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Jesse Haines Recalls WE-Rock Western Finals

Jesse Haines

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

Jesse Haines

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

WE Rock Rusty Bray

What a crazy weekend!  We just got back from Utah last weekend at the Ultra4 race and only had four days to prep the car and build a new front wishbone for the suspension and try to resolve the cooling issues.  Jonathan Dawes took the car to his shop and Jesse and I worked on both of them there just south of Indy.
>>Read Full Article

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

Dayton WE Rock

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

Roger Norman

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

WE Rock Eastern Pro Series

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

Jesse Haines

Photo courtesy of Creighton of Maxxis Tires

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

Roger Norman

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

Jesse Haines 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

Roger Norman Rock Crawls

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

Jesse Haines WE Rock 2011

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

Jesse Haines

Roger Norman

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

Torchmate Pro-modified rock crawler

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

WE Rock Tucson

End of Season a High Note for Lovell Racing

Lovell at WE Rock Grand Nationals

"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

Peed's Ups, Downs, and a Few Flips

"The 2nd W.E. Rock event was in Tucson , AZ on another manmade course. The car was fixed just before leaving for the event. The engine block needed to be repaired from the Oroville event and it took longer than expected and promised. There was no time to test it before heading down to AZ. After our long journey in the RV to Tucson , Nick and I were ready for a successful weekend. Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned. We started our first course to find out we could not make it past our first gates due to a toggle switch malfunction which caused the car to stall and not start again. Nick and a very generous spectator that knew a thing or two about cars offered to help fix the switch. Nick wired everything together and we were back! On our second course I got a little throttle happy and got stuck between a rock and a hard place and ended up on my side, therefore not finishing the course. On our third course we did really well but it was a long course so we were unable to make it to the finish in time. Things were not going well for us on the first day. On day two we began our first course to realize that our hydraulic steering pump gave out and it probably did so from day 1. Nick and I tried to turn the steering wheel together and it would not budge. We had to forfeit the rest of the day due to the fact that we did not have a replacement. Repairing it required going under the radiator which is hard to get to so it would have been a long repair. We had no choice but to watch the rest of the event before heading home."
>>Read More

Torchmate Hosts the WE Rock Tech Inspection

WE Rock Tech Inspection at Torchmate Distribution Center

On Friday, June 18th Torchmate hosted the WE Rock tech inspection at the Torchmate Distribution Center in Reno, NV. Forty of the top rock crawling team in the country were there for a BBQ and to show off their rigs.

>>View Photo Gallery

May Event Wrap Up

Torchmate Team Jesse at Tucson

"The month of May brought the second event in the We-Rock season. We made the trip down to Tucson , AZ on the first weekend of the month and finally debuted my new buggy. The car was planned to be done in time for the season opener in Oroville, but last minute issues prevented that from happening. With just 5 hours of seat time in the buggy, I felt like it was dialed in, and I was feeling comfortable in the driver's seat." Read more on Jesse Haines' May rock crawling events.

>>View Photo Gallery

Wind and Rocks Collide at W.E. Rock Ballistic Fabrication Pro National Competition

WE Rock Ballistic Fabrication Pro National Competition

"PLACERVILLE, CA    MAY 5, 2010:   The W.E. Rock Ballistic Fabrication Pro National Event whipped up the action and the wind at the Tucson, AZ Pima Motorsports Park.  Local Arizona racers competed against national champions with solid performances on the scoreboards, while the wind scattered vendor row and flustered the concentration of some drivers.  The class winners were Brad Lovell, Brent Bradshaw, Todd Stephensen and Nathan Unruh." Read more on the event

>>View photo gallery

NEW TORCHMATE RACING TEAM MEMBER SHANNON PEED DEBUTED AT THE WE ROCK WESTERN SERIES EVENT #1 IN OROVILLE, CA

Shannon Peed debuts

"Where do I start? Well I guess the question that gets asked most is, "How did you get into rock crawling?" I respond first with, "well...it started over a glass of wine." Bill mentioned he needed someone to drive his buggy this year. As he was pondering, I mentioned I could do it. Why not? Before I had time to really consider what I had just said, he was texting Nick Socha to propose that he be my spotter. I have never questioned my decision from that day. Though it is difficult, challenging, and at times very intimidating, I have no regrets. I'm merely taking advantage of an opportunity to get involved in something I would have never pursued on my own." Read more from Shannon

>>View Photo Gallery

AMSOIL & TORCHMATE WIN SECOND NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP

LOVELL BROTHERS WIN TOP WE-ROCK HONORS

" AMSOIL / Torchmate Racing has much to celebrate. After a string of victories in XRRA and BITD, the team just took home the We-Rock National Championship. #232 Brad & Roger Lovell lead the team to victory against the best rockcrawlers from across the country. While mechanical issues plagued #28 Kunz / Shaffer,
#199 Jesse Haines & Brian Howard narrowly missed the unlimited championship and pulled off a 3rd place finish." Read on to find out how the Torchmate Racing Team will be wrapping up the 2009 season.

TORCHMATE RACING DOMINATES 2009 WE-ROCK PODIUM

"When the idea was hatched only a few short months ago to create a comprehensive off-road racing team, some in and around the effort scratched their heads at the complexity of the effort and its reasoning. After thousands of miles of dirt and thousands of tons of rock, the results are starting to trickle in. The idea is working and the team has had resounding success. For the 2009 We-Rock Western Series - Brad Lovell 1st Pro-Mod; Jessie Haines 2nd Unlimited; and Bill Kunz 3rd Pro-Mod." Read on...

2009 WE-ROCK PODIUM PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Jud Leslie

Lovell & Lovell Secure 6th Straight Rockcrawling Championship

"The team of Brad and Roger Lovell found themselves in familiar territory at round #4 of the 2009 We- Rock Western Series in Oroville, California. After calculated moves on the course, the veteran pair of rockcrawlers quietly congratulated each other on the unthinkable – a 3rd We-Rock series championship and 6th pro rockcrawling series championship in as many years." More...

Lovell Rock CrawlerLovell Trophies
Pictures by Jud Leslie

Reno Rock Shootout and 2009 XRRA Series

Reno Rock Shootout and  2009 XRRA Series

"When Brad is not piloting his 232 AMSOIL-Torchmate Ranger he is driving his F-350 to and from competitions. This is when I get to practice my co-piloting skills which I sometimes use to aid Roger in his #32 Ford Ranger. Sure it’s not the same thing, we’re not dodging orange cones, but we are navigation a 60-foot long hauler through some of our nation’s largest cities, and that can be a feat to accomplish. Being a co-driver also means rehashing the event’s highlights and lowklights over, and over, and sometimes over again.

This weekend was no different. While nearly all our events fit in a busy schedule, Father’s Day weekend made for a conflict and caused the Colorado based team members to split forces. Roger raced back-to-back XRRA under #232 on Saturday and #32 on Sunday in Colorado Springs. This allowed both trucks to stay in the hunt for the season championship and freed Brad up to head to Reno, NV to defend the We-Rock championship and join team members Bill Kunz and Jesse Haines spotted by Mike Shaffer and Brian Howard, respectively in the We-Rock Round #3." Read more from a different perspective about the weekend's events.

View the Reno Rock Shootout photo gallery here.

The 4Locked Crew visits W.E. Rock in Reno, Nevada. Check out the highlights here. Don't miss the last minute of the video! Our Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems are caught in action!

Watch a video filmed inside the #28 Torchmate car at the Reno Rocks Shootout

Check out the video gallery from the inside of Roger Lovell's car at the Colorado Springs 2009 XRRA Series.

 

Torchmate Racing Obliterates Competition in Cedar City

You better take a picture because this does not happen every day – Brad Lovell

Brad Lovell at Cedar City


"Some weekends everything comes together just the way it was planned. When the team hit the road for We-Rock Round #2 in Cedar City, UT of course they all wanted to individually finish on top, but could it come together for the whole team at a single event? Torchmate Racing fought hard, took many risks, and the results were what the team hoped for: Jesse Haines 1st Place Unlimited, Brad Lovell 1st Place Pro- Modified, and Bill Kunz 2nd Place Pro-Modified. A new benchmark has been set for the team which will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to surpass." Click here to read on.

Check out the W.E. Rock Round #2 Photo Gallery

WE Rock Cedar City 2009 Shootout

Watch this great video!

Bill Kunz and Mike Shaffer pull off a 2nd place finish at the WERock Western Series Event #2 in Cedar City Utah.

Length 8:04

LOVELLS CAPTURE TOP HONORS AT 2009 WE-ROCK DEBUT

Lovells

 

The Torchmate team had a strong presence at the 2009 WE-Rock Debut with 3 top ten finishes including a win. Read how the Lovells capture top honors in these high risk man-made courses.

Click here to scroll through more photos of the event!

Freshly back from the W.E.ROCK U.S. Nationals, our Unlimited and ProModified Rock Crawlers were on display in front of our office located in Reno, NV!

W.E. Rock Rock Crawlers

The Torchmate crew headed out to Hannibal, Missouri to compete in the W.E.ROCK Grand Nationals. Torchmate sponsored the event providing LIVE coverage including a LIVE radio feed, LIVE photo uploads to the internet, as well as BLOW BY BLOW updates.

Torchmate Rock Crawler

Torchmate also provided some really cool trophies made with none other than our
Torchmate 4x4 CNC Cutting System and the New Torchmate XS2!

Trophies

XRRA racer Derek Trent

 

In 2008, Torchmate sponsored XRRA racer Derek Trent. Shown left is Derek airing out his competition buggy.

Videos - Click on Each Picture Below to View the Video

W.E. Rock, Reno, NV

The 4Locked Crew visits W.E. Rock in Reno, Nevada. Check out the highlights here. Don't miss the last minute of the video! Our Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems are caught in action!

 

 

Here is a highlight film of our May Rock Crawling competition in Cedar City, Utah at Three Peaks Recreation Area. Bill Kunz, Torchmate CEO driving and Mike Shaffer of Shaffers Offroad spotting. We made a couple of costly errors that hurt. One rollover and two courses we timed out. Other than that, we were in the hunt. We came in 9th. Next comp back in Cedar City in about 5 weeks. Check back for that video if you like this one.

This is a video that we spliced together of our runs in Perris, CA at the last W.E.Rock event. It was our first event ever, so hopefully there will be less rollovers in the video from the next event. Thanks to Shaffers Offroad including Mike Shaffer, Jesse Haines and crew for using our machine to build us such a fantastic rig. It was a lot of fun.

 

A video featuring action from the Brown's Valley CalROCs event. The terrain was well suited to the skills and experience of driver Bill Kunz and it showed in the results. The Torchmate buggy utilizes many components constructed using a Torchmate 2 CNC plasma cutter. It performed flawlessly, driving to a 3rd place finish -- a great result for this rookie team!

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