King Shocks' killer Support Vehicle
Throwing around its weight at this year's Dakar Rally was the Mercedes Actros support vehicle from King Shocks. The six-by mobile shop truck carried tools and parts but did not compete (although that would have been cool to see). It has a 12L turbo'd and intercooled diesel V-6 that makes 470 horses and 1,800 lb-ft of torque and has 12 forward and 4 reverse gears with three driving axles. It can carry up to 475 gallons of fuel-handy for a 5,592-mile course that began and ended in Buenos Aires.
Denman Bankrupt
Denman Tire Corporation, best known (in our world, anyway) for its Ground Hawg tires, has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Ohio, according to a local paper. By filing Chapter 7, it will be forced to sell off its assets to repay creditors. Hawgs aren't going away, though; they're still available through Interco Tire Corp.
BFG King of the Hammers
Tech Editor Fred Williams has coverage of the King of the Hammers on page 48, but here's a sneak peek at winner Loren Healy, courtesy of the folks at BFGoodrich. Healy raced on 39-inch BFG Krawler T/A tires, and the tire maker proudly pointed out that the top 11 teams-some 80 percent of the race's finishers-were on BFGs.
New Winching DVD
Badlands Off-Road Adventures has released a DVD to teach winch use. The disc covers safety issues, basic operation, simple and complex riggings, stuck assessment, winch capability, and minimizing environmental impact. Look for the 81-minute disc at your local off-road retailer or order one at www.4x4training.com.
Douglas Wins LOORRS Opener
Scott Douglas was planning to just watch the first race of the 2010 Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORRS) season in Las Vegas (he regularly competes in the Traxxas TORC series), but when he saw the size of the Pro 4 Unlimited field, he just couldn't stay off the track. With just minutes to go in qualifying and no practice on the new course, Douglas rolled his Amsoil Kumho Ford F-150 off the transporter and drove to the third-fastest time of the huge 19-truck field. In Saturday's Round 1 race, he went from the third spot on the grid to the lead during the first lap and hung on for a win. In Sunday's Round 2 race he started sixth and worked his way up to Second Place.
No Chinese Hummers
The sale of Hummer to a Chinese industrial equipment manufacturer fell apart earlier this year, leaving the brand's future uncertain. GM officially has begun "an orderly wind-down" of operations, meaning that production, which had been stopped earlier, will not resume and dealers are hunting for new uses for their showrooms. However, last-minute bids have saved other GM brands from extinction, and GM will consider "viable alternatives for all or part of the brand during wind-down," said a Hummer spokesman.
GM will honor Hummer warranties at Hummer dealerships as long as they are open, or will refer Hummer owners to other GM dealerships should their local Hummer dealer close. As of March 1, some 2,500 H3 and H3T models remained in dealer stock.
Calendar
•June 3-5: Canyon de Chelly Jeep Jamboree, Chinle, AZ, by Jeep Jamboree USA. Info: 530.333.4777, www.jeepjamboreeusa.com
•June 4-6: Tecate/SCORE Baja 500, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Info: SCORE Intl., 818.225.8402, www.score-international.com
•June 4-6: Ozark Cruiser Crawl-Non-Event, Superlift ORV Park, Hot Springs, AR. Info: 501.625.3600, www.orvpark.com
•June 5-6: Customer Appreciation Event, Hungry Valley SVRA near Gorman, CA, by Badlands Off-Road Adventures. Info: 310.374.8047, www.4x4training.com
•June 5-6: MOROC Rock Racing, Southern Missouri Off Road Ranch, Seymour, MO. Info: www.morocracing.com
•June 5-6: Rubicon Owners Trail Ride, New England. Info: Rich Banfield, rubiconrich1@aol.com
•June 10-12: Badlands Jeep Jamboree, Attica, IN, by Jeep Jamboree USA. Info: 530.333.4777, www.jeepjamboreeusa.com