November 19, 2005

The Cinnamon Ranch Ford Bronco of brothers, Don and Ken Moss, completed the 38th annual SCORE Baja 1000 off road race on November 19 leading Class 3 and securing a fourth consecutive SCORE Class 3 series championship. This marks the 17th Class 3 event win for this 1979 Ford Bronco. The Mosses finished the 709 mile course in just under 25 hours traversing the Baja peninsula through silt beds, narrow rocky passes, dry lake beds and beach front trails. As one of over 340 starters, the brothers triumphed to be one of only 163 finishers, giving the nearly 200,000 spectators a glimpse of Bishop, CA’s homegrown champions.

Don Moss guided the Bronco off the starting line Friday and drove the first 200 miles, where it was brother Ken’s turn to race the Bronco off through the night. Don took over the driving duties once again on Saturday morning, bringing it in for the win. The #300 entry was the third off the line in their class of 6 starters and finished three hours ahead of only two other finishers in the class.

Given the technicality and difficulty of this year’s course, the Moss brothers set their focus on finishing and in the weeks prior to the race checked everything on the Bronco while crew chief Dave Grundman finished fabricating a new axle truss, to add some more strength and clearance to the Bronco. However, despite their diligent preparation the rugged terrain claimed two front springs; one at race mile 60 and one at race mile 210. “I’m sure our competitors thought they’d got a break when they passed us early in the race as we made repairs, but they didn’t get to enjoy it for long. We just reeled them back in once we got rolling,” said Don. This Class 3 team has also added yet another race finish without a flat to the BF Goodrich record, as the tire company celebrates its 30th year in SCORE desert racing.

The Cinnamon Ranch team consisting of 19 crew (which included the 7 drivers and riders) and 3 chase trucks came from all over and included a motorhome of crazy kanuk’s. Joining the team for the 2nd year was an insanely dedicated crew of 6 from Quesnel, B.C., Canada. The canadians covered the pit at Borrego. “We never quite know what to expect from our Canadian crew,” Don commented. “They even stopped off in Sacramento to spend a day helping work on the Bronco before continuing on their way to Mexico. They asked me what Borrego meant in Spanish and when I told them it had something to do with sheep, they said they’d bring Velcro gloves….just in case ! Seriously, these people travel a long way to help us out and I am very appreciative and grateful. I hope our win made it worthwhile.”

Television coverage of this event will be broadcast on a one hour special on December 10 on the NBC network. A different one hour special will premier on the Outdoor Network on Sunday, December 18 and yet another special will air in January on the Discovery HD Network. All three shows will be co-produced by Aura360. The Cinnamon Ranch Bronco is sponsored by River City Differential – Rancho Cordova, CA; Deaver Springs – Santa Ana, CA; King Shocks – Garden Grove, CA; Cinnamon Ranch – Bishop, CA and BF Goodrich Tires. ###