Essentially, all of Baja is comprised of whoops. They call small, continuous whoops "washboard" and the really big ones "rollers" because they're so big you have to roll over them one at a time. For the next three hours, we were in the rollers-the deepest, sandiest whoops I had ever seen. It was almost as if symbolically the Baja had saved the best for last. It was an affliction like no other.
Finally out of the rollers, the sun setting behind us, and the finish looming less than 50 miles away, we felt certain we would take Second place. Kroeker kept asking me to look back for Bob Graham's Nissan Titan-a vehicle we had been dicing with earlier. I kept saying he was nowhere in sight, but Kroeker knew better. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Titan appeared. I suggested trying to get it stuck in the deepest silt beds we could find. We knew we had some advantages over the lower, less-powerful Titan. This worked for a while-Graham would slow momentarily but would always catch up. Then he rammed us hard in the right rear quarter panel. Baja racers call this "nerfing." It's a communication technique that says, "You better let me pass because I've been driving for almost 30 hours and I'm finally out of my mind!" Not wanting to hinder our chances of simply finishing, we let him pass, hoping that as he pushed his truck to its limits, he might break something.
Our third and final pit was in Insurgentes, a small fishing community near the 820-mile mark. This was the first time we'd had a chance to give The Beast a good looking-at because both of our prior pit stops occurred at night. We took on food, water, 10 gallons of diesel, and a new air filter in less than two minutes. | 
The long drive home from La Paz was almost as much fun as the race itself. Many of our stops included curious onlookers begging for stickers, a tradition the people of Baja are well known for. This photo shows two of our chase trucks as well as The Beast all getting fuel from a Pemex fuel depot somewhere along the Baja peninsula. |
Darkness again: 29 hours, 23 minutes, and 10 seconds from the time we left the starting line, it was over. Most of our pit crew was on hand to greet us as we staggered from the interior of The Beast. Smiles from everyone reassured us that we had finished victoriously. | |
Minutes later, we could see the lights of La Paz shining off in the distance. It was a beautiful sight. I had no idea it would encompass such feelings of accomplishment. As we rolled across the finish line, I finally understood the mystique that captivates so many racers in Baja. Passing under that Tecate banner, I gained the knowledge that only comes from experiencing it first-hand. We'd survived the toughest vehicular evaluation known to man. At the finish, we congratulated each other and laughed with Graham about the nerfing incident. Kroeker even jokingly demanded to see his insurance papers.
Perhaps the greatest element of this story is what followed the race. Contrary to traditional post-1000 regimen, while other racers were loading their vehicles onto trailers or into semi-trucks for the 1,000-mile return trip, we simply fired up The Beast, turned on the air conditioning, put in a CD, and drove back to California.
Total times truck was stopped during race: 8
Gallons of Pemex diesel consumed: 80.5
Bags of beef jerky consumed: 9
Number of Wheat Thins consumed: 756
Number of times Kroeker said the word "heinous": 562
Number of times almost crashed: 52
Number of whoops between Insurgentes and La Paz: 8 billion
Number of Four Wheeler stickers given to children: 345
Dollars owed to Kent Kroeker by Tim Sanchez because the license plate is still on The Beast: 200
Minutes it took to fall asleep after the race: .5
Combined time tires were off the ground (hours): 2.64
Number of damaged Toyo Tires: 0
Number of race trucks freed by The Beast: 6
Number of Mexican booby traps bigger than a breadbox: 97
Number of times the Cummins motor was shut down: 0
Number of other race trucks that drove back from La Paz under their own power: 0
Number of spectator's lawn chairs Kroeker ran over: 9