TEAM DESERT ASSAULT®
SECURES THE PODIUM ON BIO-DIESEL IN THE 39th
ANNUAL TECATE®
SCORE BAJA 1000
LA PAZ, MEXICO – On November 16th, 2006,
three Stock Full© race trucks flying the KORE logo
left the starting line to take on the notorious
SCORE Baja 1000. KORE’s 2006 Team DESERT ASSAULT®
consisted of No. 865, RPM Off-Road, from
Bristol, Tennessee, No. 866, Worthington Racing
from Los Angeles, and No. 867, Team Canada
Racing, from Alberta. Each team drove
identically equipped Cummins diesel-powered Dodge
Ram 2500 4x4 pickups.
“We’ve been doing this for so long now
we’ve got the whole event down to a science.
Prerunning and racing are standard Baja – you
prepare the best you can but anything can happen. But,
by using proven, off-the-shelf parts we eliminate a
lot of variables and increase our chances of
success,” said Kent Kroeker, President of Kroeker
Off Road Engineering [KORE]. “We use Toyo tires,
Weld Wheels, Fox Racing Shocks, Baja Designs
Lighting Systems, FASS fuel pumps and AEM filter
systems. This not only makes the build easier, but
facilitates our logistical support, since each truck
uses common parts.”
Team DESERT ASSAULT®
didn’t have it easy.
1047.8 miles of whoops, silt beds, exposed rocks and
standing water from recent hurricanes made this
year’s Baja 1000 particularly challenging, claiming
146 of the 283 Four Wheel class starters – a 51%
attrition rate.
“Our truck was running strong on the bio-diesel we
made at our shop,” said Loren Worthington, owner of
No. 866. SaraMae Kroeker, navigating for
Worthington said, “I couldn’t smell the tempura oil
during the race because we were going so fast.”
“We had passed everyone within the first 50 miles,
but then we broke the sector shaft,” said Loren
Worthington. “We were right in the middle of the
race course which made changing out the steering box
dangerous, awkward and time-consuming. We barely
made check point two without timing out.”
Meanwhile the rookie Canadian drivers Kevin Ostlund
and Richard Thomas made no errors and drove No. 867
consistently, maintaining a solid second place
behind Team Hummer’s Josh Hall. KORE team members
at Pit 4 (Race Mile 550) in San Ignacio changed out
a broken front axle shaft in record time then John
Zambie and Mike Sedway took over driving duties.
But luck was not on their side. By Race Mile 650 it
was all over for No. 867.
“When the turbo came apart it sounded like a 35,000
RPM Calliope thrown down a sewer pipe. I’ve
destroyed a lot of parts but I’ve never heard
anything like that,” said former Marine Corps
Harrier pilot John Zambie.
RPM Off Road’s No. 865 was plagued with
mysterious electrical problems, causing a DNF early
in the game.
“It was very disappointing to come all the way
across the country only to DNF. It wasn’t what we
were expecting after a near flawless prerun,” said
RPM’s Justin Matney. “But racing the Baja 1000 was
one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. Baja is
in our blood now, so we’ll be back next year for
sure - with two race trucks and more people. ”
Kent
Kroeker and Robin Stover took the bruised but not
beaten No. 866 from Loren Worthington, Kevin Kelly
and Chris Williams at Race Mile 340. Upon exiting
the truck, Kevin Kelly said, “I feel like I’ve been
beaten up by gangsters, but that truck runs like a
raped ape.”
Barely making check closures and incrementally
upping the speed average was the name of the game
for the next 22 hours.
“The frame cracked twice and twice we welded it up.
This slowed us a bit, but pulling multiple stuck
vehicles out of the mud, water and silt took the
most time. I couldn’t believe the silt beds south
of Loreto. They were so deep that twice they
swallowed the entire passenger side of the truck. I
couldn’t see anything. That was definitely the
gnarliest wheeling I’ve ever done,” said Stover.
At 0200 in Ciudad Insurgentes, Landon Worthington
took over in the left seat while Kroeker co-drove.
“It was like a graveyard out there. Cars were
everywhere stuck in the silt. Drivers stood near by
with long faces and tow-straps in hand. We just
couldn’t help everyone. There were so many. So
close to the finish too. It was heartbreaking,”
said Landon.
Conservative, precise driving by Landon
Worthington brought No. 866 down the Steps to the
finish line in the city of La Paz. As the sun rose
over the Sea of Cortez forty hours and seventeen
minutes after the start in Ensenada the race was
over. KORE/Worthington Racing had made it to the
podium for third place. There were no other
finishers in the Stock Full© class.
It was Landon’s first desert race ever. And No. 866
was the first off road race truck ever to cross the
Baja 1000 finish line using bio-diesel fuel.
“This was a great Baja 1000,” Kent Kroeker said
later, “Off road racing can be a war of attrition.
Using our team-oriented race strategy enabled us to
be competitive despite running three unproven race
trucks that were piloted by people totally new to
the sport. The Canadians and the team from
Tennessee had never even seen a desert before. And
they chose to race the Mount Everest of motor-sports
in a professional class! Their dedication and
commitment to the mission was unbelievable. Our
chase and pit crews performed admirably and everyone
on the KORE team returned safely to the U.S. The
Fox shocks worked great, we had zero flats from the
Toyo M/T tires, and superior performance from the
Weld Commando P.R.O. beadlock wheels. The new LED
light technology from Baja Designs was absolutely
amazing – especially in heavy dust. We had a little
bad luck, but overall it would be hard to ask more
from an adventure like this.”
KORE is currently building a new race
truck that uses never-before-seen navigation and
communication technology sourced from the U.S.
military. The first race for this new vehicle will
be the 2007 SCORE Baja 500 in June.
Currently the number of race trucks on KORE’s 2007
DESERT ASSAULT®
team is six.
# # #
Dynatrac
Products Inc. based in Huntington Beach California has
introduced a NEW heavy duty replacement ball joint.
Dynatrac has named this new ball joint the PROSTEER
series. The PROSTEER series ball joints were designed to
provide increased durability, maximum performance and
improve both on- and off-road vehicle performance over
the current OEM and replacement ball joints available on
the market today. 
The
Dodge Ram has been one of the top selling light duty
diesel pickups on the road since its inception clear
back in the 80s. Powered by the 6-cylinder Cummins
engines it’s one of the most durable and reliable trucks
on the road, still to this day. Anyone who has owned one
for an extended period of time knows they still have
their weak points, one being the track bar, especially
if you’re running any sort of lift or larger than OEM
tires.
Dodge trucks and big tires have a
tendency to create a loose-feeling steering system. It
happened on our ’07 Mega Cab. We slapped a set of
35-inch tires under the truck with a 3-inch level kit
and the truck started to wander a bit. Grooved roads
compound the problem. But there is a solution, and we
found it. KLM Performance (klmperformance.com) sent us a
steering stabilizer kit built by Solid Steel Industries. 
