Category: News

Bevly Wilson Racing made a charge through the field from their 15th place starting position to finish 4th at the 50th anniversary of the SCORE Baja 1000. Their steady rise through the pack was done on a tough course that stretched 1134 miles. From the start in Ensenada, all the way to the finish in La Paz, the course was littered with rocks, silt, sand, and water crossings. Hindered by thick dust off the start, they slid off the course into a deep ravine. The ravine was only as wide as their STEEL-IT / Jimco Trophy Truck, causing them to get wedged into the gap. Thanks to quick direction from driver Billy Wilson, and help from some local race fans, they got out of the ditch and back underway.

“We were running right behind a truck in some thick dust,” said Wilson, “My codriver Byron Seed called a right-hand turn so I steered into the corner blind. We fell into a deep washout on the side of the course. When the dust cleared, we could see that we were in a tough spot. I thought we would be there for hours but the locals jumped into action and we got out in ten minutes. We had just started the race and I thought it was over for us. We got right back into our race pace and started picking off trucks.”

The course traveled over a thousand miles of the Baja Peninsula; some of it extremely remote. Of course, there were photographers and a videographer in the only spot where they would have an issue. The footage wound up on YouTube; making them even more of an internet sensation.

“The rest of the race went perfect,” Wilson continued, “Thanks to Monster Seal and our BFGoodrich, we had no flat tires. Maxima Racing Oils kept everything running smooth and our King Shocks got us through miles of whoops with no issues.”

At race mile 520, Chad bunch got behind the wheel. He took the truck to mile 950 while Billy got rehydrated and recharged. Once back at the wheel, Billy took the truck to the finish. “Chad did a great job giving me a still strong truck at race mile 950,” said Billy, “We had miles of deep whoops to overcome. We were hauling through there with cactus on both sides of the course clicking on the fenders. We had flawless pit stops all day; it was a great team effort.”

The team’s Jimco Trophy Truck performs so well because of excellent preparation performed by crew chief Chase Laven and the best components from STEEL-IT® Polyurethane Coatings, BFGoodrich Tires, King Shocks, Jimco, Kroyer Racing Engines, KC Hilites, Impact, Maxima Racing Oils, FK Rod Ends, Trailready Beadlock Wheels, Bink Designs, and Rugged Radios. It was the last race of the season for Bevly Wilson racing but they are already working towards their next challenge at the first race of next season.

After a strong run at the season-opening SCORE San Felipe 250 race where they earned a second place podium finish, Bevly Wilson racing was looking forward to similar success at the SCORE Baja 500. The 500 included the San Felipe loop as part of its 513-mile long course, so the team had a lot of confidence in their STEEL-IT / Jimco Trophy Truck heading into the race. They qualified in the 23rd spot but that fell right in with their strategy on race day. They would run a solid pace during the first two sections of the course and then pour it on through the San Felipe loop where they run so strong. As the other competitors would be getting weaker, Bevly Wilson would pour it on where their performance was superior.

“We had zero problems in the first half of the course,” said Billy Wilson, “There were a lot of steep hills covered in silt but our BFGoodrich Tires gave us plenty of traction. We were slowed down by other trucks that were holding us up, but we were still at a good pace. A few times we had to stop and let the dust clear. The course was tight and twisty through the mountains. It was rocky and muddy in some spots. You had to be careful but we had no flats and our Kroyer Racing Engine gave us plenty of power. You can get overheated sometimes in those conditions but the Maxima fluids we use kept the heat in check.”

The San Felipe loop has plenty of rough terrains but is known for its “whoops.” There are miles of whoops; the undulating sand bumps that vary in height and frequency. They cause the suspension to work so hard that the shock fluid can boil and the shafts get so hot they will melt the seals. It’s the terrain where Bevly Wilson racing excels. With years of experience and multiple championships racing in limited classes, Billy Wilson and Wes Bevly know how to hustle a truck over rough terrain without killing it. They also use the best components that include STEEL-IT® Polyurethane Coating, BFGoodrich Tires, King Shocks, Jimco, Kroyer Racing Engines, KC Hilites, Impact, Maxima Racing Oils, FK Rod Ends, Trailready Beadlock Wheels, Bink Designs, and Rugged Radios. When they reached San Felipe it was time to open it up and let their King Shocks work. They were 21 minutes behind the leader when they pitted, and since they started 23rd, it put them right on pace with the leader on corrected time.

“The truck was working perfectly in the whoops,” said Wilson, “We were going 125 miles per hour; we could see the dust from other trucks ahead. We caught and passed Graf like he was standing still. We were heading to the front in a hurry. Our plan was working perfectly when out of nowhere the truck lost forward drive. It didn’t sound like the rear end and I couldn’t believe it was anything in the transmission; our Kroyer drivetrain has been perfect. I thought it might be the underdrive unit. I called the crew to tell them where we were and we got out to start making repairs. We went to pull the driveshaft and discovered the problem. We put a new driveshaft on the truck that used different materials, and the torque from the motor twisted the splines. Once we started hitting the whoops, it got bound up and tore up the splines. We were relieved it wasn’t a catastrophic failure but the downtime ruined our chances of winning. We didn’t get the finish we wanted but are very happy with the performance of the truck.”

The level of competition in the unlimited trucks is staggering. Despite making quick repairs, the downtime dropped the Bevly Wilson team back to the 16th finishing position.

At least they did finish; at this year’s race, the finishing rate was 63.9 percent. 22 trucks in the Trophy Truck class did not make it to the finish. The team will be ready to go with a new driveshaft when they hit the dirt again.

Bevly Wilson racing overcame setbacks on day one to finish top five at the SCORE Tijuana Desert Challenge. The race had a two-day heat race format that included 3 laps of racing on a challenging 23-mile race course on each day. Length of the course each day dictated a frenzied pace despite the conditions. The race course ran along tight mountain trails that were loaded with rocks. Sharp corners had steep drops that would test the nerves of drivers.

“We pre-ran the course and had good notes, but it changed drastically by race day,” said Billy Wilson. “At about the halfway point of lap 1, we came into a corner and got up on two wheels. It was no big deal, we have to do that a lot, but the front tire fell into a rut and we tipped over. We flagged down a spectator who came right over and helped get us back on our wheels. We lost 5 minutes but were still in the hunt. By lap 2, we had caught up to the pack and were trying to make a pass. We pulled out and smacked into a beach ball sized rock that took out the driveshaft. That cost us more time but we made it to the finish with no other problems.”

Day one was taxing but the team’s STEEL-IT® Polyurethane Coating, BFGoodrich Tires, King Shocks, Jimco, Kroyer Racing Engines, KC Hilites, Impact, Maxima Racing Oils, FK Rod Ends, Trailready Beadlock Wheels, Bink Designs, and Rugged Radios Jimco Trophy Truck was still a formidable machine. The truck draws a crowd everywhere it goes and the fans crowded around their pit to get a closer look while they worked. There were many familiar faces in the crowd, but it became noticeable that the Tijuana venue had also drawn many new fans to the race.

“On day 2, we were much more consistent,” says Billy, “We concentrated on getting around the course one lap at a time. We still had to push it. The course changes every lap. We would come around a turn and find a rock in the middle of the course. You had to make a split second decision; straddle the rock and hope you clear it, try to avoid it and hit one bigger or worse, go off course. We went wide in a sharp left turn and slide off the side. If I turned down the steep hill, we would never get back up again. If I turned uphill, we could roll the truck all the way to the bottom. I turned uphill and let the Kroyer horsepower eat. We ran around the outside of the corner with the throttle pinned until we clawed our way back to the top. My co-driver Byron Seed made sure to remind me that turn was coming up on every lap after that.”

Billy and Byron developed a unique strategy to deal with the countless rocks that littered the course; hit them. Instead of going off course or risking a rollover in a last-second correction, they chose the best line through the corner and put their trust in their BFGoodrich Tires and Trailready Wheels. It seemed counter-intuitive but it paid off. Despite feeling the rocks make contact with the Trailready wheels several times, they did not have a single flat tire the entire race. Their goal as always to come out with the win, but considering the day they had on Saturday, a top 5 finish was a great result at such a challenging race. It was another building block to the 1200 mile long, 50th anniversary of the SCORE Baja 1000 that the team will race in November.

The STEEL-IT / Jimco Trophy Truck was on display at the Sand Sports Super Show before the Desert Challenge and will be back in front of the public this Saturday & Sunday in Pomona, California at the Off-Road Expo. Come by the STEEL-IT booth in building 5 and see how well STEEL-IT protects the truck despite the bumps and bruises it suffered in Tijuana.