West Wins in Badlands and Takes Lead in Nitto National Series

June 27th, 2015 ATTICA, IN:  More than 40 ULTRA4 drivers braved the rain and mud to take part in the 4th annual RCV ULTRA4s at Badlands race. Despite a week of intense rain and flood warnings, drivers awoke to sunny skies Saturday morning. Thousands of spectators took advantage of the weather and came out to watch a day filled with off road competitions throughout the park.

Qualifying for the 4400s started early on Saturday. Derek West was the last driver to qualify and beat Macy Higgins time by more than 6 seconds, earning him both the pole position in the main race as well as the Billet Rifle Hot Shot Award.  West’s domination started early and continued throughout the day.
Drivers started the main event one every 10 seconds, and had 2.5 hours to race the 4.5 mile track as many laps as possible. The Badlands course is unique in several ways: There is a man-made arena with rock obstacles and jumps, sandy go-fast sections, tight-tree lined single track and a rock quarry that puts the most skilled rock crawler to the test. While the sun and wind did their part to significantly dry out the track from the day before there were still plenty of mud puddles which just added to the challenge of the rock sections.

West started on the pole and never looked back. He held the fastest lap times even when mixing it up with lap traffic. By the end of the race, Nitto Tire’s West would finish one lap ahead of Texas driver Doug Jackson and two laps ahead of South Carolina’s Chris May.  Both Jackson and May earning their first ULTRA4 podiums in Indiana.  In addition to the 4400s, the 4500s raced the identical track starting behind the ULTRA4s. In the 4500 class, 451 driver James Cantrell took first place, continuing his podium streak on the East Coast. 4573 Rob Matzell took 2nd place and 4555 Stephen Caproni took 3rd.  In the UTV race sponsored by Badlands with a $1000 purse, six UTV drivers punished their vehicles for 45 minutes, with newcomer Brian Strane taking 1st followed by Zach Szymick and Paul Nagele.
With West’s win in Badlands he now has a substantial lead in the Nitto National Series points.  Going into Saturday’s race West was 3rd in the points behind Levi Shirley in first and Wayland Campbell in 2nd. Shirley was unable to attend Saturday’s race as he was invited to take part in Europe’s GoodWood Festival, representing ULTRA4 Racing for the first time at the event. Wayland Campbell competed in the Badland’s and borrowed sister Bailey Campbell’s straight axle car for the event. Unfortunately, Campbell suffered major mechanical failures early in the race. The Nitto National Championship is comprised of 5 races, those races include: KOH Week Race, 3 best regional series races, and the Nitto Tire National Championship race.  While West currently holds a considerable lead, with 4 regional races left in the series there is still plenty of time for other drivers to play catch up.

The next race in the ULTRA4 Nitto National Championship will be this weekend with the 4 Wheel Parts Glen Helen Grand Prix July 10th and 11th. The next 4WD Hardware East Coast regional race is the Sturgis Off Road Blowout in Sturgis, KY July 31st and August 1st. For more information on ULTRA4 Racing please visit www.ultra4racing.com

2015 RCV Badlands Results
 

4400 ULTRA4 Results

First
Last
Car #
Last Time Scanned
Laps
Time Pen.

DEREK
WEST
20
39:00.5
12

DOUG
JACKSON
61
50:02.9
11

CHRIS
MAY
725
45:38.9
10

MICHAEL
HESTON
630
46:23.7
10

JONATHAN
DAWES
6148
50:46.0
10

JONATHAN
TERHUNE
890
53:47.8
10

TRAVIS
COOK
4440
54:52.9
10

JASON
ONEAL
101
02:14.1
10

MACY
HIGGINS
1215
07:56.0
9
2.5 Min

MICHAEL
FEAGINS
929
45:01.4
9

DAVID
FOX
514
06:04.9
9

CHRIS
SOMMER
678
02:55.7
8

JASON
SHIPMAN
4414
43:30.5
7

CLAY
GILSTRAP
26
51:37.5
7
5.0 Min

MICHAEL
ABBATTE
572
49:19.3
6

MATTHEW
GAROFALO
928
55:30.0
6

SHANNON
CAMPBELL
8
02:51.9
5

KENNY
BLUME
192
59:21.7
5

DARRELL
KREBSBACH
553
44:50.2
3

WAYLAND
CAMPBELL
35
19:02.7
2

TROY
STONE
429
23:34.6
2

CHAD
HUNDT
456
26:43.6
2

MIKE
COLVILLE
4704
03:23.2
1

JEFF
CAUDILL
513
05:50.0
1

4500 Modified Results

First
Last
Car #
Last Time Scanned
Laps

JAMES
CANTRELL
451
18:06:55
6

ROB
MATZELL
4573
17:14:26
5

STEPHEN
CAPRONI
4555
16:52:36
4

JOHN
JACOBS
4517
16:07:37
3

CASEY
GILBERT
618
15:06:45
1

DUANE
GARRETSON
26
15:07:24
1

UTV Results

First
Last
Car #
Last Time Scanned
Laps

BRIAN
STRANE
490
12:43:09
18

ZACH
SZYMIK
837
12:44:33
17

PAUL
NAGELE
8
12:33:30
11

BRETT
SNYDER
7212
12:24:10
9

RYAN
GILLEN
1
12:10:36
4

WES
CHOATE
1320
12:02:23
1