#94 2010 Baja 1000 Story by CR Productions

Strobel Motorsports 2010 Baja 1000 Video

Strobel Motorsports 2010 Baja 1000 start

At The Finish Line

A shot of drivers Steve Strobel, Dale Ebberts and co-driver Nathan Ellis across the finish line and on the podium after 1,062 miles of Baja desert!  Great job to the entire crew for bringing the Trophy Truck all the way to La Paz.

Crossed the Finish Line

Trophy Truck #94 has crossed the finish line without any major break downs!! Great job guys!

Race Update

Race Truck is 26 miles from the finish line!!

Race Update #3

Good Morning ~ Currently the Race Truck is at Race Mile 881. They are still moving down the course and only issue they are currently dealing with is the power steering can reservoir leaking oil, but looks like they are still running a solid 10th place. Only 175 miles to go!!

Race Update #2

Driver Change is done and Dale & Nathan are moving down the road. Everything has been going good!

Race Update

The first 3 pit stops have gone great. Currently running in 8th place in his class and the truck is running good. Will be changing drivers at Race Mile 518.

Race truck is READY!

Crew relaxing in the race trailer after another day of prerunning from Olos Negros to San Felipe.

Team's assets set up at the Bahia Resort hotel in Ensenada.

Getting final pit meeting together before crossing the border and getting last prerunning completed.

IonEarth Tracker Assignments

Fans, here are the IonEarth tracker assignments to enable you to follow our race truck and most of our very well prepared chase teams during the race. 
R94  - #94 Strobel Race Truck
PRN - Dwight Strobel, Kent Booth, Scott Booth, Carlos Rosas
SM1 - Bill Rice, Clark Twiestmeyer, Mike Reeves, Tom Wagner
SM3 - Kerry & Mitch Armstrong, Burt & Paul Nafziger, Scott Strobel, Tom Dittmer
SM4 - Bucky Stanton, Junior Kaiser, James Reeves
SM6 - Tom Ebberts, John Cabe, Dale Ebberts, Nathan Ellis
SM7 - Dan Cauffiel, Sal Flores, Ruben Escobedo
SM8 - Doug Swartz, Rob Smith, Rob Morgan, Russ Whittington

Race Truck in Vegas for Final Dyno/Tune-Up

The #94 truck was unloaded in Vegas this morning to get the final race tune-up before heading down to Baja.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is in the background of the Kroyer engine builder's shop.  The Baja Mil is now only 1 week away!

Final Race Truck Prep Underway

New light bar is nearing completion and other final prep activities are well underway with the Strobel Motorsports #94 race truck.  The team's plans are continuing to be fine-tuned to insure the team is in the best position for an optimal finish in the 2010 Baja Mil.

First Half of Prerun Completed

Owner/driver Steve Strobel and co-driver John Tondro completed prerunning the top half of the Baja 1000 course and have returned to Southern California.  Both daytime and night prerunning objectives for the pre-run were all met.

Second driver Dale Ebberts and co-driver Nathan Ellis will begin their bottom half course coverage later this week. 

Mexico Prerun Work Has Started!

The Strobel "advanced team" is in Mexico and the new prerunner performed absolutely FLAWLESSLY all day today!  Things are looking good for an oustanding session of course marking and race prep activities.

Team Leaves for Early Baja Prerunning Tomorrow!

Here is a shot of the finished Prerunner just before being loaded onto the trailer to head down to Mexico.  It will be asked to do a lot of course prep work over the next week in order to give the team the best opportunity to finish well in the 43rd running of the Baja 1000.

Prerunner Getting Final Touches

The rocker panels got some good looking and practical Rhino lining which also tied the truck together very nicely.  Time to go tear up the Baja peninsula starting October 21st to prepare for the Baja 1000 race which happens on November 18th.  Check back to the blog during race week for updates and live tracking links.

Prerunner Test Video

A little Nebraska testing of the beautiful new Strobel Motorsports customized Prerunner truck.  What an unbelievable machine and a great asset for the team's assault of the 2010 Baja 1000.

Team Member Pat Ryan To Be Missed

Team member Pat Ryan passed away unexpectedly this morning in his Las Vegas home.  Pat has been a team member for quite some time and will be missed by all who knew him.  Vayan Con Dios - Rest In Peace Pat.

What A Beautiful Machine!

The team Prerunner is out of the womb and out on the Nebraska streets!  Soon to be seen pounding the Baja Mexico desert.  What a beautiful piece of machinery.  Thanks so much to all the guys that have put in numerous hours to bring this bad boy to life!  Check out the full slide show to see this ride go from frame to finished product!

Prerunner in "Home Stretch"

The new Prerunner machine is very close to being ready to hit the Baja peninsula the middle of October.  The interior is nearly finished, doors are hung and glass is in.  What an incredible machine for insuring the team's "homework" for the Baja 1000 is completed.  Look for this beautiful truck in Baja or on the streets near you soon!

Prerunner Interior Nearing Completion

More progress continues on the team prerunner.  Here is a shot of the 4 seat interior being prepped. 

Bonneville Entry Built at Race Shop

One of the guys who helps prep the race truck back at the shop is also building a 1055cc motorcycle for a Bonneville run soon.  Hansen is seen here just after a 138mph test run using just 4 of the 5 gears in the tranz!

More Prerunner Progress

The team's new prerunner continues to make progress.  The Chevrolet engine breathed life for the first time, lighting it up after all the electrical work was completed.  More body panels are painted and hung.  The project is down to mounting front A-arms and suspension, final interior fit & finish, and final paint.  CAN'T WAIT to see this machine pre-running in Baja in mid-October!

Prerunner Wiring Underway

Mark Guthaus of High Per-formance Wiring is back in the Nebraska race shop wiring up the new team prerunner.  Mark always does a great job with all the electrical work he performs for the team.

Work Continues on Prerunner

Progress continues on the team pre-runner as seen here with Clark sizing up the drive shaft and rear suspension linkages.  All fiberglass panels have been painted.  We're down to front A-arms, wiring and final paint and graphics.  Can't wait to get a ride in this bad boy!  Look for this monster machine in Baja in mid October.

Pre-runner Back From Powder Coaters!

The pre-runner frame returned from the powder coaters this week and more components have been mounted.  This will be quite a 4-seat beast to pre-run the Baja Mil!

Team 4-seat Prerunner Truck Taking Shape

The team's brand new Prerunner is coming along and will be ready for the grueling Baja 1000 prerunning plans.  The machine will be a fast, comfortable, air conditioned ride designed to cover a lot of race course to optimize the team's preparation for the infamous "Baja Mil".  Below is a link to an album of more Prerunner photos.  http://picasaweb.google.com/strobelmotorsports/PrerunnerBuildJuly10?feat=directlink

Check back to the blog for more build progress pictures and to see the beautiful finished product.

Live Video and Satellite Tracking of Baja 500 - Race Starts Sat., 6/5 at 10:00am MT

Watch streaming video:  Tracking International Streaming Video

View satellite tracking:  Tracking International Live Tracking

Track IonEarth-equipped teams:  IonEarth Race Tracking

Pre-run baja 5/22/10

Pre-run in baja went very well, no problems pre-running, so were able to accomplish are goals. Headed back to Nebraska on 5/24 and are returning to Baja on 5/30...

Testing in Baja 5/21/2010

Everything went perfect for testing, truck worked great no issues at all. Steve and Dale put about 60 miles on truck and loaded it up.

Chassis Dyno @ Kroyers

On 5/19/10 Chassis dyno on truck, everything went well, and know headed to San Diego. We are going to baja to test on thursday, and pre-run course the rest of the weekend.

Team At Kroyer Engine Builder for Final Dyno Prior to Baja 500

Team members have arrived in Vegas to get the final engine and race truck prep completed before heading to San Diego and on into Ensenada for Baja 500 pre-running.  The team is looking forward to getting back out in race conditions.  Check back to the blog for pre-running updates and for race week progress the first week of June.

Gay Smith Rolls Car, But Everyone OK

The NORRA entry rolled today at approx. race mile 424. It appears that everyone in the car is OK and the car is relatively unhurt and should be able to continue. The team is waiting for help to right the car and get moving again.

Team Members Supporting Gay Smith in NORRA Race

Strobel Motorsports team members Dwight, Bill and Bucky are helping to support Gay Smith's run in the NORRA Mexican 1000 race in Baja Mexico this weekend. Gay & Dale were 1st into LA Bay but got an 11 minute penalty for some infraction(??). Even with the penalty, they should still be in the top 3. The car ran perfectly and the ride was perfect so they are very stoked and anxious to get back out there!! Tracking International also interviewed Gay Tuesday evening.

Track the NORRA race at http://www.trackinginternational.com/site/racing/tracking/

New Feature Video!

Team Finishes 8th in Class

Unofficially the team finished the race 8th in Trophy Truck an 16th overall after surviving an endo, a transmission change, flat tire and fixing a sway bar pin. The team continued battling the desert and was happy to bring the car across the finish line. Check back to the team's website in the coming days for more photos and videos.

Overall Unofficial Results:
1.  #97 - BJ Baldwin - 7:16
2.  #1585 - Steve Croll  -  7:36
3.  #6  - Steve Sourapas/Andy McMillan  -  7:55
4.  #1559  -  Steve Appleton  -  8:06
5.  #1572  -  Freitas  -  8:07
6.  #1543  -  Kemp  -  8:10
7.  #1583  -  Wingerning  -  8:23
8.  #1530  -  Lenk  -  8:26
9.  #1545  -  Galewick  -  8:27
10.  #56  -  McGilvray  -  8:34
11.  #13  -  Stout  -  8:36
12.  #1558  - Smith - 8:41
13.  #68  -  Ewing  -  8:47
14.  #49  - Troy Herbst - 8:59
15.  #8  - Norman/Roesler -  8:59
16.  #94  - Steve Strobel -  9:16

Baldwin First Finisher

BJ Baldwin First Parker finisher. BJ finished the race in approximately 7 hours, 16 minutes according to our very unofficial timing. Steve jumped back in the race car to finish the race. The car has been running well after the trans change. We may be down now with a flat tire but will keep you posted.

Finishing Up Trans Change

Topping off fluids after the Trans change in Main Pit.  Dale Ebberts is now strapped in the driver's seat.

Trans Change Completed & Back On Race Course

The race truck made it back to the Main Pit where a very quick transmission change was completed.  The car was fueled up, rear tires changed and a few other "cosmetic" changes done in about 40 minutes.  Second driver Dale Ebberts jumped in the Trophy Truck for some valuable seat time and to grind out a finish here at Parker.

Truck Takes A Spill at Race Mile 51

Driver Steve and co-driver John are OK, but the sketchy information sounds like the truck rolled over.  They are moving again and are trying to pick up the lost time while the truck was out of commission.  We'll continue to keep working on the truck and will be working on repairing anything else that might need attention as the result of the roll-over.

#94 Truck Off The Starting Line!

Steve and John left the starting line in 5th position, at 7:19am MT this morning with all systems looking good.  Early reports have the truck already passing a couple of the cars in front of him.  More to come!

Race Truck On Display at MasterCraft Truck During Contingency

Friday's contingency was very busy with a lot of race car entries rolling through the maze of vendor displays. The weather has been great and the local Parker folks have all been fantastic.  The weather looks a little bit iffy with some shower possibilities so we're crossing our fingers for good weather.  Wish us luck for tomorrow...keep checking back to the blog for progress.

Strobel Officially qualifies FIFTH!

Steve Strobel and co-driver John Vance officially qualify FIFTH for the Parker 425 event! Go Strobel Motorsports!!! It's looking good for the #94 car folks! We Are really excited and can't wait for Saturday's race event.  Remember to look at previous blog entries for links to live on-line web feeds as well as satellite/GPS tracking websites to keep tabs on the team's progress during the race beginning at 7:15am MT Saturday.

Parker Downtown Experience A Lot of Fun

Here's a shot of the Parker downtown experience.  The city of Parker put on a great show, and the local people were absolutely thrilled to have the off-road racing community in town for the weekend.  Thanks much to Parker city leaders and to Casey Folks for putting on a great event.

Strobel Unofficially 9th In Qualifying.

The Trophy Truck was the 4th Trophy Truck through the sandy qualifying track and 9th overall in VERY unofficial qualifying.  A top 10 starting position is always the goal and it appears the team met that goal.  Now its on to downtown Parker, AZ for the "Parker 425 Experience"...a chance to show off all these incredible desert race cars.  More to come...keep checking our team blog!  Here are the unofficial results as our team timing had it (these are NOT official...so take with a grain of salt!!!)
1.  Berri
2.  Whitton
3.  Griffith
4.  Herder
5.  Pistol Pete
6.  BJ Baldwin
7.  Hovey
8.  Chase
9.  Strobel

Final prep for qualifying for the Parker race. Check back often today for qualifying results.

Watch Live Video of Parker 425

See Live Video Coverage at www.BITD.com. Video coverage begins with Thursday Qualifying at 9:00am MT and runs through to the race starting at 7:15am MT on Saturday.

Live GPS Tracking of Parker 425

Race fans with computers can also do live on-line satellite tracking of the race at www.Tracking International.com. We race in Class 1400, and are Truck #94. Go Strobel Motorsports!

Or, also available is the team's satellite tracker at www.IonEarth.com. Go Strobel Motorsports!

Final Prep for BITD Parker 425

The Strobel Motorsports team is putting the finishing touches on the Chevy race truck in preparation for the Best-In-The-Desert Parker 425.

The new Kroyer engine/transmission package installed over the winter has been tested and looks stronger than ever. Driver Steve Strobel will qualify the truck on Thursday, Feb 4th and will be the 4th driver in the qualifying grid.

The Parker 425 event will be viewable LIVE on-line beginning with Thursday's qualifying run and the downtown Parker Arizona Show-and Shine experience. Live on-line coverage will continue through Friday's Tech/Contingency and on to Saturday's race. The actual race is scheduled to begin Saturday, Feb. 6th at 7:15am Mountain Time so set your calendar appointments accordingly!