Team Poly Performance Finishes 3rd at 2008 SCORE Baja 1000

Fresh off the completion of the SCORE Primm 300, the Polyperformance sponsored Jeepspeed was ready to take on the big one! Although the course was shorter this year than most Baja 1000 races, it was full of technical and challenging sections that would test both man and machine.

A few minutes past noon, Jeepspeed 1719 left the start line in Ensenada with Driver of Record Scott Watkins and co-driver Chris Barkman at the controls. Quick work was made of passing the 1717 car in the wash headed out town. Spirits were high, and the Jeep was running great. Hoping to get karma on our side, a quick stop was made in the hills just outside of town to tug a Class 10 car back onto the course. Just minutes later, a bad driveline vibration was felt that was soon followed by a large “bang”. The driveshaft had failed and needed to be replaced. Luckily the race car carries a spare and the change out went without a hitch. Other than a quick fuel “splash”, progress to BFG Pit 1 at race mile 147 was steady and without major incident.

Shortly after a great pit stop which included fuel, and torque checks on vital components the car was off into the night, again hoping to catch the other cars in the class. A few miles out from pit one, the motor began to sputter and run really rough. It was clear that there was either an ignition or fuel problem with the car. A quick change of the fuel pump & filter revealed that the problem was ignition related. The decision was made to push on with a grossly underpowered car now running on only five cylinders into a long series of silt beds and sandy washes.

The Jeep struggled along and pulled into BFG Pit 2 at race mile 279- still running on five cylinders. The car was now in third place with 1717 somehow behind us again. Drew Burroughs & Dave Schlossberg got into the car only to see 1717 pass during the pit stop and driver change. It was still a race! The car was off once again this time headed towards almost a hundred miles of punishing whoops on the San Felipe loop of the race. Drew and Dave pushed the car through BFG Pit 3 and all the way to BFG Pit 4 at race mile 491. It was noticed at BFG Pit 4 that the radiator had a hole in it and would have to be pulled out and repaired with pliers and some “stop leak”. Unfortunately, the spare radiator was in a chase truck on the opposite side of the peninsula. The crack chase crew team went to work on the radiator and attempted to track down the ignition problem that had kept the Jeep down a cylinder for over 300 miles! After a little over an hour of downtime, the radiator was back in and a damaged spark plug had been discovered. Scott Watkins got back in the car along with co-driver Casey Brunt. Knowing that the radiator may not hold, the car took off with the hopes to meet up with the spare radiator near Santo Thomas at about race mile 550. The car was about an hour and a half behind 1717 and in third place as it was confirmed only three Jeepspeeds remained in the race. It appeared Mike Shaffer in the 1700 car was going to take the 1st, but there was still a chance for second place. We took off and pushed the car hard- this time with all six cylinders!






Casey got a text message from home where family members could track the race cars via a website. It stated that 1719 was gaining ground on 1717, and to keep pushing. Santo Thomas came and went as the decision was made to continue on and roll the dice with the questionable radiator patch. Race mile 570 to about 600 was some of the toughest sections of the course. Steep hill climbs with deep silt beds were common place along with a variety of different race cars broken down or stuck decorating each one. A few miles from where the course crossed Hwy 3, the radiator ruptured again blowing coolant all over Scott & Casey. Another hour was lost pulling the radiator and crimping it shut. The last of the spare coolant was poured in and the Jeep was carefully driven to the road crossing only 30 miles from the finish where the chase crew waited with a fresh radiator. At this point it was clear that 1700 had finished and 1717 was real close to the finish line. The last thing to do was finish the race.

The Jeep , with a new radiator installed, left to finish the last 30 miles. 1719 hummed along at a conservative pace now- just hoping to finish. It was not long until we found a Class 9 car stuck horribly on a tight rocky climb blocking the race course. Even locked up and in 4wd it was impossible to pass. After communicating via broken phrases of Spanish and English combined and a mad mix of hand signals, the Class 9 racers were convinced they needed to be towed down the climb. As a gesture of thanks for letting the 1719 car pass, the favor was returned by dragging the Class 9 up the obstacle that had stopped it dead in its tracks- less than 20 miles from completion.

Minutes passed and anticipation grew until that beautiful Red Bull Arch appeared in front of the race car. A very tired chase crew wearing big smiles met Scott & Chris at the finish line. It was done! 1719 had finished a Baja 1000!

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