Ross Hoek Race Review
Jun 24, 2008
rosshoek.com
Ross Hoek Motorsports looked to continue his competitive racing streak as they piloted the Skyjacker Suspensions, Herculiner, Goodyear Tires, Raybestos, F-150 in two different World Series of Off-Road Racing divisions. The same truck has also competed in the new PRO-Spec division of Championship Off-Road Racing earlier this year. Ross Hoek and his crew have had a very busy spring competing in two different race series on opposite coasts. This weekend will be the team?s greatest challenge yet; five races in two days after totally rebuilding the truck due to a devastating fire 2 weeks earlier that ended Ross? domination of the CORR Pro-Spec division!
Round 3: Super Truck
The #210 Skyjacker Suspensions, Herculiner, Goodyear Tires, Raybestos, F-150 came out of Turn One in third place but Ross underestimated the track watering conditions and hit the wall in the finish line turn of the first lap! After the entire field went by Ross started playing catch-up with the field. Over the next several laps, Hoek had worked his way into second place. The top two positions held their spots all the way to the checkered flag.
With only a few hours to prep and to get ready for the PRO-2WD race; the crew immediately brought the truck back to the hauler, as Ross continued with the media interviews after the race.
PRO-2WD
Ross lined up for the land rush start with his #21 Skyjacker Suspensions, Herculiner, Goodyear Tires, Raybestos, F-150 still in the Super Truck configuration, hoping his truck?s chassis setup could make up for his lack of horsepower. The start saw the #21 Skyjacker truck come down the front straight in a very respectable third place. For 7 of the 9 lap race Ross ran 4th holding off the much more powerful Pro-2WD of Oberg. The Super Truck engine package combined with just the right amount of traction from the Goodyear tires made for an excellent combination. A single mistake in the last lap allowed Oberg to dive inside Ross in the gravel pit and steal the 4th position. The race for 4th was renowned by all as the best race with-in the race!
That night Ross and the crew went through the usual overnight prep work as the rebuild was a tremendous success and the truck was really handling the increased race load quite well.
Round 4: Super Truck
The Sunday Super Truck race showcased a heated battle between the Skyjacker Ford and #297 Wandahsega. Ross ate Wandahsega?s roost for several laps as he made multiple challenges for the lead only to loose it to a hard charging #229 Steele. Ross chased hard after Steele for a couple laps but had to settle in and save the truck for the Pro-2WD race that was only 45 minutes away. The result, once a gain, was a solid second place finish without any damage to the truck.
This time the crew had less time to prep the truck for the PRO-2WD race due to the schedule change to accommodate the Chairman?s Cup Showdown at the end of the day.
PRO-2WD
The final points race for the #21 Skyjacker Suspensions, Herculiner, Goodyear Tires, Raybestos, F-150 started well as Ross once again came out of Turn One in third place but this time he was quickly overtaken by Oberg.
On lap two, #4 Johnny Greaves was charging hard in his RHM chassis PRO-2 and Ross was over aggressive trying to maintain his position over the starting line jumps. The abuse shattered the transmission as the truck landed off the second jump. Ross coasted to a stop off the track in front of the crowd and watched the end of the race on the Jumbotron. The early failure disappointed the team with an eleventh place finish as Greaves went on to finish fifth.
