Season Championship Snatched Away on Questionable BITD Penalty

These are the facts on how the 2011 Best-In-The-Desert Henderson 250 race transpired. Steve overcame a flat tire in the first 10 miles during which the wheel hub cover was damaged and the team continued to triage that hub cover. Then near the end of lap 2 a U-joint was damaged so the drive-shaft was replaced. Finally in lap 3 at about race mile 230 of the scheduled nearly 250 miles the power steering failed. Steve was forced to drive the last 20 miles using manual steering with last year's points champion bearing down on him.

As the race physically ended, Strobel Motorsports finished 5th place in the Trophy Truck class. BJ Baldwin finished in 6th place 1 minute 36 seconds behind Strobel, and John Swift finished in 7th place 2 minutes and 06 seconds behind Strobel. Had those results actually been declared official, Strobel Motorsports would have won the Trophy Truck season points championship with 471 points, BJ Baldwin would have been 2nd 3 points behind Steve with 468 points, and then John Swift would have finished in third 10 points behind Steve with 461 points. Alas, that was not to be.

Best In The Desert's Casey Folks assessed a 5 minute penalty for what one of the BITD volunteers perceived to be speeding and dangerous driving which then moved BJ Baldwin to 5th, Swift to 6th and Steve Strobel to 7th and thereby snatching the season points championship from the Strobel Motorsports team.

Below are the facts relating to the perceived dangerous driving situation:

Very near the end of the race BJ caught Steve and BJ was literally drag racing Steve to the final check point stop sign at which point BJ blew straight through the stop sign, circled back around driving backwards on the course for a short ways and then stopping at the check point. As BJ Baldwin is doing this circling "donut", Steve then has to attempt to make an over 90 degree left hand turn with no power steering which failed roughly 20 miles earlier. The big Trophy Truck drifts wide and floats out onto the pit access road which runs parallel to the race course for the last approximate 200 yards before the official timing finish line stop to the race. Steve did not intentionally drive out onto the access road to gain a competitive advantage, rather without power steering he did all he could to get around the corner. Steve then proceeded a short distance down the access road which is just 6 feet away from and parallel to the race course until he could safely get back onto the race course at which point he turned back up onto the course and drove through the timing lights to officially finish the race.

Unfortunately, the BITD volunteer in the timing van positioned next to the finish line perceived that Steve waited until he was too close to the timing van to get back onto the race course and that he was driving faster than the 25mph you were supposed to drive to finish the race. He felt that Steve "could have killed everyone in the timing van". As a result, the volunteer complained to BITD race director Casey Folks who then imposed a 5 minute penalty on the Strobel team.  In post-race discussions Casey said that we were to be given a 5 minute penalty for sliding off the race course in the last 150 yards of the race.

I have filed a written protest with Best-In-The-Desert, in which I also apologized to Casey Folks and to the BITD timing volunteer for giving him the impression that he was in danger. I requested that the penalty be dismissed.  Such a tough way to end what could have been a very dramatic BITD season points championship!

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!

Steve Strobel Flying Through Pit #2

BITD Primm 250 Post Race Interview with Steve