SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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experience, I am smarter and back it off at times. I obviously don't have the experience of someone like Rob MacCachren or Larry Roeseler; they are two of my idols. This will be my tenth year racing a SCORE Trophy Truck, and I think my style has evolved. I used to be more wild and sometimes reckless. I never really understood what it took to win a race. I would drive 95 percent, one hundred percent of the time. Now I know how to drive at those levels when I need to, but I can drive at 80 or 75 percent. I can control my emotions and speed, but sometimes they still get the best of me. When I do, it gets me into trouble a lot less than it used to. I agree, I am a veteran racer now. Some of these young guys like Apdaly Lopez, Lalo Laguna or Bryce Menzies, have a personality that is a little different than me at that age. They are not as aggressive as I was. They are fast but they are consistently fast. That's why they have had more success at a young age than I did. I was too reckless. No one considers those guys crazy drivers, they are just really good drivers. I had to learn that aspect of it, and I feel I am now coming into my prime at 34. SJ: What is it like racing against and beating your idols like MacCachren or Roeseler, and at the same time racing against the young guys who idolize you? TV: I remember a SCORE Baja 500, around 2008, and we were going over the summit. For some reason the Terrible Herbst Truggy (driven by Roeseler) was in front of us. I pulled up on the truggy, nerfed it and passed. The truggy is such a icon of our sport for so many years. For the next 50 miles I kept telling my co driver Javi (Javier Valenzuela) 'Dude we just passed the truggy!' Can you believe we passed the truggy?' It was so amazing and cool that I got that experience. I can look at it now and while I don't think Lalo or Apdaly will be passing me anytime soon, it's fun to put myself in their shoes because I was there a few years ago. I was star struck to be racing against these guys that I had looked up to for so long. Racing against Rob MacCachren, my dad's old racing partner, it was amazing to be able to be there and experience that. I think racing against the young guys is now harder though. The equipment the young guys have now, the teams they are on, -- every year it becomes harder and harder to win a race. It used to be if you had a clean race you had a pretty damn good chance of winning -- even sometimes ONE OF THE BEST THINGS VILDOSOLA ENJOYS ABOUT OFF- ROAD RACING, IS WHEN HE'S OUT FRONT AND ALL EYES, INCLUDING THOSE IN THE SKY ARE ON HIM. 037 SCORE JOURNAL