Central WA Baja

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The amount of continuous shocking of the system while running over locked in place or free-to-roam rocks and other especially loose objects at speed has to be putting a lot of shock loading on the internals of the trans plus your CVs and axles... to say the least. Add to that leaving the ground for even short lengths of time then landing I think your shocks/dampeners at the least should give one a hint of what is going on . I wonder it Dr. Porche and his crew back in the '30s even 30 years later considered that his little toy would be used as some of do .

Lee

[Leatherneck]

I’m feeling so confident now.

Hey, Mojave Road, you gonna make it this year?

[CentralWAbaja]

Hey, Mojave Road, you gonna make it this year?

Maybe

[CentralWAbaja]

I think I will leave this right here and simply say redemption is sweet. 1st in class. 5/12/10

The night race had to be moved to the daytime and run with a start time of 11am. We ran clean, no real issues. Made some passes, avoided some wrecks, and we hit 105mph on the lake bed.

It's a long story that I will at some point put the time it to write it up.

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[CentralWAbaja]

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[CentralWAbaja]

https://youtu.be/Vd9EMa_2on4

[CentralWAbaja]

Hard to belive, but 5 years ago today I flipped the switch on The Queen for the first time and she came to life.

This trailer queen, prom queen, show queen now has 8000 miles on her.

Next adventure is to take her to Baja in November and use her as a prerunner for the 1000

I have been blessed with the opportunity to drive Greg Sullivan's class-5 unlimited in this year's Baja 1000. I will be fulfilling a lifelong dream as I take the green flag in Ensenada.

[ninelives17]

That is truly awesome, Congratulations.

[CentralWAbaja]

Dream Big Kids, You Never Know, It Just Might Come True

Grab your coffee, beer, whiskey, whatever works for the time of day you are going to read this. Be ready though as its Baja Stories by Daron time.

I wasn’t going to do this but reading other race reports inspired me to do so. Its hard to write this one as there are so many raw emotions still. I can write it from the perspective of how great I think I did, or how I did compared to the competition, or how much better I wish I would have done. All would be correct. So I will just take a stab at this and see how it comes out I guess.

The deal between Greg Sullivan, Steve Tyo and myself came to be months ago. Steve wanted to help me cross off a “Bucket List” item (I really hate that term but is so fitting) maybe we just say he wanted to help me live out a lifelong dream. Greg was eager to help make it happen and gave me my choice of segments to run as long as he would take the finish leg. I then I began to work to transform myself into somebody that would be able to take on the starting leg of the Baja 1000. May 1st, I weighed 308lbs. I took the green flag weighing 248lbs. I am proud of that accomplishment, and we haven’t even gotten started.

When they released the course map I was ecstatic. I get to race in the mountains and on the Pacific beach in my first Baja1000. Not knowing exactly what time we would take the green, I also knew that we would have to run clean to the beach to see it before the sun went down. More on that later.

The plan was set for me to come down from Washington State a week or so early and do as much prerunning as possible in my car. This is where the dream is more then just racing the 1000. I would bring a car, that I built from scratch, in our garage, with help from my dad, and rip a bunch of miles on the Baja racecourse including driving on the beach! I am proud of that accomplishment and were just getting started.

Lots of prerunning stories that could be told but that’s not what this report is about. Race day would dawn. For me that was about 4:30AM. We planned to get in the car at the La Jolla Beach camp outside Ensenada about 7:30 and head to the staging line. I made 2 eggs 2 toast and banana. That will be what I live on for the day. (That’s ok I am still a big dude and can stand to lose a pound or two more) But that will come into play later. Race suit time, it’s getting real. Its about 6:30 and I am sweating profusely. I am starting to question my hydration as I will not last at this rate LOL Honestly this would prove to be my most nervous time. Once in the car, I calmed down. We drove the race car to staging, stopping off at the gas station 2 blocks away from the start to toss the attendant $20 and top off with a gallon or so of 91. Because that’s how its done in Baja? I don’t know, but that’s how we did it. Ceremonial start over the stage and a green flag. All just part of the show and the routine that must be followed. Tedious for some, but for me I am taking it all in Because right now, I am a 5-year-old kid dreaming a lifetime of dreams. Through town and then the escort to the starting line. OK not the way we dream of it, but how it’s done these days. Up at the real starting line (timing line I suppose they call it) there would be time to get out and mill around and size up the competition. Ha! I know who those guys are. So its more like ask myself WTF I have gotten myself into? Honestly, I was honored to share that time with some of the best in Class 5U. For the first time I was lining up against them instead of buckling my friends into a car to go race against them. Pretty surreal moment actually. Never did I get nervous about them. They all were starting ahead of me. If I seen them, then they were having an issue or I was exceeding any expectation I had of myself. .

It’s getting close, I watch the other three cars leave before me and now its my turn to stare at that red light waiting on it to turn green. Green! And away we go up through the gears to 100mph or a touch more not sure. “How far is it on the highway Steve?” “A ways, he says, I will let you know but for some reason I have no line on the GPS” As I look down I notice I have no line on the small GPS on the dash behind the steering wheel. Well poop that sucks. It would prove to be more of a mind F*&@K then it should be or in hindsight more then I should have let it be. (They call it experience for a reason; you don’t gain any unless you do it) It’s just not what I was mentally prepared to deal with. Steve had notes but no line. Left ahead, right ahead, downhill into rocks, straddle the ditch. That’s great but he has no reference as to when to call it. We adapt and we deal but not what we wanted. I get passed by a couple rigs only to pass them back a couple miles don the road as they are off the track before Ojos. I then began to pass more UTVs then I have ever passed outside of Glamis. A couple 12 cars and couple 1600 cars. And countess wrecks and breakdowns. The amount of carnage in the first 100 miles is impressive. I feel like were doing OK. Not pushing hard enough to make mistakes, there are constant reminders along the way. In hindsight not pushing hard enough to not lose extra time to the other 3 cars, probably could have, maybe should have, pushed harder? IDK? My job was to not kill Steve and I, get the car to the next guy, and hopefully not loose too much time to the guys with way more experience than me. I am proud of the accomplishment of 2 of the 3 on that list

On the crossover we enter an area where I nearly put my car on its side 2 days earlier prerunning. Deep 2-track silty corner. And here is a 1600car up-side-down blocking course. A truck stopped and then us. I try to backup and bump. Can’t go back. UTV there. Steve decided to get out and help turn the car back over. He motions the the UTV has backed up and that I can back up some more. UTV blasts around us in 4x4 MF-er!. Well, I decide to jump the tracks and bushwhack. I make it clear and find a safe spot for Steve to get back in. Why did Steve get out? Well, it was 2 chicks up-side-down in the 1600 and well it was two chicks LOL. While Steve is buckling in the 500 of Hernquist goes by. Wait, when did I get around him? Well, that sucks. And away we go again. A few miles down the road the 500 is over starting to change a flat. And were back around em. We stop at RM150 for fuel and BFG guy says we may have an issue with a CV but our chase guys not familiar enough with them, we decide we will have Chase-2 (Greg’s Mexican Connection from Pobloff Offorad badass dudes) Have a look as we get off the hwy in a couple miles. Before we get there though I get schooled on the hwy by Trey Hernquist. We sitting at 56mph in traffic on a 60mph zone when he comes around me, F&@K were still racing even though were in a speed zone. Dammit I am gaining all kinds of “Experience” He then pulls off to get a spare racked and make a stop. Our guys look the CV over and say were fine. Away we go with the 500 still behind me. A few miles later he blasts around me, He is willing to push harder then I am. I must admit that I struggled with the next 75 miles or so in my confidence. I had spent weeks looking forward to the beach sections and now I just wish I had another shot at them. The GPS deal that I mentioned earlier was still haunting us. Vision into the setting sun, dust, fog ect all that stuff that is “Racing Baja” would creep into my confidence some. We did beat the sun to the first section and I got to race the beach at sunset while Steve took killer cell phone footage lol

As we are getting close to the end of the 2nd beach section Steve has enough phone signal to use his phone and LeadNav file but that will only last around the town of San Quintin so we decide to have his guys in the chase truck meet us at the hwy-wash crossing with a GPS puck antenna out of his chase truck. A few minutes lost there as we make that happen, but the confidence gain will be able to make up for it I hope. Away we go again but it would be short lived as we are making our way up the wash, we hit a man made ditch that was not visible. A common occurrence in Baja I guess. We hit hard, neither of us even seen it. Just BAM! Oh F$%*K that hurt. And the the car shut off. Leaving us dead in the middle of the racing line. The starter would crank but nothing would power on. We used the starter to get us off the race line and then the locals swarmed in. Had one tow us up out of the wash onto flat ground where the chase teams could find us as we begin to troubleshoot. We had a couple guys waiting on a class11 team jump in and help, Those dudes were solid techs, head deep under the dash and in the engine bay trying to help while I am doing roadside gymnastics and yoga trying to make sure my back is completely attached top to bottom. If you are somehow reading this please We owe you a beer. And well, reach out to me, because I know you have video of us hitting that fricking thing. It took a while but we found that the impact had knocked the wire off the ignition switch somehow. After an hour and 30 minutes we are back in the car and headed into the most remote section of the racecourse we would encounter. Yeah confidence was high…NOT! LOL

The next 75 miles are some of the most vivid memories I have of the race. My helmet is fogging, there is inland fog and dust. Steve with his right hand on the dash holding the GPS puck, his cell phone in his left hand for a line to follow, and the GPS screen with notes for him to call out. We begin to pick off UTVs…the same frigging ones I had already passed earlier!! Then we pass a pair of campers off the side of the course miles from anything and the sweet smell of Barbeque is aloft. Not anything south of the boarder style. Were taking Sweet Baby Rays or something. Those eggs and toast are long gone now and I am truly getting hungry. Around RM275-280 we summit the mountains and begin to descend to the highway and race mile 300 where we will hand the car over. We pass about a half dozen cars in the last 20 miles. Chase them down in the dust, and fog and make passes. We are going to end this on a high note, Steve and I agree. As he counts down the miles 18 to go, 12 to go, 8 to go, He calls ahead on the radio and our two chase teams inform us that they have not made any contact with Penhall who we are supposed to hand the car over to. I am going to say Baja happened. Plans are made, then changed, adjusted on the fly, miscommunicated and……learned form. Bottom line is Jerry was waiting after the fuel stop and I did not see him and kept going as that is what I felt like at the time we had to do.

I was not happy to still be in the car, I was ready to be done, but that faded fast as there was still work to do. I was so worried about the next 50 miles that we had not prerun. My only prerun notes are what's on the LeadNav file I studied. Silt beds silt beds and more silt beds. That and what Mike Belk had shared with me in tech the day before. He did not know he was giving me valuable advise, he was just sharing with me what I was going to miss getting out at 300 while he stayed in to 350. His words were insightful silt beds, but the lines widen out and there is traction out at the edges. First one we hit 3rd gear total blackout, down shift was almost too late, down again and we begin the battle to keep momentum and we're through. Next one I see coming and see there are like 3 rigs stuck balls deep. I stop still on solid ground. I relay what mike had said to Steve and said I am going way over there to the left. Steve questions if there is a line there? I said there will be when I’m done LOL I cut across 3 lines and start bushwhacking and we're passed the stuck cars. “OK find me the racecourse again Steve!” That was one of 2 full stop and evaluate the lines I did. And the other were hope and pray as we dredged through them. I was so afraid that we were going to get stuck for hours in there…. remember those eggs and toast are long gone. haha. When not in the silt, Steve was trying his best to squeeze everything he could out of me. “Come on D we need to pick it up and get the average seed up just 2 or 3 mph will help at the other end of this deal for Greg.” I needed that. I was not pushing myself hard enough then. Yes, I wish I could go do it again today. I would do it better. I would push harder, I have it in me. I just didn’t have it in me at that moment. Experience is gained by doing. 20 miles to go, 15 to go, 10 to go we begin to count down. Were less then 5 miles out to Baja Pits at RM350 Lets get this last UTV before we get there. “1 mile out to Baja Pits. Where they at? Where they at?” “Not here D, I guess were going to 370 where the racecourse meets the highway again.” Ugh! OK now my mind is wandering as I am still not comprehending what has happened, only that we are still in the car, not 100% sure who is getting in at 370 anymore. Ok F-it if we need to go to 500 I will do it. But I am going to need food!!

20 to go, 15,12,8 here we go again. When we have clean air we have the light bar on top glaring that bright white light deep into the darkness. The tall single stem cactus look like powerlines to me. Yeah were on a powerline road….wait WTF? Were miles from powerlines of any kind. My mind is shot. We crest a slight hill and the white light flashes off a short spindly cactus. That one looks like a skeleton. Like no poop a Halloween decoration hanging in Baja. Daron you are friggen losing it. And then Steve says “Did you see that cactus? It looked just like a skeleton” Hell yeah I laugh out loud as we can’t both be friggen crazy!

5 to go, 2 to go, here is the highway….right here on the right pull in were done! We gave up way more time then I had hoped for. Some due to issues I could not control and some do to lack of experience and confidence. But we did it, we handed off a solid car to Jerry Penhall even if we took up some of his miles (Sorry about that man) And I didn’t kill Steve and I. I drove the starting leg and first 370 miles of the freaking Baja1000 and I am proud of that accomplishment.

Thank You to Greg Sullivan, Steve Tyo, The Pobloff Offroad gang, and especially my wife for telling me "Go...Chase that dream"

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[Volksmeister]

Hell yeah Daron! Super cool write up. Thanks for sharing your story.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Your build has come a long way since the original post. The hits and misses I am sure helped others which I am sure is part of posting here.

Good job on the ride and the weight loss and thanks for the "goodies" you gave me a long time ago!

Lee

[Leatherneck]

This is one of those gets better each time you read it. Love this part “ I. I drove the starting leg and first 370 miles of the freaking Baja1000 and I am proud of that accomplishment.”. Yes it is.

[doc]

Way cool, I think.

[Leatherneck]

Way cool, I think.

Hahahaaa, it is.

[Leatherneck]

So what made you think your CV was going out? I’m going to get some Eggs and toast.