It has been said, “a journey is measured in friends and not in miles.” For anyone who races, it can be measured in both and this has certainly been the case for MasterCraft Racing’s Robbie Pierce and Rob MacCachren. What began as a serendipitous venture at SCORE’s 2009 Primm 300 race has evolved into a top-level racing partnership that, like anything worth doing, has solidified the respect and friendship of two teammates and had it’s share of victories, losses, heartbreaks and truly gratifying moments.While Rob MacCachren, Robbie Pierce, and the support crew have had some incredible successes over the previous two years, the drivers and the crew still haven’t quite accomplished everything they set out to do as a team. “We came close to getting Rob Mac the SCORE Championship last year and me my first Trophy Truck win, but we couldn’t quite pull it off. I guess we are just going to have to try again this year!” said team owner and driver of the No. 30 SCORE Trophy Truck, Robbie Pierce.
For a third consecutive year, Robbie Pierce and Rob MacCachren are teaming up and campaigning two premier Jimco-built SCORE Trophy Trucks in the 2012 SCORE International Desert Racing Series. The trucks will be campaigned under the MasterCraft Racing banner with Robbie Pierce’s No. 30 truck wearing the Impact / BFGoodrich / Fox Shox livery and Rob MacCachren’s No. 20 truck will be decked out in the familiar Rockstar Energy Drink / BFGoodrich Tires / MasterCraft Safety regalia.
“It truly has been an honor to race with Rob MacCachren,” said Robbie Pierce. “The first year we had a lot to learn but last year the team really found its groove. The crew is organized, the pits were efficient and well orchestrated and we really came together as a team. As long as we continue to build upon that foundation I think we will get what we are after this year.”
Most teams and drivers would be happy with a 2011 season that found them claiming the overall victory at not one, but two San Felipe desert races, finishing second in points in the SCORE Trophy Truck class, earning the Toyota Milestone Award for completing all 1762.02 race miles during the year, and being one of only two individuals inducted into the 2011 Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Most drivers aren’t Rob MacCachren though. With a combined desert and short-course off-road racing career that boasts an astonishing 189 victories and 20 series championships, there is no doubt Rob Mac sets the bar high personally and also for the team.
The first event for both Robbie Pierce and Rob MacCachren will be the 18th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge held January 13 – 15, 2012 in Laughlin, Nevada. Drawing the second starting position for qualifying, Pierce will put on his Impact driving suit and helmet and strap into his MasterCraft Safety 3G seat and restraints at 2pm PST January 13th in hopes of claiming a favorable starting position for Saturday’s competition while teammate, Rob Mac, will be qualifying seventh in a solo lap over the 6.25 mile course. This year’s competition is two separate races which doubles the stakes and sets the stage for the SCORE points championship as the season heads into the 26th Annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in March.
The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge course features eight 6.25 miles loops that have been described as nothing less than merciless and unforgiving. “Its like doing the first 20 miles of San Felipe, twice, at a full sprint – except the ‘whoops’ are squared off 3 foot concrete holes that beat the heck out of you and the trucks. We will do as much damage to the trucks in one day at Laughlin as we do an entire Baja 1000,” remarked Rob MacCachren. “There’s no doubt the team can get the trucks torn down and re-prepped Saturday night and ready for Sunday’s race. We really have a great crew.”
Previous year’s attrition rates amongst the state-of-the-art SCORE Trophy Trucks are a testament to this course’s hostile terrain. With just 17 of 32 competitors in the elite unlimited truck class finishing in 2011, it is anyone’s guess which drivers and teams will remain victorious when the checkers drop on Sunday’s race. As a seven-time class champion at the Laughlin Desert Challenge, Rob MacCachren’s previous Trophy Truck victory at this event was at the second running of the race in 1996. One thing is for sure, expectations for the MasterCraft Racing / Rockstar Energy Drink / BFGoodrich Tires team are running high as crew and drivers look to dominate the first two races of the SCORE International season.
Not only will it be a busy year for the MasterCraft Racing team, it will also be double the work for the drivers. In addition to campaigning trucks in the SCORE International series, both Rob MacCachren and Robbie Pierce will also be competing in separate team efforts in this year’s Best in the Desert Parker 425 on February 3rd – 5th. Pierce will be getting behind the wheel and driving the final 142 mile lap of the of the No. 42 MasterCraft Safety / BFGoodrich Tires Trick Truck of Will J. Staats while Rob MacCachren will be campaigning the No. 6 Trick Truck with Steve Sourapas who, with Rick Geiser, finished fourth in last year’s Parker race.
“The plan this year is for Staats and me to compete in the entire Best in the Desert season in his No. 42 Trick Truck and I believe Rob will also be doing the same thing with Steve Sourapas in the No. 6 all of 2012,” said Pierce. “I love racing in the desert so I will take all the wheel time I can get but with the acquisition of Impact and running two full desert racing schedules, I will have to park the Pro2 truck for this year. If my schedule allows I am still considering Crandon though. It’s the Baja 1000 of short course off-road and it is definitely on my bucket list.”
Be sure to follow all of the team’s latest developments throughout the 2012 SCORE International desert racing season via social media by “liking” Rob MacCachren athttp://www.facebook.com/21RobMac and MasterCraft Safety at http://www.facebook.com/mastercraftsafety or by sending Robbie Pierce a friend request at http://www.facebook.com/robbieTT30.
MasterCraft Racing is sponsored by:
Photo Credits:
No. 20 & No. 30 Truck images provided by Jason Zindroski with HighRev Photo
MacCachren, Pierce and Crew images provided by Kelli Willmore
Rob MacCachren (above) takes on the 2011 Laughlin Leap in his Rockstar Energy Drink / BFGoodrich Tires No. 20 Jimco-built truck, while teammate Robbie Pierce (below) tries his hand at the infamous jump in his Jimco-built No. 30 SCORE Trophy Truck.
Pierce is the owner and CEO of MasterCraft Safety and Impact; companies that provide life-saving race and military products through real-world and laboratory testing. Pierce purchased a ProTruck in 2005 and his first race as driver-of-record was the 2005 BITD Vegas to Reno race. Proving to be a quick study, Robbie finished second in class in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500. After a mere three races in ProTruck Pierce moved up to the marquee Trophy Truck class, a completely unlimited class considered the pinnacle of off-road racing. His first race in his current No. 30 Jimco Trophy Truck was the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in 2008, where he finished 5th overall. His best finish to date is second place at the Terrible’s SCORE Primm 300 in 2010, just a mere three weeks after a horrific race crash that left him with two broken collarbones and broken ribs. Robbie finished sixth in SCORE Trophy Truck season points in 2009 and fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck season points in 2010. The 2010 season is also the year that Pierce received SCORE’s distinguished honor of “Person of the Year.”
Rob MacCachren possesses a rare combination of talent that ranks him among the elite of off-road racing, regardless of the venue. His 25-year racing career includes an unmatched 189 race victories and 20 series championships in both short course and open desert racing, which also earned him a spot in the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. Amongst those victories are 5 SCORE Baja 500 wins and 5 SCORE Baja 1000 victories in the desert, the crown jewel of which was MacCachren’s domination at the 1296 mile run down the Mexican peninsula at the 2007 SCORE Baja 1000. Good things come in threes for MacCachren in short course racing, as the talented driver has won three consecutive series championships, three consecutive Borg Warner Cup races, three Governor’s Cups, and been named to the Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association Auto Racing All-America First Team three times in his career.
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