SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1479178
Dougan’s Racing Engines RAY FIELD By Dan Sanchez Look in the chassis of many SCORE Trophy Trucks, and you’re likely to find a Dougan’s Racing Engine powering it. The five-time SCORE Engine Builder Of The Year takes winning as seriously as the amount of detail he puts into building every engine. Ray Field began working under the original founder, Terry Dougan at the age of 16. When Dougan passed away in 1998, Field and his wife Stefanie continued to manage the Riverside, California shop until they purchased it in 2003. It has now expanded to an additional 12,000 square-foot facility in a new location, to accommodate the latest machining equipment, multiple dynos, and the Rancho Drivetrain transmission shop which is all a part of Dougan’s complete drivetrain package. Field led the Dougan’s team to build its first SCORE Trophy Truck engine in 2005 and since then, the company has continued to develop some of the winningest engines. Fast forward to 2022, and with the onset of All Wheel Drive (AWD), SCORE Trophy Trucks are reaching greater speeds and needing more power. In response, Field has continually worked with teams to create new big block engine platforms to provide the growing power level needs. “We are at the forefront of the modern AWD SCORE Trophy Trucks,” says Field. “These vehicles constantly require more power, so we are now in our sixth version of our big-block engine platform which we started in 2015, and have continued to have success with them.” According to Field, success in producing race-winning engines is due to the company continually refining them from the bare engine block to all of the internal parts, including the induction system and electronic tuning. “To stay competitive we constantly have to look at refining and developing absolutely everything,” says Field. “In doing so, we’re also learning as we move forward, and that helps us create more reliable and powerful engines for our customers.” Helping to achieve this higher level of engine refinement is the increasing use of data acquisition. According to Field, this is helping pave the way to improve engine power and reliability at a new level. “The AWD big-block SCORE Trophy Trucks are anywhere from 15-25 mph faster than they were even three years ago,” says Field. “Learning what the vehicles are doing and how to make improvements have led to a lower percentage of failures than what the sport had even three years ago. With the amount of power and reliability we’re building into these engines now, I believe that tire development and the use of larger diameter wheels will be the next step for these race vehicles to go even faster.” “This is an exciting time to be in off-road racing at this level,” continues Field. “There’s more technology being introduced and not only is it helping us see what is going on with the engine and drivetrain, but we can also see what the driver is doing and it all makes these vehicles amazingly faster. For example, with the use of Starlink satellite internet, you can see what racers like Bryce Menzies are doing live in his vehicle.” We’re grateful for everything racing organizations like SCORE does for the sport, and for helping in the development of these advancements. SCORE Baja racing brings with it a level of difficulty like no other, and the challenges only help increase the level of our engines as well as the vehicles they power.” SJ