Author: Cody Quattlebaum #33
Getting there
What a way to close out the 1st season racing Ultra 4 for Bandit Offroad Racing. Earlier in the year, the National race was moved from Reno, Nevada to Davis, Oklahoma at the Crossbar ranch. This was by far the furthest race we had traveled to, ~1000 miles from my home in Georgia. I had never been to Crossbar ranch so I wanted to get there early as I could so I took off driving after work on Tuesday afternoon, trying to make it as far as I could. My 1st time sleeping on the road while towing the Rzr with the new camper did not disappoint, I was able to find a nice Cracker Barrell to sleep at after ~5 hours on the road day 1.
Day 2 started early, as I wanted to make it to the park to set up for camp at a reasonable time. ~12 hours after hitting the road I was pulling into the park. 2 days into the trip, 1000 miles behind me, 5 tanks of fuel, and little sleep. Finding Crossbar in the dark was a little but of a challenge but I got checked in quickly and headed to the racer parking. Cresting the hill into the racing parking area and seeing the Proving Grounds Racing trailer dead ahead was a sight for sore eye and tired bones.
As soon as I arrived, the Proving Grounds Racing team welcomed me with open arms. The team quickly found me a spot to park my Ram and we began to catch up prior to resting for what was sure to be a long Thursday.
Prerun
I woke up early, well rested in the new camper which was a far cry from sleeping in a tent on an air mattress or in the backseat of the Ram. The Proving Grounds Racing team let me park my Rzr under their tent to do a once over and do a little prep before hitting the track for my 1st prerun. I had no idea what to expect and there were some technical difficulties with the course map so I had to work off of the arrows on course. The best part about prerunning was I had Dustin Robbins riding along in the passenger seat, racer #311 All Thingz UTV, and one of the fastest East coast guys in Ultra 4.
Dustin and I took off and hit the course for a few hours. Loop A went pretty smooth as it was mostly open field, a few wood sections, and some hill climbs. We finished loop A and hit the short course for a few laps to warm up for qualifying. Dustin was giving me tons of great advice/pointers which was valuable to me. We then headed off to loop B where things got tricky. It didnt take long until we got to a gnarly hill climb where a few 4400 class buggys were winching and testing lines. Dusitn and I walked it a few times to determine our race line and then took the detour to keep pushing along. We got out to a large clearing with a up-down-up-down section and I lost my driver side ball joint (kryptonite ball joint).
It turned out a spectator had a ball joint and all of the tools to fix it on the spot. Dustin got the broke ball joint out and put the spectators in and we pushed on. After finishing loop B we did a few more laps around the short course and went back to camp for some beers. After dropping Dustin off at his trailer, I went back to the Proving Grounds Racing trailer and got some pictures by race muffin photography, whom was hired to do all of our photography for the race.
I settled down with the proving grounds team, cleaned up, checked my other ball joints and replaced a bad boot on the other driver side ball joint that I assume got a tear when the driver side lower one broke earlier that day. I went to bed early and prepped for an exiting Friday qualifying on the short course.
Qualifying
Friday was pretty hectic but was fun to finally hit the race course. I went to Oklahoma with a new spare tire carrier and mounted spare that I had not ran all season so I was ready to see how the car would respond. All of the teams would qualify on the short course only, doing a single lap. We were given time in the morning to test drive the track prior to qualifying.
I lined up for qualifying and my blood was pumping. I like to qualify because it helps get rid of some of the pre race jitters and get my head straight for the following day. This time was no different and my heart was thumping when I got to the start line.
The flag dropped and I took off out of the thick mud we started in. I knew when I hit the 1st turn that it wasnt going well as the Rzr felt soft in the corners and I constantly felt like I was going to roll. The course had gotten burned in a little from previous competitors and my Rzr did not like it. I ended up qualifying at 28th unfortunately. This put me, on course, in front of 9 other UTVs. Now I had to hurry and get ready to hit course in a few hours.
Race
Line up for the last race of the season had finally come. I was fully prepped and ready to go. This 3 lap race would be made up of 2 loops, A/B, and the short course had to be completed between each loop. A loop was out in the “fast” area with rocks, high speed sections, tight turns, and some shrubs. B loop was the “rock” section, made up of climbs, descents, large rocks, long creek beds, and tight woods racing. This would be my longest race of the year and, likely, my hardest.
I made it up to the start line as #28 to leave the line. We started off in the long fast section so we were hitting speeds of 70-80mph for a while before we had to slow down. This section went smoothly, aside from one hidden rock I hit in the tall grass on the driver side. I kept trucking without any issues out of the Rzr but there were course changes I was not prepared for since I did not have a gps and changes had been made after I had already prerun the course.
I made it out of A loop making good time, hit the short course and headed off to B loop. This is where things went wrong. As soon as I crested the hill to A loop, from the short course, my driver side tie rod spindle bolt sheared and put me in the brush. This was not a part I had. I radiod back in to the pits and let them know, I then ran back on foot to see what our options were. I made it back to pits with the part in hand and the Proving Grounds Racing team was running around the vendor area to find a part. No one had the exact part but we did find something that would get me to the pits so we could further assess.
I got the Rzr bandaided and headed back to pits where the Proving Grounds Racing team was hard at work figuring out what could be done. They ran my broken part around some more but unfortunately we could not find a suitable replacement and I had to call the race. All in all it was an excellent learning experience and I will come back stronger, and with more parts, in the 2022 season.
SuRprise
My time racing in 2021 was not over yet! At the last minute I was asked to Co Drive for a 4400 class rig and although I was nervous and the Proving Grounds Team had to talk me into it, I said yes. This was my 1st time Co Driving and this driver was awesome the rig was bad ass. 40″ tires, ~750HP, custom built 4400 car. I had the jitters all over again when we got the start line but it was amazing to feel the rumble of all that HP. Be sure to follow Tom Prendergast of Fire River Racing #4413 for more info about his race team. I wont ruin the ending, in case he wants to post a race report, but I had a ton of fun in the time I had racing with him and if anyone ever needs a co driver for a non UTV class, just let me know!
Thank you
I want to give a sincere thank you to everyone that helped me get this far and make my rookie season successful with an Eastern Series #10 placement for all 4900 class UTVs.
- My wife Lindsey Quattlebaum for all of her support
- Bandit Offroad and Powersports for everything they do for me, making this possible
- Proving Grounds Racing for there help this season, becoming good friends
- Team Indiana for all of there help, pitting 2 races for me this year and treating me like family
- My family and friends back home, whom there are too many to mention. The ones that answered questions, bought swag to support the team, spectated at races and online, and cheered me on as I chase my dreams.
- Offmap Racing and Hunkerdown Racing for inviting me to Hammers a few years ago and getting me addicted to this sport.
We would like to thank all of our sponsors in 2021 Ultra 4 Racing Series
All Things UTV: Helping me get parts all season
Factor 55: For great recovery gear that I luckily did not have to use
KWT Filters: For keeping my engine clean and healthy
Ogio: for their high quality suit case that helped me travel to the races
PRP Seats: for their equipment keeping me safe all year, even as I rolled over.
Savage UTV: For high quality, dust tight cases for my belt, tools, and first aid equipment
Trinity Racing: For excellent belts, exhaust, and tuner that made me fast and sound good while doing it.
Big Hammer Fabrication: For a great grill that helped me meet the U4 requirements
Krawl Offroad: For their support
BFGoodrich Tires: For tires that kept me going all season, even in the harshest terrain.
banditoffroadracing.com 