Montanaflash
06-07-2004, 06:16 PM
As you may or may not know, I attended the 36th annual Baja 500 in Ensenada Mexico this weekend as part of the Support Crew for Al Hogan in the #226 ProTruck. The race went pretty well. We had the usual spate of problems that began with the transmission acting up in one of the chase trucks on the way down. We changed the fluid and filters in San Diego and put some of the magical Lucas Transmission goop in it. That, along with being as easy as possible on the truck, helped it make it through all the chase duties and back to at least Salt Lake City. Ryan and Greg dropped me off last night and I haven't heard anything else yet. Hopefully they made it to Columbus, MT. The race went fairly well. Al got stuck a few times and had to change a tire or two out on the course. He decided to get out of the truck at race mile 314 of 428 and let someone else get some experience behind the wheel. Dennis Durmas, who was the co-driver for the first part of the race took over behind the wheel and I jumped in the co-driver's seat!
This was my first time riding in this truck and it was exciting. I've worked on it for a couple of years now, but never ridden it it. Once my nerves settled a little, I did my best to help the driver where I could. Dennis coached me a little and before long I was; watching the GPS/watching the course/watching the gauges/talking to the chase crew, all while bouncing through 2 foot deep whoop-de-doos at between 40 and 60 miles per hour. At times the thing was bouncing so much, that my eyes wouldn't focus on the GPS screen properly. In addition to all of this, about an hour or so after I got in, the sun started to set and we were headed straight for it. This made seeing the course quite challenging. We also caught up to a buggy that was throwing up a nice dust screen to add to the visibility problems. Eventually we caught and passed the buggy, but it seemed that from there on in we were behind someone who was throwing dust in the air. Farther on in the course we had a drag race with a Trophy Truck down a wide boulevard heading out of the town of Ojos Negros. It was quite a rush when we were able to get past him. Near the end of the race we were forced to bump a buggy off course after he wouldn't get out of the way. He was able to continue once we got past. Dennis did a fine job of driving and we didn't have any major problems, we maintained our position relative to the rest of our class and brought the truck home in third place. The full score sheet can be viewed on www.score-international.com should you wish to see it for yourselves. While first place is the ultimate goal, just finishing is an accomplishment. Only 184 of the 300 starting vehicles even finished the race.
I've told some of you about the adventures that unfold at these races for me and this one was once again unique and exciting. I feel very fortunate to be able to attend these races and see a part of Mexico in ways that can never be duplicated anywhere else or at any other time of year. If you're ever in the area during one of these races, I would strongly advise you to get out and see what it's about for yourself. The next race for Al and crew is scheduled to be the Vegas-to-Reno Off Road Race on June 25. Wish us luck!
http://www.wildwestracingteam.com/wildwestheader4_r1_c1.gif
This was my first time riding in this truck and it was exciting. I've worked on it for a couple of years now, but never ridden it it. Once my nerves settled a little, I did my best to help the driver where I could. Dennis coached me a little and before long I was; watching the GPS/watching the course/watching the gauges/talking to the chase crew, all while bouncing through 2 foot deep whoop-de-doos at between 40 and 60 miles per hour. At times the thing was bouncing so much, that my eyes wouldn't focus on the GPS screen properly. In addition to all of this, about an hour or so after I got in, the sun started to set and we were headed straight for it. This made seeing the course quite challenging. We also caught up to a buggy that was throwing up a nice dust screen to add to the visibility problems. Eventually we caught and passed the buggy, but it seemed that from there on in we were behind someone who was throwing dust in the air. Farther on in the course we had a drag race with a Trophy Truck down a wide boulevard heading out of the town of Ojos Negros. It was quite a rush when we were able to get past him. Near the end of the race we were forced to bump a buggy off course after he wouldn't get out of the way. He was able to continue once we got past. Dennis did a fine job of driving and we didn't have any major problems, we maintained our position relative to the rest of our class and brought the truck home in third place. The full score sheet can be viewed on www.score-international.com should you wish to see it for yourselves. While first place is the ultimate goal, just finishing is an accomplishment. Only 184 of the 300 starting vehicles even finished the race.
I've told some of you about the adventures that unfold at these races for me and this one was once again unique and exciting. I feel very fortunate to be able to attend these races and see a part of Mexico in ways that can never be duplicated anywhere else or at any other time of year. If you're ever in the area during one of these races, I would strongly advise you to get out and see what it's about for yourself. The next race for Al and crew is scheduled to be the Vegas-to-Reno Off Road Race on June 25. Wish us luck!
http://www.wildwestracingteam.com/wildwestheader4_r1_c1.gif