Lethal Weapon

Monster Truck Racing

1/7/08    

                 Another year has passed and we are so very close to completing the truck.  We hope to have it completely finished by the first part of March.   We really accomplished a lot in 2007, I watched a lot of Mark’s ideas become a reality and it made me realize that he can build anything he sets his mind to, it’s the mind setting that we have to work on…  we have both grown a lot with the building of this truck, we know what we can handle and what we have to step away from.  2008 will be a year for us to find our groove in the sport, I know that Mark will be great.  I just have to start worrying about injuries now.   

                 Thanks again to our sponsors. B&M Racing for their equipment, is the best and we really appreciate all their help.   D&M for the parts and time off to travel with the Flame Motorsports team.   Felt for the advice and Q & A sessions.  Without these companies we would not be able to build this truck, for that we are forever grateful. 

                 Here are some pictures of the truck tired up this summer and also of the headers before they were coated and after we got them back from HPC, out of Bluffdale, UT.  They are so clean and shiny, I just love looking at them (I’ll get in trouble if I say they are pretty).

2/29/08

                 Wow, how time flies.  It’s already the end of February and we are so close to spring!  We can’t wait for it to warm up, the snow really came down this year which really affected all of our moods. 

                 Mark has spent the last few weeks finishing odds and ends like brakes, steering, drive-shafts, and safety equipment.  It is coming along nicely and the goal is to tire it up and drive down the street Easter weekend.  We leave for a little relaxation and warmth in Vegas the following weekend for the World Finals.  Hopefully next year we can take the truck to display.

                 We took the weekend of February 15-16 off to help the Flame Motorsports team.  The plan was for Mark to fly to New Mexico for the show but Live Nation asked David Smith if they could come to Utah instead so Mark stayed here and Daron Basl drove their hauler to SLC instead of Albuquerque.  Both trucks did great that weekend, winning most of the events during three different shows.

                 Here are a couple miscellaneous pictures of the fuel cell and motor and more of the headers.

4/6/08

                 Another World Finals has come and gone, what an event it was too!  I’m sure everyone will agree that first round racing was some of the best  in history.  If  some of these trucks had qualified as well as they raced the brackets probably would have ended up a lot different.  Thursday night practice showed the teams what they needed to fix and modify, Friday nights Double Down Qualifying went really fast and before we knew it Saturday nights second round trucks had been picked.  We were please but not surprised see David Smith in  King Krunch qualify 7th, automatically placing him in the second round of racing.  I was thrilled for the whole King Krunch team, Mark and the others had worked so hard to get this truck in tip top shape.  Daron Basl, the only full time Flame Motorsports employee and driver of the El Matador truck, did an amazing job on his own the week leading up to race.  We got to Vegas on Thursday morning and Daron already  had most everything completed.  After qualifying Friday night they put the body on the truck in preparation for Saturday’s pit party.  The new tailgate looked amazing, thinking about 9-11 still breaks my heart but the tailgate was a wonderful tribute.  The pit party is an all day event for the drivers so it gave everyone in the pits some time to relax and soak up some sun (some of us forgot to put sunscreen on).  Saturday racing was great, a little disappointing for us since David clipped a turning pole, causing him a 5 second penalty and taking him out in Round 3.  During Freestyle David got hung up on some stacked card and flipped it over, it took him a little longer to get out because he couldn’t get his seat belt undone.  Once Freestyle was over and they started bringing wrecked and damaged trucks back to the pits the real work began.  Many teams had long nights ahead of them, us included.  While David was signing autographs after the show the rest of the team got to work tiring King Krunch down, fixing the front axel so they could drive it into the hauler and then loading everything else into the hauler.  They finished just before David  got done with autographs, which was about 2:30 a.m.!  Talk about a long day for these guys.  We had a team lunch Sunday afternoon and then the banquet at the Imperial Palace Sunday night.  It was great weekend and since we came home to snow in Utah, we definitely were not ready to come back.  But life happens and we have a truck of our own to complete, so it’s back to work we go.  Here are some pictures  of Vegas.

 

5/22/08

                 We passed a major milestone on 5/6.  They pulled the truck out of our garage and fired the motor, which was really music to my ears since we hadn’t heard it fire since August, then Mark actually pulled it forward and then backed up in the driveway, and it moved on it’s own!!!  Yay!  After examining all the lines to make sure nothing was leaking they tired it up to get the full effect.  It looked amazing!!  Mark backed it up out of the driveway and drove up the street where he made a slow turn and then he came back, once he got to the house we thought he was going to stop…  Nope, he kept going and before you knew it he was at the other end of the street.  Jake and Cliff took off down the street to make sure everyone stayed out of the way since anyone on our block who was home was out on their  porches watching.  It was the best feeling ever to finally see the truck move on it’s own.  There were surprisingly few problems.  All of the lines held just like they were supposed to, thanks to Jake’s expertise.  We had one small leak but we had an idea that was going to happen and knew how to fix it.  Once it was tired down and put away we really just a few more odds and ends to do and the truck would be completed.  Now, 3 weeks later the RII has been ordered so that Mark can really test it, the limiting straps are in and we are meeting with the graphics people to make final decisions on art work. 

                 Looking back at the portion of the journey we have already completed amazes me.  I am so proud of Mark, he took an idea and what I considered a hunk of junk and turned it into a moving, working Monster Truck.  Yes, I know that people in the industry do it all the time but most of the time they have the equipment and space. Mark’s closest contact to bounce ideas off of and ask questions to (David Smith) lives in Texas so it was even harder having to describe issues over the phone rather than just showing someone.  David & Daron (King Krunch and El Matador) really came through when we needed them most, even from Texas.

                 We are also excited to announce that we have two new Sponsors.  RJT Excavating and Intermountain Hydraulics.  Check them out on our Sponsors page.

                 Here are a few pictures of the rear axels and the lines.

6/22/08

                 Yay, it’s done!!!  Well at least the chassis is, which really is the most difficult  of all.  We are just finishing up fiberglass and we will be ready to send it to the graphics people at Big Foot  Signs and Graphics in West Haven, UT. 

                 Mark painted the chassis last weekend and it turned out great!  I can’t wait to get the body on so we can see the completed picture.

                 Here are a few pictures of before and after the chassis was painted.

8/30/08  

                 Wow…  What a journey this truck has been for us.  It is finally completed and I couldn’t be more proud of Mark and the rest of the crew for everything that they accomplished.  We made the body ourselves and only had about two weeks to do body work after the fiberglass molds had been popped. 

                 When it came down to the final hours I couldn’t have wished for a better crew.  Jake and Josh Campbell along with another friend, Trevor Marchant were over every night  until midnight.  Mark, my dad, Jake, Trevor and Josh all took Friday before the race off and worked all day to make sure everything was just right.  We finally loaded it up Friday night about 9:15 and Ryan Thurgood from RJT took it to RMR in West Valley City so it would be ready for us on Saturday morning.  A huge thanks to Thad at Bigfoot Signs and Graphics in West Haven, UT.  It was crunch time and he worked over the weekend to get our stuff done before he left for a week away. 

                 Our crew at the track consisted of Jake, Cliff, Nate, Trevor, and my dad Kelly.  Without these guys none of this would have been possible.  There is no way Mark and I could have done it our selves.  Special thanks to Jeff and Jennifer Campbell for sharing their sons with us, Courtney Gallegos for sharing Jake also (he’s a popular guy!).  Melissa for holding my hand during that first race when I cried like a baby, Don and Michelle (Marks dad and sister) for bringing Kandis both days and sitting in the stands with her since she couldn’t be in the pits until after the show.  Kandis, our little girl who has grown up with this truck, is amazing.  She has had to share both of her parents with the truck for the last 6 months while we were both out in the garage working on it.

                 Thanks also to all the drivers at RMR.  David and Daron from Flame Motorsports (King Krunch and El Matador) and Ranger Joe (Airborne Ranger) provided invaluable advice for which we will be eternally grateful.

                 We raced at RMR August 9th and 10th and although we didn’t provide much competition we made it out there with a completed truck and we were able to drive it into the hauler at the end of the night instead of pushing it in.  Nothing major broke and no one got hurt.  We learned a ton about the truck and they have a ton of ideas on what we can do to improve it.  First thing is to get rid of the shocks, they are just not strong enough to handle the weight of the truck.  If anyone one is interested I understand they would be great for a Pro Arena truck…

                 Click here to see pictures of the truck and crew.

            

            

Updates from 2007

9/21/08

                 We’ve got a new look for the web site.  Hope you all like it.  Stuff has really calmed down around here.  Mark had been completing his list of honey do’s and he’s been helping Jake work on his Camero.  They just fished bending and welding in the roll cage.  I must say that it is nice to see work being done on something besides the truck.  Mark is having fun watching Jake have to purchase nuts and bolts instead of us having to buy them. 

                 We cut a hole in the side of the hauler to install a door and that is almost done.  Mostly we are just trying to get caught up on everything that got pushed aside while the truck was in it’s final stages.  Kandis started 3rd grade this year and she is talking about doing gymnastics…  That should keep me busy this fall and winter. 

                 Mark is getting ready to head to Red Bluff for the 3rd year in a row to help David and Daron on the King Krunch and El Matador trucks.  We were pretty worried about them as Hurricane Ike made it’s way across the gulf coast and trough Houston.  They all turned out fine and are hoping for electricity sometime this week. 

                 We did a display at D & M Automotive on 9/6 for their Customer Appreciation Day.  It was a blast and we got to meet some neat people.