Race Prep Racing – From Unknown to Top 10
May 10, 2011 – Simi Valley, CA: At the Best in the Desert Silver State 300 this year a weekend jeeper qualified for the 2012 King of the Hammers (KOH). With no prior desert racing experience, Ultra4 driver Richie Carter took his Race Prep Racing #4474 car 303 miles in just under 8 hours, scooping up the 5th and final qualifying spot given in this race. In an instant the team, led by Richie as owner and mechanic as well as driver, became a force to take note of in the Ultra4 class.
Richie Carter entered this desert race with qualifying for KOH in mind, for sure. “I knew we could do it, I just didn’t know if we would”, said Richie at the finish line. Together with his co-driver Kristen Carter – who is also his wife – Richie put down a fairly flawless race. No mechanical problems, no vehicle issues, no blown tires, just calculated fuel stops all day long. Richie and Kristen even decided on the fly to bypass the last pit and head for the finish line in the hopes they would keep pace with others in their class vying for the qualifying spots. Fuel mileage calculations proved accurate and they finished the race in 13th place in their class. This solid finish comes just after a successful King of the Hammers race in February 2011. The team finished 35th out of 100 racers, and only 48 finished KOH at all.
When asked about the track record, Richie said, “We are showing a level of consistency many racers only dream of. Our car is solid, but not fancy. The motor is small but it means we don’t overstress other components, so we can finish races. I’m excited about this season and especially about KOH next year.” Soon after learning of their KOH qualifying spot earned at the Silver State 300, The Carter’s also learned that the two finishes put them in 8th place overall in the Ultra4 Racing Series. Having secured their King of the Hammers qualifying spot so early in the season will allow the team to focus on the series as a whole. “That we could be among the top racers in our sport, holding 8th place in the series thus far is unbelievable. It shows you that even a budget car, built in the garage with hand-me-down parts and no sponsors thus far can race in this class and stay competitive. I love that we represent that,” said Richie of the series ranking.
The car will be displayed at the Knights of Columbus Car Show (www.chilikc.com) on June 12th and Richie and Kristen will race at the next Ultra4 event, the American Rock Sports Challenge, at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah on July 16th.
While Race Prep Racing remains unsponsored, they would like to recognize the support of the following: Raceline Wheels,
GenRight Off Road, Wayne Israelsen (Alltech Motorsports) and Rigid Industries.
Race Prep Racing always displays the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation logo in support of finding a cure for the devastating disease, Spinal Muscle Atrophy. For information about SMA, Gwen or the foundation, visit their website at www.gwendolynstrongfoundation.org, call Bill Strong at (818) 231-5935 or e-mail him at bill@gwendolynstrongfoundation.org.
About Richie Carter: Currently residing in Simi Valley, CA with his wife of 11 years, Richie (38) was raised in Calabasas, CA, attended Sonoma State University, and is the owner of Race Prep Hobbies, an “ALL RC” hobby store selling remote control cars, boats, planes and helicopters and all of their parts. He proudly co-drove for Tony Pellegrino at KOH 2010 and Kevin Sacalas at the Colorado Hill Climb 2010 before striking out on his own to race Ultra4.