UTVRR Southern Series Round 8 Race Report
Round 8 of UTVRR’s Southern Series kicked off promptly at 4:00pm on Saturday October 19th, 2013. As Autumn begins to grab a hold, the race day temperatures were almost perfect. A high of 71 and the lows dropping to 50 made for a nice day of racing. With the week prior to the race not seeing much rain, the track forecast was dry and dusty. That said, Stony Lonesome facilities crew did a fantastic job to combat the dust with water trucks all over the track, pit lane and the timing gate. Tyler and his crew were on top form with track sweepers, track spotters and recovery crews.
Round 8 of the Southern Series saw another large race field with overall attendance setting a 2013 record.
Once again the lineup was very diverse with Polaris RZRs, several Can‐Am Mavericks, an increased Arctic Cat Wildcat presence, several Can‐Am Commanders and a custom single seater Polaris RZR. UTVRR’s race class structure affords all brands to race competitively on a consistent and even playing field.
New teams and returning veteran UTVRR racers made up 25% of the field for Round 8.
In total Ten (10) new teams raced at Stony Lonesome this past weekend. Pretty impressive when you think about the local events (Talladega Race and Alabama Home game) held in the area this weekend.
After passing UTVRR tech inspection, successfully testing their timing transponder and attending the mandatory driver meeting, the teams began gridding. Prompt and organized, all teams found their grid allocations and the race started on schedule.
Above: Team #120, negotiating a technical section perfectly in his Polaris XP 900. Ford Racing epitomizes consistency with solid lap times. For Round 8, Team Ford and Team Buff paired up to co‐pilot the #120 entry.
Stony Lonesome OHV provides UTVRR racers with a very diverse track. There are plenty of fast straights, wide open sweepers and a driver (and spectator) favorite short course section.
Setting up a UTV to race in UTVRR is a world of compromise. Too much power, not enough grip, suspension that works great in the jumps but not so great in the tight turns, the list goes on.
Overall power and setup, while important, will not win a UTVRR. Driver skill, ability and vehicle management are all overlooked but the most critical success factors to taking the checkered flag.
Above: Team #592, CM White Boys in their very first UTVRR event being chased down by Team #13 Pearson Racing in their Commander.
Team #592 competes in QR1 in a Polaris RZR XP900 and Team #13 competes in QR2 in a Can‐Am Commander
Above: Team #993, Outdoor Products pushing hard on the first lap in their Arctic Cat Wild Cat X.
2013 is the first season for Arctic Cat in UTVRR. With finishing positions climbing, and R&D in full swing, Outdoor Products is surely on the right path to UTVRR success.
Team #993 competes in QR1 and would finish the day 20th overall, 15th in their class with 12 laps in 3h36m 58s
Above: Team #243, Racertech CS Racing leading the charge for QR3 in their Racertech supported Polaris RZR 570.
Team #243 entered the 2013 UTVRR season in Round 7 and with back‐to‐back wins is now tied for the lead in that class.
Their RZR 570 is setup perfectly for the overall UTVRR format using Racertech’s industry leading suspension and performance enhancements.
Team #243 would once again take the win in QR3 with 14 laps in 3h 44m 09s, beating all but one QR2 machine! Great work guys.
Above: Team #22, Sealy Racing in their very first UTVRR event. A cautious approach to the opening laps is the perfect way to get a feel for UTVRR.
Racing in QR1 in a Polaris RZR XP900 there is stiff competition, but Sealy Racing represented nicely.
Their overall lap‐times dropped as they became familiar with course.
They would finish the day with 14 laps in 3h 56m 23s to take 15th overall, 13th in their class.
Round 8 ‐ Camera Man Acknowledgment Shots
Above: Team #496, Bonehead Racing saluting the cameraman. Bonehead Racing competes in class QR1 in a Polaris RZR XP900 Below: Team 22, Sealy Racing having a blast in the short course section.
Above: Team #00, Barnett Racing charging hard for a top 10 finish, but still taking time for a quick salute to the camera!
Above: Team #148, Barker Racing with a solid performance in Round 8.
At every turn, Team#148 was hard on the gas taking the fight to the field.
Barker Racing competes in QR1 in a Polaris RZR XP900. Due to a retirement Team #148 would finish the day with 7 laps in 1h 45m 03s.
Until his retirement, he was on a top 5 finish.
Above: Team #677, ATV Zone sliding in to the short course section. ATV Zone is a tough competitor in QR1 with their XP900 set up nicely.
Only a few racers were able to hit the magic 15 or more laps usually required for a top 5 finish, ATV zone was one of them. That said, with a truly great race, eight racers were able to reach 15 laps.
Team # 677 would finish the day with 15 laps in 3h 50m 36s to take 7th overall, 7th in QR1
Above: Team #05, Outlaw Motorsports having a flyer of a day. The Can‐Am Maverick is really working well for Team #05.
After 8 Rounds of UTVRR’s Southern Series, Outlaw Motorsports currently holds 8th position in the Championship table with 90 points.
They would finish the day with 15 laps in 3h24m 13s to take 6th overall and 6th in QR1. A minor mechanical issue on the last lap took them out of the chase for the lead.
Above: Team #316, CS Racing trying hard to make up for lost time on the first lap.
Unfortunately, CS Racing had to park their Polaris RZR after only 3 laps. After 8 Round of racing, CS Racing holds 4th place in the Championship table with 140 points, only 14 points out of first place.
With two Rounds left the race to the finish is heating up nicely!
Above: Team #82, Brian Motorsports taking the faster high line around one of the banked turns.
Pushing hard all day long resulted in Team #82 being one of only five teams to reach the 16 laps mark on the day.
With their Polaris XP900 running perfectly, Team #82 finished the day taking 5th overall, 5th in their class with 16 laps in 3h 57m 32s.
After 8 Rounds (missing the first 3 rounds) Team #82 hold 10th place in the Championship with 76 points.
Above: Team #111 CH Motorsports challenging in their Can‐Am Commander. In only their second UTVRR event for 2013, Team # 111 put in a solid performance completing the event with 12 laps in 3h 47m 05s.
Great work guys.
Above: Team #009 in their very first UTVRR Event. Team #009 competes in QR1, RZR XP 900
Above: Team #103, Joey Varner in his first UTVRR Event. Team #103 competes in QR2, RZR 800 Std
Above: Team #243, Racertech CS Racing focused with purpose to win his QR3 class.
Racertech is UTVRR’s Headline Sponsor, whom without UTVRR would not be possible. Thank you Racertech for your continued support of UTVRR.
Team #243 would post the fastest QR3 lap with 15m 26.005s on his 8th lap.
Team #243 competes in a Polaris RZR 570
Above: Team #312, Basch Bros Powersports pushing hard at the end of the short course section.
Basch Bros Powersports is a UTVRR Series Contributor and a stalwart of the UTVRR community. An unfortunate spark plug problem forced their retirement from Round 8 after only 8 laps and 2h 06m 57s.
Above: Team #88, Tough Stuff Motorsports in contention for a podium place in QR2. Team #88 would complete 12 laps in 3h 16m 31s to take 19th place overall, 3rd place in QR2. Team #88 holds 4th place in the QR2 Championship table after 8 Rounds of racing.
Above: Team #00, Barnett Racing hard on the gas as the sun starts to set.
After 8 Rounds of racing, Barnett Racing holds 9th place in the QR1 Championship table and only a few points out of 8th.
With consistent laps and steady driving Team #00 completed 14 laps in 3h 32m 41s to earn a very respectable 9th place overall, 8th in their class.
Team #00 competes in a Polaris RZR XP 900
Above: Team #722, Wilson Racing in their very first UTVRR event.
Their Can‐Am Maverick performed well and after a few tweaks and enhancements will threat for the QR1 top spot.
Wilson Racing managed to complete the event without any issues to accumulate 14 laps in 3h 52m 38s.
They finished 14th place overall, 12th in QR1.
With QR1 totaling 25 racers, finishing 12th is no easy feat… in their first UTVRR.
Nice work Wilson Racing.
OVERALL WINNER FOR ROUND 8
Above: Team #101, Octane Racing was in the hunt from the very start. Along with Team #120 Ford Racing, Team #612 Double E Racing, these teams really led the field. During the event, with a few other drivers, Octane Racing chose to stop during in their second lap to help clear an accident on the track, costing them time. Even after the delay, Team #101 was able to regain the deficit to fight hard with Team #120 for 1st place. The top position would go back and forth the entire race with Octane Racing earning the Winner title by a slim 50 seconds.
Round 8 was the first outing for Octane Racing’s custom made single seater Polaris XP 900. The vehicle looked well balanced and was able to navigate the course quickly and efficiently.
Team #101 would finish the day with 16 laps in a very fast 3h 49m 20seconds.
Congratulations Octane Racing.
Overall Winner of Round 8:
#101 Octane Racing ‐ Polaris RZR XP 900 ‐ 16 Laps ‐ 3h 49m 20s
Class QR1:
1st ‐ #101 Octane Racing ‐ Polaris RZR XP 900 ‐ 16 Laps ‐ 3h 49m 20s
2nd ‐ #120 Ford Racing ‐ Polaris RZR XP 900 ‐ 16 Laps ‐ 3h 50m 12s
3rd ‐ #612 Double E Racing ‐ Polaris RZR XP 900 ‐ 16 Laps ‐ 3h 52m 57s
Class QR2:
1st ‐ #34 TSR Racing ‐ Polaris RZR S ‐ 15 Laps ‐ 3h 53m 44s
2nd ‐ #13 Pearson Racing ‐ Can‐Am Commander ‐ 14 Laps ‐ 3h 59m 24s
3rd ‐ #88 Tough Stuff Motorsports ‐ Polaris RZR S ‐ 12 Laps ‐ 3h 16m 31s
Class QR3:
1st ‐ #243 Racertech CS Racing ‐ Polaris RZR 570 ‐ 14 Laps ‐ 3h 44m 09s
2nd ‐ #77 Mother Theresa Racing ‐ Polaris RZR 570 ‐ 13 Laps ‐ 3h 45m 43s
3rd ‐ #121 Ford Racing ‐ Polaris RZR 570 ‐ 11 Laps ‐ 3h 48m 56s
Overall Fastest Lap of Round 7:
#612 Double E Racing ‐ Polaris RZR XP 900 ‐ 13m 02.14 seconds
