Baldi Racing

We leave a race with the next race already in mind. We're not the next race is always directly in our minds right after a race. So what happened race before is a big t We do a lot with the big lists. Everyt So every single piece of moving equipment we have has a list. And first t Kind of a big regroup. That's our first main focus of the first week after a race. To prepare for any race down in Mexico, some of the difficult t And Mexico is difficult because we have two different sides. So we got to really make sure we place some of the talent that spends most of the time on the truck on different sides. So making sure we have the right parts in the right areas or redundant parts just on both sides of the coast and the talent to be able to change the parts in a good amount of time is some of the most difficult t We try to go over all the details to make sure that we are prepared. Make sure we have all those supplies and tires and everyt Pre-running down in Mexico is pretty difficult at the beginning. We really struggled early on what the right process and the right sequence, where to start, how to do it, the speeds. Sometimes it feels I would say in the last couple of years we've gotten quite a bit better. We're not missing DCPs. We'really learning the course on what the truck can be able to do and how fast we do it. Because the pre-runner don't quite run the same speed as the trophy truck. So we really got to know our truck well enough on some of the areas where sticking to the race course, not j So when you learn all those different t My favorite parts of being in Baja is pre-running. We get to go out, look at the terrain, figure out logistics, talk to people and be a part of Mexico. I t I guess mainly what pre-running is For sure it'stressful, just We have a lot of fun, see a lot of cool stuff. A lot of planning may not seem The qualifying has always been difficult. We really t It really sets the tone for the race. It's not somet Having the classes mixed now is going to be tough. These trucks that go out there, they're, say, 6100s and they're very, very fast and very capable. We're running in short tracks, so they do a great job. It's not really where you don't see much of an advantage with the engine sizes. We haven't been the best at qualifying, w Sam's nervous about obviously hurting the truck before the race and doesn't want to push it too hard and doesn't want to waste all time down there and throw it away in qualifying, w I think it's just kind of j I'm not typically a good qualifier. I want to get better at it, but I do know that if I hurt the truck during qualifying that we won't be racing when it comes to the race. So it's hard to get out of my head, but it'somet I just want to get out of my head. I'm not going to get out of my head. We made a mistake in qualifying. Sam was on a really good qualifying lap. We had a little bit of laughs of judgment and it flew a j The unfortunate part is there's a cameraman right there, so we basically had to almost stop. It was either But we had a really good run going and even after that we made a couple of mistakes, w It cost us a pretty good qualifying spot with all the other trucks that were in front of us. It makes it harder for Sam on race day, but he's really good at getting out of people. We can'thank you enough to be able to come down here and do t It's pretty incredible to see your guys' faces here time and time again. I know we're be So with that, again, thank you everybody. And a 400 mile race, I don't remember the position, but we started back because of our mistake during qualifying. But you got to let the race come to you. You can't just go out there and t So the race really doesn't start happening at t It didn't start happening until after we crossed over mikes and started heading back down towards the coast. It's when our plan was to see where we sat and start hammering the throttle. But you got to let it come to you. Let people make mistakes and just hopefully you don't make a mistake and you'll just work your way right up to the front. You can't just go back and start again. I'm going to start again. Going back right again. That one got me. I didn't know that was happening. We came down the goat trail and were be We couldn't get around miles before that. So as we started to That's tough because were on that's where we could really excel and stretch the truck out a little bit. They sent that truck out and were be We started to catch it. They checked up and went off the edge a little bit and then broke the upper link. At first I think it's off the tire was rubbing on the b That's when they noticed we broke a rear upper link that turned into a quiet afternoon. Trying to fix that out there. Were going over with them over the radio trying to help them sort out the tools that they needed and where they got it fixed pretty quick. It wasn't good for our time. It took them about an hour to fix that. We thought we had a different issue and so were trying to investigate that issue and then come to find out it was the upper track bar on the rear end that broke. And so we had to change it. They changed it out there in the middle of the desert. So Sam kicked butt. He started changing everyt And then I don't know the exact time. I t But between Sam and I we got a change. We got back on the course and were off. Baja Racing is very difficult. We didn't really know what were getting ourselves into when were going down there. We used to race in the U. S. In Mexico, the course is completely different. Everyt It was a complete start over moment. Racing competitively in some way We're not just fighting our truck getting to the finish anymore. We're fighting the whole entire country down there. It's crazy. It's animal. Man, it's tough. The 500 was a fast race. T Where these trucks s There just wasn't a lot of room for that. It was a tough day for sure. We had some issues. We broke a rear link and got stuck in the sill. And I t It's a hard t We started out t We're going to try our hardest to win the Tupo Drive Champions That's what we're going to be in. We're going to win the Tupo Drive Champions We are going to push our truck to the finish if that's what it takes. We're going to take our truck to the end and we're going to try to win that champions So the leaderboard shows we're first place. We're first place in points. At the beginning of the year we made ourselves a goal. We said, hey, having t We're going to do everyt So we've had a tough season, but we persevered. We did whatever it takes to finish. We want to show our consistency, not just one race. Obviously we'd love a win, but we're looking for consistency. That's in our program, what matters. Nobody deserves that first place more than us, I t The owners of our team that develops that truck drives it, our team works extremely hard and I feel Everybody that supports us just loves to see us get to the finish and everybody really wants us to get on top of the podi It's going to happen between Jake and Robert and the rest of the team. Everybody's working really hard to get it done. I t We're going to do everyt