"Man, that was an awesome race course" I said to myself on the way home from the SNORE Buffalo Bills 400. The desert race course was an 80 mile loop that consisted of at least 35 miles of whoops (cross grained whoops, big whoops and HUGE car swallowing whoops), miles of uphill sand washes, a few silt beds, and about 8 miles of high speed graded and paved roads. Run that loop 5 times and you got the SNORE Buffalo Bills 400 that took place on April 8th 2006, in Jean Nevada.

   I was really glad our team raced The Buffalo Bills 400, as it was a great learning experience for us. The prior testing we did really paid off, and it showed that the team has come a long way in the past year. Obviously the gremlins are still present but they are getting smaller. I had never driven in whoops like this before and our setup was not even close to the leaders running through the same stuff, but at least we now know how to get there.

   The pre-run and tech inspection was on Friday April 7. The pre run got started around 11:00 am and we elected to pre run in the racecar, observing the 45 mph speed limit of course;). We finished up our pre run and mental note taking around 2:30 and headed over to the hotel to get the car cleaned up for tech and contingency. We went to registration first and were truly amazed at how smooth the whole organized process went. From there it was time for contingency and tech inspection. Thanks to Jamie Fagan and the SNORE staff for making this tech inspection and contingency one of the smoothest and hassle free events I have ever been apart of. The only problem we had in tech inspection was my fault as I forgot to put the rear number plate in place before getting in line, oops! Thanks also go out to PCI race radios, F & L racing fuels, and Lucas oil products who were there to supply us with the stuff we need to make our race happen. The mandatory drivers meeting went really well and we drew a 2nd off the line start!

   Saturday April 8th, Race Day! The racing gods were smiling on us as we awoke to blue skies, warm weather, and slight breeze to keep the dust moving. I was handling the driving duties and Pam Creiglow was co-riding. We were second off the line at 8:00:30 am. We passed the first car within the first mile and led overall for a few minutes before being passed by eventual winner Tim Lindsey. “Tim passed us like we were dragging a boat anchor " commented Pam. Pam also talked about the first lap after the race, " Brad drove the car at a pace that would have allowed for a good finish, we missed the rocks, the roll overs, and had no flats. Everything was going well until mile marker 77 when the car began to stumble and ran out of fuel. Brad got the car started again and we got to mile marker 79 within site of the pit and we ran out again. We figured we were out this time so we called for the crew to come and get us. We got out of the car and waited for the crew. Brad got back in to give it another try and it fired up once again, so I jumped back in and we finally made it to the main pit. It was lot of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat!” Before the race we had estimated our fuel mileage to be 2.8 mpg but obviously a slight miscalculation caused us to come up short!

   The Bradley’s Buggy finally arrived at the main Checkers pit, which was run by Checkers members Ed Jahn and Lin Neal. They made sure the fuel was topped off and while giving the car a good look over Ed spotted a bad cv boot in the rear. Lee Creiglow jumped in with duct tape in hand and repaired the boot in record time. Meanwhile Brent Falin entered the co-riders seat and had just got situated when Ed gave us the signal to roll out and start our second lap.

   Lap 2 started with clear air out in front of us, which allowed me to run at a faster pace than I had run on the first lap. This lap was filled with lots of action! About 35 miles into lap 2 we came up to the top of the uphill sandwash where racecar 1206 had flipped over on the first lap. I noticed they were in a bad spot, as the car had flipped the wrong way on a berm. They had managed to get the car on its side, but couldn’t get it back onto the wheels. We gladly stopped and offered to help them get back on all fours. They hooked up a tow strap to the Buggy and we pulled them upright and off of the berm. They said the engine was seized and couldn’t get it fired up. So I offered to tow them to a better spot, to which they gladly accepted. Brent summed the experience pretty well, “I don’t think they expected to get a tow like they got. When you got 4wd and big block Ford, a lightweight buggy on a tow strap doesn’t do much to slow this monster down. They gave us the thumbs up to go and we took off. I noticed in the rearview mirror that as we got going fast just how quickly they had put helmets and seat belts back on!” We towed 1206 for a few miles out to an easily accessible power line road and then continued on our way. We pulled into pit B at mile marker 44 to top off our fuel. Kevin and Tracy Breckinridge from Dayton NV were waiting for us with dump cans in hand as we rolled in. Kevin noticed that the repaired the cv boot needed some more duct tape wrapped around it. Once Kevin finished the repair and gave us the thumbs up we were on our way. The car was running good and I settled in a good race pace. Then around Mile marker 62 we started to develop a small exhaust leak, I thought no big deal, as it might just be a loose bolt. But at mile marker 72 the leak was much worse, as it was getting much louder. Brent also noticed that the passenger side header was moving around by itself. At about that point over the intercom came " Hey, we’re on fire. It’s the passgenger side header" said Brent. "How big is it?” I asked, as I glanced over my shoulder to survey the damage report. I replied “ ahhh it’s not that big, just keep an eye on it. It’s the shock reservoir hose spraying oil onto the loose header, it will quit when it runs out of oil”. Brent, thinking like a WW2 bomber pilot replied, “ Then pick up some speed and get some air flowing to put it out”. Brent was then on the radio to the main pit with instructions to tighten the loose header, top it off with fuel, and to have a fire extinguisher ready!

   We pulled into the main Checkers Pit for fuel and repairs. Shortly after Ed and Lin gave me the kill it signal. Ed leaned in and said, “You’re going to have to look at this!” About at same time Lee Creiglow spotted both rear inner cv boots had blown apart. Then Ed showed me the passenger side header. As you can see from the pictures the header was damaged beyond repair. Team Bradley’s Racework’s was done for the day. I decided to end the race here, because I did not want to damage the engine, we would have lost a lot of time fixing the boots, and we were in no position to win so we will prepare for another day. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a sensible one.

   I would like to give a very special thank you to Kevin and Tracy Breckinridge, Pam and Lee Creiglow, Checkers, Ed Jahn, Lin Neal, Brent Falin, Allen Smith and his family for the superior pit work and helping to make this team one of the best in my eyes.

   The small changes that we continue to make will keep us headed in the right direction. Our main goal right now is to have a trouble free race. Once we get that goal accomplished our next goal will be the winners circle!

   Our next races will be the Vorra, Lovelock 250 on April 23, 2006, followed by our Best in the Desert debut at the Vegas to Reno race on August 25th, 2006. Although there is a possibility that will return to Vegas on July 28th for the Terrible’s Cup race, as we had a great time there last year.

Thanks,
Brad Falin, President and Founder
Bradleys Raceworks
www.bradleysraceworks.com