Derek West takes 1st at the Widia Rausch Creek Qualifier

UTV Weekly | April 30, 2013

Off-Road racers Derek West and Jason Henne of Jimmy’s Racing Team drove their Nitto Tire, Northstar Battery race car to a first place finish at the Widia Rausch Creek Qualifier (RCQ). The team qualified 4^th for the race starting in the second row at the start line, a perfect position to attack from. Quickly off the line the team had made a pass and were into 3^rd position and were catching the lkeaders. After the first lap the 4420 car was right on the tail of Shannon Campbell the physical leader, which actually put Derek in the lead on corrected time. After the 3^rd lap Derek was able to take the physical overall lead with a lap and a half to go. For the remainder of the race the team set a pace to finish and take the win. On the final lap Derek encountered some lap traffic at the “CV” hill climb and while trying to make his way through the obstacle he got caught against a tree and decided to winch the hill climb and just play it safe, this would be the only time during the race Jason was out of the race car. Knowing that they had about a 15 minute lead the team had to get up the hill and get moving again. Ten minutes later the team was on their way again with the task of finishing the race with the car in tact and staying in the lead. The team came across the finish line after a little over 3 hours of racing. When Derek was asked what he thought about the wet, muddy conditions at the race he said,”It seems pretty normal as I have never raced here when it was dry”. This would be the 4^th time Derek would race the RCQ, previous finishes include a 1^st, 3^rd and 12^th. The next Ultra4 race will be at the “Badlands” in Attica, IN on June 29.