Camburg Engineering Takes Home 3rd place at Parker 425

February 2007

Huntington Beach, California. - Coming into the first race of the 2007 BITD race series, Camburg Engineering was focused and had high expectations of placing well in the Mini TT 7200 class. Their hard work and determination paid off when the Camburg Ford Ranger Edge crossed the finish line 3rd in class using their over the counter suspension parts.

With Jason Campbell driving and Scott Zindroski co-driving, they left the line in the last starting position in the 7200 class with the sun in their eyes and the dust blinding their vision. Shortly after at MM 1.5 they came into a silty section that already consumed multiple racers. Trying to navigate around a stuck truck on the course they too got stuck side by side. A minute later the stock Fabtech Ford Superduty crashed into the rear of both trucks due to poor visibility. It was like a graveyard of stuck vehicles with others darting around them to get through. Camburg helped the other team get the Superduty off the back of their truck and then proceeded to get their own truck unstuck and back in action. The Superduty took out the right bedside, blew out the right rear tire, destroyed the tool bag and damaged a few other components. With those issues resolved they were back under way and moving forward through the pack. This early in they knew this course was gonna take anything they could throw at it and a finish wouldn’t come easy.

They made a quick stop at Pit #1 to have a fresh tire/wheel put on as a spare and were back under way. Seeing speeds between 5mph and 88mph throughout the technical course, Jason was able to set a pace that was gaining time lost on the class leaders. From silt to rocky slow speed sections to high speed graded roads to sections of whoops that lasted for miles, there was something for everyone in Parker, AZ. Shock setup had to be dynamic to be able to properly handle the various conditions.

Navigating through the Parker Python and entering main pit, Camburg stopped for a fuel dump and visual inspection only and also picked up a backpack of tools to drop off to a Jeep Speed team at MM 18. Back underway they exited the python and headed back out. With everyone now spread out along the course and many already out of the race, speeds and precision were able to increase & improve with the increased visibility and decreased race traffic. Flying down a smooth portion of the course doing 70 mph, the engine stalls and Jason pulls off to the side to investigate. He shortly notices the wiring to the fuel pump was damaged and needed to be fixed, most likely from the Superduty incident at the start of the race. Meanwhile Scott was in touch with an IRC Tracking representative that contacted them remotely to make sure everything was ok. BITD working with IRC is a huge step forward with racer safety and is at the forefront in technology.

Once again coming through the python and into main pit, Jason stopped the truck for Jerry Zaiden to take over driving duties for the last lap, to have the Hella HID light bar installed on as night was nearing, the fuel cell topped off and a quick visual. Jerry pinned the throttle and headed into eastern Parker. Around MM 40 the engine began to cut out slightly under a load at various throttle positions. Jerry slowed down his pace to insure their finish. They decided to stop at Pit #2 to spend the time to rule out some possible causes. They changed out the fuel pump, checked all the fuel lines, cleaned sensors and checked the ECU for possible grounding issues among other visual checks.

With the sun almost down they left Pit #2 with the same problem. This far into the race and with hearing they were in the top 4, Jerry drove the truck at a conservative speed in an effort to make sure the engine went the distance and pushed the Ranger Edge across the finish line. Jerry pulled into Pit #4 to do a quick visual, grab a few tools if needed with only 37 miles left. Crossing under the bridge 3 miles before the finish, Jerry and Scott knew finishing this brutal 400+ mile course was becoming a reality and to the sight of Casey waving the checkered flag they were informed they took 3rd place.

With 216 starters and only 102 finishers at this race, it’s a true indicator on how difficult the course was with knowing the caliber of teams at this event. It just goes to show what over the counter parts from some of the leading companies are capable of on a truck that runs a stock Ford 4.0L engine … you can say Camburg’s Ranger Edge is built FORD TOUGH.

Camburg would like to thank everyone who came out to the race to lend a helping hand, Casey Folk’s and everyone at BITD to give them an opportunity to race in their premier series with some of the best racers around and most of all would also like to thank all their sponsors for their continued support.

“On April 28th at the BITD Terrible’s Town 250, Camburg will be a force to be reckoned with.”

Sponsors: AEM Intake Systems, Alloy Axles, American Racing ATX, Beard Seats, Bilstein Shocks, Blue C, Board Ford, FMF Racing, Glassworks Unlimited, Hella Lighting, IRC Tracking, Ironclad Gloves, JBA Exhausts, Monster Energy Drink, Mothers Car Care Products, Nitto Tires, Precision Gear, Sparco USA and SPY Optics.

For more information on Camburg products and race team involvement, check out their websites www.camburg.com and www.camburgracing.com or contact them directly.

Camburg Engineering has been building off-road truck suspension systems since 1997 and is at the forefront in technology and innovation.

Photo Credits: Jason @ highREV Photo, Ryan Plowman @ desertrides.com and Andrew Bock

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