Desert Dingo Racing

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  • We have another winner in the “Who the heck are you people” contest


    We have our first Canadian fan checking in.

    Ok, technically Jeff’s coworkers sent his photo in but that counts toward our contest to find out who you all are who follow us on our iPhone, iPad and Android apps. (BTW, as of this writing, 9,726 folks have downloaded our mobile app). Email me a photo of you and your mobile device displaying the app and you’ll get schwag.

  • We’re red-shirting the Baja 1000 this year

    Take a meeting
    Shawn and Scott confab on Bob’s futon/sofa during the team meeting.

    We decided Wednesday night to skip the Baja 1000 this year, focus on beating our arch rivals Two Larry’s and a Megan Racing for the Stock Bug season points championship in VORRA and spend the off season doing a body-off rebuild of 1107.

    The issue was financial. The 1000 is our most expensive race, costing close to $8,000 to run in a good year. Because the course this year is a straight shot from Ensenada to La Paz, our fuel bill – always our biggest line item – automatically doubled.

    So the plan is to race the last two VORRA short course races at Prairie City the weekends of Oct. 9 and Oct. 31 and then cut what’s left of 1107’s body away and begin a ground up rebuild. This gives us the time and access we need to make tweaks you can’t otherwise do with the car body on. We’ll replace 1107’s current body with that of a 1970 Bug body now covered in pine needles in the front yard.

    It’s a bummer knowing we won’t be in Ensenada in November, but we’ll be back at it next year and giving nine-time Baja 1000 winner (and good friend) Eric Solorzano a run for his money.

    The wait is almost over

  • Diagnosis: Fractured rib

    Now I know how 1107 feels
    Now I know how 1107 feels right now.

    Most of the aches and bruises from last weekend’s rollover at the Hawthorne 225 had disappeared except for one in my side and Roxanne convinced me it was worth a trip to urgent care to have it looked at. (I’d been doing a lousy job hiding how much pain I was in any time I used my waist to turn, walk, sit down, lift anything heavier than a beer or roll over in bed).

    The admitting nurse asked how much it hurt and I said “You know when you get hit in the ribs with a pool cue during a bar fight? Like that.”

    The doctor comes in and I start telling him what an amazing race we’d been having, how we rolled the car, got it upright and kept racing and Roxanne reminding me to “stop talking about the race and tell him where it hurts.”

    Then he sort of poked my rib cage with his index fingers and I’d have choked him to death right then and there if I could see him through the white spots that instantly blinded me.

    Diagnosis: Fractured rib. “It’s going to hurt for a few weeks.”

    I did get to pass out some hero cards in the emergency room, so it wasn’t a total loss.

    I fought through the pain to clean out 1107 this afternoon – a case of empty plastic oil cans, a coffee cup, random stuff I picked up off the ground where we camped (“Leave no trace!) – then pulled out the tool, spare parts and medical bags, plus the two Camelbaks, the cordless impact wrench and one of the two spare tires.

    We’ll get 1107 power washed this week, assess the damage and look at our options to get it ready for the two short course races in October.

  • The Lowdown from Hawthorne

     

    Just got a phone call from Jim. Here are the high points:

    • The course is bumpy, no other way to describe it. The first ten miles are sand and silt. Then it opens up and it’s fun.
    • At race mile 46, we ran into trouble. There’s a 45 degree hill with a 45 degree turn at the top. We made six runs. Spent three hours trying to make it. Then we got the car high centered. I (ronjon) used a boy scout shovel to dig out. We finally backed out of the course and took a shortcut back to Start.
    • We told the organizers that 11s and likely 9s won’t make it. There is an alternate route, but it’s covered by a berm. They may remove the berm or put a recovery vehicle there.
    • The car started leaking oil again, but on a different side. Gary Herrod of the Green Booger said he knows exactly what’s wrong. We’ll be working on the car tonight. There’s also an accelerator issue.
    • Gary’s people are making burgers. No internet connectivity at the course.
    • Chatted with Rod Hall (told him my wife is interested in the Gazelles Rally). Rod was there because he sold a truck to a woman also interested in running Gazelles. Happens she’s the owner of the Mustang Ranch. “She’s a laugh riot, you’ll love her.”
    • Rod Hall said his legacy is getting more women involved in offroad racing.

     Desert Dingo will be the first car off the line tomorrow, at 8AM. Course is 250 miles. Updates as they occur.

  • We hit the premiere of Dezert People 8

    Duc. Duc. Goose.
    A man and his Ducati.

    Skid, Roxanne and I hit the premiere of “Dezert People 8” at Coach’s bar in Campbell. Skid arrived on his sweet ride.

    A good time was had by all. We bought the video, grabbed a couple of posters and Sweet Tea Vodka was handing out t-shirts and frisbees. There are premieres going on all over the place for this film. Many are fundraisers for Fast-Aid.

    Thank you, Curt, for pulling this together.