For the third year in a row an extreme off road series had its final races of the year here.
MUSTANG (Oct. 22) – Ultra 4 ended its season here with the 4-Wheel parts Nitto National Championship Presented by Metal Cloak. While the full name is a mouthful the racing was top rate, wild, fast and intense.
It was the third year Wild West Motorsports Park hosted this event. And the large crowd it brings saw championships secured during the day.
After several season of trying Gary Ferravanti ended this season with his first win in the 4400 class.
For the past few years Gary Ferravati Sr. has been working to win one of these races. Now he has, which was a great way to end the season but it wasn’t easy.
“It was pretty good I had to pass Jason (Scherer), he’s pretty tough to pass and I passed him up there on the short course,” Ferravanti said after the race. “Smooth run, we had a few items, my instrument panel quit working, then it came on once, didn’t have no oil pressure but I figured it didn’t blow up so I just kept going.”
Then he gave special thanks to his wife for letting him come and compete as well as his pit crew.
This year the start came after the field came down the hill to the front straight where there was a field of rocks, small boulders actually. Once they reached that it was pedal to the floor as they bounced their way across the rocks and on to the dirt track.
Shannon Campbell got the jump Clay Gilstrap with Jason Scherer and Ferravanti giving chase. Then they went over the ski jump, around the infield and up the large hill on the east side of the track.
After crossing the top its an all out run back down to the track where they take a sharp right, go up the hill then race down about 200 feet or so of rocks. Then it’s back to the front straight and the field of small boulders.
Eventually Campbell faded back to ninth while J.P. Gomez worked his way into second as Scherer, who was going for the national championship, was playing it safe in third.
In the final laps Ferravanti extended his lead while Scherer wasn’t too far behind second place Gomez. They finished in that order.
After the checkered flag there was some excitement as one car rolled after the rock field then caught on fire. Everyone grabbed extinguishers and rushed to put that out.
Then the racer of Gomez had a small fire so Scherer and others grabbed more extinguishers and put that out. So the season ended in a blaze of glory.
After helping put the first Scherer, now the 2016 National Champion said, “We were trying to play it smart, we knew if we wanted to win the championship we had to go out there, play a smart race and not make any mistakes. And that meant keeping the car in one piece, especially if I needed to do something special on the last lap. And you know, we did that, we accomplished our goal and executed on the plan.”
Jason Scherer used a steady drive and a third place finish to clinch the 4400 National Championship.
Then he took a deep breath as the emotions began to surface and his accomplishment started to really impact him.
“You don’t know how good this feels to be the champion,” he said. “I wanted this so bad, I didn’t think it was possible and it’s a good feeling.”
When asked who to thank Scherer made special note of the Nitto tires and how he never had a flat with them.
“That’s insane, we’re running through rocks at almost full speed, it’s just an incredible tire,” he said. “But I’ve got to stop and say I couldn’t be here without my family. They support me, my father-in-law, my wife and my kids as they’re here every race. My father-in-law figured the points and I didn’t even know it, he’s never missed a race since 2010.”
When the Legends or 4800 class main began Rick Waterbury and Baily Cole would chase each other then swap places a few times. Eventually Waterbury took the lead for good.
Cole and Kyle Wickham then started a duel to see who would second. It was a duel that went right down to the finish line where they ended up 2/100ths of a second part at the checkered flag with Cole taking the runner up spot.
After pulling up to the interview place co-driver Seth VanDyke and driver Waterbury climbed out of their car.
“I’m fired up right now, we were in it for the National Championship points,” Waterbury said. “We wanted to finish this race, everybody is killing tires out here so we wanted to get the first five laps out of the way and push hard for the finish on the next two. We’re the West Coast Champions and hopefully the National Champions now.”
Then he gave special thanks to his Nitto tires and crew.
When the 4500 Class or the Mod Main began Matt Howell was on point followed by Jordan Pellegrino and Kevin Rants. As the race sorted itself out Pellegrino would take over the point.
Eventually Marty Mann would worked his way toward the front and took over the lead in the final laps. He won the race followed by Pellegrino and Matt Howell, who earned enough points to claim this year’s championship.
After the race Mann said, “This was our first race out here in Ultra 4. It was amazing, hard, the rocks separate the guys, gives you lines to pick, get hung up on and it was good.
Then he thanked Yoda Masters, LC Engineering, Jimmy’s 4X4 as well as everybody back at his home that helped him get here from Montana.
The Stock Main or 4600 Class had the smallest field as only four cars too the green flag. Up front Ben Varozza was on point and working to secure the championship while Albert Contreras was giving chase.
One car fell out so at the end there were three that crossed the finish line. Varozza clinched the title followed by Contreras and Sean McNamara.
After the race Varozza said, “Well it was a great race and I really have to thank all of our supporters out here, Falcon Tire, Metal Cloak, Wayne at Fox Shocks, everything’s been awesome. We had a little issue with heating all weekend and I got hung up once on a rock but everything was flawless.”
Earlier in the afternoon the UTVs ran their main and 10 of these little side-by-sides took the green flag.
Right from the get go Phillip Cagliero was on point and soon distanced himself from the pack. Behind him there was a small dispute over second place but in the end Darian Gomez claimed that position while Andrew Walker came home third.
“It was a great race, nice and clean, I didn’t have any trouble,” Phillip Cagliero said after his victory and championship run. “Made it through the rocks every time, pretty smooth. Well I want to put heat on everybody at first then just try and hold on to it.
Then he thanked his wife Tracy, family and friends for their support. After that he expressed appreciation to sponsors Moto Race Tires, which have run the season with no flats, HCR Racing, King Shocks, RCV Axels and Rugged Radios.
After the initial interviews for television the top three drivers and co-drivers went over to the podium where they were awarded the trophies.
Series co-founder Dave Cole then shook everyone’s hand and congratulate them on being on the podium. For his son Bailey, who finished second in the 4800 main, he got both a handshake and a big hug from his dad.
This has been a pivotal season for Ultra 4. Now only do they have events across the country but NBC Sports has picked up the series, which should expand its fan base.
Ultra 4 co-founder and series boss Dave Cole (right) congratulates Jason Scherer on winning the 4400 National Championship.
After the final podium Cole had some comments about the 2016 season.
“This has been the season you kind of dream of where we’ve finally got to the point where we have our foundation, we’ve got TV on board now, the drivers have really started to put their entire programs together and everything is kind of jelling now. So this is the point in another 10 or 15 years you’ll look back and say, ‘this was the year that we started to launch.’ I’m really excited.”
Asked about the impact TV has had he said, “We have really exciting racing and the more people we can show the better off everything is. They are class drivers, they’re amazing talents, great people and the more we can put that out in front of the world the better everything is.”
He added that next season he’s going to try events in Texas and Oklahoma.
Asked about coming back to Wild West Motorsports Park next year he said, “Absolutely 100%, wouldn’t miss it.”
For further information about the series and what’s on tap for next year please go to the series website, www.ultra4racing.com.
Reporters Note: There is a photo gallery after the results.
If you enjoyed this article please “like,” and share it as widely as possible. Comments are welcome.
Subscribers have articles posted to their inbox as soon as they are on the site.
We now have three very appreciated sponsors that are helping support this site.
Our newest sponsor is Concours Body Shop owned by Gil Grieve, a veteran racer himself and a long time supporter of motorsports.
His shop does quality work and if you need their services remember they support racing so please support them.
The shop’s website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
If you are into karting or want the most cost effective way to start racing then Nevada Kart Sport is where you want to go. It’s the only full service kart shop in our region and even retails karts.
The shop’s website is, www.nevadakartsport.com.
If you are into the riding lifestyle or race a motorcycle then Reno Motorsports is the place to go. They have about everything a person could want including a full service shop in the back.
Their website is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
Have a business targeted toward the motorcycle or motorsport demographic? Well we are looking for more sponsors. You can contact us either through the comment section of the site or our Face Book page.
RESULTS:
4-Wheel Parts Nitto Ultra 4 National Championship presented by Metal Cloak.
Wild West Motorsports Park – Oct 22.
+ 4400 Main – 1. Gary Ferravanti Sr., 2. J.P. Gomez, 3. Jason Sherer*, 4. Wayland Campbell, 5. Paul Horschel, 6. Loren Healy, 7.Josh Blyler, 8. Gary Ferravanti Jr., 9. Shannon Campbell, 10. Andrew McLaughlin, 11. Brendon Thompson, 12. Clay Gilstrap, 13. Keenan Leatherwood, 14. Brian Caprara, 15. Don Fisher, 16. Marcos Gomez, 17. Darren Henke, 18. Jon Cagliero, 19. Cody Addington, 20. Ben Swain, 21. Dustin Isenhour, 22. Bailey Campbell, 23. Doug Jackson, 24. Jason Shipman, 25. Levi Shirley, 26. Shane Chiddix, 27. Alex Hardaway, 28. Tom Wayes.
+ 4800 Main: 1. Rick Waterbury*, 2. Bailey Cole, 3. Kyle Wickham, 4. Jason Bunch, 5. James Hubbard, 6. Cade Rodd, 7. Jay Sadler, 8.Jason Fish, 9. Robby Flandro, 10. Adam McGough, 11. Brad Lovell, 12. Casey Gilbert, 13. Justin Day, 14. Dave Schneider, 15. Todd McCullen, 16. Wade Coleman, 17. SteveLopez, 18. Keith Ratzburg, 19.Kent Fults, 20. Sean Leonardini, 21. Ross Glave, 22. Dan Wyrick, 23. Jern Gunter, 24. Kurtis Harryman.
+ 4500 Main: 1. Marty Mann, 2. Jordan Pellegrino, 3. Matt Howell*, 4. Morgan Derodeff, 5. Duane Garretson, 6. Keith Kanig, 7. Kevin Rants, 8. Justin Hall, 9. Jimmy Jack, 10. Mike Bedwell, 11. Sean McBride, 12. Andrew Gorman.
+ 4600 Main: 1. Ben Varozza, 2. Albert Contreras*, 3. Sean McNamara, 4. Brian Behrend.
UTV Main: 1. Phillip Cagliero*, 2. Albert Contreras, 3. Andrew Walker, 4. Evan Engelhart, 5. Jami Pelegrino, 6. George Lisenbery, 7. Robert Camilleri, 8. Andrew Gorman, 9. Ryan Bergamini, 10. John Duckworth.
* – National and Class Champion
Photo Gallery:
