41st Annual SCORE Baja 1000 Great Run for K&N Sponsored Trophy Truck

The Baja 1000 is a grueling 630 mile off-road race through extreme and diverse terrain. Damen and Casey Jefferies took on that challenge at the 41st Annual SCORE Baja 1000 in their K&N sponsored No. 22 Trophy Truck.

The K&N Sponsored No. 22 Trophy Truck at the 41st Annual SCORE Baja 1000 in Ensenada, Mexico
The K&N Sponsored No. 22 Trophy Truck at the 41st Annual SCORE Baja 1000 in Ensenada, Mexico

Jefferies Racing finished 10th in the Baja 1000 and earned 5th space spot in the final points standings in the SCORE Trophy Truck Class
Jefferies Racing finished 10th in the Baja 1000 and earned 5th space spot in the final points standings in the SCORE Trophy Truck Class
The brothers finished in 10th place at Baja and earned a 5th place spot overall in the final points standings for the SCORE Trophy Truck class for the year. The K&N sponsored No. 22 Trophy Truck was also only one of three Trophy Trucks that finished every mile of every dusty desert SCORE race this year.
The K&N Filters No. 22 Trophy Truck hit a booby trap along the beach in the Baja 1000
The K&N Filters No. 22 Trophy Truck hit a booby trap along the beach in the Baja 1000

The K&N Sponsored No. 22 Trophy Truck finished every mile of every race in the 2008 SCORE Trophy Truck Series
The K&N Sponsored No. 22 Trophy Truck finished every mile of every race in the 2008 SCORE Trophy Truck Series

The Baja 1000 started in downtown Ensenada, Mexico, headed to Ojos Negros through the Pine Forest to the La Rumarosa Grade. The La Rumarosa Grade is a 3400 vertical foot drop to the floor of the lower Mexican desert.

From there, the race took the competitors south towards San Felipe, skirting the Laguna Salada dry lake bed along the way. The course continued with a 125 mile loop through San Felipe’s sandy washes and rough desert terrain. The Jefferies’ proceeded west towards Mike’s Sky Ranch, across to the Pacific Ocean, back to Ojos Negros to eventually finish in Ensenada.

The Baja 1000 started on November 21st late in the morning. As a result, more than half of the event was run in the dark. The Jefferies brothers started in the 23rd position out of 26 Trophy Trucks. The very technical course was extremely dusty.

“Mexico is much more difficult to race in the dark,” said Damen Jefferies. “Starting this far back, we had our work cut out for us.” The brothers had moved up 14 positions and were running 9th by the time they reached their first pit stop at mile 116 in La Rumarosa.

“The entire race was business as usual,” said Jefferies. “We ran anywhere from 4th to 7th place throughout the day. When we reached mile 519 we slid into a booby trap, which was a huge hole that was dug into the sand along the beach.” It was very dark and Jefferies saw the big hole at the last second and were not able to turn away in time. “We made it through the hole,” he said. “But our momentum had slowed too much and we got stuck. It took 35 to 40 minutes for us to dig out.” They lost two spots because of the booby trap and moved down from 5th position.

“I was trying to get back up to 5th place,” said Jefferies. “We may have hurt he transmission getting unstuck, but we had nothing to lose and we tried to improve our position by pushing hard.  I’m still happy because even though we didn’t make 4th we finished every mile of every race this year.” Damen and Casey Jefferies  also placed 15th overall in the 4-wheel vehicle class at Baja.

Most drivers share duties with a crew during the Baja 1000, but Damen and Casey Jefferies were in their Trophy Truck for the entire time. The K&N Trophy Truck uses a K&N designed air induction system as well as a K&N performance oil filter which provides it with the power and protection it requires. “The bottom line is K&N has better filtering than anybody,” said Jefferies. “We can depend on K&N in the toughest and most severe conditions.

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