SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1506040
VILDOSOLA RACING SHOP TOUR We Get A Look Inside Vildosola Racing’s Inner Workings By Dan Sanchez It’s not often we get to see SCORE Trophy Truck and Trophy Truck Legend vehicles stripped down to the bare chassis and rebuilt from the ground up for the next SCORE race. So when we were invited to Vildosola Racing’s facility by 2022 SCORE Manager OTY Steve Lewis, we expected to see a top off-road racing operation in action, and we weren’t disappointed. The facility in San Diego, CA was a busy beehive full of talented workers who were either making parts or working on pieces of Gus Vildosola and Tavo Vildosola’s AWD SCORE Trophy Trucks. Among the swarm of activity was three-time SCORE Mechanic OTY Andres “Lechero” Rodriguez, who has moved from the championship MacCachren camp over to Vildosola to achieve another championship year with Gus Vildosola’s SCORE Legend team. “It’s great working here and it gives me a chance to get into these Mason AWD trucks,” said Rodriguez. In the middle of the shop was Lewis’ Ford Bronco which was built from the ground up using two vehicles, to make one Bronco with a modified wheelbase. “It’s basically a SCORE Trophy Truck, but with an engine that makes less horsepower,” said Lewis. The Bronco is featured elsewhere in this current issue of SCORE Journal. As we wandered around the Vildosola shop, there were several projects showcasing the family’s love of automobiles and performance. One that caught our attention was an immaculate Land Rover that had carbon fiber fender flares. When the hood was opened up, an LS V8 had been swapped into the engine bay for more power. On the other side of the shop, Javi Valenzuela was working on updating the lighting for Tavo’s SCORE Trophy Truck. Valenzuela is the navigator for Tavo and has great mechanical experience as well as navigation talent to keep the truck working during, before, or after a race. Other vehicles in the shop at the time of our visit included a 1 ⁄ 2-1600 car that was being worked on, as well as some of Gus and Tavo’s older two-wheel-drive Trophy Trucks, that were being re-built for use as pre-runners. In the back corner were two of the current pre-runner vehicles the team is using, that were getting refreshed and ready for the next race. The Ford Raptor pre-runner was featured in the August 2016 issue of SCORE Journal where you can see the build quality of this vehicle back when it was first built. Many of the components used on both race and project vehicles are created and built in the shop. Items like billet trailing arms and bracketry and more are designed and come out of CNC machines in-house. While there’s also lots of welding and grinding going on, the shop remains looking like a laboratory; spotless of grease, dirt, or grime on the floors anywhere. Hung up on the rafters are older hoods from past SCORE Trophy Trucks and even the chase vehicles are worked on here to keep them in top shape for the next SCORE race. No detail is overlooked both in the shop and the race vehicles. It’s perhaps why Vildosola Racing continues its championship efforts and demonstrates what a top-tier race operation is supposed to be. Above: Driveshafts are on this table being prepped and checked Right: he rear axle on Tavo’s AWD SCORE Trophy Truck is on the ground while the truck is suspended, showcasing the extreme wheel travel Left: In the corner a 1/2-1600 vehicle is under construction Above: CNC Machines in the shop allow the team to make many of their custom components TOp right: Rear axle housings ready for assembly Right: One of Tavo Vildosola’s older SCORE Trophy Trucks being prepped as a pre-runner