Team G and R Parker 425 Race Report

The BITD Parker 425 is well known for being a rough and tumble off-road race. Offering some of the most challenging conditions in the United States, including rocky sand washes, high speed graded roads and the famous "Parker Python", an infield of tight sandy twists and turns as well as jumps and rough whoop sections. The course consists of three 141.5 mile loops starting on the pavement in downtown Parker, AZ immediately rocketing out to the famous Shea Rd. spectator area and out into the brutal Arizona desert.

The normally silt laden racecourse was recently soaked with several days of rain making the conditions relatively dust free but softer than normal. Number 38 Garron Cadiente, managed to qualify second. Running his new Toyo tires, Cadiente rocketed off the line just after sun up. Ron Whitton who was starting further back in the field had his work cut out for him, as traffic would prove to be a major factor in this race. Ron thundered off the line in his number 39 Geiser built Trick Truck. Finishing 2nd in overall points for the 2007 Best In The Desert Series, Ron Whitton was eager to begin the race and start picking through the massive field of 89 combined trick trucks and Class 1 cars. The forthcoming race would prove to be a long and treacherous day.

Cadiente managed to stay out in the front right until he ran into the first of many mechanical issues. Garron was on the tail of Todd Wylie, the first trick truck off the line, but was suddenly stopped at race mile 60 by a flat tire. He was stopped again at race mile 100 due to a bent drive shaft after which Cadiente managed to limp into the next pit. Shortly after, Cadiente began moving again but was stopped after losing a fuel pump, which was followed by throttle position sensor failure that held Cadiente at half speed until the next pit. The challenges would continue as Cadiente began to lose engine power only to discover a broken header. Out of contention for the overall finish Cadiente even stopped to tow in his immobilized partner, Ron Whitton before he managed to cross the line 7:55:27 putting him 9th overall and 7th in trick trucks.

"It was a tough day, but we managed to finish. Stuff broke that I have never had any problems with, it was strange. That's off-road racing, if it was easy to win it wouldn't mean anything," stated the worn but not defeated Cadiente.

Ron Whitton started off strong passing over 17 vehicles within the first eighty miles. Whitton also had bad luck when he went wide on a corner at race mile 100 smacking his rear end into a rock, damaging his trick truck beyond repair. " I made a mistake, it's that simple. The truck was running great, we had no problems up until that point. I came down a canyon and took the corner about a foot wide and smacked a rock. It killed my rear end, drive shaft ant tranny! I had spares for everything but the rear end. Anywhere else on the course and it might have been no big deal, but that's how it goes. You can't make mistakes," stated the disappointed Whitton.

G&R racing's next race will be the SCORE San Felipe 250 where Garron Cadiente is the defending overall champion.

On behalf of the entire team I would like to thank each and every one of our Dirt Squad newsletter members for taking an interest in G&R Racing. Enjoy the content and feel free to send me your comments.

Hasta Luego

Brian Godfrey
Team Manager
2008 BITD Parker 425 Results
bitd
Positiion Truck # / Name Time
1
40-Jerry Whelchel 7:15:35
2
11-Dale Dondel 7:25:51
3
56-Larry Roeseler 7:43:14
4
57-Scott Kincaid 7:45:29
5
66-Josh Baldwin 7:45:51
6
77-Robby Gordon 7:48:18
7
38-Garron Cadiente 7:55:27
8
26-Chris Robinson 7:55:46
9
97-BJ Baldwin 8:22:11
10
41-Rick D Johnson 8:59:33
DNF
39-Ron Whitton