SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/668518
DURING THE 48TH SCORE BAJA 1000, THE TRUCK RAN INCREDIBLY FAST, BEATING THE TIME OF THE WINNING CLASS 8 TRUCK BY 10 HOURS P unching above your weight class is rarely a good idea unless you've got a real good reason, a purpose. Without a purpose, you have nothing to measure whether it was worth the effort to compete in the first place. This was the theory at least, for the Kroeker Off-Road Engineering team. Many months before the 48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 race course was even laid out, they decided to build a wicked fast Dodge Ram 1500 Class 8 race truck and throw down with 46 heavyweights of the Unlimited SCORE Trophy Truck class.With the odds stacked against them, their #12 truck would beat half the field. Their story during the 2015 SCORE Baja 1000 has remained somewhat secretive until now, as KORE will soon begin to unveil their latest engine and truck program to the public. "Our decision to race a production-based vehicle in the SCORE Trophy Truck class during the 48th SCORE Baja 1000, was driven by two questions," Kroeker said. "How good is our engineering and how good is our team? One of the goals was to build brand recognition for the Prefix Minotaur™ Dodge Ram 1500." This is a vehicle built from a joint venture between KORE and the Prefix Corporation which is now coming onto the off-road aftermarket stage. Both companies had teamed up to design an off-road package using KORE suspension components, delivering off- road capabilities that consumers can purchase as a new Ram 1500 from the dealership. While testing suspension systems is normal in Baja, KORE and Prefix also had other motives, one of which remained hidden under the hood of their number 12 Class 8 truck. "We wanted to see where the truck would place within the SCORE Trophy Truck division, once we installed the Minotaur™ V10 engine in the same class as the fastest, most aggressive, and technologically advanced off-road vehicles ever built," Kroeker said. Team KORE has competed in many long-range loops down the Baja Peninsula, as well as straight shots from Ensenada to La Paz. The team wasn't chasing championship points; they were taking a calculated risk. They wanted to test themselves as a team, and their capabilities as engineers, fabricators, and mechanics. From the very start of the build-up, the results they achieved post-race would be quantifiable and used for future products, races, and team challenges. "We built the race variant to Class 8 standards from a stock, Ram 1500 chassis. Because our race truck is production-based, it lacks some advantages of a tube frame chassis Trophy Truck or Class 1 race car," said Josh Nelson, crew chief for KORE Racing. A quick look behind the body panels exposes a lighter, Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck with a fully boxed-in frame that makes a sturdy foundation to build a high-end Class 8 truck. 079 SCORE JOURNAL