SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1321285
ALL THROTTLE, NO BRAKES Jeremy Davis Teams Up With His Brother Justin, To Win Class 10 By Mike Vieria Photos by GetSomePhoto Jeremy Davis, at just 20 years old along with his older brother Justin and co-driver Tyler Peterson, brought home the Green Army’s team victory in Class 10 in the 53rd BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Their win came despite brake problems that went from bad to worse plaguing them throughout much of the race. The Green Army Motorsports Team has multiple Class 1 wins in Baja with Justin, their dad Kevin, and now Jeremy’s first in Class 10. Their Jimco-built, Chevy-powered, single-seat buggy has been around for a few years, and the team has continually upgraded and reduced weight in the vehicle in order to stay competitive as the class evolves. The race got off to a fairly smooth start for the team, with Justin taking the first shift behind the wheel. He started the race from near the back of the pack and was smoothly picking his way toward the front when a rock took out a brake bleeder on a rear-wheel at around mile 230. “Without rear brakes at that point,” Justin says, “I thought a bunch of guys would pass me, but a lot of cars fell out, and we were in one of those sections where it was kind of slow anyway, so it worked out in our favor.” He was able to pit around mile 250 and the team found the problem but didn’t have the parts to fix it. At that time, they made the decision to cap-off that line and proceed with brakes on only three wheels, but the uneven braking led to further problems around mile 290. Justin says, “I had caught up to a UTV that hit a rain rut and ended up sideways across the course. I slammed on the brakes, and slid sideways into a ravine.” After about twenty minutes of struggling to get the car free, he was finally able to get moving again with a bit of help. ANOTHER STICKY SITUATION In short order, he came upon a group of vehicles battling the soft silt. “It just looked like a parking lot of cars just stuck in the dirt,” he says. “I decided to risk it and go through the bushes because I knew I would get stuck if I went through the main line. I passed like ten cars that were stuck and things were looking up.” Not for long, though. “I came to a downhill, off-camber turn and my brakes sent me sideways to where I was across the road, and couldn’t move because of a big ditch. I thought, at least right now, I’m blocking the course, so someone has to help me.” He was able to convince a UTV driver to pull him backward and into a position to continue. After a brief delay being stuck in soft dirt in a speed zone, Justin was able to finally get to mile 440 where Tyler Petersen would take over. “Tyler did an awesome job,” says Justin. “He did from 440 to 680, and he had no issues. He ran smoothly and got around a couple of cars. When he brought the car to Jeremy, we were the second car on the road, and about ten minutes behind the leader.” Jeremy got off to good start. “About twenty miles into it, I see the first place car parked on the side of the road being worked on,” said Jeremy. “ I got around him and kept going.” It was a smooth drive for a while, but then more troubles started. “Around mile 810, I hit the brake pedal, and the balance bar for the front snapped,” he says, “so I only had one brake at that point. The brake pedal didn’t really work anymore, so I had to use the turn brake to slow the car down. I just drove as fast as I could with one brake and didn’t have any other issues, no flats or anything like that, and I got to the finish. The car was perfect, it just had no brakes.” A TOUGH YEAR BUT LOOKING AHEAD The Green Army Motorsports team has a new car being built right now, but they are not yet sure of their exact plans for next year, but one way or another, they say they’ll be back next year for the SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE Baja 1000 races. Jeremy and Justin say this has been a tough year with quarantines and the like for finding support crew, but are very grateful for their dad Kevin’s leadership and the rest of their team for the extra efforts needed to race this season. They also thank Tensor Tires, Baja Designs Lighting, and all their sponsors for their help. “With the COVID protocols in place this year, the atmosphere surrounding the race was a bit different for everyone,” said Justin. “I understand why, but you miss the crowds, people cheering, giving out stickers at tech, handing out posters, signing autographs, and all that. And at the finish, there’s normally a big crowd around, everybody sharing and having a good time. That part wasn’t ideal, but out on the track, there’s still all the locals out cheering you on, so that part didn’t change. We were just glad to be able to race. SCORE International did a great job of coping with what they had to deal with.” SJ