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We're alive, back in CT, and I have been driving the Jeep everywhere! The whole time at the race was awesome and we went through some terrible times and some great triumphs. Here are some pictures for you guys all to enjoy who hate facebook.
What an experience. I had hoped for a long time to be at this point, and put in so much work to get to this point with the help of so many great people. To think that just a group of kids could take my parents' Jeep Wrangler that they bought new in 2001 and run it in an incredibly difficult off road race shows that we really have something here. Through all the learning and experimenting we have done, the long and difficult days and nights of working on the cars in the Hack Shack stable, it was all worth it in the end. While there is lots of hard work involved with this affair, we always have a great time doing it. After all it's all about fun in the end. The Hack Shack crew isn't
done either. We have a lot more set in our sights.
Our KOH week was awesome and came with its fair share of hardships. It's all about how you handle them and our team was prepared and able to deal with all the difficulties we had. It was our first time running the car in the desert which definitely had a learning curve for the 2 of us. We had never seen woops, and the rock trails in Johnson Valley were definitely tough. We wanted to pre run more than we did, but of course we ended up having fuel delivery problems where the pickups fell off inside the tank. Never once has the jeep had a fuel problem and it showed up at the most opportune time, of course. While dealing with clogged fuel filters we lost pre running time and ended up having to pull the cell apart and construct a new system of lines to hold the walbro filters on. We also had a bump stop wallow out a little, but that wasn't a real big deal. We got to start on race day successfully and cruised through about 99% of the first lap without a hitch
and only 2 missed turns. Coming up the small hill that drops you down into the finish line the jeep stalled out on right at the top. The fuel pump fuse blew and kept blowing. Weary of our fuel pump being stressed all week we changed that and put a new filter in and were able to get to main pit. A leaking fuel line was repaired there by the crew of Jason Scherer. Casey Scherer headed this crew and they had us out so quickly it was like we actually knew what we were doing! Back onto course and out to pit 2a, no issues and we go for boulderdash. Fuse blows again and we get the thing going again. Not until we go deep into the Wrecking ball trail did we discover the true cause of the fuel issue, a short in the wire somewhere and wired a new wire straight through the cab to the pump. This whole thing cost us about 2 hours of time in all. Once we arrived at Chocolate Thunder at 5:30 we knew we probably would not be able to finish the race especially having arrived at that trail
with 10+ rec wheelers on live race course. This really killed us, and after clearing chocolate thunder spirits were low and we decided not to press on without rock lights in 3 more tough rock trails. Despite what problems we had most of the stuff on the Jeep held up great. From our Rock Krawler shocks doing beautifully, to our Clayton Off Road control arms and Rugged Radios radio equipment, and even those old sheetmetal 1970s axle housings loaded with Aussie Locker by Torq-Masters Industries that a couple of poor white boys pulled out of the dirt. Who would've thought they'd even make it to the first rock trail in this difficult event! Thanks East Coast Gear Supply and Al for helping us get them race ready!
We are grateful for how far we have come, to make it to race mile 76. We most definitely brought a fire home with us to finish that race next year. The terrible feeling of not making the cut is something I know all too well from NCAA swimming.
We will be coming back more prepared, with an improved car, and with a whole different level of motivation.
I can't begin to thank all the people who have helped Hack Shack Racing along the way from great friends, to sponsors and marketing partners to our families who sacrifice so much. The team could never have made it to where it was without all of you.If there is any chance I have forgotten anyone, tag yourself in the comments.
Crew and friends:
Matt DiNicola
Steve Usher
Fred
Dizzy Christopher William
Phil the Painter Philip Restivo
Phil Larocca
Abby Jane
Harrison H. Hendricks
Will Gentile
Nicole Sorrentino
Jonathan Galica
John Mackiewicz
Casey Scherer and crew
Cora Jokinen
Erik Jokinen
Tom Yash
Adam Rowe
Jason Kaminsky
Scott Decker
And the legendary......VAN
Sponsors and Partners:
Aussie Locker by Torq-Masters Industries
Nitto Tire
East Coast Gear Supply
J.W. Speaker Corporation
Corbeau Seats USA
HeavyMetalConcepts
Raceline Wheels
Rock Krawler Suspension
TeraFlex Suspensions
Clayton Off Road
Rugged Radios
Factor 55
Until next year everyone!
What an experience. I had hoped for a long time to be at this point, and put in so much work to get to this point with the help of so many great people. To think that just a group of kids could take my parents' Jeep Wrangler that they bought new in 2001 and run it in an incredibly difficult off road race shows that we really have something here. Through all the learning and experimenting we have done, the long and difficult days and nights of working on the cars in the Hack Shack stable, it was all worth it in the end. While there is lots of hard work involved with this affair, we always have a great time doing it. After all it's all about fun in the end. The Hack Shack crew isn't
done either. We have a lot more set in our sights.
Our KOH week was awesome and came with its fair share of hardships. It's all about how you handle them and our team was prepared and able to deal with all the difficulties we had. It was our first time running the car in the desert which definitely had a learning curve for the 2 of us. We had never seen woops, and the rock trails in Johnson Valley were definitely tough. We wanted to pre run more than we did, but of course we ended up having fuel delivery problems where the pickups fell off inside the tank. Never once has the jeep had a fuel problem and it showed up at the most opportune time, of course. While dealing with clogged fuel filters we lost pre running time and ended up having to pull the cell apart and construct a new system of lines to hold the walbro filters on. We also had a bump stop wallow out a little, but that wasn't a real big deal. We got to start on race day successfully and cruised through about 99% of the first lap without a hitch
and only 2 missed turns. Coming up the small hill that drops you down into the finish line the jeep stalled out on right at the top. The fuel pump fuse blew and kept blowing. Weary of our fuel pump being stressed all week we changed that and put a new filter in and were able to get to main pit. A leaking fuel line was repaired there by the crew of Jason Scherer. Casey Scherer headed this crew and they had us out so quickly it was like we actually knew what we were doing! Back onto course and out to pit 2a, no issues and we go for boulderdash. Fuse blows again and we get the thing going again. Not until we go deep into the Wrecking ball trail did we discover the true cause of the fuel issue, a short in the wire somewhere and wired a new wire straight through the cab to the pump. This whole thing cost us about 2 hours of time in all. Once we arrived at Chocolate Thunder at 5:30 we knew we probably would not be able to finish the race especially having arrived at that trail
with 10+ rec wheelers on live race course. This really killed us, and after clearing chocolate thunder spirits were low and we decided not to press on without rock lights in 3 more tough rock trails. Despite what problems we had most of the stuff on the Jeep held up great. From our Rock Krawler shocks doing beautifully, to our Clayton Off Road control arms and Rugged Radios radio equipment, and even those old sheetmetal 1970s axle housings loaded with Aussie Locker by Torq-Masters Industries that a couple of poor white boys pulled out of the dirt. Who would've thought they'd even make it to the first rock trail in this difficult event! Thanks East Coast Gear Supply and Al for helping us get them race ready!
We are grateful for how far we have come, to make it to race mile 76. We most definitely brought a fire home with us to finish that race next year. The terrible feeling of not making the cut is something I know all too well from NCAA swimming.
We will be coming back more prepared, with an improved car, and with a whole different level of motivation.
I can't begin to thank all the people who have helped Hack Shack Racing along the way from great friends, to sponsors and marketing partners to our families who sacrifice so much. The team could never have made it to where it was without all of you.If there is any chance I have forgotten anyone, tag yourself in the comments.
Crew and friends:
Matt DiNicola
Steve Usher
Fred
Dizzy Christopher William
Phil the Painter Philip Restivo
Phil Larocca
Abby Jane
Harrison H. Hendricks
Will Gentile
Nicole Sorrentino
Jonathan Galica
John Mackiewicz
Casey Scherer and crew
Cora Jokinen
Erik Jokinen
Tom Yash
Adam Rowe
Jason Kaminsky
Scott Decker
And the legendary......VAN
Sponsors and Partners:
Aussie Locker by Torq-Masters Industries
Nitto Tire
East Coast Gear Supply
J.W. Speaker Corporation
Corbeau Seats USA
HeavyMetalConcepts
Raceline Wheels
Rock Krawler Suspension
TeraFlex Suspensions
Clayton Off Road
Rugged Radios
Factor 55
Until next year everyone!
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