2007 Score Baja 500

Kore Proves New Hemi® Race Truck with a Second Place Finish in the 2007 Tecate® Score Baja 500

ENSENADA, MEXICO — With overcast skies and a light breeze, conditions were perfect for racing. Over 500 vehicles waited to pit their skills against the sand, rocks, whoops and silt beds that comprised one of the roughest, most technical Baja 500 courses in history. Racers who had run the course in advance reported that not since the “El Nino” terrain of 1998 had the trail been so challenging.

“The Baja 500 has always been one of my favorite races. It’s typically tight and low traction, the kind of course that favors focused driving and a highly prepared team,” said Kent Kroeker, owner of KORE.

This was the race debut for KORE’s new Stock Full class race truck. This truck is a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 4×4 powered by the latest generation 5.7 liter Hemi® V-8.

“We’ve got a lot of experience racing the Cummins-powered Rams. We know their assets and liabilities. Throwing this truck into a race as tough as the 500 was somewhat of a gamble because we had engineered it so differently — and none of our ideas had been tested in competition. We had well over a thousand miles on the chassis and we were still tuning, adjusting and rethinking things the night before the race,” said Kroeker.

Kent Kroeker and Robin Stover came off the line in the back of their class and by race mile 125, they had passed everyone in their class as well as every class 7 truck and 5/1600 car.

“KORE’s new truck is deceptively fast. The lighter weight of the Hemi® motor combined with the traction of four wheel drive allowed us to maintain an incredible speed average to our first pit. With half the horsepower but twice the traction we drove right by numerous Class 1 cars and Trophy Trucks that were mired in silt — and out accelerated everyone in our class and anyone near us,” said Robin.

But luck was not on their side. Leading the pack, almost half way into the race, an electrical problem caused both radiator fans to malfunction, causing a blown lower radiator hose. Repairing the electrical glitch and plumbing wasn’t a problem, but finding enough water was. With a little over a gallon of emergency water on board, driver Jason Hughes and co-driver Chris Williams were forced to dig a hole in the sand and extract water from the earth in order to fill the radiator.

This malfunction set the team back only an hour — but it was enough to put them at the back of the notorious “log-jam” at race mile 210. Over twenty vehicles were stranded at a narrow choke-point in the course. Drivers struggled with their vehicles, trying to negotiate the sand and silt, but to no avail. Several cars were rolled over and stacked on top of each other. For over six hours, team KORE towed and pushed race vehicles out of the way and back onto the course.

“Vehicles were stuck everywhere. We towed and pushed them sideways, backwards and upside down. It didn’t matter any more. We didn’t even ask; we just hooked on to them and dragged. It was heinous,” said Jason Hughes.

Escaping the log-jam and reaching KORE pit 3 by midnight allowed just enough time to tighten lug nuts and refuel. Marine Corps pilots John Zambie and Jack Ruddy flawlessly drove from Valley Trinidad to Santo Tomas in record time, putting a perfect truck into the capable hands of Rudy Iribe and Keg Parker. Morning fog and airborne silt reduced visibility, but as the sun rose, team KORE rolled across the finish line for a second place finish.

Kent Kroeker stated, “This was a great Baja 500. We tried so many new things and everything worked as-advertised. From the new Fox, five-tube bypass shocks to the trick in-cab AEM intake system and dry filter, we had perfect performance. And our standard race-proven parts performed like they always do: The ten Baja Designs Soltek HID lights mounted to our HRC light bar turned night into day and came out unscathed after ramming numerous competitors too haggard to get out of the way. Our DOT rated Toyo MT tires gave us our tenth race with no flats, and the indestructible Weld Racing Commando P.R.O. beadlock wheels held them in place securely for the entire race.”

“I’m not disappointed about taking second. Race cars get better with age because only racing can illuminate weak points. Just getting to the finish line is a huge accomplishment and we couldn’t have done it without the integrity of the Dodge Ram 2500 platform. It’s one insanely tough truck. Because it had never been done before, we had no idea if the OE drivetrain parts like the 545 RFE transmission or the Hemi® motor could withstand the rigors of professional desert racing — or if the stock steering components, frame and suspension parts would fail at the higher speeds and stress loads this new truck could generate. We had some bad luck due to small problems but now the rough draft is coming together.”

“We’ve got some more development to do — minor tuning like changing gear ratios, adjusting spring rates and chasing down a couple of electrical gremlins, but now KORE has all guns aimed at one thing: winning the 40th annual Tecate® SCORE Baja 1000.”