Lovell learns rockcross in a hurry

WEST VALLEY CITY — When it comes to rockcrawling, Brad Lovell knows what to expect. Lovell, a three-time national champion in the sport's modified class, has all the time he needs to chart a course and pile up the points in a typical rockcrawling event.

Rockcross, on the other hand, seems like a different animal altogether.

Lovell discovered as much while a participant in the United Rockcrawling & Off-Road Challenge's first official rockcross race at Rocky Mountain Raceways on Saturday evening.

During his semifinal run, Lovell sprinted past two other vehicles to the first obstacle. As he made his climb, however, one of his competitors caught up to him. In their eagerness to pass him, the other driver drove right over one of Lovell's front fenders.

"I had no choice but to let him do it," Lovell said. "Luckily, I went right up behind him — up that climb."

Lovell eventually regained the lead and earned a spot in the modified class final later in the evening. But that one moment showed him the thrills and hazards of head-to-head competition — a foreign concept in traditional rockcrawling events.

With rockcross, it takes a whole different set of skills to compete successfully.

"You add another car on these courses, and it's a wild card," Lovell said. "You don't know what line they're going to take. Your line might not be available."

UROC decided the risk of switching its focus from rockcrawling to rockcross was worth it. Even if some drivers struggled to adapt to changes, the motor sport organization counted on drawing in larger numbers of fans.

One advantage rockcross has over rockcrawling, says UROC CEO Ranch Pratt, is that it is less focused on drivers climbing over an insanely hard obstacle and more about making it through the course. A rockcross course is much easier in terms of obstacles it features as a result.

Pratt thinks it is better for the industry because it allows more people to get involved.

"The obstacle is really the guy next to you that you're trying to beat," Pratt said. "It's not the course. So any vehicle out there that's short-wheel based and fairly modified could make it over all these obstacles. The question is: Can he do it faster than the guy by him?"

One thing UROC's initial rockcross race offered was plenty of spills and rollovers. Nearly every race, from qualifying heats to showdowns in the winner's and loser's brackets, featured at least on driver taking a tumble.

Sometimes it happened while going up a rock obstacle at breakneck speed. Sometimes, the spills occurred coming down the other side.

It's just the sort of stuff that captivates a crowd and the kind of action rockcrawling veterans think will take rockcross to an even higher level.

"People like this kind of stuff when you start slamming into each other," said Shannon Campbell, a frequent super modified rockcrawling champion. "It just makes it a lot more fun."

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E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com