7050A Bramalea Rd. Unit 22 Mississauga, Ontario L5S 1T1
(905) 671-9272
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7050A Bramalea Rd. Unit 22 Mississauga, Ontario L5S 1T1(905) 671-9272
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| Well. We’re back from Johnson Valley and King of the Hammers and what can I say? This was our first time attending KOH and it was amazing. We have never been to such a large event. It was definitely a sight to see. We are one of the sponsors of the 328 Car of Mat Noualy co- driven by Brian McGory. They have been competing in Rock Racing for the last couple of years and secured a spot for KOH in Rausch Creek.
We left for the Hammers January 31st arriving on site February 3rd. It was a bit of adventure getting there but we made it. Throughout the course of the week we tuned the front suspension three times, replaced two kingpins, welded the rear axle housing, lost a wheel and mounted all the electronics into the buggy. Mat and Brian did some testing to see what speeds they could reach on different terrain. I believe the buggy achieved just under 90 mph. 
Wednesday was the Pre-Qualifier which drivers who were already qualified for the main event could opt to run for starting positions. During our run the front locker failed which ended up putting the number 328 car on its lid. I think the biggest worry on Mat at the time was if the hood was ok as we hadn’t taken any photos of the truck in action to take home for the title sponsor (Quaker State Motor Oils). The hood didn’t take any damage and the buggy looked fine. We scrambled to get the locker sorted out for the main event and thought we had it running properly. |
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| Friday was the main event and the night before we found out that Dave Cole (event organizer) was going to let all the trucks that entered the Last Chance Qualifier would be allowed to race. That meant that we would be up against around 160 cars for the race. Friday was an early start for Mat as he had to have the truck staged at “OH dark 30” in the morning.
There were basically four pits that we could use. The main pit, Remote Pit 1, Remote Pit 2 and Remote Pit 2a. Both the # 2 pits were within a couple of miles so we allotted one crew for the two pits. We sent Kevin Scott with the Flying Zucchini Bros team from BC to man Remote 1 for us. Remote 2 and 2a were crewed by me (SKI), Mat’s wife Laura and Brian’s wife Mel. I had a few customers come down for the event and they hung around Hammertown so they hung around our main pit (Thanks Colin and Becky). The first lap went rather smooth only requiring fuel and water at Remote 1. Our crew stationed at Remote 2a waiting for the 328 car to come around. We received a call over the radio from Brian saying that they are bypassing 2a and going to Pit 2. We scrambled to throw the gear back in the chase truck and boot over to the other pit. As we were pulling in, we kept watch for Mat and Brian. They should have beat us there so Igot on the radio and asked where they were. Brian responded with “LOOK OVER YOUR LEFT SHOULDER! HURRY UP AND GET THAT TARP DOWN!” (Tarps are mandatory and the BLM are always watching to make sure they see them). We found a spot near the end of Pit Row and everyone sprung into action. The truck took on fuel and the drivers took on water. I checked the front end over quickly and off they went. Silence for a few seconds and the Mel asked “Where’s the spare?” In all the confusion of switching pits I had forgotten to check the spare. It was gone, mount and all. We radioed the car and confirmed it had come off on the course somewhere. We scrambled to make arrangements to get one of the other spares strapped to the truck. The main pits were next in line so putting in a call to the BC team’s pit (we had no crew of our own there) and arranging someone to find the spare in the trailer along with a strap to mount it. That’s where Becky and Colin helped out along with the BC crew. Becky strapped that tire on so well that it didn’t budge for the rest of the race. |
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| Reception on the radios provided by Rugged Radios was excellent but there were spots on the course that we lost comms. The team took it in stride and adapted. Just between Pit 2a and 2 we got the call from Brian and Mat. “The truck has lost electrical power. It may be the alternator”. They had to fix it themselves as we were not allowed to help unless they were in the pits. A broken connection was found, repaired and they were rolling again. Fuel and water in the pit and one more look over the rig and off they went. This time they had the spare but sometime during the first lap, the front locker gave up again. They did winch once at the end of the first lap but then the winch encountered some electrical gremlins of it’s own during the second lap. Along with Brian’s navigating, Mat negotiated the rig through the rock obstacles with a sketchy front end. Not an easy task but the Canadian boys pulled through. We packed up the pits and headed for the finish line so we could be there when they crossed. Kevin was with the BC crew at Chocolate Thunder waiting for the BC team to pass and then met us at the finish. | |
With a final time of 10:32:45 they crossed the line becoming the first Canadian team in history to finish the race. Not bad for a first attempt. We had figured a run of 8-10 hours to complete the race and weren’t far off. Who knows? If we didn’t encounter the electrical problems, we could have been around 10 hours but that’s racing. Out of 160 cars only 49 finished and the Angry Beavers 328 car came in 33rd. After their interview, Mat asked me to drive the buggy back to the garage as he was too sore to try to jump back in the rig. I’ll bet! That’s quite the bumpy ride. We then found out that the rear axle housing had cracked all the way around. I don’t know how much more punishment the car could take.
Saturday, we loaded up and got everything ready for the long ride home. Mat and Brian went into town to spend some time with their wives so Kevin and I headed back a day early. We pretty much drove straight through after a one night motel stop to recoup some energy for the drive arriving Tuesday morning around 1am |
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| I met some people down there and made some new friends. I spoke with some suppliers and we should have some information up soon on acquiring new sources for parts in order to serve our customers better. Thanks to all the helped out with the effort and congratulations to Mat and Brian for pulling off an enormous achievement.
Let’s see if we can get a few more Canadian teams from our neck of the woods to qualify for next years King of the Hammers race |
7050A Bramalea Rd. Unit 22 Mississauga, Ontario L5S 1T1
