Chaos and Speed Dominate Seaon Finale at XRRA Nationals in Tennessee

Jelico, Tennessee hosted the XRRA (Xtreme Off-Road Rock Racing) Finals. Team Lovell drove from Colorado for the one day event which was billed East Meets West.

Off road rock crawling with a fast pace bring up the loose rocks and sharp edges on the XRRA Nationals course
Off road rock crawling with a fast pace bring up the loose rocks and sharp edges on the XRRA Nationals course

Final round start at XRRA Nationals in Jellico, Tennessee
Final round start at XRRA Nationals in Jellico, Tennessee
“It was a long way to drive for a race where I could end up with a broken truck,” said Brad Lovell. “Twenty-three hours is emotionally draining in the hauler. At the end of race day I was exhausted and feeling like I just stepped off a battlefield.”
Fabtech Ford Ranger is undeterred through the XRRA Nationals Course
Fabtech Ford Ranger is undeterred through the XRRA Nationals Course

The 2008 Rock Sport season is over but Team Lovell is planning on the start of the seaon next year at the 2009 King of the Hammers race
The 2008 Rock Sport season is over but Team Lovell is planning on the start of the seaon next year at the 2009 King of the Hammers race

High horsepower moon buggies are hard to beat in this type of racing, but Team Lovell’s No. 232 Fabtech Ford Ranger with K&N Filters successfully took on the moon buggies. “As long as I can control the Ranger, it will do its part,” said Lovell. “I did not use a co-driver for this event. This was a fast course and the best choice was to fly solo.”

Lovell was at the start of the field and raced toward the jumps and boulders. He sawed back and forth and brutally smashed the truck into rock after rock like a pinball. “I was going much to fast but the adrenaline had control of me,” he said. “After I finished the course it was too early to concentrate on race times.”

Lovell did not make any mistakes on the next run. He could have been faster in some sections but it was not worth the gamble. His goal was to finish for the win. “I set the fast time and started to feel like I was in control of the race,” he said. “I knew I earned a spot in the finals.”

Team Lovell uses K&N Filters on its vehicles. “K&N Filters keep our sensors from clogging up and keep the debris out of our engines,” said Lovell. “There is a lot of debris and silt on our race courses and we get excellent filtration from K&N.”

Team Lovell qualified in second place for the finals. “This is where it got really exciting,” he said. “It came down to the last lap with course leader Shannon Campbell. We were neck and neck going into the jumps and I lost sight of Shannon. He reached the finish line first and I came in second.”

Lovell said it was a heartbreaker to come so close to winning the championship, but a second place finish was good in the extremely competitive off-road field.

The 2008 Rock Sport season has ended, but Team Lovell will be back at its first event in 2009, the King of the Hammers.

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