Roger Norman Makes Podium at the SCORE Baja 1000 with a 3rd Place as Iron Man
- 11 Jan 2011
Lance and I never got out of the truck other than to change the tires, and Lance jumped out to adjust the lights once." Roger explained. "Together, we iron manned the 1061 miles of the Baja 1000, a feat that only a few can say they have achieved. And we achieved it with a podium finish. We finished in third place officially with no penalties just 53 seconds ahead of BJ Baldwin in fourth." Through the entire race, they never needed to change out their K&N air filter on their 850-HP trophy truck, despite constant jockeying as they passed other racers. One motorcyclist gave them over ten miles of dust eating before they could safely pass. The race presented a never ending series of obstacles, both natural and mechanical. At approximately 220 miles into the race Roger and Lance hit a bolder and need to change their tire. "With five minutes you can easily change a tire and still maintain the lead." But they were still over taken in this three minuet window, by Gus Vildosola. The engine was running at 250, so they also decided to remove the hood for more ventilation. They lost no more time getting back on the track "When the co-driver gets back in the truck [from a repair] he buckles in and secures the impact gun, air jack and air hose as the truck is moving." After hearing this story from Roger I had a whole new appreciation for how tight the action is packed into this race. Every second counts, and anything large or small, from the sun to a cactus thorn can make all the difference in the whole race. Driving through the night and pit 5, Roger encountered extremely thick salt laden ocean fog that hazed the windshield inside and out. They were forced down to a grueling 38 MPH until the sun came out to burn it off. By then the windshield was scratched beyond saving and was only lightly more translucent than the fog. Shortly after this they came up on another race truck, and proceeded to bump the other racer, as is procedure. (no rear view minors in race trucks) Despite the bumper bump, the truck did not move, and the now damaged Norman truck had to deal with a scratch hazed windshield, fog, a view obstructing raised bumper, and the dust from a stubborn fellow racer they were now tailgating. The Norman Motorsports race team blistered through 7 pit stops, 1061 miles of track, and thousands more of pre-running. To come away with this ranking in a race as prestigious as the Baja 1000 took great personal drive and a deep scene of community from all the Norman Motorsports team members. It was their choices of equipment and tools; as well as their knowledge, skills, and ingenuity in the shop and on the race track, that has graced the Norman Motorsports team with this and their many other competition victories. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
