see them in my mirror about 500 feet behind me . A few quick turns and rhythm section later , they were nowhere to be seen . From there it was pedal to the metal for the next 40 miles . We had passed all the trucks that had started infront of us with the exception of 2 , which I was within a hundred yards of . At that time, in high gear, I found an uprooted rock with my left front tire that destroyed the tire and rim instantly . The tire change had some complications , but was sorted out and we were back on our way after being passed by the entire class . We crossed the line about 6 minutes off of where we were running prior to the flat . Second lap went flawless . We stopped in the pits to replace the spare tire on the truck, and were back in the race . We reeled back in the trucks that had gotten around us with the tire change , and set fast lap for the class in the process . At the end of the second lap , we were third on the course , but first on corrected time for our class . I handed the truck over to Austin "Fish" Farner for the second half of the race with Corey Schafer as his co driver . They held a smooth steady pace cruising staying out infront of the Camburg truck that was running second place in the class . We ended up 1st in class and 1st Overall also recieving the fast lap trophy .
I can't say enough for My team and sponsors that keep the truck running and staying out front at the races . Without them we wouldn't be able to enjoy the sport we love so very much .
Thanks to Total Chaos for all their help and support both off and on the track . ESB Mike for helping me build my dream in the truck we race . Baja Racing products for their support all the way from the beggining . Fox Shox for the AWESOME Shocks . K&N for always keeping my motor dirt free on the inside . PDC Motorsports for setting up the rear end of the truck race after race . Lighforce for helping us to see in the dark . Goodyear for AMAZING tires . McKenzies for their support , and Greg Gagnon for the awesome dialing of the shocks on the truck to keep us in the lead !!
Thanks also to the entire DNF team . They are the ones that make the wins possible for weeks before each race .. Fish , Nate , Chris , Cora , ESB Mike , Corey and everyone else that shows up to the shop to lend a hand . You guys earned the win for us long before we got to Lucerne .
The day for Team DNF was fairly uneventful . The only real problem we had was a health condition that I have been dealing with for years . I have had bad kidneys since I was a teenager , and they have been acting up again , so just making the race was questionable up until we actually left to head to Ridgecrest .
Now for the race .....
I started the race with Nate from Grease Monkey TV as my co driver . I set a good comfortable pace cruising behind the 1408 of Steve Herrera . I didn't want to sit too close behind him because of fear of the dust hiding one of the almost car sized rocks from me and possibly ruining my day . By the middle of the first lap we had moved all of the 7 open trucks out of the way ( where was that bet that BK's co driver wanted to make with me ??... lol ) , along with the majority of the other classes that started infront of us with the exception of the top two or three class 1's . Starting the second lap we slowed it down another 10% to settle into our groove , and see where everyone was by the end of the lap . At mile 16 we got a call over the radio saying that the ESB truck of Tyler Fain was down somewhere in the area , and they weren't sure where it was . They wanted us to find it and relay the location of it to them so their pit crew could find it . We weren't sure of their location either , and weren't aware of their problems , so we slowed it way down thinking that they might be rolled over or something off the side of the course . We came upon Herrera and his co driver exiting their truck to change what appeared to be a front flat . Within a mile we found the 1459 of Tyler Fain , and radiod in their location , and we were back in the race . From there we just tried to keep tabs with our pit guys to get splits from us to Herrera . Right before Pit B I overshot a corner and went into a nice sized ditch , and jumped a spline with the steering gearbox . The truck was fine , but the wheel was upside down . We stopped to check it out at Pit B , and found everything to be fine , so we reset the wheel and were off again . At the pit stop I decided to drink alot of water while they were inspecting the truck . It turned out to be too much for my Kidney to handle , and I started getting sick . As we were finishing our lap , I called Fish on the radio and told him to suit up . We were planning on switching out after the third lap , but decided to make it the beggining of the third at Pit A . At the start/finish line as we started the third lap we saw BK sitting after the line sideways , and he jumped in right behind us as we passed . I decided to see what the bone stock motor we had just put in the truck could do against Bk's claimed stock motor , so the race was on . I saw him in the mirror for a half mile , then he was gone in the dust . We motored the truck to Pit A where Fish was waiting to get in with Corey , and my race was done .
From there , Fish ran a slower smooth pace , letting Herrera make up some time on him , but never made it around him . Herrera ended up with mechanical problems , and Vernola was way back , I had Fish slow it way down to conserve the truck and cruise to the finish which is what he did . He did one last stop in the beggining of the 6th lap to let Chris Ramey , our youngest member of team DNF get in to the co ride seat for the last lap .
We ended up first in class , and third overall on the course . The new Total Chaos front end worked flawlessly , and after about 150 hard shock tuning/prerun miles in Ridgecrest the day before the race , and then running the race , it showed no signs of fatigue at all . Top Notch !!! Not to mention we were running a used bone stock 3.4 out of a wrecking yard truck in Kung Fu for this race . 3rd O/A is something to be proud of with this motor for sure .
Thanks goes out to :
Total Chaos Fabrication
ESB Fab
Fox Shox
Greg Gagnon for all the help tuning the shocks
Baja Racing Products
K&N Filters
McKenzies
MDR
And the entire DNF team !! Without any of these people we couldn't race ...
