“Black Rhino Performance Sponsored Athlete Sean Cook Pulls off a 7th Place Finish in the San Felipe 250”
El Cajon, CA, March 7, 2016- This past weekend Black Rhino Performance sponsored athlete Sean Cook and the Cook Off Road Racing Team packed up the SPEED Energy / Polaris VillaHermosa UTV and headed south of the border to start the SCORE Off Road Racing season with the San Felipe 250. The team pulled off a 7th place finish. To some this might not mean much but for the team a mere finish after last year’s failures meant the world. The team made some big changes to their suspension in the off season. Lone Star Racing is now keeping the vehicle firmly on the ground while adding some much needed suspension. This year’s San Felipe 250 really gave the suspension a work out with endless miles of whoops!
Driver Sean Cook, along with co-driver David “action” Jackson, started the race shortly after noon, but as soon as they hit the whoops section they realized they had a problem; an electrical issue. After consulting with Crew Chief Jeff Correia, Sean and Dave pulled off course and by-passed the fuel controller. The fix seemed to do the job. Sean and Dave were off again. The course was relentless, mile after mile of whoops; just when they thought it would end they would turn a corner to find another whooped out road as far as they could see.
This race was a little different for the team; they had put together a plan that they stuck to until the end. They wanted a finish. Last year saw the team with too many DNF’s; this year would be different. As the car reached the huge lake bed all systems were good. David started pushing Sean to stretch the legs on the mighty RZR but Sean reminded Dave they needed to stay on their game plan and stay in their rhythm. As they came off the lake bed and worked their way through the sandy washes they began to notice a trend building; the CVT belt temperature gauge was starting to climb, slowly but steady. The temperature was running steady at about 215-220 degrees and Sean knew that the belt would probably shred at about 225-230 so they kept a close eye on the situation.
As they moved along at a very calculating pace the team came upon a bottle neck in a tight canyon. There were large rocks, King of the Hammers kind of rocks. There were course workers scattered everywhere signaling to them that they would not be able to make it over. The team paused for a moment, put the car in 4 low and went to work getting through the debacle. Just like text book, the RZR worked flawlessly climbing up, over and through the rough section. As the team started back into their race rhythm David noticed the belt temp had climbed to an unthinkable 240 degrees, no man’s land! Sean immediately slowed the vehicle, backed off the throttle and was able to stabilize the temp before resuming full race speed.
Mile Marker (MM) 78, time for our first scheduled pit stop, fuel and a quick visual. Good thing we stopped; the crew found both outer CV boots had torn and grease was gone. The decision was made to change out both rear axles. They installed their new RCV axles. The team has run these in the past with not such positive results, but Sean has been working closely with RCV and this partnership seems to have paid off. The RCV axles put on the car at MM78 looked as good at the finish line as they did when they went on. The secret to success was in the grease.
As the team motored on there was more of the same, WHOOPS! Sean and Dave had settled into a very consistent rhythm, so well that they got ahead of the chase team and the scheduled drivers change at MM122 had to be moved to MM198. As darkness fell it became easier to keep the belt cool but the temp was still hovering about 215. At MM192, as the car came into a tight little canyon, they encountered the class 7 truck of fellow SPEED Energy racer Brandon Walsh. He was stuck in a section of large rocks. Once again Sean put the car in 4 low and climbed over the rocks landing out in front of Brandon. Sean knew he could not leave Brandon stranded so he and Dave made the decision to get out and lend a hand. Brandon had the truck wedged between to large boulders and as hard as they all worked could not free the SPEED truck. Race vehicles were starting to stack up behind Brandon but they could not free it up. Sean knew that he could do no more and had to wish Brandon good luck and returned to the race.
MM198, drivers change. Sean and Dave met new drivers Jesus “Cactus Slayer” Leon and his co-driver Steve Medley. The car was turned over to the new drivers, a quick update on how things were going and the SPEED Energy / VillaHermosa UTV was off into the darkness. Jesus and Steve were off and running. Jesus made quick work of getting into his race rhythm and before long found themselves at the arches of San Felipe, otherwise known as the FINISH LINE! Time on course was just about 9 hours, by no means a blistering pace but one of design. The team worked tirelessly and flawlessly in their quest for the finish, after last year’s failures and disappointments this year was to be different.
The team has partnered with some great companies that were pivotal in their success. Lone Star Racing was the newest addition, the suspension components they provided were spot on, they bolted the kit on just a few days before the race and zero failures. KING Shocks, what can we say? Those shocks took the brunt of the endless whoops, absolutely could not have done it without them. GBC Kanati Mongrels, amazing once again NO FLATS! These tires never let the team down. Mile after mile of the nastiest terrain, rocks, silt, and of course cactus chunks; they held up to whatever came to them. One of the team’s newest partners is Baja Tracking; they provided the most up to date tracking the team has ever experienced. Every ten minutes the tracker sent a message to the chase team advising of the race cars exact location and speed. The team utilized three trackers; one on each chase truck and on the race car. The trackers emit their own Wi-Fi signal so even when there is no cell coverage there is Baja tracking coverage. Even the people back home were able to log on and follow the team’s progress. CryoHeat, wow, the team is still running the same CryoTreated transmission installed at the 2014 Baja 1000. Rugged Radios provided flawless radio communications as always. Everything worked even when coated with the nastiest Baja silt. Our continued partnership with our other companies cannot be overlooked; Black Rhino Performance always provides those race parts needed to keep us together, check out Kenny and his staff for all your UTV needs. TORCO Oils keeps the car lubricated and running smooth. POWER TANKS, what a great addition, the team utilizes their tanks for everything from running the air tools to airing up the tires, never knew how much these tanks were needed. These are just a few of our partners, please check them out. Without their support none of this would be possible. Next up will be the Mint 400.
Thank you to all the family and friends that support Cook Off Road Racing, your support means so much!
SPEED Energy Drinks, Polaris VillaHermosa, Sport Cycle Center, GBC Tires, KING Shocks, Rigid Industries, Black Rhino Performance, CryoHeat, OMF Performance, Lone Star Racing, Factory UTV, Fabwerx, Twisted Stitch Seats, TORCO Oils, Optima Batteries, Power Tanks, RCV Performance, Driven Steering Wheels, Trident Beach Resorts, Polaris Industries, NAPA Auto Parts, Dave’s Off Road, Replay Cameras, Ram Mounts, Rugged Radios, L & L Powder-coating, D&D Graphx
