The Lovell Brothers tasted victory at the 2007 WE-Rock Finals at Donner Ski
Ranch near Lake Tahoe, California. A record setting 71 cars participated in
front of thousands of spectators at the Western U.S. Nationals.
Team Lovell uses K&N Engineering Products
Roger Lovell talks Brad Lovell through tight situations
It was a series battle where die hard fans watched Brad and Roger Lovell
hold their breath as they competed for the title. Team Lovell’s 4 point lead
looked promising but Brian Errea and rookie Tim Florian had a good chance at the
championship.
Team Lovell in 2007 WE-Rock Finals at Donner Ski Ranch
Brad Lovell prepares for a big drop
In rock crawling, the mental skills of the driver are put to the test, along
with the brute strength and ingenuity of a spotter and the mechanical abilities
of the vehicle. The course is designed with a series of obstacles and huge
climbs. There are penalties for changing directions or backing up. Teams cannot
touch course markers or use a winch to progress.
Lovell piloted his FABTECH Ranger with K&N Engineering products through the
technical courses laid out by WE-Rock. “There is a lot of silt and fine dust on
these courses,” said Lovell. “K&N Filters keep the debris out of our engines and
our sensors do not clog up. There is also a slight taper to give me the
clearance and flexibility I need in this kind of competition.”
On day one, Team Lovell was the first to run the most difficult course. “This
was not a good place to be,” said Brad Lovell. “I was feeling pretty confident
until time started and I got hung up just getting through the gates. That
rattled me and we spent some time getting lined up for a big drop. I hit the gas
hard as we went down to keep it on the wheels and we managed to recover.”
Brad and Roger Lovell were running out of time and sped up their game plan. They
saved the truck from a rollover but hit a cone. The key was they made it through
the course.
“The rest of the day went well,” said Lovell. “We dodged almost every cone. We
were pushing hard and our FABTECH Ranger stood up to the abuse.” About halfway
through the competition they were in third place, 20 points from first and only
one point from second place. They had five more courses to go.
“Day two went like a dream,” said Lovell. “We snaked, climbed and weaved through
all but one cone. Neither Roger or I looked at the scoreboard, but we hoped we
had the lead.”
The good news was Team Lovell had a 6 point lead going into the final round. The
bad news was the scores very close. The brothers could loose the season
championship if they did not complete the final course.
“I knew we could do it,” said Lovell. “But the big question was could we do it
under this kind of stress?” It could end for the brothers with one false move.
“The dust and the sun were blinding but Roger kept me calm and talked me through
what I could not see. I drove up a huge rock slab that we were required to
transverse across sideways. The only way to do this was the spin the front and
rear tires, moving the truck laterally. As I worked the transfer case, I slipped
down the rock dangerously close to the cone. The truck was at a bad angle and
luck alone kept it on its wheels.”
Roger Lovell talked Brad Lovell out of the situation and he raced to the finish
line to win the event along with the Pro Modified Championship.
Team Lovell is now qualified for the World Finals in Sydney, Australia in
January 2008. Their next race is the XRRA Round 4 in Cortez, Colorado on August
4.
Follow Team Lovell's progress throughout the racing season at the
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