02.10
February 6, 2010
Team ATK lands 1st and 2nd despite the high attrition rate
With 239 starters, and only 82 finishers, Team ATK proved itself once again with a great start to the 2010 season at the Best In The Desert (BITD) Blue Water Resorts Parker 425 in Parker, Arizona. Running not only their race proven Jeepspeed Unlimited ATK Wrangler driven by Jon Krellwitz with co-driver Skyler Gambrell, but a vintage Baja winning class 6 Jeep Cherokee that fit the rules for the BITD 7200 unlimited mini truck class; prepped at the last minute by CROSSROADS Fabrication to be driven by Darren Skilton with co-driver Flynn Sizemore at his side.
Breezing through the BITD technical inspections the day before the race, the sun was shining and spirits were high. There was even talk that the weather reports of rain on race day were going to turn out to be wrong. With a 6am wake up call, the team was loaded up and ready for staging by 7am. Skilton was off the line around 8:30 with Krellwitz just behind him, second to last off the line in his class at 9am. Both vehicles ran clean through the first lap, Krellwitz passing all his competition in the first 4 miles of the race and pushing hard all the way through the first lap to produce a huge lead. Gambrell later commented, “We were on a terror.” Both cars paused briefly at main pit only minutes apart from each other to take on some fuel, give the cars a good once over, and don some rain gear. Lap two was off to a good start as long as you didn’t count the torrential rain pour that greeting the drivers as they pulled out.
With a comfortable lead, Gambrell made Krellwitz lay off the gas pedal a bit during the second lap to run a more conservative pace while still maintaining the lead. Krellwitz noted, “It got a little cold and rainy on our second lap, but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as last year’s Parker downpour”. Winding up their second lap the steering ram on the jeep failed just 10 miles from the finish. Thankfully, Krellwitz and Gambrell had developed enough of a lead to limp the car the few remaining miles and still retain the class win.
Late in the day, the race weather turned from bad to worse, and with an additional lap to finish than the Wrangler, Darren Skilton and Flynn Sizemore pulled into main pit a second time after fixing a flat in the field to discover a bad ball joint that needed replacing. Patrick Smith of “Smith Race Wire” luckily had all the parts that were needed to fix it, and with the help of the Fabtech crew, Team ATK soon had the mini truck on the move again. Battling the rain and cold, Skilton wound up having to drive through flooding washes and huge mud bogs in the dark. Sizemore later commented, “I’ve never watched a river form before my eyes.” Maneuvering from side to side and trying to stay atop the deluge of water, Skilton managed to be one of very few drivers who made it through to the finish. Second place in his class and one of only two finishers in a class of 22 competitors, even he wasn’t sure he was going to make it. Frozen and exhausted, Skilton and Sizemore were greeted by the rest of a very relieved Team ATK who, just an hour earlier had been planning an extraction strategy, after they hadn’t had word from BITD or Midway pit crew as to the cars location in over 3 hours.
Seemingly known to be a fast course, the Parker 425, with it’s deja vu weather patterns, rugged sand washes, and limited line options, is proving itself to be a deceptively tough course, weeding out the best of the best, and yet again putting team ATK at the top.
Special thanks to the crew members who made team ATK such a success this weekend:
Darren Skilton – Flynn Sizemore – Skyler Gambrell – Jon Krellwitz - Christa Krellwitz – Patrick Smith – Kris Hernandez – Russ Ficker – Matt McCallum – Mandy McCallum – Jeremy Rice – Donielle Rice – Matt Vogler – Mike Vernac – Chris Amrein – Greg Soaper and all the guys at Fabtech!
Also, a huge thanks to the products and sponsors that keep these vehicles going strong:
ATK Engines – Currie Enterprises – Crossroads Fabrication – OC Motorsports – Orange Coast Jeep – KC Lights (3700 Krellwitz) – Soltek (7200 Skilton) – BFGoodrich Tires – JE Reel Drivelines – Advanced Engine Management (AEM) – Howe Steering – King Shocks – Beard Seats – Harmon Racing Cells – Full Traction Suspension – PWR – Raceline Wheels – Borla Exhaust – Torque Converter Specialties (TCS) – Crow Safety Equipment – PCI Race Radios
