Having arrived late the night before, I had to get a turista and some pesos before heading South. We helped Marc and Ryan Nakaya get in the truck and before long our Baja 1000 had officially started.

With about 250 trucks starting before us we had plenty of time to relax a little and chat with other racers as we staged for the start.

We had time to watch some trophy trucks start, but it was pretty uneventful with a speed zone through town and in the beginning of the wash. Chase 1 and chase 3 were responsible for getting Monica off the line. The race nerves and jitters began to set in as Ensenada is surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of desert racing. It was nice to see the new wrap on Monica and see all my friends that I haven’t seen for many months. I arrived in Ensenada at 1 AM the day the race started, and would be driving about 15 hours later. On top of all that, I missed one of the best parts of the Baja 1000 – contingency. I did what I could during my short time in Utah this summer and helped with the limited paperwork I could from Japan. I devoted little time in the shop turning wrenches or arduously cleaning the dirt, dust and muck that finds its way into every nook and cranny of Monica. The guy who flew in, jumped in the truck to race and went home. On top of that I would be the freeloader this year. With a new job and demanding schedule, it was going to be difficult to make it work. Since I moved to Japan I wasn’t sure I would be able to race the 50 th anniversary Baja 1000.

Not enough tacos, Mexican coke or time spent with friends!.

12,000 miles flown, 27 ½ hours on 5 different airplanes, 9 hours waiting in airports.

To put this in perspective some numbers are in order: My Baja 1000 experience was far different from years past, and unique compared to my teammates.

Hill climb racing 2 rally car nerf