JAY, Okla. — Five-time Ultra4 USA champion Loren Healy doesn’t hide the fact he’s not a fan of having trees on a race track.
With his background steeped in West Coast desert and rock racing, the New Mexico native isn’t as familiar with combatting wooded and muddy terrain.
But that’s just what he’s getting at Ultra4 USA’s Visions Off-Road event this week at MidAmerica Outdoors here.
Before popping the drivers out at a short, high-speed straightaway, the 8.5-mile race course winds tightly through the Oklahoma trees — and the branches have already bitten Healy.
On Thursday afternoon, Healy rolled his Ford Bronco to the starting line for the 4600 Stock class race. Despite his second-place finish in the two-hour endurance contest, he hasn’t changed his mind about wooded terrain.
“I hurt my race truck, the front grill is all broken from hitting a tree, so no, I have not changed my stance on that,” Healy said with a laugh.
The multi-time champion will go for a second round in Oklahoma on Friday afternoon, when he wheels his No. 67 Bronco to the line for the 4400 Unlimited class finale.
“I didn’t qualify quite as well as I normally do, because I’m always nervous of ripping a corner off in the trees,” Healy said, who qualified seventh in the 4400 class. “But that’s the great thing about Ultra4, is it challenges us to do everything. You’ve got to do it all and if you can’t do it all, you’re not going to be a champion.”
He’s one of several drivers pulling double duty across Ultra4 USA classes this week — others include Paul Wolff (4900 UTV, 4400) — but it’s nothing new for Healy.
He’s been competing in both divisions for several years, ever since his Fun-Haver Off-Road Team, which he and teammate Vaughn Gittin Jr. drive for, partnered with Ford in 2021.
“They wanted to build the best stock class vehicle to show what a stock Bronco could do. They took the rulebook of the stock class, learned exactly how to play by the rules and wanted to go win,” Healy said.
But with his roots running deep in the 4400 Unlimited class, Healy didn’t want to give up racing one class for the other, so his solution was, “Do both!”
In most cases, it’s turned out to be more of an advantage than Healy expected.
“I get to see how the course is developing and see where the holes and the rocks are coming out,” Healy said.
The situation in Oklahoma is a little unique, as the 4600 Stock class took to the track a day prior to the 4400 Unlimited race. The two divisions typically compete on the same day, which can lend its fair share of disadvantages.
“If it’s back-to-back on the same day, sometimes you get too exhausted or you give up a little bit in one of those races to be at point on the next race,” Healy said. “But this way, getting to race two days, is awesome.”
The 4400 Unlimited race will be streamed live on AOE.tv.