Desert Dingo Racing

Category: Sponsors

  • Lifetime LED Lights Sponsoring Desert Dingo Racing for 2013 Season

    Lifetime LED Lights Sponsoring Desert Dingo Racing for 2013 Season

    Lifetime LED Lighting

    January 7, 2013, Felton, Calif. – Desert Dingo Racing announced today that Lifetime LED Lights, a new provider of low-draw LED lighting systems for off road racers, truck, UTV and quad owners will sponsor Desert Dingo Racing for its 2013 season.

    Desert Dingo Racing will use Lifetime LED Lights’ 31.5-inch (60 LED) and 13.5-inch (24 LED) light bars in its off road desert races as part of the Valley Off Road Racing Association (VORRA) and at the Baja 1000 in November 2013.

    “You don’t have to be doing 100 mph across the open desert to appreciate the value of a powerful low-draw lighting system that doesn’t tax your vehicle’s other electronics,” said Lifetime LED’s CEO Ryan Chapman. “Desert Dingo epitomizes grass roots racing at its best and we’re proud to support them.”

    Desert Dingo Racing competes in off road desert racing in California and Nevada and is the official World Diabetes Day race car in the Baja 1000. The team took Second in Class in Class 11 during the VORRA 2012 season. The team raises money to support diabetes awareness and education programs sponsored by the International Diabetes Federation.

    “There’s little more stressful in off road racing than not being able to see where you’re headed, particularly during the night races,” said Desert Dingo Racing co-founder Jim Graham. “Lifetime LED has a rock-solid design, their prices are the great and their customer service and support the best available.”

    About Lifetime LED Lights
    CEO Ryan Chapman founded Lifetime LED Lights in 2012 to provide off road racers, truck, UTV and ATV owners with cost effective lighting systems at affordable prices and backed up by great customer service. For more information, visit http://www.LifetimeLEDLights.com or call 585-203-0887.

    About Desert Dingo Racing

    Desert Dingo Racing is a team of high tech professionals based in Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley who campaign a 1969 VW Beetle in off road races in the U.S. and Mexico. They are the official World Diabetes Day race car and the team raises money for diabetes education and awareness programs sponsored by the International Diabetes Federation. To learn more, visit http://www.desertdingo.com.

  • Thanks to Dixon & Son Tires

    Thanks to Dixon & Son Tires

    Dusty Dixon and his team are exceptionally patient with me when I offload a pickup’s worth of tires and rims and say “I need these yesterday.”

    I did drop off a truckload of race tires and VW rims on Friday and Dusty and his guys made sense of the notes Bob wrote on each rim with a Sharpie. Crusty picked them up Saturday morning and we’ve got a full set of race-ready tires and rims.

    Dusty and Dave Dixon have been helping us out for years. We’ll be using tires this coming weekend that Dave personally grooved for us. I’ve said it before, but we wouldn’t be racing if it weren’t for the support of our sponsors. We’re taking 1107 back down to Dixon & Son on Wednesday for a pre-race alignment. Then it’s off to Prairie City.

    I was gone this weekend, but Bob and Crusty got 1107 road mobile. This week we go through packing crates. I’m putting the finishing touches on our movement plan (courtesy of Paul Hartl, who’s much more organized than we are). Roxanne and I arrive midday Friday to rope off space for all four Class 11s racing next weekend. We all camp together.

    This week is mostly packing. 1107 is ready.

  • Halloween (and GoPro) come early

    GoPro

    Candy makes every Fedex delivery that much better.

    Emme Hall of Hall Ass Racing and RoadFly TV fame (and occasional Desert Dingo Racing driver) was kind enough to loan us her swank GoPro Motorsports HD video cameras with the LCD screen on the back. We used to have two of them but one snapped off its mount at the USA 500 and now I use the patented GoPro Fishing Line Lassos so that even if the plastic mounts snaps, we won’t lose the camera.

    Our sponsor Dixon & Son Tires came to the rescue yesterday mounting one of our short course tires on a new rim in all of about 15 minutes. Watch for a press release on them tomorrow.

    I crash at Crusty’s tonight. We load up 1107 tomorrow morning and drive to Prairie City for VORRA‘s last race of the season. Will be doing on site updates via @desertdingo on the Twitter.

    Dixon & Son Tires

  • Final loading in advance of VORRA’s “The 24”

    Our new GPS unit. Might try to wire it up this weekend.

    This weekend I load all the extra stuff – tires, fuel, tools, food, camping chairs, electroncis, etc. onto the truck, which Dave has kindly allowed me to park at IndieFab. Heading over to Dixon & Son Tires in Watsonville to pick up some remounted race tires and over to Bayside Oil II in Santa Cruz to top off on race fuel.

    I’ll be off to Burning Man for a couple of days next week but should go live again Thursday morning for the drive from Gerlach to Fallon. I’ll be live tweeting the race using the Twitter hashtag #The24.

  • Countdown to “The 24” begins

    Our new deck lid, replacing our old deck lid, which was crushed by 775 at VORRA’s USA 500.

    Crusty and I wrenched on the car on Saturday. Mostly Crusty. With the engine installed, Crusty filled it with oil provided by our new sponsor Motul. In addition to the engine, we have to add enough oil to fill the engine, 1.5 quart oil accumumulator and all the hoses and filters. The new front skid plate (we sort of lost the last one at the USA 500) is in from State Steel in Watsonville.

    I focused on everything comm, getting the radio and comm re-plugged in and going through all of 1107’s wiring to streamline wiring routing to ensure that nothing was exposed if it didn’t have to be, nothing was hanging where it could be snagged by anyone climbing in or out of the car or grabbing a tool or somesuch. Also picked up new Nylocks to make sure the air pumper doesn’t fall off during the race and a few bits and bobs at Home Depot.

    Buttoning up continues today. I’ll learn how to drive the rat rod hauler. We’ll fuel 1107 (so we can bring additional fuel in the speed jugs). We’ll go through a ton of zip ties. I’ll be duct taping a handheld mic in a zip lock baggie with a handheld mic somewhere in the car. Naturally I’ll test the ability to plug my old skool iPod shuffle into the Rugged Radios intercom. The new deck lid will go on and I’ll attach and wire the TrailGlow rear number panel. Everything is a process.

    That new model VW Beetle is still parked on the hauler in Felton. I’m this close to taking a blow torch to it.