The Baja Experience Thanks to Hero Offroad – Episode 27

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An abrupt message on Facebook from Armando Verdugo of Hero Offroad late one night while I was still at work sent my pulse through the roof and brought an instant sweat to my palms.  I didn’t know what to expect but I grabbed my phone and dialed his number.  When he asked if I would be able to go to Mexico for the race I think I just stood in my office dumbfounded.  Once I regained a bit of composure and and peeled myself off the ceiling I had to ask my boss for some extra time off, which I did with a big stupid grin on my face and my heart still trying to pound out of my chest.  Once I got the green light, I had to hold in the knowledge of the adventure that was quickly approaching till Hero Offroad made the official announcement.

In the next few days I devoured every bit of information about the SCORE Baja 1000 that I could find.  This race has been near the top of my bucket list for my entire life and also on the list of things that I thought would never actually complete.  I knew as much about the race as could be known by someone who’s never actually experienced it.  Once I actually got to speak with Brandon Walsh of Team Homemade Motorsports, everything seemed to just feel more real.  This was really going to happen.  And its all thanks to Hero Offroad.  Hero Offroad was started by Armando Verdugo, whom I still have not met in person and had the chance to thank appropriately for his overwhelming generosity.  Hero Offroad is a nationwide community-based voluntary organization dedicated to honoring our nation’s war veterans, wounded warriors and their families.  I certainly don’t consider myself a hero in any way but I am a veteran and I was extremely honored to represent the many Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen that applied for the Adventure to Baja!  This trip was made possible through the generous contributions from patriotic individuals and businesses.

The 2012 SCORE Baja 1000 was the 45th anniversary of the race and it was like the race  a peninsula run was really meant to be run; a peninsula run covering 1,121.55 miles.  Jessie Combs, who I actually got to meet at contingency in front of the Speed Energy truck says, “[This race is] the most grueling race on the planet…a true test of man and machine…it tests you in every way possible; patience, skill, endurance, focus, survival, determination, efficiency, timing…it is everything but easy.”

The morning of my departure from Ft. Drum, NY came and my excitement had reached a fever pitch!  I had a four hour drive to the Buffalo/Niagara International Airport but it went fast.  I figured that it was a good thing that I could cruise through 230 paved miles with ease given that I was about to partake in the longest continuous offroad race on the planet!  My flights were uneventful other than the fact that I couldn’t stop blabbing on and on to anyone that would listen about the generosity of Hero Offroad and what they have done for me, and their intention for other  veterans.  When I arrived in  San Diego, I was greeted by Brandon Walsh and Antone Lahr of Team Homemade Motorsports.

During the short drive back to Brandon’s house, I learned a bit more about how Homemade Motorsports came to be and how they came up with the name.  As it turns out, they came up with the name because the first truck was built in the garage of Brandon’s parents!  A race truck literally built in the garage! The current race truck wasn’t born in the garage in the same way but it certainly does receive all its race prep and work in the garage.  The motor was built in the garage as well as many other major components and it all looked very impressive even while sitting on jack stands with the body panels piled up in the backyard!

The next morning was spent working on the decals from the sponsors before heading to the BFGoodrich meeting.  Here the BFG Guys went through the pit books and talked about the services that they could provide in any of the eight pits along the peninsula.  One team asked at the meeting, “what all can you really provide?”  A team could hand them as many tires, parts, or anything else to be carried to a certain location where the team expected to need their parts.  BFG provided amazing logistical support to many race teams.  If you knew that after 550 miles you were going to need 4 new tires, lights and a new transmission, you’d hand it over to the support guys and they would have it waiting for you there!  They could also fabricate anything you needed; which I actually witnessed during the race, but I’ll get to that later!  They could even make you a sandwich if you needed!  BFG also provided GPS track files with danger spots already indicated.  This file provided the equivalent of prerunning the entire course a few times and catching all the important details as a waypoint.  We also picked up a pair of satellite phones from the vendor that was on hand.  Once the meeting wrapped up, it was back out into the parking lot to ogle all over the chase trucks, overland rigs, prerunners and BFG support rigs.  Enough of the drooling on trucks, it was time to head back to the garage and do some more work on the truck.

Back in the garage we worked on wrapping up the prep work which entailed bleeding the brakes, greasing all the bearings, checking all the wiring harnesses for friction points, clamping down the shock reservoirs, checking the driveline for binding and finishing up the decals.  Eventually we had to pause the work for something with more speed:  a trip to K1 Speed.  K1 is an indoor electric karting facility.  I was surprised at how fast these karts were around the track!  It was a bit cool inside the building which meant the tires weren’t going to warm up to their grippiest temperatures and no one was going to be breaking the lap record, which was already owned by Brandon Walsh.  There were a few non-Homemade Motorsports patrons on the track and they all served as road blocks as our group was a determined and speed-seeking bunch.  I’ll blame my less than stellar lap times on the fact that I’m such a big fella that my kart was working harder than the others…sounds good enough to keep me out of the Prius crowd as well.  It was still a blast and gave me a chance to test out my new GoPro Hero 3 Silver.  Eventually I’ll get to mix a video of some of the action.  Once some of the go-fast had been worked out, we headed back to the garage to wrap up the truck before heading to Ensenada, Mexico in the morning.

A combination of my body still running on east coast time and the excitement of the events to come had me awake and ready to go far before anyone else so I snuck into the kitchen and sucked down about three cups of coffee which didn’t curb my excitement at all.  As team members showed up we loaded up the luggage, the truck and a garage full of tools and spare parts.  Once it was finally time to head south, and after a few false starts (everyone seemed to forget at least one critical item), we were on the road.  I had the pleasure of riding in the Ford Raptor which made quick work of the highway miles.  Our convoy stopped at a gas station just before the border crossing to top off the fuel tanks in the Raptor and the Toyota Tundra pulling the Toyota Tacoma-based race truck.  The last stop before the border crossing was the insurance office.  Traveling in a different country with a vehicle can be a dangerous activity.  The insurance will serve you well in the event you are in an accident.  Without insurance you’ll be held in country till the debt is paid in full for damages to property or injuries to people, so its best to pay the relatively low price for the insurance and travel with peace of mind.

Once across the border we were greeted by the wonderful sights of sounds of Tijuana, except that Tijuana is fraught with poverty and filth.  We didn’t stop anywhere in town since there was nothing to offer here but trouble.  We cruised down highway 1, which runs along the coast, and took in the beautiful sights of the Pacific lapping at the rocky beaches below.  Just before arriving in Ensenada there was a military checkpoint to get through.  We were all asked to exit the vehicle while they conducted a very thorough search.  While standing on the side of the road they repeatedly asked where the marijuana was hiding.  Repeatedly.  It was enough times that I think the young Mexican Soldier was more trying to score some for himself and not for the purpose of stopping the spread of drugs in the country.  Once back on the road it was a short drive to the three story condo we were staying at.  Before heading to a restaurant for my first authentic Mexican meal in Mexico, we had to unload all the bags, tools, spare parts and the truck off the trailer.  There was clearly a party atmosphere in Ensenda as more racers arrived every hour.  Every stoplight had a prerunner or overland camper waiting for their turn to find an adventure along the Baja peninsula.  The excitement made sleep a challenge to find that night, but I managed to find a few hours of relaxation in my well loved OD green mummy bag while dreaming of the tomorrow’s prerunning adventure.

Again, I was the first one in the house awake so I made sure the GoPro camera was charged, popped in some new batteries in my Garmin GPS and went downstairs for a breakfast of bagels and Speed Energy drinks.  Very healthy.  Once we finally got going, the plan was to head out and prerun from race mile 77 to about 150.  We drove out of Ensenada with me riding in the Ford Raptor with the two driver’s that I’d be co-driving for, Brandon Walsh and Scott Slater.  This is the section that I would be in the truck for during the race.  I’d studied this part of the map on Google Earth, trying to imagine what it would be like to finally go fast in the dirt.  Till now, my go-fast experience was limited to the highway, sports cars and go kart tracks.  I’ve got loads of travel in my Jeep but it is not a speed machine.

After a short pause, just off the highway to check out the preferred pit location, I turned on the GoPro.  We had finally reached the spot where the race course leaves the highway which also marks the end of the speed restricted zone, and heads back on to the dirt.  The Raptor was gobbling up the twists and turns with relative ease only slowing down so that I could mark the possible danger spots on the Garmin eTrex GPS.  This was my first experience trying to read a small GPS screen that was bouncing around in front of me; something that would happen a lot more very soon.  All this slowing down allowed a faster moving, highly modified Chevy (I think), to pass us.  Rather than taking a nerf (“nerfing” is a term used for the light bump given by a faster moving vehicle to a slower moving vehicle indicating their desire to pass) we pulled off the course just enough to let him pass.  Moments after pulling back on to the course we noticed that something didn’t feel quite right.  Two and a half tire rotations later and the drivers side front tire had fully expelled all of its air out through the three inch long slice in the sidewall.  In the middle of nowhere, these things happen.  This is where the value of preperation comes in to play; in our case, the jack was in the chase truck….with the spare tire…that had no air….and no valve stem.  We called the chase team on the radio and gave them our grid coordinates and stood off to the side of the course to watch the other prerunners cruise by while we waited for the the chase team to show up and help us sort things out.

Once we finally linked up with our mobile pit crew, took the slashed tire off, installed a valve stem, found air for the new tire and re-installed the good tire, we were back on the course.  We had burned the morning and had to get back to Ensenada to take the race truck through contengency and tech inspection.  Contengency is where the race trucks/cars/quads/bikes cruise through a festival-like atmosphere and the fans and sponsors all get an up-close and personal look at the competitors.  Its a slow cruise through complete chaos!  Fans were everywhere asking for stickers, taking pictures, getting autographs and having a great time.  Vendors are setup along the route that covers about a mile through the city, and they are selling everything from snacks and t-shirts to parts for a race truck.  Did I mention that it is chaos?!  We went through this sea of people with the race truck and saw the most interesting chase truck in Mexico, the 1973 Penzgauer 6×6 owned by Travis Freedman.  The Penzgauer attracted almost as much attention as the race trucks and rightfully so!  The retired Swedish military truck that was assembled in Austria almost three decades ago was in fantastic shape, despite being far slower than any race truck.  With loads of room in the back to carry an entire Harbor Freight store and a cooler full of treats, this vehicle was made for life in Baja.  At the end of the contengency line was the tech inspection area.  Tech inspection was cordoned off by metal fencing and guarded by numerous SCORE officials and Ensenda police.  The inspectors carefully examine the seatbelts, seats, roll cages, fire extinguishers and other key safety features on each vehicle competing in the race.

With tech inspection complete, the Homemade Motorsports team stopped off at a restaurant for dinner where I indulged in a gigantic burrito, which would be my last normal meal till the end of the race, and then we drove back to the condo for one last thorough pre-combat check.  We went through the pit bags which included a full garage worth of tools, and numerous spare parts.  There was already various belts, hoses, and hose clamps zip tied to the roll cage in various places but we had much larger parts stashed behind the seats.  In addition to a bag containing at least two seals and bearings for every component on the truck, we also had a fuel pump, two axle shafts, and even a spare third member.  A third member is a component of an axle that can be separated from the axle housing and tubes while still containing the ring and pinion gear set.  A spare transmission would be kept with a chase team and was going to be strategically staged along the course, just in case it was needed.  Basically, aside from a new engine, we had everything we would need to repair or replace a major component.

That night I had a really hard time falling asleep because I was so excited for what was to come.  Christmas eve excitement for a kid does not even compare to the excitement I felt on the eve of the 45th running of the SCORE International Baja 1000 Peninsula Run!    When I finally did find sleep, I was awakened early to the sounds of motorcycles and quads revving their motors and tearing off the starting line only a few blocks away.  There was no going back to sleep now!  So I got up, showered and packed up my sleeping bag.  Once we left the condo for the race, the only options were to sleep in La Paz at the finish line or sleep in the truck on the way back to San Diego.   Eventually the rest of the team stirred and got moving, but since we had prepared, getting to the starting line for a 1:30 start should not have been a problem, but there is no real end to preparation other than a green flag.  All that was left, was to load the bags, load the GPS file in the race truck, double check the pit bags, double check the spare parts, get gas in the dump cans, charge the cameras, install the GoPro cameras,… this list is getting longer instead of shorter! Next thing we knew, it was time to head to the starting line!  We all load up in our correct trucks and positions and head out to our respective locations.  moments later I hear on the radio that the race truck GPS file didn’t get loaded and that’s when the first frenzy starts!  We finally got the right files loaded onto the right memory card just feet away from the starting line.  Antone Lahr ran back to the race truck with the memory card in hand to load it up and strap in for the start as the first co-driver with Brandon Walsh.

As I watch Antone run back to the race truck I secure my laptop back into my Pelican case and strap it down in the truck bed of the chase truck being driven by Brandon’s dad, Chris.  We pull back onto the street with the rest of the traffic that is rubber necking to watch the starting line festivities.  The word “zoo” probably best describes everything happening around the starting line.  Our first stop was the Pemex gas station to top off the truck and dump cans with Mexican gas that probably doesnt measure at an accurate gallon.  As we pull away from the gas station we hear on the radio that Antone and Brandon were having a bit of difficulty loading the GPS file on the Lowrance GPS.  The best advice to be heard on the radio was, “just make it work!” which is always sound advice.  This would be the last we hear from the race truck till we meet again at the first planned pit area at race mile 55.

Chris Walsh, Scott Slater and I head out of town with Travis Freedman pulling up the rear in the trusty Penzgauer full of tools and the wide assortment of bolts which would eventually come in handy.  Highway 1 out of Ensenada twists and turns up the hills and normally provides some beautiful views.  Today however, the scenery was hidden behind a heavy cloud bank that was slowly losing its ability to drop precipitation on the racers and fans.  The Dodge chase truck eventually slowed as we approached the first military checkpoint that was placed to try and mitigate the spread of drugs through the country.  The young Mexican soldiers stood with their backs to the traffic because they were far more interested in watching the racers fly by than execute the thorough search of each vehicle.  Shortly after the checkpoint, we pulled off the road at the pre-designated pit area.  The plan was for the race truck to only pit if there was something that needed.  Ideally, we would just watch #701  with the giant Speed Energy logos and white and amber Rigid Industries LED light bars, cruise by the pit with a thumbs up, some fist pumps and a yelp on the siren to signal all is well.  The drizzle slowed while we enjoyed the view of trophy trucks, buggies, and other racers as they roll through the speed zone with their speedometers pegged at 55ish mph miles per hour to avoid the penalties that would be sanctioned at the finish line when the IRC Tracker would taddletale on anyone that exceeded the 60 mph speed limit on pavement or strayed too far from the race course.  Looking down the road, we can see the amber Rigid Industries lights cutting through the fog and drizzle with ease signaling the approach of #701.  No news on the radio meant that the truck was running smoothly and that all our prep was worth the effort.  As the rooster-tail of water fell behind the race truck, we turned to the chase truck to head to the next pre-designated pit area at race mile 77 where I would execute a co-driver change with Antone and as they say, “its about to get REAL!”

I snacked on some crackers to calm my nerves and settle the milde case of “baby guts” I felt coming on.  I was confident that everything but my heart rate would settle as I strap in to the race truck 22 race miles later.  We reached the pit area uneventfully and I dont remember much about this particular leg of the trip as I tried to distract my nerves and excitement by thinking about how fast I could dawn my hot-tamale red race suit that was provided for me thanks to Damon Flippo from Rigid Industries.  Chris slowed the Dodge, I took a deep breath and rolled out of the back seat with my race suit in hand.  I performed my best impression of Superman and suited up only to realize that I should have watered the nearest fence post before zipping all the way up.  With that complete, all that was left was to wait.

As I looked down the road, again, it was easy to spot those bright amber colored Rigid Industries LED lights cutting through the early dusk haze.  It was time.  Brandon brought the truck into the pit area and the frenzy began. Once Antone climbed out of the truck I climbed in.  Getting the seatbelt strapped on tight was going to be essential to not just a safe ride but a more comfortable ride.  Travis gave me some assistance making sure everything was lined up right before pulling the belts tight enough to squeeze all the butterflies out of my stomach.  Antone handed a clean rag through the windshield (by the way, there is no windshield) which would come in handy to wipe off the helmet visors and GPS screen once they were covered in dust and/or mud.  The radio cable was plugged in so Brandon and I could hear each other over the sound of the engine and driveline.  There was also a push-to-talk button which would broadcast over the race radio to the chase team.  I hear Brandon on the radio, “are you ready?”    “Lets rock and roll!”  And with that, it was skinny pedal to the floor up to 55 mph till we reached the point where the course heads back onto dirt.

This was the first blast of speed as we flew through the bumps and turns at more than twice the speed of the Raptor while prerunning.  Those deep whoops that seemed like they would cause serious worry were just a vision in the side view mirror!  I tried my best to call out the upcoming turns but this section was so full of turns that I’m sure I was just annoying Brandon.  I kept one eye on the Lowrance GPS and the other one the course ahead.  I tried to envision what I would need if I were the driver so I kept my eye two turns ahead.  WIth one hand on the push to talk button to call in the race mile markers for the chase team and the other hand on the siren, we were overtaking other racers at a surprising pace.  Everything was going great till the mechanical issues began.  The brakes had been super soft since the start but that wasn’t getting any worse, at the moment.  The issue now was that the engine would occasionally shut off without warning.

Like I always say, engine issues are usually one of three things:  spark, fuel, or air.  The truck had enough power in the two Optima Yellow Top batteries so that wasn’t it.  We hadn’t been on the race course long enough for the air filter to be clogged which only left fuel as the issue.  The last time the truck coasted to a stop we were at roughly race mile 85 and we pulled off the course as best as possible.  With a bit of silence we diagnosed the problem pretty quickly as a failing fuel pump.  Fortunately we had brought a spare!  Brandon started pulling things apart as I dug out the spare pump and tools.  Once the failing pump was off, the next problem was stopping the gasoline that was rapidly siphoning itself out of the fuel cell and onto the ground.  I did my best to stop the spill with my thumb without taking a full on gas shower while Brandon swapped in the new pump.  In less than 20 minutes we were loading the tools back into the truck.   Everything was going fairly smoothly, smooth that is for an on-course repair, but I was having a hard time sliding the tool bags back into place so they wouldn’t bounce all over the place.  As I’ve got my head buried behind the seat and my legs flailing in the cab of the cramped Tacoma, I hear Brandon screaming, “BRAKES! BRAKES!”  I had apparently bumped the gear selector into reverse which sent the truck crawling backwards towards the race course and Brandon was still not in the drivers seat!

I somehow managed to get on the brake enough to put it back into park.  At least it was moving under its own power again.  Brandon and I finished strapping all the tool bags and parts back into position and we were on our way again.  Soon enough we were passing other racers and making progress, but before long we spotted a truck nose down in a wash with tail lights pointed skywards and a group of spectators trying to help the racer get unstuck.  Brandon quickly pulled off to the side of the track and doubled back to find a way through the wash that wouldn’t involve getting stuck.  I directed us back towards the course plotted out on the GPS when I realized I was missing one of my gloves.  I must have forgot the put it on when I put the window net back on after our fuel pump incident but couldn’t worry about it now.  I had a spare pair in my backpack with the chase team so I’d just pick it up then.

The next section we were approaching is called “the goat trail” because it is a very rocky and narrow path down the side of a very steep hill.  I’d heard a lot about this section because its many huge rocks and outcroppings gave a large number of racers difficulty.  Even Brandon had mentioned that he hit one of the large outcroppings each time he was on this part of the course.  I have a strong background in rock crawling so this was my chance to regain some cool points after my clumsy kick-it-into-reverse incident a few miles ago.  I easily saw the best line down the ledge but we had to pause while a truck in front of us was trying to squeeze down the trail without rolling down the slope to the passenger side.  “Ease over to the right and place the passenger tire on top of the large rock before cutting it back to the driver-side,” I called on the radio to Brandon.  “Are you sure,” Brandon asked?!  “Absolutely!  I don’t know much about going fast in the desert, but I know how to crawl!”  Brandon followed my recommendation and we cleanly blew right past this section unscathed.  The goat trail dumps out into another speed restricted pavement section which would lead to the next pit where Scott Slater would trade out drivers duties with Brandon Walsh.

We rolled into the pit and they executed the change and we talked briefly about any performance issues and how the truck felt overall.  Travis Freedman was there to check on me and make sure I was still strapped in tightly.  It was a flurry of activity and I still couldn’t find my missing glove in the dark but if that was the worst thing the lose of the course then thats not so bad.  Only a few short minutes after we pulled into the pit, Scott punched it and we were back on the course heading towards La Paz!  After a few miles on the pavement we again hit the dirt and built up some speed.  The section here was much faster because it was a straight line but the whoops were also much larger.  The trophy trucks and their huge 40″ tires had dug some giant holes that were trying to swallow all the racers to follow but at least the dust was minimal so we could see clearly.  There weren’t any real turns to speak of on the radio so I instead focused on keeping my eyes open for day-ending obstacles hidden along the course and looking farther down the course than Scott was looking.  The suspension on the Toyota was working well but the transmission was occasionally coming out of gear due to the shock load of the tires making contact with the ground as we skipped across the tops of the whoops.  While this was a bit troubling, I later discovered that this is a kind of built in safety mechanism designed to keep the transmission from destroying itself under load.  It wasn’t until we were flying around the inside of a fast turn when our progress halted again.  It felt like the transmission was out of gear but even when shifted back into gear we still weren’t moving which was real trouble.

After calling our trouble to the chase team and only receiving a static filled response, it was time to shift into mechanic mode and start diagnosing the problem.  The Rigid Industries pit lights were clicked on which quickly revealed that the driveshaft was spinning when placed into gear but the wheels weren’t turning.  There was a huge leak coming from the driver-side axle tube which meant that the seal had probably blown out and we lost enough fluid to cook the gear set.  Scott started pulling the jack while I called the chase team with our location and the diagnosis.  While I started the process of pulling the tool bags and spare third member from the truck I realized that it had been about six hours since I had eaten anything and my body was longing for some energy; that or these tools had become heavier than they were when I strapped them in the last time.

Of course the repairs wouldn’t be as simple as if they were being done in a driveway or garage as there were so many more issues to deal with.  Here’s a short list of issues that made the repair take two and a half hours:  the truck shifting on the the jack in the loose sand, it was extremely dark, other racers were trying to dodge us on the inside of a fast curve, the rear-end was still blazing hot from melting gears inside, nuts and bolts attract more dirt and sand than you’d believe, and did I mention that I was hungry?  Two and a half hours after we came to a stop, the repairs were completed with the help of our chase team, including Brandon, Travis, and Antone and my long lost glove was found dangling, literally by a thumb from the floor pan and wheel well. We had replaced the third member, drivers side axle shaft, outer axle seal, pulled the siezed brake caliper, capped the brake line, refilled the differential with about 3/4ths the oil that it needed and I had a much needed snack of some dried fruit. With about five miles till we reach BFG pit number 1, we just had to keep things together until we reached the pit where we could get a thorough check before hammering it down the course again.  Not more than two miles from our stop, we could already hear groaning coming from the rear end that we had just replaced. “Just keep it together for three more miles,” we silently chanted.

As we pulled into the pit, the BFG pit crew rushed to us as if they were all on Team Homemade Motorsports!  We asked the crew to check the repairs and fill the differential with the rest of the fluid that we were missing.  Even in the dark of night, the pit crew was ready to lend a hand to any racer that came by and needed assistance.  BFG is a fantastic organization and their support for the Baja 1000 is without equal!  Once things were filled, tightened and strapped back in, Scott and I sped out of the pit area and back onto the course but the groaning was still there and only getting worse.  I called the chase team on the radio assured that they would hear me and our plan to return to BFG pit #1, but then I could only hear static as a response.  Scott pulled around and just like that we were heading backwards on the race course….in the dark.  I had the lights and sirens blaring as loudly as possible till we got back to the pit area.  A second check on everything revealed nothing to indicate why there was a screaming banshee stuck inside our rear end.  There was nothing more we could do at this point but baby the truck and continue on course calling in our position as often as possible so that the chase team would be able to find us should our progress come to a halt again somewhere before the next planned pit.

Back on course, we were going into one of the fast sections that you see in all the videos off the pros on YouTube.  Scott and I were blasting past cacti fast enough for them to start to turn to a blur and things were going nicely, as long as you could get past the screaming rear diff.  There was even the one time where I actually puckered up a bit when Scott piloted the truck right underneath a powerline tower at over  60 mph!  Scott is an experienced racer as I noted when he dodged a boobytrap that I didn’t spot until it was too late to react.  This section led through a landfill to Zoo Road which is a very fast, smoothly graded road.  Had our rear end been in correct working order, I have no doubt that we would have been cruising at over 100 mph but instead we were only able to wind it up to 73 mph.  As we rounded a corner and pinned the throttle the engine revved but we were coasting slowly to a stop.  The transmission was in gear but nothing was moving and Scott and I were stuck in the middle of the road.  Fortunately, reverse worked enough that we could back off the road enough to be out of the immediate danger of other racers running up behind us.   Scott and I climbed out of the Toyota to check out the situation with a good idea of what we would find:  another cooked rear end.

Scott flipped on the Rigid Industries pit lights and e again watched as the drive shaft would turn but the wheels didn’t.  Scott flicked on his iPhone to use a flashlight which revealed that the fluid fill cap on rear axle was completely missing.   All the differential fluid had drained out over the last 50ish miles of Mexican sand which resulted in melting off all the gear teeth on the pinion gear.  Completely disheartened, our inspection of the damage was done and we realized our chances of reaching La Paz were just like the damaged third member:  toast.

I called the chase team with our location and pulled my helmet off.  Our race had come to a end at race mile 212 but the journey back to San Diego was still to come and would be grueling in a different way than the race.  I gazed up at the star filled sky and started to really think about my entire experience up to this point.

The Baja 1000 is more than just the longest continuous offroad race in the world.  Its not even about the challenge of man and machine conquering an unforgiving desert terrain.  Its about relationships.  Relationships with friends and family.  I had met so many amazing people on this adventure.  I learned so much about a desert racing truck.  The logistics involved in planning where fuel and parts should be located along a race course is an art that Brandon has refined and will continue to work on in future races.  The dedication of all the racers, their families and friends to this race is remarkable.  I can see how Sal Fish had dedicated 37 years of his life into this race because it is transcendent of so many things.  The Baja 1000 puts the doldrums of everyday life in place where they belong, next to the small potatoes.  Participating in the Baja 1000 has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me.

None of this would have been possible without Hero Offroad and all the supporters and sponsors.  I wish I could thank each person individually for their contribution to Hero Offroad.  Armando has such generosity and patriotism that I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  Patriots like Armando are what makes serving in the military a pleasure.  I go to work each day, knowing that what I do means the world to the American people.  The US Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy protect the freedoms so that people like Brandon Walsh and the Team Homemade Motorsports Crew can enjoy racing in the desert without the worry of terrorism on American soil.

Hero Offroad, thank you for your support and patriotism!