RENO, NV NOVEMBER 30, 2011 – Roger Norman #8 Wide Open Excursions, Crystal Bay Casino Trophy Truck has always finished the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, and the 2011 race was no different. After fighting multiple setbacks, where many would have called the race, Norman persevered to get to the finish line. “I have never not finished a Baja 1000,” said Roger Norman. “This one had a lot of challenges though, if we wouldn’t have had all of these issues, I know we would have been on the podium!”
Roger Norman worked down the list of obstacles that the Norman Motorsports team overcame, “Five miles out of our main pit at RM210 we hit a rock that broke the bead lock off the wheel which lost air pressure so we had to change a tire, but that was the only BFGoodrich tire that we changed all race, they really held up to this rough course. Then the right front shock shaft broke at the base, which in turn broke the brake line so we had no brakes, but luckily it didn’t damage anything else. Chase came out to put a fresh shock on and saw we had two studs broke on the rear wheel hub, they fixed both and we took off. Next, the front shocks lost all nitrogen, I have no idea how, but we were running on springs. We were down to 20mph at some of the rougher spots. We made it to the next pit where they discovered that the heat exchanger had a giant crack in it and the radiator was almost completely empty, with a simple fix they replaced it with a hose. We have a tranny cooler up in back by the radiator that doesn’t get airflow unless we have enough wind, and with the new Vision X roof lights it was getting blocked. So since we didn’t want to take the lights off in the middle of the desert, and we weren’t in the contention for the win, we babied it and had to stop a whole bunch of times when it reached 290 degrees to let it cool. At the last pit they took off the lights and once we left that pit we were able to run full race speed to the finish.” Roger Norman with co-drivers Dick Grey and JT Taylor finished 17th with a time of 20 hours 8 minutes.
The Baja 1000 experience started with Roger Norman, Dick Grey and JT Taylor pre-running for 12 days. “We were running around staying in different towns, really enjoying Baja. That’s 90% of the fun for me, the pre-running part allows me to meet different people, try different restaurants and get to know all the locals,” said Norman. Pre-running is still work, “we were making really intricate notes and JT was learning a new computer system. It was a lot to bite off, and I don’t know how to say it…it was a lot of work….” All in all, “we had a great time pre-running with no issues at all. Besides a couple minor fixes, the Wide Open Pre-runner ran 3,000 miles of flawless prerunning,” said Roger Norman.
Roger Norman is pleased to continue his newest venture with Wide Open Excursions, LLC as an owner and business partner. Norman played a key role in opening Wide Open Reno at the Tahoe Reno Motorplex on August 1, 2011 and has assumed an investment role with the organization. “Wide Open Reno was such an exciting project that I decided to invest in the entire organization to help propel the brand to new heights, we truly have one of the most unique and exciting products in the adventure travel market and we need the world to know it,” said Norman.
Norman Motorsports will be in attendance at all the HDRA Off-Road Racing events in 2012, the SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE Baja 1000.
2011 Baja 1000 Action Video: http://www.facebook.com/photo.
Roger Norman Website: www.RogerNormanRacing.com
Roger Norman Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/
Norman Motorsports Partners: Wide Open Excursions Reno, Crystal Bay Casino, BFGoodrich, KMC, Vision X, K&N Filters, Mastercraft, Fire ETC, NEO, CMI, Big Ass Fans, Safety Kleen, Eibach Springs, Cruz Roja, Baja Fools, Rod End Supply, High Angle Drivelines, Trail Glow, Galley at the Marina