Team S&N Fab/BC4x4.COM are very pleased to announce Goodyear Canada as our tire sponsor. We were definitely looking forward to our first event competing on the Goodyear Wrangler MTR tires but unfortunately lady luck did not shine on the S&N Fab/BC4x4.COM rockcrawling team as a faulty fuel injection system did not allow us to compete. Leaving the Pacific Northwest the crawler was running perfectly. Upon arriving in Reno the rig was driven off the trailer, passed through inspection with no problem and was running fine. Arriving the next morning at the event we immediately had difficulty firing the engine and barely could back the crawler off of the trailer. The problem was immediately assessed as a faulty fuel injection system and the event was over for us. Thank you to our team sponsors. The Goodyear MT/R is the state-of-the-art off-road tire with a 3-ply sidewall and advanced silica compound for excellent durability and puncture resistance. While a new tread pattern provides increased element and lug stiffness and uniform treadwear.

Photos by Wayne "Fozzy" Foster
 
Recently BC4x4.COM had the fortune of attending the last round of Calrocs (California Rockcrawling & Offroad Championship Series) at Moonrocks OHV near Reno, Nevada. Two years ago BC4x4 covered an RCAA event in Utah, the difference in the caliber of drivers, trucks and terrain covered since then is amazing. Vehicles built solely for the purpose of competition are the norm now, whereas previously trail rigs were more common. Having said this though, Calrocs does offer those in the beginning stages of competitive rock crawling a chance to get their feet wet by offering a modified stock class that keeps the cost down by requiring a stock frame and body configuration along with a 35" maximum tire size.

Calrocs had a large turnout of competitors for this 2nd round of their 2002 series, a great testament to the incredible popularity of rock crawling competitions and an extremely well run event by the Calrocs organization. Course designer Bob Roggy took full advantage of the excellent Moon Rocks location laying out sections that provided a challenging mix of technically demanding routes with gut check verticals and drop offs. Day 2 of the event in particular had two courses that appeared to intimidate a number of competitors. One course involved treading along a truck wide shelf with a 20' drop on the passenger side, followed by a short vertical left hand turn climb over a ledge. Naturally as soon as you made the sharp left turn one of the front tires would lift and reach skyward. This would be bad normally but the fear factor was magnified by the 20' cliff drop on the passenger side. Any miscalculation would lead to numerous barrel rolls. In the interest of safety a winch line was available to hook to the competitors cages but it was quite clear from looking at the fear on quite a few of the competitors faces that this course was definitely pushing them past their comfort level. A number of competitors impressed by their single minded focus and showed no signs of distress. Walker Evans seemed to have ice water in his veins on this course, using his twin stick to push his rear wheels even closer to the edge in order to get a straight shot at the ledge. The other course on day 2 that impressed was a short (two truck lengths long) vertical climb that most of the spectators assumed was going to be impossible. The first few competitors to challenge this climb proved that the assumption was correct as they pitched over backward in their attempts to ascend the pitch. Then came Jason Bunch in his 4 cylinder powered Jeep YJ. After a few attempts to find a line a final high rpm charge proved successful as he was the first competitor to make the climb. The crowd roared it's approval. Probably the smoothest job done of this climb was performed by eventual Pro Modified class winner Mike Shaffer under the guidance of his spotter Lance Clifford. The crowd was in disbelief at the ease with which they made this climb.

			Goodyear Tires www.goodyear.ca Corporate Headquarters 1144 E. Market Street Akron, Ohio 44316 Tel: 330-796-2121 Fax: 330-796-2222
			Randy's Ring and Pinion www.ring-pinion.com Phone: 1-800-292-1031 Fax: 425-347-1440 1160 Airport Rd #300 Everett, WA 98204
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Final Standings:

1. #6 MIKE SHAFFER 29 pts
2. #20 WALKER EVANS 76 pts
3. #25 TROY FABER 86 pts
4. #11 JASON BUNCH 88 pts

1. #26 JASON PAULY -10 pts
2. #19 TRACY JORDAN 24 pts
3. #10 DON ROBBINS 54 pts
4. #21 CHARLIE COPSEY 93 pts