Jesse Haines Recalls WE-Rock Western Finals

Last weekend the Donner Ski Ranch in Norden, California hosted the final event of the We-Rock western series. The Donner Ski Ranch has been a favorite location for fans and competitors for over a decade. It was also the only event of the season that would take place on natural terrain.
 
We came into the 2011 season with high hopes, but we've suffered one disappointing loss after another. Two of the 3 previous We-Rock events were lost in the shootout, and the other event saw a huge comeback fall just short. All three events resulted in 2nd place finishes.
>>Read Full Article

Jesse Haines Recaps July's Races

On July 9th and 10th I was in Donner, CA for the 3rd event of the Cal-Neva Extreme rock crawling series. The Donner Ski Ranch has been one of my favorite venues since my first event there in 2008. For one reason or another, the fans that come to the events at the ranch always seem to remember me and the crazy lines that I’ve pulled off at previous events. It’s a good feeling knowing that I’m a “fan favorite” at the Donner events, and I’ve had great success there.
>>Read Full Article

Rusty Bray Recaps This Weekend's WE Rock and TREC Races

Rock Rod Racing Takes 2nd at W.E. Rock Eastern Season Opener

The team was excited to go to the opening race in Dayton, TN which is the home of the largest and rowdiest fan base in the nation.  We finished on a high note last year placing top 2 in every rock crawl event we entered.  The offseason had us busy checking parts, freshening/investing in a few areas and prepping a new enclosed race trailer with organized, labeled storage of spares and tools.  We had invested in a new Ruffstuff Specialties full float rear axle, Fresh drivetrain components from Yukon Gear and Tom Woods Custom drive shafts and a new Griffin Radiators cooling system.  In March we had a shakedown run at the annual Big Meat run in Disney, OK and some occasional practice days.  We were more ready than we had ever been before.
>>Read Full Article

Jesse Haines Pulls Out a Second Place Win at Cal-Neva Extreme Despite a Very Tempramental Car

April and May have been a busy couple of months for me. In the past 7 weekends I've competed in 4 rockcrawling events, and the Silver State desert race. This weekend was the 2nd event of the Cal-Neva Extreme series, and the event was held at the Exit 28 Motorsports Park in Reno, NV. The competition site at Exit 28 has arguably the best rockcrawling terrain of any place I've ever been in my 8 years of competing. This series is as competitive as any crawling series out there, and after winning the 1st event last month we were off to a good start.
>>Read Full Article

Roger Norman Rock Crawls For the Win at W.E. Rock

RENO, NV     MAY 11, 2011  - Roger Norman took the Pro Modified Win in the Torchmate Racing Pro Mod #8 rock crawler at only his second appearance in the W.E. Rock Western Pro Nationals.  “I felt better having the one competition under my belt,” said successful Trophy-Truck racer Roger Norman.  “I came knowing this was one of the hardest sets of courses, and we just went methodically through the process of accomplishing each for the overall win.”
>>Read Full Article

Torchmate Racing Ken blume and Rusty Bray Compete in W.E. Rock Eastern Pro Series First Round This Weekend

RENO, NV     MAY 13, 2011   Torchmate Racing Ken Blume and Rusty Bray will compete in this weekends W.E. Rock Eastern Pro Series National event in Dayton, TN.   The opening round for the Eastern Series, both Ken Blume and Rusty Bray will be focused on winning the Pro Mod class and setting the stage for the rest of the season.
>>Read Full Article

Jesse Haines Brings Back a 2nd Place Finish From Oroville

This past weekend was the 2nd stop for the W.E. Rock Western Series Championship. The event was held at Surplus City in Oroville, California. The W.E. Rock event was part of Oroville's Feather Fiesta Days and teams from the event took part in a parade through downtown Oroville Saturday before the start of the event.
>>Read Full Article

Roger Norman in the Oroville Feather Fiesta Days Parade before the Oroville rock crawling competition

Torchmate Jesse Haines Completes Every Bonus Line and Takes the Win at Cal-Neva Extreme

RENO, NV     APRIL 11, 2011   The first ever Cal-Neva Extreme rockcrawling event was held this weekend at Exit 28 Motorsports Park in Reno, Nevada. Cal-Neva Extreme is a highly competitive rockcrawling series based in northern Nevada and California run by promoter Glenn Bonner, who successfully ran the CalROCs series from 2008-2010.
>>Read Full Article
>>Read About Torchmate Racing's Entire Weekend in Sports

Roger Norman Rock Crawls with Torchmate Racing and Takes 3rd in Rookie Appearance

RENO, NV     APRIL 7, 2011  - Roger Norman decided to compete in another discipline of racing this year: Rock Crawling.  In his rookie appearance at the W.E. Rock West Tucson, AZ event he challenged himself and finished on the podium in his Torchmate Racing Pro Mod #8 rock crawler.  “Rock crawling is tougher than it looks,” exclaimed successful Trophy Truck racer Roger Norman. “There is actually a ton of strategy and teamwork involved.”
>>Read Full Article

>>Watch Roger Norman's Video Recap of the Event

Jesse Haines Steps Back in to His Unlimited Rock Crawler For a 2nd Place Finish

As the 2011 Rock Crawling season started I was in a familiar old car (my unlimited car from '07-'09), but I found myself with another new spotter. I asked JT Taylor if he would spot for me just a few days before the We Rock event in Tucson. JT said he had spotted before, but I think the last time he saw a rock crawling comp most guys were running leaf springs. It took us a while to get on the same page, and the first few courses didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped.
>>Read Full Article

Torchmate Racing Heads to Warmer Weather at W.E. Rock Nationals
Jesse Haines and Roger Norman to Compete

RENO, NV     MARCH 30, 2011   Torchmate Racing will be in full force at the opening round of the W.E. Rock Nationals this weekend in Tucson, AZ with Jesse Haines competing in the Unlimited Class and Roger Norman competing in the ProMod Class.  Also on the track this weekend will be Torchmate Racing Rusty Bray at the TREC series and five-year-old Gwen Garwood in a Sprint Kid Kart. 
>>Read Full Article

Roger Norman Teams with Torchmate Racing for 2011 W.E. Rock Series

RENO, NV     JANUARY 17, 2011  - Roger Norman will add to his repertoire of off-road racing competing in the 2011 W.E. Rock West Series with the Torchmate Racing Team.  “I am really excited to be able to learn and participate in the rock crawling series,” said Roger Norman.  “Being able to be a part of the Torchmate team is great, it allows me to have a solid chance at learning from the best, in a proven machine.”
>>Read Full Article

End of Season a High Note for Lovell Racing

"Seven years ago, we competed for the first time in the 4-event UROC Western Series. The time, travel, and expense seemed immense but we found something we loved and made it work through sheer determination. During this year’s campaign totaling 27 race entries, we hit 11 events in 11 weeks. The occasional weekend trip is now a lifestyle. I was reminded of all this on the way home from the We-Rock Finals. We have done a lot of types of racing this year but rockcrawling is by far the most unique."
>>Read More

>>Photo Gallery

July 21-22 - Cal ROCS Finals, Donner, CA

"Just days after getting back from Colorado I had to gear up for the last Cal ROCS event of the season. I spent the week working on my Ultra 4 buggy to get the motor fixed and was in the
shop until 2:30 am the night before the comp. I showed up late to Donner, didn't have time to walk the courses, and I really wasn't focused on rockcrawling. It showed in our scores that day. We ended the day in 3rd place, 28 points out of first. I went home that night and realized what was happening. I wasn't focused, and I wasn't driving like I wanted to win. I called my spotter on the way to the event site on Sunday and told him we were going to do whatever it took to come back and win! With each course we cut in to the 28 point lead, but with 1 course left we found ourselves still trailing by 9 points. We knew what we had to do to win and it meant attempting a bonus line that no one in our class had yet attempted. We pulled off the tricky, off camber bonus flawlessly, and when the dust settled we took the win by 11 points capping off a 39 point comeback! We ended the season in 3rd place for the series. We won 3 of the 4 events, but finished last in the other event after a huge rollover ended my weekend. I guess if you ain't first you're last!"

Jesse Haines

>>Read How Jesse Haines Sums Up the Past Month in Offroad

July 30-31 - We Rock Western Finals in Tooele, UT

Okay, well technically it wasn't August, but close since it was a night event! I've struggled to find a consistent spotter since moving to Nevada almost 3 years ago. This year has been a bit of a struggle to know who was going to be on the other end of the radio when I was rockcrawling. In my last Cal Rocs event I had a new spotter that I was planning to keep for the rest of the season. Just a few days prior to the We-Rock event in Tooele, UT I got word that AJ would not be able to make the trip to Utah. Since Creighton King from Maxxis Tires lives near Tooele, I asked him to find me a last minute replacement spotter. Creighton made a few phone calls and found someone to help me out. Creighton didn't just find "someone". He found me Craig Stumph, founder of UROC, championship winning driver, spotter, and all around rockcrawling legend! It had been 4 years since Craig Had been involved in any kind of competition. I met Craig at the brand new Miller Motorsports event site just hours before the event. We seemed to be on the same page, and day 1 went well. We had a small lead after the first 4 courses of the weekend. Fridays courses were a little easy so course designer Lil' Rich Klein stepped it up on Saturday with some very challenging obstacles. We met the challenge, but so did some of the other teams that were going after the win. With only a 16 point lead going in to the shootout it would be a tight finish, but Craig and I were able to hold on for a 10 point victory! It was a fun weekend, and I heard Craig say many times throughout the weekend how good it was to be out rockcrawling again, how much he loved the sport, and how much fun this was. It was great for me to be able to give him that opportunity AND be able to win the event."

Jesse Haines