This race was going to be a little different as we decided to split the race into three sections. Jason & John would start the race and bring the car to the 305-mile mark. At this point we were going to have Jason's dad Steve, and his navigator Bobby run a 135-mile section. Steve & Bobby won the 5/1600 Championship in 1986. They were both excited to come out of retirement for a one last shot at the Baja 1000. At this point Steve would give Todd & Garry the car at race mile 438. Todd & Garry would then take it home for a total of 765 miles. Not really a 1000 miles this year but some of the terrain being ran was new and had never been raced on before. Score was concerned about how rough this year's race was going to be so they gave everybody 32 hours to complete the course.

Everybody at Nikal Motorsports left on November 7th to go down and prerun the course, scout out pit locations and access roads. The logistics for this race were going to be extremely challenging. We were splitting our crews onto two sides, Pacific and Inland. The first 110 miles of the course was very similar to the Baja 500 and was not a problem. The next 100 miles ware slower as it was a little technical as you cut your way through the mountains by Mike's Sky Rancho. Mike's is a very well known place in Baja. From race mile 204 to 305 was all new terrain as nobody had ever raced on it before. There were tight and narrow sections and there were some points where there would be shear drop offs that would go 150 feet down. It would take at least 4 hours to run that section of 100 miles. The section that Steve & Bobby had was so bad; the silt beds were three feet deep. (Silt is fine dirt, looks just like brown talcum powder). This section was so bad that the top classes (Trophy Trucks and Class 1 cars) were getting stuck and blowing motors and transmissions, and this is only on the prerun.

Then the section Todd & Garry were to race was pretty much flat out fast racing, but they would not be getting in the car until approx. 2 am. That makes this race a mental game as much as an off road race. Because the silt beds were so bad, and then there were rains that actually put part of them under 2 feet of water Score had to reroute that section of the course as it would be too dangerous. The last minute change would add 40 miles to the race making it 805 miles. For this race we would not only have our crew but Yokohama tires has offered us their pit crews and they paid for us to be able to use Baja Pits, a organization that you can pay to use. Our plan was to only depend on our crew, but if we needed help we would have those other crews out there.

Race week starts on a Thursday for contingency. Last year for the Baja 1000 there was an estimation of 75,000 people at contingency. This year's contingency was on a Mexican holiday. They estimated over 100,000 people there. Also to make it even crazier, contingency is held right off the main drag in Ensenada. This puts traffic at a stand still as the police close off many roads. It took over 5 hours to get the racecar through contingency and tech inspection. We had to quit handing out flyers because there were so many people; they were mobbing the crew and car.

Race day arrives and we had been told the night before that the first 4 wheel vehicle would not start at 8 AM like planned but at 9:30 AM so that it would give the bikes and ATV's more time. It was a safety issue. A good one! But that means that our class doesn't get off the line till apporx. 10:50 AM, and then they added the 40 extra miles. This could throw a lot of logistical strategy out the window.

At 10:52 AM Jason & John went off the starting line 3rd out of 18 cars in our class. They raced cautiously threw the first 25 miles as the crowds are large and they stand right next to the racecourse. At about the 85 mile mark Jason was staying right with the leader, as he came around a corner there was another car in another class that had lost control and slid sideways. Jason tried to pass him on the right and hit a large bump that threw the car into the air rolling them over. Fortunately they landed back on their wheels. Some spectators came running across the course to see if they were okay, they were. The car's body was banged up but there was no motor or suspension damage.

Jason & John were able to continue. About a mile or two later they had a flat rear tire, probably from the roll over. Once they made it to our crew (110 mile mark) they looked over the whole car and found that the driver's door was not able to open and that the light bar on the front of the car was damaged. They replaced the spare tire, light bar, fueled them up and sent them on their way. Because of the delay in starting times, and about 30 min. off the leaders Jason got to our crew at the 204 mile mark just after dark. The crew looked over the damage put our primary light bar on (HID Lights) and fueled them up and sent them on their way. The primary light bar was not supposed to be put on until mile 305 because the next 100 miles are very rocky and it would be easy to have a car throw a rock at them and break one. The HID lights play a major roll in the sections that Steve & Todd are driving. Steve still has some very bad silt holes and Todd has sections that he will be going over 80 miles an hour "over dirt and rocks".

At about 10:30 PM Jason & John bring the car into our 305 race mile pit. Steve & Bobby climb in threw the passenger door as the drivers door will not open. The crew changes out a fuel line and filter as Jason & John reported that they thought they were losing fuel pressure, fueled the car and sent Steve & Bobby on their way. Steve had about 14 miles of highway to race down to get comfortable with the car. Yes I said; "Highway" we do have to race down the highways some times. It can be nice as it lets you relax a little, but at the same time you have to be very cautious because there is regular traffic also on the roads. Once Steve turns into the dirt they are not even a mile or two when they are greeted with the first of several silt beds. Steve & Bobby's experience help them get threw the first 2 silt beds with very little problems. As they race on they start getting into a lot of race traffic as there are reported to be over 30 cars and trucks that are stuck down in some of the silt holes. Steve & Bobby get stuck too. Bobby & Steve had to get out and dig their way out, only to go a mile and then get stuck again. This time Bobby pay's a local fisherman $20 with a 4x4 to pull them out. We hear reports of racers offering to pay $100 to get pulled out.

A couple of miles before the turn out of the wash Steve had to climb a steep hill, they encountered a chase vehicle had attempted to go backwards on the course. The chase truck got stuck going down the hill and a race truck tried to go up and around the stuck truck, but only managed to slide into the chase truck blocking the only way out. It is now about 3:00 AM and there are about 15 cars and trucks trying to find away to move the stuck trucks or to get around them. Steve & Bobby try to go up and around the trucks only to get almost to the top of the hill and have the racecar roll onto the passenger side. It took about 10 guys' to roll the car up hill and get them to the top. At this point Steve & Bobby are exhausted but still have about 70 miles to go to bring the car to Todd & Garry. Bobby uses the GPS to guide Steve to the pit location. At about 5:20 AM Steve pulls into the pit. It is about 28 degrees outside with the wind chill factor. Todd, Garry and the rest of the crew had been sitting in the chase trucks with the heat on for over 5 hours trying to stay warm, and at this point we had only taken a few cat naps and everybody had been up for over 20 hours. For this race we rented satellite phones. We had one on both sides of the Baja peninsula and one in the racecar, as our radio's can only communicate for about 50-60 miles unless the mountains are in the way. Both crews would continue to call to find out the status of the racecar.

At this point Todd & Garry were supposed to be driving all night but we were over 5 hours off the leaders and the sun is now starting to come up. We were now in 10th place but the team that was second in points was in 7th place so all we needed to do was to finish the race and the Championship was ours. It was so cold that Garry & Todd had put jackets on over their driving suits. Once in the car Todd & Garry were going good. The car didn't look pretty but it was handling good. At this point Todd & Garry were only running what we call a fast prerun speed as we new we could not win this race, but new if we finished we would win the Championship. Garry was watching the GPS unit as all the course markers were wrong, because of the added 40 miles to the course, and the short amount of time that Score had they were not able to fix the mileage markers. The head winds were strong. The car felt low on power but Garry had told Todd everything looked good on the gauges and that the loss of power was probably the strong head winds. At about mile 560 Todd was feeling major power loss and attempted to down shift for more power, they were in 3rd gear and still losing power. Todd pulled to the side of the course just as the oil light came on. Garry & Todd got out to find that there was oil all over the motor. Todd checked to see if an oil line might have come loose. They were all tight. Todd knew they had blown the motor; probably the #3 cylinder had blown a hole in it.

Per score rules you can repair or replace any part on the racecar but your not allowed to replace the whole motor. Many teams have done so in the past, some have been caught and some have not been. We had a spare motor and had even had code words to use on the radio incase we needed to change the motor. Todd called Jason on the Satellite phone and had told him what had happened. They talked it over and decided that we were not going to cheat. We have too much pride to attempt it. We talked about it, but knew it wasn't right. At this point we knew the Championship and the True Grit Award was over. Jason had to call Score on the radio to tell them we were out. It was the hardest thing to do. Todd called for our other crew on the San Felipe side to come in and get him. Another teams chase truck towed Todd & Garry on a tow rope for about 25 miles so that our crew could meet us there.

In 2 years our worst finish was 11th place this year at the San Felipe 250, but we still finished. This is the first race this team has not finished. None of us were ever prepared for feeling so disappointed. It's never been an option. Nikal Motorsports never accepted failure but now we've had too or cheat, and cheating is not an option. Looking back we still have a lot to hold our heads up high about. Last year we came out as a team nobody looked at as a threat. By the end of that year people knew we wanted the Championship. This year we dominated the Pit Crew Challenges not only our class but against every team out there. We lead the point's race halfway through the season. And were close to breaking into the top 10 in overall Score points against all classes. But most of all we gained a lot of respect from our fellow class members, and we gained respect from teams in the upper classes also, like Trophy Truck, Class 1, Class 10 and Class 12. As a mater of fact Robby Gordon (Nascar, Indy, Off-road star) stop by our camp to see how we did, we talked for a minute. He said; What a bummer, but there's always next time! He also didn't finish the race in his new Trophy Truck.

The racing season is over but the awards banquet is December 13, and on the Score Off-Roadsman of the Year Ballot Nikal Motorsports still has some hope. We are up for some very impressive awards. Jason Lakin is been nominated for Rookie of the Year; Malcolm Drilling has been nominated for Entry Sponsor of the Year (These nominations are voted on the ballet by all Score members and the Final Vote is also voted by all the Score members). Malcolm Drilling is going heads up with the two biggest sponsors in all of Score. BF Goodrich Tires and Terrible Herbst. Desertracing.com has been nominated for Photographer of the year. (Desertracing.com are the people who helped develop and maintain nikalmotorsports.com and soon Lowbeds LTD). And Mike Julson owner of Jimco has been nominated for Person of the Year.

I know we say this every time but we truly mean it. Nikal Motorsports wants to thank all of our sponsors. Malcolm Drilling, Pacific Coast Steel, Dickman-Hines Lumber, Lowbeds LTD, Earth Support Systems, KFR Star Reality, Ronnie's Dew Drop Inn, Huskey Specialty Lubricants, Louise Interiors, Bolts 4U, Yokohama Tires and Jimco Race Cars. Without all of you we would not be where we are today.

We would also like to thank the following people: Ken Major at Major Performance Engines, Chad Susag at Yokohama tires (CTI), Tim Lawrence at TLR, Mitch Hart at 76 Racing Fuels, Mike Thorton at ITS, Jason at ORW, Tracy at Fibertech, Bob Hines at RLH Comm, Rob at Moore Performance, Chris at Sway-A-Way, Glenn at GR Fab, Frank at Triton Imaging, Dominic & Gerami at Impact Racing, Debbie at National Label & Screenprint, Carlos at Baja Pits, All the guys' at the Malcolm yard, Ken Stroud at Stroud Racing, Mike Julson, Daniel & Ruben Gutierrez.

The whole Nikal crew can't be thanked enough for your help through out the year; Todd Van Cleave, Sam Van Iwaarden, Steve Lakin, Bobby Ohr, Jennifer Lakin, W "Hawk" Hawkins, Terry "Scooter" Legenza, Chad Lakin, Vince Wimberly, Guy Boccia, Chad Kavanaugh, Carlos, Bill Gray and The Baja Runners.

We are currently working on plans for next year. As soon as they are finalized we will be posting them on the site. So stay tuned!

For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official Optima SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com

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E-mail: Todd@NikalMotorsports.com