Thursday came quick with a drive out to Pabco Road along with many of the other teams. Our spot in the lineup was number 22. Mike Childress and Co-driver Garrett Osteen knew that starting in the 22nd spot, the course would be chewed up quite a bit. To gain an advantage, they set out and walked the course looking for the smoother lines that would lessen their overall time. After the entire group ran a practice lap, it was time for the real deal. This would determine our starting position for Saturday’s race. Off the line, Mike took an inside line that surprised everyone watching. The spectators went crazy as #171, tore off into the desert being followed by Dethrone’s helicopter. Once Mike brought the car back into sight, we all knew he had a top ten starting spot. Later on in the evening, we found out we were starting 7 th (2 seconds separated 5th – 8th).
Race Day arrived with cool air and a chance of rain. The pits were filling up at 4:30am with teams galore. As we sent our (team 71’s) pit crews out to the alternate pits and prepped our main pit, Mike and Jimmy Hook hopped in the car and took their spot on the line. Anxiety, adrenaline and horsepower could all be felt in that row of cars ready to jump off the line.
Lap 1, brought a flat that lost us a few places, but with a speedy pit crew and amazing driving, those spots were quickly regained. On Lap 3, now with co-driver Garrett Osteen, they exited the main pits into lap traffic. One of the Trophy trucks was stubborn in letting them pass and when finally they got around them, the truck jumped back in a bit too quick, clipping #171’s rear tire, giving them a flat. After a quick tire change by Garrett, they were on it again. Luck was running against us this lap. Just prior to Pit B, they lost their rear limit strap. They had to wait a couple of minutes for one to arrive and be installed before they could take off. The third time rolling through the Main Pit, brought cheers and a solid pit stop. At this rd, 2 minutes and 3 seconds out of 2nd place. Mike point #171, was (on corrected time) 1 minute and 8 seconds out of 3 pushed the car and regained his 3rd place position. About 50 miles into the last lap, Mike and Garret could see the 2nd place car of Harley Letner, sidelined with some type of problem. This gave a little weight to Mike’s foot and focused him on the lines ahead. With only 30 miles left in the race, #171 peaked on a hill giving them sight of the limping 1st place car only miles ahead in the valley. Not long after, they passed the former 1st place car that was running without power steering. From here on out, they were in safe mode.
As they rolled in, just 2 minutes behind 2nd overall, THR Motorsports became the 1st place Class 1 car and 3rd place overall, giving General Tire, Monster and King Shocks a 1, 2, 3, podium sweep!
THR Motorsports would like to thank:
General Tire, Hoosier Precision Machining, Chiron America, Monster Energy, Dethrone Racing, ES Motorsports, Mastercraft Safety, King Shocks, Method Race Wheels, Hostyle Racing, PCI Race Radios, Baja Designs, F&L Racing Fuel, KLeN Laundry, and all of the family and friends that came out to help and support us.
A special thank you goes out to Rick D. Johnson and the entire crew of Team 71. Without their help from start to finish, this win would not have been possible.
