2022 started with a gut punch as TORCS announced they would no longer host SxS races as part of their series. This decision was soul-crushing for many die-hard racing enthusiasts (including myself) b/c it meant no more XC racing in Texas for side-by-sides. Regardless of this tough decision, I’ll always be grateful to Gil and Jackie Ramos for providing fun UTV races in central Texas during the last 5 years. Together with my son (Cash) as my lucky co-pilot, we won the TORCS Turbo SxS Championship in 2021 and 2019. More important, we met tons of great people (who treat us more like family) and made countless father-son memories that will last the rest of our lives.
Luckily, the Texas cross-country racing community is a resilient bunch who aren’t afraid to get back up after being knocked down. Like Batman and Robin seeing the bat signal in the sky, Terry Deck and Cory Williams answered the call by organizing a new XC series to fill the offroad racing void in Texas. I’ll let you figure out who is Batman and who is Robin in this goofy duo.
In addition to being long-time racers, these two gentlemen worked tirelessly behind the scenes to design exciting TORCS SxS tracks and generally support their fellow racers. I can attest that both guys have helped me limp my broken RZR back to the trailer a time or two. With assistance from Cory, Terry created TX4 Cross-Country Series to host thrilling ATV and UTV races in central Texas starting with this event held on April 23rd and 24th. For more info, check out www.TX4racing.com.
SATURDAY:
I was already awake when the alarm clock sounded at 6:10am b/c I was so pumped to finally be racing again. In just 30 minutes, I was dressed on and the road with “Big Blue” (my trusty 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo) and “White Stallion” (my “new-to-me” 2021 Canam Renegade Xxc 1000r) loaded on my trailer. Two and a half hours later, I arrived at the Spider Williams Memorial Race (Round 1 of the 2022 TX4 Series) held at Diamond Willow in Bastrop, Texas. The turnout for this inaugural race was awesome with approximately 55 ATV competitors and 25 UTV racers (including minis). Below is my write-up of the ATV and SxS races.
WHERE:
Bastrop, TX… it’s a small town about 30 miles SE of Austin. This picturesque property has a mixture of woods and rolling green pastures with an occasional dry creek crossing here and there.
TRACK CONDITIONS
Having raced on this property during the last few years with TORCS, we have usually seen either extremely dry/dusty conditions or crazy wet/muddy conditions. This year, Mother Nature gave us a bone dry track with tons of blinding dust. That typically means less than ideal viewing opportunities for spectators and dangerous conditions for competitors. But it wasn’t all bad as a constant breeze helped lift the dust away in the open pasture areas. So the biggest challenge for racers this weekend was dodging trees in the woods with limited visibility.
According to White Stallion’s odometer, the ATV track was 5.7 miles long and included plenty of tight, twisty trails through the woods, several sweeping turns through open, bumpy pastures, plus a half dozen or more dry creek crossings. The SxS course was laid out along most of the ATV track (minus a few sections of tight woods) for a total of 5.1 miles. Compared to the previous TORCS SxS races hosted here, this course was longer, included more wooded trails, and was better marked. It was definitely a fun track and not too technical for newbie racers.
CLASSES:
TX4 offers an ATV class for everyone including young kids, old geezers (like me), pros, women, vintage quads, 3-wheelers, utility quads, and Justin Beiber fans. Okay, maybe that last group is not a real class, but I heard Matt Horton is trying to organize one b/c he’s got BEIBER FEVER, baby!
TX4 also offers a nice variety of SxS classes too, including mini UTVs for the little ones, seniors (I said “SENIORS” for those old folks who can’t hear well), women, beginners, 800cc SxS, non-aspirated SxS, Turbo SxS, and Pro SxS class.
Of course, all of these classes are subject to change depending on turnout. If racers want these classes, they need to show up on race day and do their part to spread the word about this awesome new XC series!
ATV PRACTICE:
On Saturday morning, ATVs went through tech inspection followed by practice starting around 10 a.m. with a somewhat confusing parade lap. I say confusing b/c the parade leader stopped and turned the entire group around a few times to get back on the right course. LOL Other than that, everything went smoothly.
During practice, you could feel the excitement in the air as dozens of ATVs and ATCs (3-wheelers for those unfamiliar) revved their 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines and zig-zagged their way around the well-thought out track. For a while, I followed an old trike as it bounced along the trail (keep in mind that ATC suspension was primitive back in those days) and it brought back wonderful memories of my teenage years. Back then, I spent all of my free time exploring the wooded trails along the Trinity River on my red 1984 Honda 200s. Fun times!
A half-mile into the parade lap, I got a reminder that I was racing ATVs again when a low hanging branch tagged the top of my helmet. It definitely got my attention, and I instantly laughed out loud when I realized that I forgot to duck.
After the parage lap, racers were free to do hot laps til time expired. So I jumped back on the track for one more lap. I wanted to make sure that I knew the course and felt comfortable on White Stallion, which I have only taken on 3 rides since buying it a few months earlier. A half-mile into the hot lap, I came around a bumpy corner and my Renegade jostled me side-to-side like a rag doll in a pit bull’s mouth. I somehow managed to hang on and bring it back down on all 4 wheels, but not before Terry D. (who was resetting track markers nearby) saw me and started laughing. I pulled over, and he jokingly reminded me that I don’t have a roll-cage on my ATV.
Now it’s really starting to set in that I’m finally racing an ATV again after an 8-year hiatus. For those who may not know, the last time I raced a quad was in the summer of 2014 when I rolled my Kawasaki KFX700 through a 4-strand barb’d wire fence during a TORN race held at Red River Motorcycle Park (located near the Texas/Oklahoma border). My wife was not thrilled about me coming home with a broken right wrist and said no more ATV racing. Hence the reason I started SxS racing in 2015 and have been racing UTVs ever since with either TORN or TORCS. Truthfully, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be racing an ATV again, much less both an ATV and SxS in the same weekend. What a blessing!
ATV START:
Cash and I watched the start of the 11:30 a.m. race for Trikes, Vintage quads, Blasters, Open C, Utility Amateurs, 40+ Amateurs, and Women. He was surprised to see a few racers get off their vintage quad or 3-wheeler and push them backwards if they pulled forward a bit too far on the starting line. I explained to him that most older quads or 3-wheelers didn’t have a reverse gear. Or as Terry D. later said, “Yeah, we were men… we pushed everything!” hehe
When it was time for the 1 p.m. ATV race (which actually started around 1:50 p.m.), they lined up the Pros on the front row followed by Open B, 40+ Expert, and finally the Utility Expert class in the back row. Sadly, I was the only racer competing in Utility Expert on this day. Racing alone in my class takes some of the fun out of it. But on the bright side, it took the pressure off and I could just concentrate on running a clean race and avoiding trees. I think one other racer signed up for this class, but he had to leave unexpectedly before the race started. If the participation in this class doesn’t improve soon, I’m hoping TX4 will combine my class with utility amateur class (which had a solid turnout at the 11:30 a.m. race). In any case, I’m just glad to be racing on a quad again!
ATV LAPS 1-5:
Without turning this write-up into a full-length novel, I’ll try to briefly summarize the course as follows:
The starting line was located in a small, grassy field near the scoring schute. From the starting line, racers went straight about 100’ before making a hard right turn around a tall tree (Turn #1) and then zig-zagged around a few more trees before making a sweeping left-hand turn and then ducking into the first woods section.
Soon afterwards, the track pops back into an open field near Turn #1, makes another zig-zag around tall trees and then heads back into the tight, twisty woods again. After dodging lots of trees, racers pop out into a small open section before racers slammed on their brakes, drop into a dry ditch about 2’ deep, roll up the opposite side and immediately turn left into the woods. About 10 yards up the trail, it makes a 90-degree right turn down into a 10’ deep, dry ditch and up the other side.
Not long after that, racers enter a large grassy field where they zig-zagged between mature trees scattered here and there. Eventually, the track ducks back into another section of tight woods and pops out near a small pond on the far side of the same large, grassy field. From there, the track zig-zags through the bumpy field towards the front of the property, runs in and out of woods adjacent to the parking lot area, and ends up at the scoring schute.
For the most part, my ATV race went smoothly with little fan fair. Except for getting lapped by the Pro racers, I didn’t see much action. On the plus side, that meant I didn’t have to eat much dust either. In fact, the biggest challenge I had was keeping my new riding pants from falling down around my knees. About half way through the race, I felt a cool breeze on my backside and realized I was unwittingly mooning nearby spectators. Talk about embarrassing! From that point on, I sat down whenever I drove past a spectator unless I was holding my pants up with my left hand. LOL Next time, I’ll wear suspenders like I used to do with my old riding pants.
Despite my best efforts to keep up the pace, my lap times slowly deteriorated as my 70-minute race wore on. My lack of conditioning started to show towards the end. By the 5th lap, my arm and leg muscles were burning, the blisters on both hands were stinging from the death grip I had on the handlebars, and I was praying to see the (green) checkered flag as soon as possible. Turns out that was my final lap, and I was so relieved to be done!
SATURDAY NIGHT:
Around 7pm-ish, Cory W. led a dozen or so side-by-sides and a few dirtbikes around part of the UTV track for a poker run. This leisurely event was a great way to unwind after an intense day of ATV racing. I ended up with a losing poker hand, but enjoyed the slow trail ride through the first few miles of woods to pick up playing cards and try my luck at winning a pot of money. I’d probably do it again if they decide to host another poker run.
Because I raced both days and gas prices are ridiculous right now, I decided to camp overnight at the track. This was my first ever attempt at primitive camping, and I felt anxious about my lack of preparations. In fact, I was far more anxious about camping overnight than racing. I invited Cash to join me, but he wisely chose to drive back to his apartment (50 minutes away) where he could enjoy a hot shower and a comfy bed. Maybe he’s learning something at that college after all.
Rather than buy an expensive tent and all the trappings that come with it, I chose a 10’ x 10’ canopy and set it up above my 14’ open trailer. Then I set up a hammock under the canopy. Other than an occasional cat nap in the backyard, I’ve never tried to sleep in a hammock. Turns out, it’s probably not a bad choice if you like to sleep on your back. However, I prefer to sleep on my side and gave up after an hour of trying to sleep. Next was plan B – grab a flashlight, stumble my way through the dark to get my old air mattress and manually fill it with air. 20 minutes of huffing and puffing later (the tiny foot pump helped a little, but seemed to take forever), I finally got it filled. Ahhh… finally time to get some Zs.
But I soon discovered that the mattress had a slow leak, which forced me to refill it with air every two hours. Ugh! It was a learning experience, and I’ll be better prepared next time.
SXS PRACTICE:
On Sunday morning, the UTVs had a single parade lap around 10 a.m. Just like Saturday’s ATV practice, you could feel the energy of all the racers. It felt great to be back on a UTV course with many of my former TORCS racing buddies.
But unlike Saturday’s ATV parade lap, this one went off without a hitch. The course looked nearly identical to the ATV race except for being a little shorter and re-routing some of the track that previously ran along the edge of the parking lot. There were no hot laps afterwards, so I immediately went back to my truck so I could top off the fuel, clean the air filter, check tire pressure, and wait for Cash to show up.
SXS START:
When 12:30 p.m. rolled around, Cory turned on the microphone and gathered the UTV racers for a short rider’s meeting on the starting line. After explaining the general rules and reminding everyone to turn on their chase lights, he gave a final piece of advice that stuck with me for the next 70 minutes. His words went something like, “If you finish the race, you’ll probably make it on the podium.” That was my single goal right there… don’t do anything stupid, avoid the trees, and finish the dang race! Because there were only 3 in my Turbo SxS class, it meant we would all end up on the podium *IF* we avoided a DNF. That “if” was the important part.
Then Cory lined up four Pro SxS competitors on the front row, three Turbo SxS racers on the second row, and separated the 11 racers in the naturally aspirated class into three separate rows.
For whatever reason, the Pro SxS class did a live engine start. The rest of the SxS classes started with a dead engine, like real men do! 😊
After the Pros took off, Cash and I pulled Big Blue (#77) to the right side of the starting line. To my immediate left was Lane M. (#33) and to his left was Phil W. (#922). Cash and I said a quick prayer for the safety of all racers and finished with our lucky fist bump. Now we were ready to rock!
The flag went up and off we went. Big Blue started slow like usual, but somehow we got off the line first, which almost NEVER happens. Woo hoo! Cash and I were both excited to win the holeshot and enjoy some clean air around the first right-hand turn. A few turns later and we entered the first section of woods with 2 hungry Turbo SxSs snapping at our rear bumper. I knew there was no room to pass anyone in these woods, so I decided to keep a steady pace and buy my time til I could get to the open sections and try to put some distance on Lane and Phil.
SXS LAPS 1 & 2:
About a mile or so into Lap 1, the trail pops out of the woods and makes short jog through an open section before making a hard left turn through a dry ditch. On the other side of the ditch, the trail makes a hard right into a small section of woods and then goes through another dry ditch before entering an open field. As we ran through that wooded section and approached ditch #2, I suddenly heard a loud CRUNCH near the rear of my vehicle. I asked Cash what that was and he didn’t seem to know. So I kept going and hoped for the best. I was afraid I might have clipped a tree or broke something, but Big Blue felt normal.
On lap 2, I discovered that sound must’ve came from Lane getting a little too friendly with a tree and ended his race early with a DNF. In fact, his car was still stuck on the trail right between 2 small trees. Luckily, there was a way around to the left side of his car and we were able to proceed. I was reminded of Cory’s great advice… finish the race and you’ll probably get on the podium.
SXS LAPS 3-6:
As Cash and I approached the scoring schute at the end of Lap 2, Cory yelled that the car immediately behind us was in a different class. So I immediately pulled into the pits section to let the NA racer pass. Then I jumped behind him and started Lap 3 at my regular pace. I would have gladly pulled over sooner, but couldn’t tell what class he was in due to the heavy dust.
A minute later, I noticed another car approaching in my rearview mirror and thought it was another NA car. So I went wide around the next turn to let him pass. As soon as I did, I realized my mistake… I just handed the lead to our remaining competitor, Phil. Doh!
I felt like an idiot. But 30 seconds later, Phil checked out and was gone! At that point, I thought this turn of events was probably for the best b/c Phil was clearly pushing harder through the trees than I was comfortable going. In any case, my goal had not changed. Stay the course and finish the dang race… just like Master Cory said!
On lap 4, I passed the same tree where were I accidentally let Phil take the lead and soon afterwards I noticed a car near the edge of the woods that we were about to enter. As we got closer, I saw that it was Phil’s car. Oh. My. Goodness! After we passed him, Cash and I fist bumped to celebrate the fact that we re-took the lead. Not knowing what kind of damage he had, I was concerned he would get his car repaired quickly and try to catch up. One lap later, we noticed Phil’s car was still there. That meant we had already won the race. Yee haw! Sometimes its better to be lucky than good. 😊
RACE RESULTS:
When the official results were posted, I took 1st in the Utility Expert ATV class and both Cash and I took the win in the Turbo SxS class (out of 3 competitors). Congrats to Phil for finishing second place and I wish Lane better luck at the next one (but not too much luck!). Most important, my son and I had a blast this weekend, and I didn’t break any bones. We are already looking forward to Round 2. Can’t wait!
SHAMELESS PLUG:
In case you haven’t heard, my award-winning book about off-road racing with Cash is entitled TEXAS OFF-ROAD RACING: A Father-Son Journey to a Side-by-Side Championship and it’s available on Amazon. Get your copy today!
I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Terry, Cory, and the entire TX4 staff for hosting a fantastic inaugural event! I saw more smiles this weekend than a family vacation at Disney World. I hope you enjoyed my race write-up.
