Shannon Campbell Repeats Win at Badlands
Photo by Thom Kingston
ATTICA, IN – July 3rd, 2014: More than 40 ULTRA4 cars came to compete at The Ultimate Motorsports Championship last weekend at Badlands Off-Road Park in Attica, IN. The race has grown nearly 70% in the last 3 years and has become a true battle of East meets West on some of the harshest terrain the 2014 ULTRA4 season has to offer. The fastest drivers from the East included; Erik Miller, Derek West, Bill Baird and Chicky Barton. Drivers from the west included; Shannon Campbell, Loren Healy, Wayland Campbell and Tom Wayes. After two and a half brutal hours of racing, Shannon Campbell lead by two laps over Mike Colville, making him the ULTRA4 winner at the Badlands for the 2nd year in a row.
Erik Miller claimed pole position after qualifying fastest Saturday morning with Shannon Campbell qualifying just 3 hundredths of a second behind him. The main race saw the drivers taking the green flag one car every 10 seconds. Drivers first had to conquer several rain-drenched man-made obstacles in the amphitheater before heading out onto the 5 mile course. From rock walls to sand dunes, to tight, tree-lined straight-aways, Badlands offers terrain that puts the toughest of the ULTRA4 cars to the test. This year’s course was made even more challenging by several torrential downpours on Saturday that cleared up just before the green flag dropped.
[vsw id=”7Q_RB53wHww” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]
Drivers were given the option of climbing the final wall in the rock quarry or receiving a 5 minute penalty if they elected to bypass the wall. This added an element of strategy for drivers in a race that is determined by the number of laps completed, and if multiple drivers complete the same number of laps, it is then determined by fastest time to complete those laps.
Shannon Campbell’s strategy was clear from the start. He was going for the most laps possible, taking the 5 minute penalty on almost every lap. This strategy combined with Campbell’s consistently fast laps had him 2 laps ahead of Mike Colville when the checkered flag dropped. Colville’s strategy was the exact opposite of Campbell’s as he only took the bypass twice in his 9 laps, and still managed to finish a lap ahead of the rest of the field. In the end it would be Campbell in first, Colville in 2nd and Healy in 3rd, with only about half the cars still running at the end of the race.
At every 2014 ULTRA4 regional race, the top ten drivers who haven’t already qualified earn a spot to compete in the the 2015 Griffin King of The Hammers presented by Nitto Tire. Several of the drivers that qualified at Badlands were competing in their first ever ULTRA4 event. Those drivers are: Dave Fox, Rowdy Trubenbech and the youngest female ever to qualify for KOH, 17 year old, Bailey Campbell, daughter of Badlands winner, Shannon Campbell.
The unlimited ULTRA4 class shared the course this year with 5 modified 4500 vehicles. Casey Gilbert, who would have been the only 4600 stock vehicle to compete, opted to race with the 4500s, and ultimately won the field, followed by Jay Callaway and James Cantrell.
The 4 Wheel Parts Glen Helen Grand Prix in San Bernardino, CA, is the next ULTRA4 event. It will take place next weekend and is the 2nd race in the Trail-Gear Western Regional Series. The next 4WD Eastern regional event will be the Sturgis Off Road Blowout in Sturgis, KY on September 12th and 13th. The next ULTRA4 Europe event will be the 3rd annual King of The Valleys held in Wales August 8th-12th.
4400 Results
First
Last
Car#
Laps
Total Time
Penalty Minutes
KOH Qual
1
SHANNON
CAMPBELL
5
11
02:45:43.108
45
*
2
MIKE
COLVILLE
4418
9
02:47:32.333
10
yes-1
3
LOREN
HEALY
67
8
02:36:11.985
15
*
4
CHICKY
BARTON
144
8
02:30:49.002
30
*
5
ROWDY
TRUTENBECH
3006
8
02:44:57.887
40
yes-2
6
CHAD
HUNDT
456
8
02:47:23.629
40
yes-3
7
DAVE
FOX
4454
8
03:10:56.610
40
yes-4
8
JASON
ONEAL
101
7
02:40:14.513
35
yes-5
9
TOM
WAYES
321
6
01:38:33.415
5
*
10
BILL
BAIRD
5252
6
02:10:12.671
10
*
11
JONATHAN
TERHUNE
890
6
01:53:44.307
35
yes-6
12
BAILEY
CAMPBELL
35
6
02:17:47.289
30
yes-7
13
ERIK
MILLER
4421
6
02:52:39.927
5
*
14
JONATHAN
DAWES
6148
6
02:31:51.021
30
yes-8
15
WAYLAND
CAMPBELL
3
6
02:43:56.040
30
*
16
MACY
HIGGINS
1215
6
03:00:04.482
30
yes-9
17
CHRIS
RIDGWAY
4701
6
03:06:36.706
25
yes-10
18
BRIAN
SHIRLEY
18
5
01:24:21.730
25
*
19
DEREK
WEST
4420
5
01:49:04.917
10
*
20
KENNY
BLUME
192
5
01:57:20.927
25
21
TRAVIS
COOK
4440
5
02:38:08.741
25
*
22
MICHAEL
FEAGINS
929
5
02:46:30.908
25
23
MIKE
BERGMAN
4492
5
02:46:57.253
25
*
24
LEVI
SHIRLEY
81
4
01:18:36.102
20
*
25
KIM
MATZEN
4436
4
01:20:59.375
20
26
STAN
HAYNES
4408
4
01:25:46.437
20
27
CHRIS
MAY
725
4
01:55:02.498
20
*
28
MATTHEW
PETERSON
338
4
02:33:12.009
15
29
MATT
BURKETT
49
3
00:54:21.450
10
30
ADAM
CARTER
4433
2
00:59:00.840
10
31
JORDAN
BLASE
4064
2
02:17:28.288
10
32
JASON
SHIPMAN
4414
1
00:23:38.053
0
*
33
DUSTIN
SEXTON
4437
1
00:24:18.152
5
34
MICHAEL
HESTON
630
1
01:13:20.988
5
DNF
MATT
TAYLOR
819
0
00:04:50.886
0
4500 Results
First
Last
Car#
Laps
Total Time
Penalty Minutes
1
CASEY
GILBERT
4618
5
03:11:32.440
25
2
JAY
CALLAWAY
4550
4
02:48:24.570
20
3
JAMES
CANTRELL
451
4
02:58:47.322
15
4
ROB
MATZELL
4573
3
02:53:51.322
15
5
JESSE
OLIVER
4517
2
01:22:51.022
10