Thunderhawk sponsors UTV racing at Rolling W Ranch
Over the past 10 years at Thunderhawk Performance, we have talked to literally thousands of customers about their UTV, where they ride, and whether they race. The thing that stops most people from racing is the fact that, in most cases you cannot race your regular, trail-ridden UTV without expensive modifications and upgrades. Over 250,000 "sport" model UTV's (like the RZR) have been sold, and yet there are just a handful of these UTV's being raced. Now, we all know that practically every "sport" model UTV that has been sold is actually being raced, just not on a race track, but pitted against your riding buddies on the dunes or trails. Well, Thunderhawk Performance decided that it was time that we found and promoted an entry-level UTV racing class where our customers could bring their regular, trail-ridden UTV's and enjoy a day of fun, affordable racing at the track.
Looking around the Midwest (we're in Ohio), most racing is GNCC-style woods-racing. Although this is just a sanctioned version of what we do on the trails every weekend, collisions with trees are common (and expensive) when you're running at a faster pace during a race. Clip a tree at speed, and your whole years racing budget is spent on suspension and frame repairs. No fun! There are also a handful of MX tracks that run UTV classes, but just one nose-down landing off of motocross jump is all it takes to sideline you with expensive frame repairs.
Thunderhawk Performance kept searching for a track where stock UTV's could race without the worries of expensive modifications or repairs. Our search led us out of Ohio and into Western Pennsylvania, where we discovered a natural-terrain short-course track that you would think was built just for UTV's. That track is Rolling W Ranch and it's located in West Sunbury, PA, which is about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, PA and 125 miles east of Cleveland, OH. This is the perfect place for anyone to bring their regular, trail-ridden RZR, Maverick or Wildcat to open-it-up and see what it will do.
Let me tell you about the track. Rolling W Ranch is a natural-terrain short-course track that is approximately 0.6 miles long, is built on a hill-side with a 250 foot elevation change, the track is wide enough for you to avoid contact with other racers and to allow room for easy passing, and you can run your UTV wide-open on a natural-terrain layout that features a few low-flying jumps that do not result in hard, nose-down landings (like you would find on an MX track). Oh, and there are no trees anywhere near the track!
Thunderhawk Performance is sponsoring both the "stock" and the "modified" UTV classes at Rolling W Ranch. The "stock" class does not allow performance modifications, but the common accessories normally installed for trail-riding are permitted. We hope to see many new racers in the "stock" class, whether you have a bone-stock UTV (fresh off the showroom floor) or if you bring out your trusty trail machine. The "modified" class allows performance upgrades to the engine and suspension. I think we'll see a lot of fast trail machines showing up in this class, as the common performance mods you see on the trails will help you get around this track faster too. Both classes are for production, four-wheel-drive UTV's that must retain the stock frame and vehicle layout.
Summer is right around the corner, and gasoline prices are down, so there's no excuse not to come out to the track. Rolling W Ranch even offers free overnight camping. Grab your riding buddies, get your UTV's ready, load them on the trailer, and come out for some fun, affordable racing! For more information on the UTV racing at Rolling W Ranch, either as a competitor or spectator, you can contact the track at: www.rollingwranch.net or call us at Thunderhawk Performance (phone: 216.965.4800) to talk racing and find out the latest details about the races at Rolling W Ranch.
Below is a video and some pictures from 2014 at Rolling W Ranch when the UTV classes and Pilot/Stadium Light classes were running together. Now that you've seen the track and the racing, COME OUT & JOIN US!
