Sept. 8-12, 2009    Our first race — the 2009 SCORE Primm 300!
We left NJ the morning of Sunday, September 6th and drove through the night to our first sleep stop in New Mexico. Race prep went beyond our planned departure date and we had to make up time; we arrived at Primm on Tuesday night per our original schedule. Being our first race, we wanted to make sure we missed nothing!

Wednesday morning we met Joe Bacal, who was there with his Stock Full Lexus. He and his family are wonderful, genuine people and didn't even blink when I was upside down in the driver's seat working on the brake pedal linkage during our first conversation. Joe and his team would go on to take 2nd in Stock Full during Saturday's event.

The Liberated Racing Tacoma had zero test miles on it when we pulled into the Buffalo Bill's parking lot and still had several items that needed attention before tech inspection on Friday. Jason and I drove the Tacoma into Las Vegas to pick up some parts and give the truck a bath. The next 3 days were spent in the Bufallo Bill's parking lot finalizing pre-race prep on the truck. Fuel cell vent hose, intercom, race maps loaded into the GPS of both the Tacoma and tow vehicle, water, fire extinguishers, vinyl numbers, race radio programming, and of course, photos.

The teams were all incredibly supportive and helpful. The Greasecar Motorsports guys offered their assistance and had a delicious-smelling Beatle running on vegetable oil, and the Homemade Motorsports team were almost exclusively driving Tacomas and stopped by several times to chat and help out.

We passed Friday tech inspection without issue and were told that our truck was "too pretty to race." :)

Saturday morning started at 5am in the parking lot, getting the truck warmed up and us suited up. To the pre-race area I went with my Dad as co-driver while our team watched from the stands. When 6am arrived it was time to line up. Our place in line had us crossing the starting line at 6:45am.

The dust was thick. Videos captured by my brother showed many teams taking wrong turns trying to get out of the stadium and into the desert. I had walked the stadium track the previous day and drove by memory. The Trophy Trucks and Class 1 buggies would have the benefit of a watered down track later in the day.

We were following the course through the speed-restricted areas and into the hills. We missed a hard right turn and had to double back, but luck was on our side as the buggy behind us rolled in an attempt to make the same turn. This held up traffic and gave us the ability to drive at our own pace. We passed 1 buggy stopped in the stadium and 1 more pulled off on the side of the course in the desert. Everything was smooth and the truck performed perfectly until the lack of testing caught up with us.

In my haste to assemble the truck I had installed a suspension component upside down. The front suspension was resting on a C-clip which gave way and ended our day far too early. SCORE helicoptered us out of the desert and we spent the day awaiting the end of all racing so we could retrieve the truck from the course. We were safely back at Buffalo Bill's with all of our equipment at 11:30pm.

It didn't end the way we had hoped, but we had entered the race and made it back out of the desert with all of our gear. The road trip home was spent taking the scenic route and enjoying the beauty of the country.

2010 will find us back at Primm, more prepared, more knowledgeable, and if all goes well, MUCH more successful!

Thanks to everyone for your continued support! Nov. 3, 2008    Liberated Racing apparel now available!
By request, we now have shirts, hats, and stickers available for purchase online! Please visit our store at
http://www.cafepress.com/LiberatedRacing
All proceeds directly support the race team. Oct. 6, 2008    Delayed Until the 2009 Season
Damage and inadequate preparation require we miss the targeted 2008 Baja 1000. It's a disappointment, but the prospect of entering the 2009 season more properly prepared and with a more capable rig more than makes up for it. We'll be at this year's race as spectators. Thanks to everyone for the continued support! Sept. 13, 2008    Testing at Barstow
With the help of some members of TTORA.com, I had my first taste of the desert. The weather was great, the crew was amazingly helpful, and the course was punishing. Considering my primary goal was to find possible points of failure, the testing was a great success! After breaking and being ratchet-strapped together by Cody from TTORA, we limped out of the desert, got welded back together, and drove back home to NJ. Thanks to everyone who came out that day! Sept. 11, 2008    Rollcage Passes SCORE Tech
Tech inspection at SCORE was a success. The rollcage is certified! Sept. 6, 2008    Road Trip!!
We're leaving NJ Saturday morning and driving to California for SCORE tech inspection on the 11th. The time in California will be spent visiting vendors, talking with racers at Lucerne, and testing the truck at Barstow.