SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/618747
Brian Wallentine in the number 1113 Wallentine Motorsports car, David Bolles in the number 1129 car, and Jim Graham in the number 1107 Desert Dingo Racing vehicle, shot off the podium with a vengeance. Seven teams all with a goal to finish the race. Graham made the best of his position as the first to leave. In the first hours of the race, Class 11 teams were doing everything right by setting an awesome pace for themselves. Solorzano and Rodriquez-Cops were the early favorites, as both men had finished the SCORE Baja 1000 in previous years with official SCORE times. Meanwhile, Hollenbeck in number 1121 VW emblazoned with children's painted handprints from Real Life Ministries in Mexico chased down Nauleau, a 19-year-old college student who speaks three languages, and knows the Mexican desert as good as any native could. For a while, Class 11 played cat and mouse at speed until the course began to make them drop out one by one. Graham and his team led early on with founder and driver Jim Graham, along with Romy Frederick and Jennifer Freerick who had to pull over near mile marker 30 due to fuel mixture problems. Graham said that he likely spent more time in Mexico prepping than learning the course. But that's racing. "As I say, if you can't be good, be quick," said Graham. The team ended up with the fuel mixture and wanted to run about 100 octane. Instead, they were mixing 111 and 92 octane together which according to Graham, ended up only putting 92 octane in the car off the start line. The result was that the engine immediately started pinging and overheating. Thinking ahead, Graham and his team brought octane booster to raise the octane level, but apparently it's pretty caustic and it dissolved the foam in their fuel cell, turning it to the consistency of mush. The team couldn't get the fuel lines, filters, pumps and carburetors clean enough to get the car running smoothly and eventually called it around 11 p.m. and towed the car out. "I never wanted to pack it up because that's admitting failure," said Graham. "The SCORE Baja 1000 is designed to break your spirit. You have to overcome that. We only called it when we knew we had no chance of making it across the finish line." Although he called it way earlier than he ever imagined, Desert Dingo Racing is no stranger to adversity and plans to rebound from it. Graham said he will continue to chase his dreams, which started after watching Dana Brown's documentary, Dust to Glory. " 068 SCORE JOURNAL PAUL NAULEAU TEAM CBCFS STARTED HIS VW PROJECT AT 14 YEARS- OLD, AND WITH THE HELP OF HIS PARENTS HE FULFILLED A DREAM OF RACING THE BAJA 1000.