MORE Damzl Powder Puff :: Racing for the Cure 2006
by Lauren Brogger

From contingency to the concert after the race it was apparent that this race was unlike any other. With over 200 entries this race was the biggest women’s motorsports event ever!

The number 1415 truck went through tech inspection about seven thirty on Friday and from that point on it dawned on me that I was racing!

Nick, myself, Cody, and Kelly finally got to pre-run around eleven thirty it was hard to pre-run in the dark but the strong lighting storm that was hitting the desert north of us provided some unexpected light. We were surprised at the terrain, the course looked rough but we weren’t going to back out at this point.

The drivers meeting was held at Eight AM me and my co-driver (Lindsey Lovell) were shocked to find out that we were not racing in the morning race, but at Noon with the rest of the unlimited vehicles. I was not mad about this just worried as I looked up at the sky and all I saw were deep dark rain clouds about to water the track along with all the racers and teams.

By the time twelve came around I was extremely anxious to race and couldn't wait to get going. Me and Lindsey Got suited up and headed up to the start line where we waited longer. And about 10 minutes after twelve number 1415 finally got to go. I was extremely nervous before the start of the race but once the green flag dropped I was automatically in the zone. The first lap we averaged 29 miles per hour, I had only pre-ran the 20 mile course once the night before so I took it easy the first lap. At the end of our first lap we took a pit stop to make sure everything was running good, since this was the trucks first race since it had been 4-linked.

The second lap went extremely well! We both became more familiar with the track and averaged closer to 35 Miles per hour. I stalled the truck once going up a hill that came up to quickly, but got going again shortly after. We passed one vehicle on this lap which was exciting, even though they were not in our class. By this point it was raining but I didn’t want to stop. Lindsey convinced me to stop which was a good idea and have some friendly spectators clean our windshield because the precipitation and dirt was making the visibility extremely low!

By the beginning of our third lap our truck started running differently and pulling to the Left. The sand was a challenge but we got to mile 4 where our pit crew was waiting for us and quickly changed a driver’s side front tire. I cannot recall what we hit or ran over but judging by the dented rim it was a good sized rock! The pit crew worked fast and got us going in under Five minutes. We also found out that our battery box had broken its weld and was not going to last very long. Lindsey was warned that if our GPS turned off that we had lost our battery. Around mile 14 we hit a few whoops and next thing you know the battery and box had flown off. But our GPS and Radio both stayed on and the truck kept running. We called it in on the radio and were told to go slow and get it to the finish. We were not exactly sure what flew off so we stopped at a F.A.I. R. pit around mile 17 to ask what we had lost. Right when we pulled into the pit number 1415 shutdown? and it was apparent that the battery was defiantly gone! We got on the race phone and Called to get another battery out to us, but the F.A.I.R. guys tried some other methods to get us going (which all failed to work). Nick and Cody made it out to us and replaced the battery within 30 minutes, while Lindsey and I got to snack on Chips and salsa (compliments of F.A.I.R. pits). Once we got going again Lindsey and I were so excited to be back in the truck to finish our third lap. We came into the finish and ended up placing fourth in our class. Overall I feel we did a great job for our first race, Lindsey did a great job Co-driving. She called out every turn, caution, and passing vehicle. I cannot wait to race again with the Tonelli (Beehive) Team!

Big thanks to The Tonelli Family, The Beehive, Cody Cantarini, F.A.I.R pits, Lindsey Lovell, Kelly, Damzl inc. and MORE for putting on this race and everyone else who pitched in to help out for this great race.

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