Baja Nevada Wrap Up
The Baja Nevada went off without a hitch. We had a great turn out for our Inaugural Baja Nevada event May 12-15. The event started with Qualifying in a top-Secret location. The Strobel Companies fastest qualifier for the Class 1/Unlimited Trucks went to 38 Eric Hustead. This was Eric's second fastest qualifier win in the Legacy Racings Inaugural Season. Eric went off the line first on race day Friday May 14th, followed by 70 Kevin Thompson his driving partner Harley Letner took the driver's seat for the start. The Battle heated up between these two over the next two days with Kevin & Harley coming in on day 2 to take the overall win with a time of 8:33:37, followed by Eric Hustead for second. Third overall position goes to our Class 1 winner Jake Johnson 1546. Class 1 had a great showing and the competition heated up. 1562 Ladd Gilbert had an amazing run at qualifying, he was first in class and 4th overall to leave the line Friday morning. He kept the physical lead for almost the full 335 miles of day one until they had a mechanical issue that took them out approximately 15 miles from the finish.
The 6100 Diamondback Materials Fastest qualifier was Chasen Gaunt 6158. Just like our Unlimited winner Chasen received his second Fastest Qualifier for the Legacy Racing's Inaugural Series. Class 6100 had the largest turn out of the weekend. 6146 Brent Fox took the class win. This was Brent’s second race in this truck and he showed up to win. With a 7th overall finish for the weekend, we’d say he means business.
The Pro bikes had quite the battle going on between 7X and 95M pushing each other hard over the 2 days. On the final stretch between Pit 11 and 12 with under 70 miles to the Finish line, 95M was leading physically. As the 7X started down a fast straight away, Rider Clint Braun noticed the 95M Taylor Stevens was not running his normal fast pace. As he closed the gap, he noticed the rear wheel on 95M was wobbling side to side. When Clint pulled up next to Taylor, they had a quick conversation where Taylor explained the rear wheel bearing had gone out. Clint said he would pass the message to his crew at the final Pit and took off. As Clint entered Pit 12 he saw that it was only Taylor's Aunt there to service the bike. In true character, Clint passed the 7X off to riding partner Danny Cooper and sprinted up the Pit in full riding gear to the 95M Pit just as Taylor pulled in. He helped change the rear wheel, giving Taylor a fighting chance to snag the Top overall position from his own teammate!!!
At the Checkered Flag, the Motorcycle overall win would go to 7X Danny Cooper and Clint Braun with a time of 9:36:04 with Pro Ironman 95M Taylor Stevens finishing 2nd just 3 min and 51 seconds behind Danny & Clint.
Good Sportsmanship is always prevalent in desert racing and another example is 25M Justin Moore. Justin stopped for a downed rider, making sure his fellow competitor was in good hands with Motorsports Safety Solutions before proceeding with his race on Day 1.
Open Expert 122 Eric Holt & Tyler Harvey took first in class and managed to snag 3rd overall in the Motorcycle and Quad classes for the weekend. Some other stand out rides for the weekend; Over 30 Expert 350 Tony Gurule & Nathan Work both from Colorado took the win and 5th overall. 1st Place in Open Amateur 193 Thomas Tangedal & Brian Lopez, they showed up to battle, pushed their way to the front of the pack beating a number of the expert riders. The lucky winner of the Motorcycles & Quads went to 298 Dylan Tondreau who was fast enough to win his class and $500 cash. On Thursday May 13th, Legacy received a donation for $500.00 for the Motorcycle and Quad classes. Quickly dubbed the “$500 for 500”, anyone who persevered and made it to race mile 500 would be entered into a drawing for the $500.00. That lucky winner was 15-year-old Dylan Tondreau and we are hopeful this luck will continue for you.
The women are rising to the occasion and taking over in off-road racing. We had a number of women show up for this event with some soloing the 630 miles. Friday morning started with our four Ironwoman starting in a row. Darian Hickey, 720 started out in the front of the girl gang with Shania Stevens 25W at the tail of the group. Shania didn't intend on riding solo but her partner had to back out last minute. Not far behind these four-woman, riding on a quad, was 820 Patty Blais who also soloed the 630 miles. Patty would go to take the win in Quad Expert. Rounding out the morning was 188 Allison Clift-Jennings riding in the Open Amateur class, she may not have taken this on alone but she took on the challenge. In the Ironman (Ironwomen) class, Ashley, Krista and Darian would battle each other hard for the top step on the podium. Ultimately, Darian Hickey on her 720 Husqvarna came out on top with a time of 11:11:23 with 713 Krista Conway and 712 Ashley Ross close on her heels.
The Cars, Trucks and UTVs saw 15 women, all in different capacities. The stand out of the day was 6141 Valerie Clark in the highly competitive and the largest class of the weekend, Class 6100. She jumped in a new to her 6100 Spec truck and drove 430 miles of the rough 630-mile course. During qualifying, she tipped the truck on its side but was pulled back over onto her wheels and sent on her way to the cross the Finish line. Instead of being defeated, she pushed on and managed to race with the big boys finishing 19th out of 28 vehicles in her class. She was not the only female in 6100, April Jergensen co-rode the whole 630 with her dad Todd and Erica Sacks got a little seat time in the 6155 truck.
In UTV Naturally Aspirated the winner 1908 Maddie Wedeking drove most of the 630 miles and showed those boys how to win! Also, in the NA class and new to the UTV scene 1983 Tovia Lowry. Her partner for the weekend was Baja Nikki and the two of them did the whole 630 miles and were even able to do a repair to the UTV on day one getting them to the finish. In Class 1, no stranger to off-road racing, Journee Richardson jumped in with boyfriend CJ Hutchins when his co-driver was unable to make it last minute. Even though they were unable to finish day 1 they put in quite the battle. Tricia Reina has taken on the job of co-driving for Butch Jensen in the 1520 car. The duo has been working together for a number of years now. This is just a small portion of the strong women that are competing in off-road racing.
All Photos Provided By: Dirt Nation & Dennis D. Wilcox
In the Vintage Class VW Bug V172 Trevor Nichols had a huge weekend; he won his class for the Inaugural Baja Nevada. He pushed to complete every mile and even hooked a tow strap to a fellow competitor, pulling him 4 miles into the Pit. V172 was the crowd favorite to watch cross the 630 miles of the Nevada terrain.
After winning the 4WP Desert Showdown Vito Ranuio, was the Turbo UTV to beat. Vito’s win put him in contention for the Quantum Motorsports $100,000. He was the man to chase down for the weekend. Unfortunately, Vito had problems that set him back but he never gave up and finished both days. This gave an opportunity for some other well-known Turbo racers to take the lead. After pushing themselves and their machinery to the limits on Day 2, T910 Dan Fisher managed to take the Top spot followed by T815 Ryan Piplic and T905 Chris Blais rounding out the Top 3 Turbo UTV’s.
U927 Jack Olliges and Mike Bollig in Stock UTV class lost power steering around mile 40 and were unable to repair it. They managed to drive the remainder of the race without power steering and still secure the class win. This puts him first in points for the season. Second place went to Gavin Wardle U969, he and his dad Chris shared driving responsibilities and managed to take second place. They also managed to be the last vehicle on course, which is not new for them, they were the last vehicle across the finish line at our 4WP Desert Showdown. Both winners in Stock UTV are not old enough to have driver’s licenses or even learner’s permits. These two young men are going to be the ones to watch!
TrophyLite had a challenge of their own. Whoever reached fastest top speed at race mile 440 had the chance to win the “Wyotech Dash for Cash” $1,000. Greg Bragg would take the top speed and the “Wyotech Dash for Cash”. TrophyLite is a Spec Truck class that is all about the driver’s ability which makes this class extremely competitive and fun to watch as each of these Racers push the limits and battle for their class win. 6025 Ty Fall who also won the 4WP Desert Showdown took the Win with 6063 Joe Fitos coming in Second.
Final results and current points are up at LegacyRacing.net.
Become a part of the Legacy Racing Association series today. Join us in May for Baja Nevada, and help us build a lasting legacy together. LEGACY 2021 Schedule DIRT REBELUTION September 24-26 – 2021 Cedar City, Utah Motorcycles, Quads, UTVs Loop race, approximately 100 miles BATTLEGROUND Date and Location TBA, 2021 Cars, Trucks, UTVs Loop race, approximately 250 miles About LEGACY Racing Association Liz Marshall and Donald & Kristy Jackson have directed and coordinated Off Road racing events at the highest level of competition for nearly two decades. Their years of experience as Race Operations’ Manager and Event Coordinator have resulted in an enviable track record of safety, communication, and race support. Their passion and knowledge will facilitate a seamless beginning to the inaugural season. More Info: info@legacyracing.net Call or Text: 702-575-8979 www.LEGACYracing.net FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MORE UPDATES!
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