SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1531575
TOOLS OF THE TRADE Chase Trucks Are An Essential Tool For SCORE Race Teams By Dan Sanchez Photos by Jack Wright nMedia3 S ince the beginning of Baja racing, the ability to reach racers and their vehicles along stretches of the Baja desert has been a key element in achieving success. In the early days of Baja racing, small airplanes carried drums of fuel for teams and landed in designated areas to re-fuel race vehicles. After more development and infrastructure brought highways and additional roads to many areas of the Baja Peninsula, chase trucks became the way teams could reach their race vehicles throughout the desert. Modern chase trucks are built to carry everything the team needs to make repairs on the fly. Over the years, teams have developed various strategies for their particular chase vehicles, including what to bring, practicing repairs and full parts swaps, and adopting an abundance of safety measures. The result is the ability to reach a race vehicle anywhere on the course, and have the spare parts and tools necessary to repair, rebuild, or replace any component of the race vehicle. “When we build a chase truck, we think hard about it,” says Todd Gorsuch, Shop Manager for Terrible Herbst Motorsports. “When we’re racing, everything needs to be in that chase truck to keep our race vehicle going. We can carry a good portion of what goes in those race vehicles. When we start building our chase trucks, the first thing we do is mount the fuel tanks to carry auxiliary fuel for the chase truck itself and the vehicle we’re chasing.” Parts For Race Vehicle Types While teams need to pack everything they can think of in their chase vehicles, what they bring with them depends on the vehicle they are chasing. For example, a moto team will have different tools and spare parts than a chase team for a SCORE Trophy Truck. While wrenches, socket sizes, and suspension adjusters may differ from team to team most agree they like to use battery-powered impact wrenches for tires, external lighting when it gets dark, and lots of manual tools specific to the vehicle. “Battery impact and socket wrenches prevent us from having to have compressed air, which some trucks may not be able to carry in the volume and CFM needed,” said Gorsuch. “Chase trucks for motorcycles have all the correct tools to replace everything on the bike,” says H.E.R.O. Racing team owner Giovanni Spinali. “The trucks have many parts bins with spare handlebars, grips, radiators, clutches, spare wheels, lubricants, and much more.” According to Spinali, the team had 15 chase vehicles made up of 4x4 trucks and vans, during the SCORE Baja 1000. “We also have specific chase trucks for the Pacific side of Baja or the Gulf side.” Vildosola Motorsport’s Team Manager Steve Lewis says their team typically has six chase trucks to cover both Gustavo’s No. 1L Trophy Truck and Tavo’s No. 21 Trophy Truck in any given race. “Some of the trucks are used for pit stops while others chase the vehicles on or near the course,” says Lewis. “Our chase trucks carry everything from new 3rd members, spare trailing arms, alternators, starters, power steering box and pump, a complete transmission, differentials, fluids, and more.” Many chase teams also have portable welders to make repairs to the frame or other chassis parts. If the chase truck is large enough, Moto and UTV teams can carry pre-runner cars and bikes that are replicas of the race units. “If there’s a crash that bends the frame, we can pull parts off the pre-runner to replace it,” says Spinali. “On races like a SCORE Baja 1000 Peninsula run, we make sure to have two spare bikes on each side of the peninsula chasing the race.” Logistics And Strategy Perhaps one of the hardest things about running a Chase Truck is proper coordination. Teams must gather their logistics such as the number of volunteers they have for a given race, the average fuel mileage of the vehicle they are chasing, getting competent mechanics, and a team captain who has greater knowledge of the vehicles to lead the chase team operation. As an example, refueling the race vehicle is a coordinated aspect of a typical chase team and pit crew that is carefully planned for each race. “It’s a huge team effort to get any of our racers to the finish line and win,” says Spinali. “Motorcycles have a limited fuel supply and we have to plan to refuel our race bikes approximately every 45 miles. So it takes more people and chase vehicles to do that.” For SCORE Trophy Trucks, the fuel cells are larger and often take up most of the truck’s rear chassis. “When we race, we have to set up fuel stops either at a pit which we carefully position on the course, or have one of the chase trucks run up ahead to be ready to re-fuel,” says Lewis. “On average, a SCORE Trophy Truck can run for about 200 miles before needing a refuel.” “Our chase trucks are built with larger fuel cells that carry enough fuel for both the race vehicles and the chase truck itself,” adds Gorsuch. “Because we fabricate our own fuel cells, we also make sure the chase truck is properly grounded with straps that hang down from under the chassis. This properly grounds the truck to avoid any sparks. In addition, all team members in a pit also have full fire suits and helmets for safety.” Coordination and Communication Coordinating all of this requires a structured game plan, one which all chase teams have. “We create a racebook that has all the info, safety precautions, and plans for a given race,” says Lewis. “We coordinate with our volunteers via email and they have the race book so they can study and familiarize themselves with before the race.” “It’s very different on the course during pre-running and when the actual race is going on,” says Spinali. “Our chase teams must know where to set up the pits or where to get to designated areas beforehand. On race day, there may be hundreds of people lining the course and it may be hard to know where the rider is supposed to stop, so we also have to be out there with signage and wave them in.” In order for any coordination to happen, teams agree that communication is essential. Along with the pre-race game plan or book, a variety of the latest communication equipment is used to ensure their success. “Our racebook has everyone’s phone numbers and certain chase vehicles are assigned to an individual rider with a backup chase vehicle just in case,” adds Spinali. “Moto racers also have to exchange the tracking devices (SPICA units) at each rider change, so it’s important for us to have a team member who is in charge of taking the SPICA out of one rider’s backpack and adding it to the new rider’s pack, then communicating that this is done.” “Despite all the tools, and spare parts that we can carry, the most important part of any chase truck is having good communication,” says Gorsuch. “We use everything from vehicle trackers, VHF radios, and MSAT radios to ensure communication with both the team and our drivers.” “Like everything in off-road motorsports, it’s evolving and we can communicate much better with what is out there now like Starlink, Satellite phones, and more,” adds Lewis. “We’re also having a better time tracking the racing vehicles with new systems so we can know where they are going to be and determine how fast we can get there.” What Makes The Best Chase Truck? For the most part, a chase truck or vehicle can be anything that could carry parts and tools. Depending on the team many of the chase trucks can be the personal vehicles of one or more of the volunteers. Most of these are 4x4 pickups to carry as much as they can haul and have the ability to reach certain areas of the course in difficult terrain. Many teams have 3/4 or 1-ton trucks that have a custom box replacing the bed. Large teams like Terrible Herbst have fabricators to build their own specialty bed boxes and mounts for equipment. Others use custom bed box builders which have pre-made bed boxes that fit specific vehicles but can accommodate custom changes to how doors open, where tools are mounted, etc. There also has to be room for full-size spare tires and fuel canisters so the design of these bed boxes for chase trucks is critical. Ford Raptors also seem to be a popular chase vehicle for many teams. The off-road capability of these vehicles allow teams to get into difficult terrain in order to reach race vehicles. “We have three of them on the chase team,” says Lewis. “They can get onto the areas of the course when necessary, and also carry two full-size spares, fuel and fluids.” It seems inevitable that as the technologies of the race vehicles improve, so must the chase trucks they use to service them. Faster vehicles on the course means having to get to them just as fast when they need assistance. While most chase truck technology and logistics happens behind the scenes, the chase truck and chase teams remain the backbone of any race effort. Those attention to details and logistics, often lead to a team winning a race and earning a class Championship. SJ