Rockcrawling Champions Larry McRae, Jon Bundrant and Jon Nelson TEAM with Off Road Racing Champion – Rob MacCACHREN for King of the Hammers BFGoodrich Tires DREAM TEAM!
Rob MacCachren takes on the rocks in preparation for the 3rd annual King of the Hammers Race on Feb 12, 2010
January 12, 2010 : LAS VEGAS, Nevada – With only one month away from his first ever King of the Hammer’s race, Rob MacCachren has assembled a trio of past champions on his King of the Hammers race team. Joining Rob MacCachren will be legends of the sport and past rockcrawling champions Larry McRae, Jon Bundrant and Jon Nelson.
Larry McRae will join MacCachren in the co-driver’s seat of the Blue Torch KOH rock racer, which features BFGoodrich Tires and FOX Racing Shox. McRae’s extensive history in professional rock sports and his keen expertise on the rocks of Johnson Valley, California made him an easy selection for the right seat of the Rockstar/BFGoodrich/BlueTorch rock racing vehicle.
In 2003, McRae and his teammate, Jon Bundrant, captivated the world when they were victorious in 13 of 18 rockcrawling events they competed in. They joined forces with motorsports legend, Jon Nelson, who designed and built the single-seat VW-powered rockcrawler named, “Tiny,” a car and design that revolutionized the world of rock sports. Together the trio earned championship titles at Cal-Rocks Put Up / Shut Up, 2003 Pro Rock Series, 2003 UROC Series, 2003 RCCA Series and the invitation-only granddaddy event of the year, SUPERCRAWL II.
Jon Nelson, Jon Budrant and Larry McRae
Seven years later, the trio will return together in an effort to support off road racing champion, Rob MacCachren. The Las Vegas veteran off road racer has earned 19 different season champions and has accumulated 164 victories, encompassing 28 years of off road racing. However, this will be his first ever rock race.
MacCachren commented, “Jon Nelson, Larry McRae and Jon Bundrant are the best of the best and I’m glad to have rockcrawling champions help lead our rock race program in the right direction. Of course, the rockcrawling aspect is new to me and that’s why it is so important to have the support of this trio of champs. I might have the desert side of this race figured out, but the rockcrawling obstacles are going to take some expertise to navigate through and that’s where Larry’s experience will be so important.”
Nelson, McRae and Bundrant have already started working on race strategy when it comes to the rocks. All three have spent an enormous amount of time in the rocks at the Johnson Valley both professionally and for personal recreation.
In early October, an opportunity for MacCachren to race the Blue Torch rock racer was put into action by BFGoodrich Tires and by the time SEMA 2009 rolled around, MacCachren and McRae had outlined the possiblities.
Larry explained, “I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to navigate the King of the Hammers race with Rob. All racers know you need a great car, driver, crew and a little luck to win. I think we’ve got the first three covered, we just need to see what kind of luck we can create on race day. I’m especially honored to be able to introduce Rob to my passion, the sport of rock crawling. He’s been successful at every form of off road racing he’s been in. I don’t think the rocks will be any different for him.”
Champion Rock Crawler Jon Bundrant - All Pro Off Road
Overcoming challenge is nothing new for each of these racing champions. In past decades, they have each succeeded individually and as a team, both on and off the racecourse.
Nelson, Bundrant and McRae will be extremely challenged over the next month, as they will run MacCachren through a crash course in professional rockcrawling.
Supercrawl II Champion Jon Bundrant reflected, “Rob is obviously a talented motorsports champion and he will adapt to rocks very quickly. In 2003, my rockcrawling teammates, Jon Nelson and Larry McRae, were part of an unforgettable championship run and I don’t see any reason why we can’t bring back the magic of that season while supporting Rob MacCachren in his quest for the King of the Hammers victory. It certainly will be fun trying.”
The King of the Hammers DREAM Team is supported by BFGoodrich Tires and each of the champions involved on this team have raced their entire careers on BFGoodrich Tires.
Championship Rock Crawler Larry McRae
MacCachren explained, “BFG has been part of my racing career for 20 years and I know they have been a supporter of Jon Nelson, Jon Bundrant and Larry McRae for their entire careers as well. It was very important to me to surround myself with not just champions, but those that operate with the same principles as I do. As part of the BFGoodrich Tires program, we all lead our careers within the same boundaries and many of us share the extreme desire to be victorious and never give up. I know that having Jon, Larry and Jon on my team definitely makes up what I would consider the BFG DREAM TEAM. I’m excited for this race and you can be sure that we will be working extremely hard over the next month in hopes of success at the 2010 King of the Hammers.”
Rob MacCachren Quick Racing Facts:
Rob MacCachren- 28 year racing career
2009 TORC Pro 2 Champion
2009 SNORE Overall Desert Racing Champion
19 - Off Road Racing Championships (Desert and Short Course)
164 - Off Road Racing wins
5 - SCORE Baja 1000 Victories (Longest 1296-miles in 2007)
5 - SCORE Baja 500 Victories
3* - Borg Warner Cup Trophies - *Only racer to win three consecutive BW awards.
3 - Governor Cup Trophy's
2010 Rob MacCachren Racing Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires, Rockstar Energy Drink, Mastercraft Safety, Blue Torch Fab, FOX RACING SHOX, Pro AM, KARTEK, Nevada Off Road Buggy and DIRTnewz.
Rob MacCachren Racing: Rob MacCachren’s career accomplishments include winning three consecutive Borg-Warner Championships, as well as three Governor’s Cup Championships, all at Crandon International Raceway in Wisconsin. Rob has also accumulated 5 SCORE Baja 1000 victories and another 5 SCORE Baja 500 wins. MacCachren was heralded as the premier driver after winning the longest distance (1296 miles point-to-point) SCORE Baja 1000 ever held in 2007. Rob MacCachren earned consecutive short course Pro 2 Championships in 2008 and 2009. The multi-disciplined championship racer has accumulated over 164 victories and 19 championships between closed short course and open desert racing.
DRIVER NAME Position
Ray Mandell 100
LCQ 12 99
Lou Levy 98
Jesse Haines 97
Peter Wells 96
Tom Wayes 95
LCQ 4 94
Brian Deegan 93
Tony Pellegrino 92
Brett Porter 91
Levi Shirley 90
Naozumi Tsuda 89
Brad Lovell 88 Rob MacCachren 87
Greg Adler 86
Lucas Murphy 85
LCQ 7 84
LCQ 15 83
LCQ 13 82
Greg Stone 81
Curtis Warner 80
Kevin Sacalas 79
Bart Dixon 78
LCQ 17 77
Adam Woodlee 76
LCQ 20 75
Chris Pook 74
Rich Klien 73
Shannon Campbell 72
Burton Jenner 71
Rick D Johnson 70
Will Carter 69
Brandon Watson 68
Joe Silva 67
Jeff Mello 66
Kim Sears 65
LCQ 21 64
Dustin Webster 63
Adam Carter 62
Ian Johnson 61
LCQ 6 60
Eric Anderson 59
LCQ 3 58
Stephen Watson 57
Casey Currie 56
Matt Messer 55
Travis Carpenter 54
LCQ 5 53
Rob Usnick 52
Kevin Yoder 51
Greg Hussey 50
Dean Bulloch 49
Wayne Israelsen 48
Clayton Walters 47
Barry Beadle 46
John Reynolds 45
BJ Baldwin 44
Jeremy Hammer 43
John James 42
Derek West 41
Rob McKenney 40
Brian Shirley 39
Jason Scherer 38
Hobie Smith 37
Eric Holder 36
Charlie Melchner 35
LCQ 11 34
Daren Runyon 33
Drew Goldie 32
PSC Lucky Dog 31
JT Taylor 30
JR Van Ortwick 29
Roger Lovell 28
Matt Legg 27
LCQ 19 26
LCQ 14 25
Derek Summers 24
Ben Napier 23
MFS Winner 22
Chris Ridgway 21
Todd McCullen 20
LCQ 9 19
LCQ 16 18
Jason Pickett 17
Eric Miller 16
Tracy Jordan 15
LCQ 18 14
Jack Adams 13
Ralf Kuller 12
Nicole Johnson 11
LCQ 2 10
LCQ 10 9
Nazir Adam 8
Mike Kleinsen 7
Doug Bigelow 6
LCQ 1 5
Jim Knox 4
LCQ 8 3
Rick Mooneyham 2
Buzz Bronsema 1
January 12, 2010 : LAS VEGAS, Nevada – With only one month away from his first ever King of the Hammer’s race, Rob MacCachren has assembled a trio of past champions on his King of the Hammers race team. Joining Rob MacCachren will be legends of the sport and past rockcrawling champions Larry McRae, Jon Bundrant and Jon Nelson.
