SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/454861
T he thrill of victory often goes hand in hand with the agony of potential defeat. With the start of the 2014 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the Mills Motorsports team was in the enviable position of competing for two SCORE class championships in Class 8 and Trophy Truck Spec categories, a huge achievement if it all came together. And it almost didn't. "Luckily we had three second- place finishes and a first-place finish this year," said team owner, Taylor Mills after the race "all we had to do was finish." this would allow them to snatch the SCORE International TT Spec truck championship. The team enjoyed a 54-point lead going into the SCORE Baja 1000. They had every reason to be hopeful. Confidence was high as Darren Skilton and his co-driver, Josh Nelson, charged out of the starting gate in the sharp looking baby blue #841 Ford TT Spec truck about 1:30 PM. Plan was to keep the truck healthy and competitive for 600 plus miles and turn the driver's seat over to driver of record, Taylor Mills, at Race Mile (RM) 620 or so. Skilton knows Baja. He is an accomplished racer who has competed in Baja for many years, in several classes. For the countless race and human interest stories that come out of Baja every year, one might say Darren Skilton has seen it all. But he didn't see this one coming! At Valle de Trinidad, barely 100 miles into the race, Skilton and Nelson were loping along about 100 MPH between RM 103 and RM 125. They knew this section well and were scrambling for Check Point One at RM 158. But they weren't cruising. Work was right smack in front of them. The number 841 was trying to reel in and pass the #848 TT Spec. Chevy truck of Billy Wilson out of Corpus Christi, TX. Just as Skilton was fixing to find a path around the #848, Wilson's truck checked up, breaking hard right there in the race course. Skilton didn't have time to evade the back of Wilson's truck. No options presented Skilton with a good choice to go around Wilson's truck milliseconds before contact. The impact sent the #841 hurtling end-over-end, actually both trucks cart-wheeled in a horrific tumble across the sands of Baja. Both trucks sustained heavy damage from the initial collision alone, but the carnage continued as the trucks, drivers and co-drivers where tossed by the shear violence of a high-speed collision. Skilton was knocked out. Nelson was pretty beat up, but didn't lose consciousness. Nelson had the presence of mind to reach over and hit the kill switch of the engine, saving it for another day. Crawling out of the wreckage in the surrealistic daze of realizing he was alright. Nelson tried his best to TOM LEIGH 068 SCORE JOURNAL