SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1539923
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE ROGER LOPEZ TAKES A DEEPER LOOK INSIDE THE MCMILLIN RACING PROGRAM BY STUART BOURDON PORTRAIT BY JACK WRIGHT PHOTOS BY GETSOME PHOTO There’s a world of hard work combined with a touch of frenzy leading up to an off-road race inside the McMillin Racing shop. The team’s heavy race schedule never allows for much downtime, but the weeks leading up to a race can be especially hectic. We checked in with McMillin Racing Crew Chief Roger Lopez with just 22 days (if you count weekends and Labor Day holiday) left before the start of the 6th SCORE Baja 400. Lopez works like the maestro directing a large and diverse orchestra playing an off-road overture. “Right now, we’re gearing up for the 400, and we’re only racing the number 83 truck. The number 23 truck is torn down, and it’s getting a full rebuild in preparation for the SCORE Baja 1000,” he said. “We’re also on the clock today to get the 83 fired up, as the new engine is in. We started using a Gibbs Racing engine at the SCORE San Felipe 250 this year. The Gibbs engine is a completely different setup than the Kroyer engine we were using, and I mean different starters, alternators, belts, hoses, and hardware.” “I need to have the last part for the engine picked up today, so I have someone driving up to Riverside to get it so we can put the drivetrain together. Then we can start it up. All the major chassis components are on, and we’ve done an alignment.” Lopez also has another team working to get all the trucks and gear ready for pre-running the SCORE Baja 400 racecourse. “Pre-running is nine days away, and we’ve got some testing planned with the number 83 race truck and its new setup next week in Plaster City.” At the same time, Lopez was juggling progress on one of the team’s other race trucks and pre-runners. “Luke McMillin’s pre-runner is with Danny Giannini at Giannini Metal Designs. Luke’s 6100 truck is with Stuart Farley at Lewis Racing in Escondido, and I made a parts run up there today and dropped off the new shocks for it. Dan McMillin’s Stewart’s Race Works pre-runner is housed in Ensenada, and that will be convenient for us if there are any problems with Luke’s pre-runner truck and we need a spare.” Lopez is also working on upping the parts game at McMillin Racing. His extensive experience as a parts manager at Survival Systems International has been applied to nearly everything that goes into the race, chase, and pre-runner trucks. “We had the ISO certification needed to maintain and build lifeboats. There was also an aircraft structural department on site that was another part of the business. We had to have the certifications for the raw materials we used to make parts.” “Customers would come to the factory and perform an audit to look at the chemical makeup of that part to be sure it was up to standards. I’m moving toward having that level of quality management for all the parts we make or buy for McMillin Racing.” Lopez continued, “If somebody drops off raw material, and it says it’s 4130, we’re just accepting that because that’s what the packing list says. There’s no material certificate with a quality department signature that you can save. That’s changing.” Even alternators are under Lopez’s microscope now. “We had to get new alternators for the Gibbs motors. We will be running tests on our entire inventory of alternators for the trucks in preparation for the 2025 SCORE Baja 1000. Lights are so important during that race, more than any other in the SCORE schedule. The performance data we gather on those alternators will show any spikes or drops that might occur in the power output. The four best alternators will be on the two trucks we’re running at the 1000. The rest will be spares.” From top to bottom, the engineering, shop, and parts management decisions are getting a new level of scrutiny at McMillin Racing, and Lopez is leading the way. SJ