Nissley Racing Team
April 7, 2010
Written by, Bill Nissley
On March 27 we competed in the legendary The Mint 400, a race we as a team and I personally will remember for a long time.
On Thursday evening we parked our Jeep on Freemont Street along with many of the other competitors for a fanfest where we had the chance to meet with hundreds of people, show off our Jeep and promote our sponsors.
It was a great time; we even signed a few autographs for the kids. John Schneider from Dukes of Hazard stopped by and autographed our Jeep. He wrote “’Yee Haa’ John Schneider ‘Bo’” on the driver’s inner door panel. One of the biggest interests in our car came from our Trailglow number plates, which we had turned on, those things are awesome.
Friday’s tech inspection was another memorable experience. Pushing our Jeep down Freemont Street passed the casinos and under the canopy was a blast. We got some really neat pictures.
On Saturday the race started bright and early with side by side starts through the infield area. With the plan to drive the entire 420 laps, Chris was in the driver’s seat and Rob was co-driver. They were lined up with the Shafer’s Off-Road’s Jeep, and beat them through the infield by skying off the short coarse style jumps. After leaving the infield, the course immediately turned to deep sand. With plenty of room to pass Shafer’s Jeep decided to nerf us. Maybe a little payback for making them look bad over the jumps, I don’t know. They were faster through the sand due to their 4wd. It was the only time we got nerfed all day, including being passed by many Trophy Trucks and Class 1s.
Going through the rock garden at mile 19 we got our first flat. Rob and Chris had it changed quickly and were back under way. When they got to pit A they stopped and the crew from Baja Pits replaced the spare tire on the Jeep. Then it happened again, another flat around mile 45. This time and Rob change the tire himself. As Chris was sitting in the jeep he decided we needed to increase the tire pressure. We had been running 28lbs and it work well in Parker but with as rocky as this course was it wasn’t enough. This flat left us with only one spare left for the rest of the race. We picked up that last spare at Pit E from the Pit Works Crew. Chris drove the rest of the lap real conservative to make sure we could make it back to our main pit to change the tire pressure. When they pulled into our main pit that we share with the 1708 Express Racing Team, we added air to all the tires filled the Jeep with fuel and left to start second lap.
After being careful to observe the 25 mph speed limit in the main pits, they left the infield section and were back in the same sand pit as the first lap, but this time it was much thicker and wider. Chris made a critical driving error in the dust and ended up stuck right in the middle of the pit. The sand in just one lap seemed to be about a foot deeper then it was at the start. Luckily we stopped right in front of some spectators that felt like getting dirty. Rod jumped out of the Jeep and started digging us out. It took him, and about five guys a half hour to get us moving again. The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful, thankfully no tire problems after increasing the air pressure. When your race in such a prestigious even as the Mint 400 you have the opportunity to be passed by some of the best in desert racing like Roger Norman and BJ Baldwin it was awesome.
By the end of lap 2 it was clear to Chris that he would not be able to go on lap 4. I was the backup driver, so I would be driving the 4th lap. It would be dark by then and I was going to need someone there who had seen the course in daylight. So the plan was that Rob would get out of the car after lap 2 so he could rest and get back in with me for the last lap. Tom took Rob’s place for lap 3. This time Chris was very careful to not get stuck in the sand pit. Everything was going great until about mile 30. In the dust of faster traffic he missed a turn and ended up trying to climb a rutted out sand hill. They should have made a left according to the GPS, but went straight. As he was backing down the sand hill they fell into a ditch about 10ft. deep. Tom got out and tried to free them but had no luck they were stuck AGAIN!!!. Chris sat in that ditch for what seemed like an hour but it was only 30 minutes or so. Then Darren Skilton drove up in the 3797 Jeepspeed 4WD Wrangler and pulled them out. Shortly after that the sun started going down. This wasn’t a problem thanks to our Soltek HIDs. They drove the Jeep to pit B were we met up with our head pit guy Chris (freebird) Haynes. He made some adjustments to the lights and helped Tom and Chris switch helmet visors. Chris had been using an amber colored visor and it was starting to get to dark for it. Shortly after leaving Pit B the jeep started to develop shifting issues. By the time they made it all the way back to main pit the Jeep was getting very difficult to shift into gear.
We completed our pit stop which additional to gas and the normal suspension checks and tightening of the lug nuts we had added some gear oil to the transmission. Hopefully this would help our shifting problem. With Rob in the co-driver’s seat to give me direction, we take off doing the 25mph serpentine trek through the rest of the pits; I found out the hard way that the shifting problem was still there. To get the green flag to start the 4th lap I needed to come to a complete stop. After the flag dropped I was still trying to get it in gear and after what seemed like minutes, we took off. Being well aware of the sand pit problems, I skirted the left edge of the sand pit which was now 30 ft or more wide. This went on for a couple of miles with bushes pelting me and Rob as they busted off and came through the front window. at about mile 3 with the sand situation getting better, Rob warned me that we needed to shift into 3rd gear to bring the temps down in the engine, up until this time I had been staying in 2nd gear because of the deep sand and knowing that if I shifted it might get us stuck if it didn’t go into gear. Just as I feared, it wouldn’t shift. We did get off the course and after we let the Jeep set for a while, we did get it into 2nd gear. Knowing we still had over 100 challenging miles to go with a car that we couldn’t reliably shift we decided to just get the car back to our main pit so we didn’t end up stranded all night in the middle of the desert. We made it back just in time for burgers!
We can’t thank enough all of the people and companies that support us and help make this possible.
Our families, Anne, Abbie, Tori, Cheryl, Allison, Ryan, Liam and Sam
Our friends, Team 1708, Keith and Tony Sato, Freebird, Melissa , Baja Pits and many others.
Our sponsors, Currie Racing Rear ends, Rusty’s Off-Road, General Tires, Soletek Lighting by Baja Designs, Justice Brothers Car Care Products, J.E.Reel Drive Line Specialists, Fox Racing Shocks, Trailglow Lighted Products and Imzz ind.
April 7, 2010
Written by, Bill Nissley
On March 27 we competed in the legendary The Mint 400, a race we as a team and I personally will remember for a long time.
On Thursday evening we parked our Jeep on Freemont Street along with many of the other competitors for a fanfest where we had the chance to meet with hundreds of people, show off our Jeep and promote our sponsors.
It was a great time; we even signed a few autographs for the kids. John Schneider from Dukes of Hazard stopped by and autographed our Jeep. He wrote “’Yee Haa’ John Schneider ‘Bo’” on the driver’s inner door panel. One of the biggest interests in our car came from our Trailglow number plates, which we had turned on, those things are awesome.
Friday’s tech inspection was another memorable experience. Pushing our Jeep down Freemont Street passed the casinos and under the canopy was a blast. We got some really neat pictures.
On Saturday the race started bright and early with side by side starts through the infield area. With the plan to drive the entire 420 laps, Chris was in the driver’s seat and Rob was co-driver. They were lined up with the Shafer’s Off-Road’s Jeep, and beat them through the infield by skying off the short coarse style jumps. After leaving the infield, the course immediately turned to deep sand. With plenty of room to pass Shafer’s Jeep decided to nerf us. Maybe a little payback for making them look bad over the jumps, I don’t know. They were faster through the sand due to their 4wd. It was the only time we got nerfed all day, including being passed by many Trophy Trucks and Class 1s.
Going through the rock garden at mile 19 we got our first flat. Rob and Chris had it changed quickly and were back under way. When they got to pit A they stopped and the crew from Baja Pits replaced the spare tire on the Jeep. Then it happened again, another flat around mile 45. This time and Rob change the tire himself. As Chris was sitting in the jeep he decided we needed to increase the tire pressure. We had been running 28lbs and it work well in Parker but with as rocky as this course was it wasn’t enough. This flat left us with only one spare left for the rest of the race. We picked up that last spare at Pit E from the Pit Works Crew. Chris drove the rest of the lap real conservative to make sure we could make it back to our main pit to change the tire pressure. When they pulled into our main pit that we share with the 1708 Express Racing Team, we added air to all the tires filled the Jeep with fuel and left to start second lap.
After being careful to observe the 25 mph speed limit in the main pits, they left the infield section and were back in the same sand pit as the first lap, but this time it was much thicker and wider. Chris made a critical driving error in the dust and ended up stuck right in the middle of the pit. The sand in just one lap seemed to be about a foot deeper then it was at the start. Luckily we stopped right in front of some spectators that felt like getting dirty. Rod jumped out of the Jeep and started digging us out. It took him, and about five guys a half hour to get us moving again. The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful, thankfully no tire problems after increasing the air pressure. When your race in such a prestigious even as the Mint 400 you have the opportunity to be passed by some of the best in desert racing like Roger Norman and BJ Baldwin it was awesome.
By the end of lap 2 it was clear to Chris that he would not be able to go on lap 4. I was the backup driver, so I would be driving the 4th lap. It would be dark by then and I was going to need someone there who had seen the course in daylight. So the plan was that Rob would get out of the car after lap 2 so he could rest and get back in with me for the last lap. Tom took Rob’s place for lap 3. This time Chris was very careful to not get stuck in the sand pit. Everything was going great until about mile 30. In the dust of faster traffic he missed a turn and ended up trying to climb a rutted out sand hill. They should have made a left according to the GPS, but went straight. As he was backing down the sand hill they fell into a ditch about 10ft. deep. Tom got out and tried to free them but had no luck they were stuck AGAIN!!!. Chris sat in that ditch for what seemed like an hour but it was only 30 minutes or so. Then Darren Skilton drove up in the 3797 Jeepspeed 4WD Wrangler and pulled them out. Shortly after that the sun started going down. This wasn’t a problem thanks to our Soltek HIDs. They drove the Jeep to pit B were we met up with our head pit guy Chris (freebird) Haynes. He made some adjustments to the lights and helped Tom and Chris switch helmet visors. Chris had been using an amber colored visor and it was starting to get to dark for it. Shortly after leaving Pit B the jeep started to develop shifting issues. By the time they made it all the way back to main pit the Jeep was getting very difficult to shift into gear.
We completed our pit stop which additional to gas and the normal suspension checks and tightening of the lug nuts we had added some gear oil to the transmission. Hopefully this would help our shifting problem. With Rob in the co-driver’s seat to give me direction, we take off doing the 25mph serpentine trek through the rest of the pits; I found out the hard way that the shifting problem was still there. To get the green flag to start the 4th lap I needed to come to a complete stop. After the flag dropped I was still trying to get it in gear and after what seemed like minutes, we took off. Being well aware of the sand pit problems, I skirted the left edge of the sand pit which was now 30 ft or more wide. This went on for a couple of miles with bushes pelting me and Rob as they busted off and came through the front window. at about mile 3 with the sand situation getting better, Rob warned me that we needed to shift into 3rd gear to bring the temps down in the engine, up until this time I had been staying in 2nd gear because of the deep sand and knowing that if I shifted it might get us stuck if it didn’t go into gear. Just as I feared, it wouldn’t shift. We did get off the course and after we let the Jeep set for a while, we did get it into 2nd gear. Knowing we still had over 100 challenging miles to go with a car that we couldn’t reliably shift we decided to just get the car back to our main pit so we didn’t end up stranded all night in the middle of the desert. We made it back just in time for burgers!
We can’t thank enough all of the people and companies that support us and help make this possible.
Our families, Anne, Abbie, Tori, Cheryl, Allison, Ryan, Liam and Sam
Our friends, Team 1708, Keith and Tony Sato, Freebird, Melissa , Baja Pits and many others.
Our sponsors, Currie Racing Rear ends, Rusty’s Off-Road, General Tires, Soletek Lighting by Baja Designs, Justice Brothers Car Care Products, J.E.Reel Drive Line Specialists, Fox Racing Shocks, Trailglow Lighted Products and Imzz ind.
