2008 Powder Puff Race
On October 11th, 2008, Barstow’s Outlet Center Drive was crowded with women of all ages. No, it was not an early Christmas sale at the outlet centers; it was the Mojave Off-Road Racing Enthusiasts (M.O.R.E.) Powder-Puff Race for the Cure, benefiting Breast Cancer research for Cedars Sinai. This event, in its third year, is held annually in the Stoddard Valley OHV area located just south of Barstow, California. Traditionally, the second weekend in October, this event draws participants and spectators from all over the southwest to race, pit crew, cheer on a friend, or just experience the excitement.
Historically, Powder-Puff off-road racing originated when wives, daughters, and girlfriends of competing racers would piece together any remaining running vehicles and create their own race. This event is a far cry from those days. The ladies racing in this event are in full race vehicles, fireproof gear, and often boast complete pit and chase crew support. Not to mention that some of the participants in this year’s M.O.R.E organized Powder-Puff event are full-time competitors--racers from various off-road circuits, resulting in a total of 166 Powder-Puff vehicle entrants from organizations including MORE, BITD, SCORE, SNORE, MDR and CORR.
As we hauled in on Thursday preparing to secure a pit location along the race course, just south of the start finish, it was clear: parking for pit crews and spectators were at a premium. Orange cones and caution tape galore, it became apparent securing this prime real estate required preplanning. But in no time at all, friends were squeezing in friends and in the true camaraderie of racing, people took care of each other, like family. Soon, whether you knew your neighbor when they parked or you met them during the course of the weekend, you left on Sunday with an experience shared, or even a friendship built.
By Friday night, the OHV staging area had become a virtual city of toyhaulers, RV’s and race support equipment. Golf carts, UTV’s, and quads were buzzing around as they conducted final prep, headed in and out of tech safety inspection or visited fellow racers. You could see the excitement and bustle as the ladies, their crews and fans were buying souvenirs, taking pictures, networking among other racers or just having fun being a part of the pre-race excitement. The evening fell quite early for some, as race day would start at the crack of dawn for drivers, co-drivers and pit crew, while others would hang out at the fire until the wee hours of the morning bench-racing and shooting the bull.
Race day came early and cold. With the drivers’ meeting and frigid temperatures in the 40’s, the racers and support crew huddled near the officials trailer to hear the final brief before loading up to race. After the meeting, it was time to get in line, following the official line-up chosen by random draw on Oct 4th at the Slash X Café in Barstow.
Walking up and down the starting line you could see a mixture of determination, wonder, and elation in each of the ladies’ faces. Finally, as each vehicle came to the start line and were given the green flag, a cheer arose from the crowd as it seemed that every racer in the race had a support staff the size of a Hollywood entourage. With entrants from several different race series and organizations, it allowed for spectators to have a wide array of vehicles racing. In the midst of the growing popularity of this race and the large number of entries, there are actually two races on the same day: the first race sporting such classes as 1300, 3000, ultralites, 5-16, 9s, 7s, 1450, 1700, 11 and UTVs receiving the green flag at 8:30 a.m., while the second race beginning at 12:30p.m boasts class 1, 10s, 12s, 5s, 1600, 1350, 8s, 1400, and 3700s. The race objective? To complete as many 24-mile loops as the vehicle can in the allotted time frame.
During the course of the race, while cruising around the pits to watch various areas of the race, you can hear multiple radio conversations from those out on the course either calling for assistance, or calling out mile-markers so that their support crew knew where they were located. Occasionally, an excited scream or laughter could be heard as well. As you can imagine, with 166 entries the airwaves above Barstow were pretty busy that Saturday.
Completing the day’s racing festivities, the top six finishers from each class received plaques during the award ceremony. Immediately following, a raffle was held where such prizes as a 2008 Yamaha Rhino, ACRO HID Lights, Dewalt cordless tool sets, a pink Livewire LED Whip, a crew chief radio package, a base camp antenna, as well as many others were donated.
Once the raffle prizes were awarded, the real party began, including a free barbeque serving over 2,200 hot dogs and featuring a live band playing a mixture of music late into the night, as racers, pit-crews, friends, and family enjoyed the evening. Overall, this year’s event concluded with great success, raising over $117,000 to date for Cedars Sinai, not to mention the memories and stories that will be told over and over again at dinner tables and campfires for years to come--or at least until next year’s race.
For more information or to inquire about the 2009 race, please visit M.O.R.E. Racing online at www.moreracing.net.
-J.T. Groover
