SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1510123
BUGGY BREAKER The Course Gives Buggies A Beatdown By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, Isaac Flores, Ariana Medrano, and Cindy Clark Photos By Get Some Photo After finishing in the top four all season, and battling with Cody Reid in the No. 168 car, it was Damen Jefferies’ turn for a much-needed win. While Jefferies and co-driver Steve Strobel, in their No. 121 car, crossed the finish line first in Class 1, he was also the only racer in this class who did not have any serious issues on the course. The win propelled Jefferies to second place in season points, putting him within reach of the championship depending on how he finishes at the SCORE Baja 1000 in November. While Jefferies had a flawless day, Baja was not kind to the 2022 class champion Kyle Quinn in the No. 100 Wilson Motorsports car, nor the No. 153 car of Brad Wilson. Both racers had problems on the course and could not finish. It was the same for former class champion Cody Parkhouse, who also had issues with the course that caused his car to break down, ending his race early. Cody Reid in the No. 168 car avoided all the hazards on the course until race mile 225, where he accidentally rolled the car and promptly began to get it fixed. “We were down for a few hours but got the car flipped back over,” said Reid. “I got to give SCORE a lot of credit for checking in and making sure we were fine. I didn’t have many issues with Mike’s Sky Ranch (race mile 150), and the coast was fast. I was expecting the course to be a lot worse, but it was a lot of fun.” Despite the mishap, Reid managed to cross the finish line in second place, two hours behind Jefferies, but still in an excellent position to remain in the lead for the class championship, but by only two points. In third place was Al Torres in the No. 101 car, who also had problems on the course but managed to finish two hours after Reid. “We had a bad day, but still managed to finish it, which is always good,” said Torres. “The Uruapan section (race mile 310) was really hard. We lost a belt in the last ten miles and had to stop to replace it. We also got a couple of flat tires and had a little crash too at around race mile 260.” CLASS 10 With 12 competitors in Class 10, the race was not only full of tough competitors, but these buggies also had to contend with a challenging course filled with dust. With a second win this season, Francisco Vera in the No. 1011 car ran a conservative race, but it was not without difficulty. “My section was very beat up,” said Vera, who also had co-driver Alexis Vera driving a section of the race. “The big trucks leave the course in a very tough condition for those coming after them, but we played it smart and got a good result. We kept pushing with patience and found our way to the finish line.” Alexis Vera had to drive the second portion of the course and came up on slower vehicles that he had to contend with. “I had a constant battle with the big trucks and it’s always hard to do it,” said Vera. “We wanted to keep pushing and had a lot of cars chasing us but got here in first place and with the car in great shape, which is awesome.” The 2022 Class Champion, J. David Ruvalcaba, finished only seconds behind Vera in the No. 100 car. “We started second-to-last and had a really hard time going through the pack, but we never lost our calm and had a very good race,” he said. “The course was very technical and very dusty. We got stuck for a while at Mike’s Sky Ranch (race mile 150) too, which was probably the most challenging section.” FINISH LINE TALK Class 10 CESAR CUEVAS |No. 1011| Third Place: It was a very difficult race for us. We had issues even before the race started and also had problems with our power steering, as well as some physical issues too with some pain in my shoulder. The goal was to make it here and get the best possible finish. We reached our goal and are very happy about it. It was a very technical course with a lot of dust and a lot of turns. BRITNEY MYERS |No. 1023 | Eighth Place: We had a good run. My sister (Tamara) had a flat tire, which put us back a bit, but that happens. We held a good pace and were keeping up with the pack. I was catching up [with] the other cars, but then all of a sudden, we started having issues with our transmission, so we had to back off because it was more important to finish and we didn’t want to break 100 miles from the finish line. This was one of the hardest races for me because I always want to go out there and be the first, but this race, I had to remember that it wasn’t just about me– it was about the entire team and that finishing was the most important thing. OFFICIAL FINISHERS CLASS 1 (Unlimited open-wheel single or two-seaters) (6 Starters, 3 Finishers) 1. 121 Damen Jefferies, 51, Poolville, Texas (Apple Valley, CA)/Steve Strobel, 59, Clarks, Neb., Jefferies-Chevy, 9:09:29 (42.00 mph) 2. 168 Cody Reid, 31, Apple Valley, CA, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 11:49:39 3. 101 Al Torres, 38, Imperial Valley, CA/Alfredo Torres, 60, Calexico, CA/Javier Robles, 62, Mexicali, MX, Jimco-Chevy, 13:20:09 CLASS 10 (Limited, sealed engine, single or two-seaters) (12 Starters, 9 Finishers) 1. 1091 Francisco Vera, 32, El Rosario, MX/Alexis Vera, 27, El Rosario, MX, MX Alumi Craft-Chevy, 8:56:43 (43.00 mph) 2. 1000 J. David Ruvalcaba, 50, Ensenada, MX, Alumi Craft-Honda, 8:58:28 3. 1011 Cesar Cuevas, 47, Chula Vista, CA, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 9:35:02 4. 1020 Carlos Guillen, 39, San Diego/Julio Covas, 44, San Diego, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 9:50:30 5. 1061 Arturo Garza, 52, Monterrey, MX/Dofo Arellano, 40, Tijuana, MX, Alumi Craft-Honda, 9:51:04 6. 1047 Zack McLaren, 36, Eugene, Ore./Tony McLaren, Eugene, OR, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 9:54:00 7. 1016 Evan Duran, 22, Tecate, MX/Eric Duran, 23, Tecate, MX, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 10:47:24 8. 1023 Britney Myers, 27, Newport Beach, CA/Tamara Myers, 28, Newport Beach, CA/Larry Negrete, Jr, 24, San Ysidro, CA, Custom-Honda, 11:21:08 9. 1064 Justin Buckley, 32, Long Beach, CA/Mavrick Gaunt, 28, Torrance, CA, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 11:45:14