In a heart-stopping beginning to his second year in off-road
racing, Joe Bacal put his Lexus LX 570 ahead of his closest class rival
as they raced flat out to the first corner at the SCORE Laughlin Desert
Challenge 2010 season opener on Saturday, only to feel the full force
of competition slam into him as he headed for the apex. Rival
competitor Justin Matney left a major wound in Bacal’s Lexus as he
pushed his way through, but the adrenaline-fired Bacal re-passed Matney
shortly after and was never headed again en route to another Stock
Full-class victory this past weekend.
This is not to say Bacal never looked back. “This is one of the
most difficult races I’ve done,” said Bacal. “The longer races like
Baja require a more conservative approach to make sure you finish. But
this was a sprint race and pretty much flat out—I didn’t even have time
to wipe my visor. It was crazy but the Lexus is a rocket ship.”
And like Bacal, apparently hard to break. Despite considerable
damage sustained in the crash, Bacal, co-driver Bob Ditner and the
Cancer Treatment Centers of America Lexus continued unabated after the
first-corner dustup — important because the other competitors weren’t
letting up. With a comfortable lead at the end of the first leg on
Saturday, Bacal and Ditner stayed in front throughout the Sunday
portion to take the win.
The two-part format gives competitors a chance to race on Saturday
and repair/refresh their vehicles for the second part on Sunday. The
event is the first on the 2010 SCORE calendar and Bacal’s victory gives
him a nice lead in the Stock Full class championship after just one
race weekend. “It’s the best possible way to begin the new season,”
noted Bacal. “I have to thank Bob (Ditner) and my team for such a great
start.”
Significantly, Bacal and his BF Goodrich-shod Lexus also extended
their perfect finishing record. This was their fourth event since the
JTGrey team began its off-road racing campaign with a surprise win at
the Baja 500 last year. The LX 570 has been severely thrashed on the
tough desert courses but has finished every time, remarkably with zero
flat tires in over 1500 miles of hard desert racing. Bacal has driven
every mile. Joe Bacal and his JTGrey team race next at the Mastercraft
Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, March 12-14.
