Hi guys,
As the header states I am finding retirement most agreeable.
Arrived home from California and Baja Mexico the other day. The
team I was with on the Baja 1000 completed 851 miles of 1296 before
a serious engine oil seal leak and a couple of cracked chassis
members forced us to retire. Everyone was ok with 851 since last
year they made 300.
It was the trip of a lifetime for me and Baja is like the wild
wild west.
The guys on the team were a lot of fun to spend a week+ with and
once the race started, it was ‘‘battlefield conditions’’ complete
with MRE’s and washing and shaving out of a pot.
We traveled like a band of gypsies moving the three
driver/navigator teams and parts and equipment down course. Most of
the time the chase crew was on paved roads and sometimes not,
staying ahead of the car and performing pit stops and repairs. My
old dirt track racing experience came in handy when it came time to
get dirty and make some quicky makeshift repairs and encourage the
guys on after replacing the first seal failure with a ‘‘go for it’’
and a ‘‘checker or wrecker’’.
We had a blast partying in Ensanada the days before the race. The
locals there declare a holiday, and the town comes alive with 496
race cars/bikes and teams. Incidently, out of 496, 239 teams
finished --The desert is a b*tch!! –
In town before the race, parking lots and most open areas are
converted to makeshift pits and the town is alive with the sounds
of race engines and vehicles on test drives all hours of the day
and night. The law pretty much looks the other way for a few days
and the partying is evident everywhere.
The boys say they’re going to try it again next year. Sure hope
they extend the invite to this oldtimer again. 
Havin’ fun,
Rich–
rich neary
perrineville/new jersey, United States
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