“The finish at the second round of the Idaho X Rocks series was as tight as any event I’ve been a part of,” said Team Superchips driver Jesse Haines after their win Saturday. After jumping out to a huge lead, an attempt to extend the lead farther backfired. The car got hung up in a bonus gate, and a last-minute effort to finish the course resulted in a score that all but erased the team’s substantial lead.

Prior to the last course, Haines and fill-in spotter Shawn McNerney clung to a two-point lead. After two of the 8 unlimited cars ran, intense thunderstorms began and didn’t let up for an hour. X Rocks officials decided to drop the last course from the scoring, but the drivers weren’t ready to call it a day. After some discussion, it was decided to finish the remaining course. Two of the unlimited teams had to unload their cars from their trailers to make the final run. The second-place team left a few points on the table after their run, which meant Haines could win without attempting the course’s bonus line.

As they approached the last gate, there weren’t many points to spare. Although this was one of the easiest gates they faced all day, a rock hung the front diff just before the rear tires cleared cones. The car started to slide closer to the cone, forcing the team to take an extra backup before finally squeezing past with 1/2″ to spare. In the end, only 1 point separated each of the top three finishers!