Dirt Riot Moab Race Recap From LetzRoll Offroad Racing

Simon | April 12, 2012

MOAB, UT APRIL, 2012 – LetzRoll Offroad Racing competed with 2 cars in the Dirt Riot racing series this past weekend. The race was held at Area BFE and was the first of the Dirt Riot Mountain Division races. Shawn Passmore in the Dirt Riot 4600 class series points leading Yukon Axle #4669 took 2nd place in the stock class. Andrew McLaughlin, in the #4493 black and yellow ESAB NA/Yukon Gear and Axle race buggy, took 7th place in the Unlimited/Ultra4 class. To incorporate more of the incredible Area BFE trail system, 2 heats were run, three laps on the top loop and 3 laps on the bottom loop. The two combined times determined the final ranking.

Andrew McLaughlin shares his experience of the race weekend: “After finding out the course would be tons of rocks, we felt right at home. We arrived Thursday afternoon, took a quick look at the course and got the details of the race. Hitting up the Raceline Wheels party at Grampa’s Garage, we were able to run into all our friends who were there for the race and for the Easter Jeep Safari. Friday was full of prerunning and vehicle testing. Everything on the race car felt great! We made a few changes to the cars and loaded them up on the trailers to hit the show. We went straight to see our friends at Yukon Gear and Axle to say hello. I was pumped to see the new D60 Lockouts! Hurry up and get these out! Chromoly internals and a default to lock if there is ever a failure… HOOK IT UP! Way to go, Yukon.”

“After visiting with Yukon at the show, we headed to tech inspection and the meet at greet at Cabo Grill. We enjoyed some good grub, a few suds, visiting with fans, and seeing the other drivers and cars. Saturday was full of fun! We pulled a #12 start position for qualifying, so we had a few minutes to watch and go over last minute race plans. We had a strong showing during our qualifying run and started 11th for the main race, smack in the middle. It was time to show everyone what we could do. Shawn and Jim [in the #4669 stock class car] took a great 2nd place finish in their stock class rig. Keep in mind, this rig drove the streets the entire trip! There is nothing like a TJ that loves to haul ass. [The 2nd place finish in Moab, combined with the 1st place finish in Tucson, continues to build the #4669 and team LetzRoll Offroad Racing’s position as the National Dirt Riot point leader for 2012 in the 4600 class.]”

“Finally, it was our turn in the #4493. Matt and I had a good game plan to keep it easy on heat one and keep the car together. That plan stayed strong, though we ran the buggy through its paces for sure! We came in after heat 1 and moved up the 9th starting heat 2. Heat 2 was a new strategy. Keep the car together, but show everyone what were made of. WE didn’t see a single rig until the last lap. We got constant communication from our crew letting us know who was where so we were able to run a clean race. We came through the line to take a nice solid 7th place finish, only missing 6th place by 2 seconds! It was a tight race that was a ton of fun.”

“I would also like to thank those that make this happen for us each race. Yukon Gear and Axle – Not a single axle failure in 3 races this year! It is so nice to be able to count on components like this. It gives us total confidence to hammer down. PSC – Great steering as usual. Always there when we need to dart and weave! Raceline Wheels – We were going to add a bit more air since we came down on the rim a few times… I couldn’t even tell! Tough wheels! Goodyear Tires – 2 races this year and close to 200 challenging miles. No flats. I LOVE THESE TIRES! ESAB NA – Great welders. I didn’t need to pull it out this race, which is a great thing! Thanks everyone and we’ll see you in New Mexico for the Ultra4 Cinco de Baja on May 5th!”

Next up for team LetzRoll Offroad in May 2012: May 4 – 6: Cinco De Baja Ultra4 race in Albuquerque, NM May 18 – 19: Dirt Riot in Congress, AZ A very special thank you to our racing sponsors: ESAB North America, Goodyear tires, PSC Steering, LetzRoll Offroad, Yukon Gear and Axle, Radflo Suspension Technology and our media partners at Bower Motorsports Media for event coverage of the race. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LetzRollOffroadRacing or at www.letzrolloffroad.com.

More about the #4493 Unlimited team: Since the age of 16, Andrew McLaughlin knew he was meant for wheeling. After attending ASU while serving in the military, Andrew graduated and worked in the corporate world for 7 years until his passion for off?roading got the best of him. Andrew started LetzRoll Offroad in 2008 as a part time business through the internet. In 2010, he left corporate America and followed his dreams of owning his own business and opened LetzRoll. Andrew turned his passion into a business. LetzRoll Offroad began in 2008, mainly offering internet sales of quality offroad parts (www.letzrolloffroad.com). With the support and encouragement of his wife plus a growing group of loyal customers requesting custom fabrication and installation, Andrew made the move into a full time custom shop and the rest has been history. Today LetzRoll Offroad has 3 full time employees (all active wheelers in their own right) who have been racing together for years in Jeepspeed events. The move to the Ultra4 and Dirt Riot series was a natural fit for their experience in both rocks and desert. Andrew lives in Mesa, AZ.

More about the #4669 Stock class team: Shawn Passmore has been a wheeler for the last 20 years, starting with a 1979 CJ5 then moving to a 98 TJ that has wheeled everything from back roads to 4.5 trails all over AZ. “My family enjoys the outdoors as much as I do and we have continued the long standing traditions that I was raised with such as tread lightly and respect the land/other users just like they were family. I was born is AZ and have raised my child here because of the many opportunities to ‘get away from it all’ that we enjoy so much.” Co-Driver Jim Rosato has been an Automotive Technician for 10 years, and has been the chief designer for the electrical and engine management systems on both the #4669 and #4493 cars. Outside of vehicle design and fabrication, Jim has served in the US Army Reserves as a Wheeled Vehicle mechanic since 2001. Jim served in Iraq from 2003 – 2004 as a mechanic and as the companies MK19 grenade launcher gunner. Both Shawn and Jim reside in Mesa, AZ.