The first SCORE race of 2000 had everything. And I wish it didn't. You already know about the tragic loss of Larry Deaton. I have nothing to add except the reminder that life is the most precious sport in which we compete.

The only hearing of the weekend demonstrated that technology continues to play an increasingly greater role at the CRB, but there is still nothing as valuable as an old-fashioned eyewitness.

Board Members:

Rubber Baby Truggy Bumpers

#114, John Marking v #100, Troy Herbst - Abusive Nerfing

As the Board was seated in the comfortable but cramped living quarters of the Team Herbst transport semi, I informed them that I had been a witness to the contact between these two entries and that I would not make any statements until after they had rendered their decision.

John appeared before the Board with past SCORE champion Steve Sourapas who had been the driver and sole occupant of the Marking entry on Saturday's first round of competition. Steve stated that after completing his first lap he entered the stadium-like infield area with Herbst in close pursuit. As he exited the second switchback and began to accelerate he was struck from behind by the truggy, launching him forward. Soon afterwards, he was contacted by his team via radio and informed that his car was smoking. His coolant temperature quickly climbed to over 220°f and Steve went directly to the Marking pit.

Inspection of the car revealed that the right side of the rear cage was broken and pushed into the engine exhaust, which in turn had contacted and broken the water pump inlet of the all aluminum 5.0 liter V-6. Their day was over.

Evidence of the vehicle's damage was shown to the Board members by a slide show presentation of digital photos on a laptop computer. Definitely a CRB first!

Responding to questions from the Board, Sourapas stated that the only other vehicle to contact him prior to Troy was the entry of Mike Tieman. Steve said the Tieman vehicle made light contact with his just before the start/finish chicane.

Next up, Troy Herbst and co-driver A.J. Martin appeared before the Board. Their testimony mirrored that of the Marking team except for the severity of the contact.

The Herbst truggy is equipped with an in-car camera, and the Board was able to view the incident on a handheld video player.

Additionally, Brian Collins, who had been following the truggy in the Team Helicopter, testified that the Tieman vehicle hadcontacted the rear of the Marking buggy several times.

Team Herbst also brought forth witnesses who testified that the Marking buggy was "smoking" prior to entering the infield area. Two Board members would later corroborate their testimony.

The deliberations in this matter were short. All five members agreed that, based on the video footage, the contact by Troy was light and quite normal for our sport. Also, both Dan Smith and Gary Bancroft stated that they had observed the Marking vehicle to be smoking or steaming as it went by their pits (Enduro and FAIR main).

In a unanimous vote (5-0) the Board dismissed the protest.

As I mentioned earlier, I witnessed this incident. I was standing in the infield less than 30 feet away when it occurred. In my opinion it was a normal bump that happened while both vehicles were under acceleration.

Battling Bugs

#1100, Eric Solorzano v #1102, Chris Woodward - Unsafe Driving

After the class 11 race on Sunday I was contacted by Solorzano who stated that his car had been hit by the entry of Woodward, resulting in a broken right rear trailing arm. His car was on the trailer and I was able to view the damage.

I located Woodward and interviewed him and his co-driver, and inspected their vehicle. I was unable to locate any damage on their vehicle, which corresponded to the damage on Eric's car.

SCORE Technical Director, Bill Savage inspected both cars and came to a similar conclusion.

I determined that this was an unfortunate racing accident that was not actionable by the Board and declined to hear the protest.

Real Fear & Loathing in Laughlin

Imagine driving a race truck with more than 700 HP and over 36 inches of rear wheel travel. The capabilities are awesome. Now imagine you are used to it. And with each lap you push it farther and farther, closer and closer to the edge.

Now imagine as you are pushing it you suddenly lose all dampening in that rear suspension. It either kicks up violently and wants to endo . . . or it bottoms so violently every bone in your body feels crushed.

That's only part of what Troy and A.J. experienced on Sunday when all four rear shock hoses severed (not ruptured) while leading class 1.

When I arrived at the Team Herbst pit, Troy, still visibly shaken, related to me that a crew member from a team that was not happy with them had threatened to "get even". Statements were even made by this person about "sabotaging" the Herbst's truggy.

I know, I know . . . this is REAL hard to believe. It's also very scary to think that anyone would do such a thing. But when there are no less than 6 witnesses, well, you have to give it credence. These statements were made.

I interviewed the owner of the team in question. He admitted to saying he would get even. He denied any knowledge of any tampering.

But did this team follow through with their threats? Team Herbst believes they did. Unfortunately, they have no evidence.

Here's what I know . . .

In 1999 the Mike Smith built and prepped truggy won four SCORE (no pun intended) events and two BITD races. The old immy Smith Trophy Truck, maintained and prepped by Smith, won three SCORE events and one BITD race. Clearly, Mike knows what he's doing. Mike said he replaces these hoses every three races. Walker Evans said that's overkill.

Here's what I think . . .

One hose severed? OK . . . sure, even the best screw up on occasion. Two? Wow! All four? At once? No way!

Here's what I promise . . .