Upon catering a complimentary lunch on location of a special DIRTsports magazine photo shoot, Wahoo's Fish Tacos (a Mexican cuisine restaurant chain) founder Wing Lam decided he wanted to leverage the world famous Baja race for the betterment of society. Lam is renowned in the surfing community for including his Wahoo chain in unique charity efforts, and he decided to expand that corporate mission by teaming up with Long Beach, Calif.-based Herzog Racing to host a group of innercity youth at SCORE's November desert classic.

The inspiration for the idea come from Lam's girlfriend Erin Gruwell, a Long Beach teacher whose dedication to helping troubled youth has turned a number of young lives around. In a case of timely serendipity, the Wahoo's / Blue C/ Herzog Protruck will be designated as the "Freedom Writer," the title of Paramount's 2007 theatrical movie based on Gruwell's story.

Baja champion Dave Westhem as agreed to come out of retirement to drive the Wahoo's/Blue C/Herzog Protruck, while the project's intercity guests will chase Lam from the start to the team's first fuel stop. Win or lose, a group of special children will have their lives changed by experiencing the greatest off-road race in the world.

Sponsors:

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Associate Color by Dave Wachter Yokohama Tire