Winner: Megan Brown

Runner Up: Franklin Blair

The winner of the last regular season Photo of the Event contest is Megan Brown from 4-Low Digital Labs. Her shot would be of 2009 Champion Carl Shortridge. Franklin Blair from the Cherokee (NC) Scout will take the runner up spot. His shot would be of Mike Cole.

These two events would only see one entry before the deadline.  For the Rausch Creek Photo of the Event, Josh England, would pick up his second win with a cool shot of Derek West.  For Oroville, John Herrick, the new owner of CRAWL Magazine would take his first win.  Congrats to each of them.

The two entries for the Photo of the Event contest would be entries garnered from the Blue Ribbon Coalition.  It would also mark the first time a Husband and Wife would compete against each other.  After a long period of judging we can finally announce the winner in this battle of the sexes.

WINNER: Stacie Albright

Runner Up: Del Albright

Winner

Runner Up

The next stop in the Photo of the Event contest would take from our Cedar City event.

Josh England from Rise Above Photography has been a consistent entry in the Photo of the Event. In his two prior tries at the contest he has come up short in the voting. That is until now. Josh would claim the title of Photo of the Event for Cedar City with his shot of John Hall.

Photo of the Event Winner: Josh England (Rise Above Photography)

The runner up spot for the contest would go to Kate Jackson from KJACK Photography. Her dramatic shot of Nicole Johnson would come up short in the voting, but will be a nice addition to the 2009 yearbook later this year.

Photo: Kate Jackson (KJACK Photography)

The photo of the event for Dayton was the deepest field of photos entered for the year. A panel of three judges was selected for the voting for this contest, and the voting came back unanimous from all of the judges.

The winner of the contest would be Megan Brown from 4Low Digital Photography. Her winning shot would be of Alan Rich and his roll on A3.

Photo of the Event Winner Megan Brown (4 Low-Digital Photography)

Runner Up for the contest would be from Josh England of Rise Above Photography. Josh would enter a dramatic shot of Alan Rich during an uphill climb on A4.

Photo: Josh England (Rise Above Photography) 2nd Place

Place in the contest would go to Chris Towbin from DirtSPORTS magazine for his shot of Brad Styles during a rollover.

Photo: Chris Towbin (DirtSPORTS Magazine) 3rd Place

Travelling through the desert gives someone some time to think. Today, as Josh, Lil Rich, and I travelled from the relative comfort of Cedar City to Reno, I got the chance to put some quality time in with my iPod. I like to call mine iPiddle, but that is neither here nor there. So loaded on iPiddle is a wide variety of music, and with shuffle loaded to go one of my favorite songs of all time shuffled through, “My Favorite Game” by The Cardigans. For those that may remember, this was the theme song from Grand Tourismo 2 on Playstation. It’s amazing how great this song fits with our season so far. The amazing intense beat and feel of the song fits the tone for the intense action that has been on the track so far. The tag line of “I’m losing my favorite game” reminds me of the Pro-Mod shootouts from Dayton and Tucson, and Unlimited from Cedar City. Where the leader into the shootout would not pick the victory in the end. In the end it wasn’t a matter of you vs. me, it was a matter you vs. yourself. It would be this type of fight that would make things interesting. As the drum beat pick up in the song, and the guitar riff picks up I can reimagine many of the wild moments from the season. The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat reigns through. With that said, it’s the faces of those that play their favorite game that stick with me. The smiles and the heartaches show through the passionate few who play their favorite game. As each of these moments settle into the dust of the beat of time I know there will be many more to go with it. The one who dares to play their favorite game will feel at times that they are losing their mind, and that their body is black and their heart is blue. But in the end the ones who play their favorite game are the champions to us all. Now as I dig deeper into iPiddle another song pops up: “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail.” Enough said.

Love and peace to all.

After the judging for the first, W.E.Rock Photo of the Event Contest, we can now announce the winner from Tucson.

All of us from W.E.Rock would like to congratulate, Don McNeilly and Wickedmag.com, for supplying the winning image. Don captured this awesome shot of Jesse Haines making a wicked climb.

Winning entry

Honorable mention goes to Josh England from Rise Above Photography for his shot of Buzz Bronsema who was also making a wicked climb.

Honorable Mention

Next Photo of the Event contest winner to be announced after the W.E.Rock Pro National East Series Event in Dayton, TN.  Good luck to all that will be entering.

This week on Editor’s notes I am going to take you on a small adventure around Tucson, Arizona.  Which if you have been under a rock for a little while was the place where our Pro National West Series kicked off their 2009 season.   So what is there to do in Tucson?

It totally depends on what you like to do.  Tucson is a college town.  It is the home of the University of Arizona. (Not to be confused with Arizona State University which is in the great city of Tempe.)  With Tucson being home to a major university, a rocking night life would be understandable.  The nightlife spots  in Tucson are located in section of downtown that is called Congress.  Unlike it’s namesake in Washington the Congress section of Tucson is cool.  Plus, it doesn’t take an act of Congress to find great places to hang out here.

Tucson is unique in that it is very open to the fine arts.  Tucson has it’s own theater, symphony, and ballet companies, and it is even home to some great live music.  What is cool is that the bars in Tucson are laid back.  The atmosphere of  the bar scene will leave you feeling quite comfortable.  So I am going to pass along three suggestions of things to do in Tucson while you’re dead.

To get your drink on, you have to go to “The Hut”.  This is an awesome surf/tropical styled bar.  Even if you don’t drink go for the social experience.  Right as you enter you are greeted with a wide open patio.  The huge patio is surrounded by the lanterns and things you would expect right from the beaches of Hawaii.  Heading inside you will find a lot of neat stuff that will put you in the mind of some cheesey 60’s beach bum film.  Now I’m not bagging on the motif because it is really cool.  The sides of the establishment are lined with booths, and a giant table sits  in front of the bar.  The back of the bar has a couple of pool tables, and the front of the bar is a large open area with a stage for live music.  The live local talent that graces the stage is hit or miss, but fun to listen to.  Drinks are not overly expensive and offer decent bang for the buck.    So when you are down near 4th Street in Tucson find your way to “The Hut”.

Now for eats let me recommend a couple of cool joints.  In the “Drunk and Starving” category, you have to try one of the many 24 hour drive thru taco stands.  My recommendation is “Losbestos”.  Not to be confused with Asbestos which will kill you.  Losbestos offers all the goodness of the Mexican combo plates from your favorite Mexican joint for next to nothing prices.  The second spot that I would tell you to go try is a place called the “Trident Grill”.  This rockin’ sports bar offers up great food with some more of that laid back Tucson atmosphere.  The Trident has a wide variety of beers on tap, and last time I counted was 24.  They also offer up a great menu that includes some really good burgers, (Southwest Burger please!), sandwiches, and more in-depth cuisine.  The east coast influence inside the bar ads to a bi-coastal feel, and the RC Cola on tap is off the chain.  Come on how many places can you name with RC on tap.  All of the big high definition screens are rocking some kind of sporting event, and how can you not enjoy watching the NBA while munching on a burger. Also, one other place to head to while you are in Tucson is Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler.  The food is interesting, and the atmosphere is great.  Plus, they have like a 9 hour happy hour there so drinks are always half priced.

So there are a few things to do in Tucson, and now it is your turn to get out and adventure around the city.  Also, keep checking out W.E.Rock Live for updates on the sport.  Plus, check our our podcasts on iTunes, and be sure to tune into W.E.Rock Live on W.E.Rock Radio coming up on April 23 from Dayton, TN.

From the Editor’s chair,

Aaron C.

Let me first say welcome to the new W.E.Rock Blog on W.E.Rock Live!  Over the course of the next few weeks expect a few new things to come across on this blog, and on the W.E.Rock Live website.

First off, the blog will start updating almost daily.  A wide variety of bloggers will be at the helm showing you around this crazy little rockcrawling world.  Second, the W.E.Rock Radio Network will be moving into full swing.  Check out the podcasts at www.werocklive.com/podcasts or be checking iTunes in the coming weeks for all of the great new programming heading your way.  Third, we have a new photo gallery up.  This new gallery will be easy to use, and will be quick to update.  Not only will it be easy to update, but will bring you all the action from every single W.E.Rock event this year.

The W.E.Rock Radio Network is quite possibly the most exciting development of the off-season.  This new network will be able to bring you up close and personal with all of the people and personalities of the event.  We are planning two weekly shows for your enjoyment.  W.E.Rock Spotlight will be the one on one conversation to bring you an insight on who is behind the wheel.  W.E.Rock Live is going to be the show where anything goes when the mics go live.

The W.E.Rock Radio Network will also bring you unprecedented coverage when it comes to our rockcrawls.  We will be presenting a live panel show live from registration called, Inside W.E.Rock.  Inside W.E.Rock will be available for download in our podcast section.  A special, W.E.Rock Live, will also be broadcast on each Friday before the events.  From there we will bring you live coverage of the qualifying draw party, and all of this is before the green flag even flies.  Our race day coverage is going to be big.  Starting off with the, Countdown to Crawl, this will be the all access pre-race show.  From there we will bring you flag to flag live coverage at each and every event, and finally we will wrap up the event with the awards ceremony.

So kick it back, and be sure to stay tuned to W.E.Rock Live for all of your W.E.Rock news. The W.E.Rock Blog for all of the talk, and take us with you on your iPod by way of our Podcasts.  This is going to be a wild year.

Imagine an old school guy, who just a few of years ago, was afraid of the internet. The 21st century was slamming gears, smokin’ the tires, and blazing right on past him.  That old school guy decides to go into business promoting off road events.  He secretly is wanting to compete, but knows it is not in the cards.  So he watches others do what he wants to try, working with some of them, and steering clear of the others.

He starts to build his dream after talking to competitors and members of the media.  Trying to learn what others think is the correct path.  He continues to build his dream slowly; trying to remain within his limited means.  He puts everything he owns, his family owns, and those that share his dream own on the line.  Rough times for all, but doing what he believes in.   All in the process making friends, losing friends, working hard and somethings hardly understanding why. He pushes forward, never quitting, and never losing his dream.

What does the future hold?

Probably more of the same.

What will he do in the future?

Push on like he has in the past, and continue to build within his means.  Continue putting everything he has into his dream and never giving up; no matter how hard it becomes.

Has he learned anything at all?

Yes, that doing what he loves is more fun than doing something for someone  else’s dream.  Even though the pay would be far better.

Well now that I’ve joined the 21st century.  I hope you all join me in trying to push our sport to levels we have all hoped it would go. It will take everyone of us that love what we do, to make it happen.  Remember, we are the fore-fathers of our sport, of our life-style, of our passion.  Together we can make it happen…

Keep the dream alive

Big Rich