The 2006 Primm race turned out to be almost exactly what everyone expected. A total of 168 racers took the green flag in two separate (but equal) events. Every one of them had to deal with silt, rocks and traffic. But the group that started in the afternoon had to deal with a much rougher course, and, many of them ran into darkness on their final lap.

The smaller vehicles (10, SCORE Lite, 1-2/1600, 5/1600, 5, 9, 11, 7SX, 7S, Sportsman Buggies, Class 3, and Sportsman trucks) started 30 seconds apart, beginning just as it got light, about 10 after six in the a.m. Every one of them had an eight-hour time limit. Some had to do four laps, some three, some only two...

Class 10 Winner - Darren Hardesty

As predicted, the Class 10s, who were first into the desert, had a terrific and tight race. But Darren Hardesty, in a VW powered AlumiCraft, who was first off the line, made it look easy. He had literally no traffic on lap one, and very little for the next two, catching stragglers only. He led every lap, and took the win by six minutes.

The SCORE Lite class went to Tim Noe and David Scaroni, in a two-seat Jimco. Scaroni finished on a rear flat, rather than take time for a stop, and took the win by five minutes.

1600 Winner - Adam Pfankuch #1610

In the 1600s, the racing was every bit as tight. Adam Pfankuch put his KIT car into the lead on lap two, with just six seconds advantage. Then he managed to pick up a few seconds, and driving “easy” to “make sure I didn’t break anything.” He got to the finish line with a four minute edge on second place.

Class 5 (unlimited Baja Bugs) were a bit surprised to find that they had to run only three laps here. David Bonner, always a strong contender, had two flats during his morning, and took the win with nearly a half-hour edge.

5/1600 Winner - Danny Ladezma

The Limited Baja Bugs (5-1600) went to cousins Danny and Mario Ledezma who dealt with transmission issues all the way. They split the driving evenly, and finished their third (and last) lap with only one gear left. They were a half-hour to the good.

Class 9 has a hard time on this course, but all three entrants managed to finish. Eric fisher drove the entire distance in his Garibay, and it took him six hours and 29 minutes. He had 20 minutes on second place.

In Class 3 Ken and Don Moss drove their Bronco to the win, splitting the driving evenly, and having no problems at all, not even flats.

Rod Hall drove his H3 Hummer to the Class Stock Mini win, and declared that “two laps is enough”. This was his first Primm race, and he had no problems, although he said there was “a lot of rough stuff for a stock truck.” His 3.5 liter 5 cylinder motor, which he said hit a top speed of about 85 miles per hour on a down hill paved section, ran fine all day.

7sx Winner - John Holmes #759

Tyler Fox was the winner in Class 7S in his Ford Ranger, with just a five minute cushion. In Class 7SX it was John Holmes, in another Ford Ranger. The difference in the two classes is that the 7S trucks run 3 liter motors, and 7SX run 4 liters. Holmes had a time nearly two hours faster than the smaller motored Fox.

Class 11 was a two-lap class, and Eric Solorzano, who’s won here six times previously, was the winner again this year. He said he took one hit from a faster class car, but it didn’t do any damage.

Sportsman Buggy Winners - Beccy and Robyn Gordon, Heather Bonnani, and Kate Sutton #1402

The Sportsman Buggy class was also a two-lap group, and the winning team was Beccy and Robyn Gordon (sisters to Robby Gordon), Heather Bonnani and Kate Sutton. Their air-cooled Lothringer ran fine, and except for a couple of flats, they had a good trip. They were the only finishers in the class.

In the afternoon event (which started at 1 p.m., before all the earlier starters were finished), most of the entries would do four laps. That was just because between Class 1 and the Trophy Trucks there were 60 entries, while Classes 8, Protruck, 7, Stock Full and Sportsman Truck combined added only another 23 or so, for a total of 83 vehicles on the 74 mile course.

Trophy Truck and Overall Winner - Bob Shepard

The racing was terrific. In the Trophy Trucks B. J. Baldwin, Chevy, had a two minute lead on the first lap, but Carl Renezeder moved to the front on lap two, in another Chevy. Then Bob Shepard, Chevy also, took over on the third lap, and put four minutes on Renezeder. He stayed in front and took the win with that four minute cushion. He said it got “easier – the course seemed to smooth out.”

Class 1 Winners - Troy and Tim Herbst #122

In Class 1, the first lap leader was Pat Dean in his Bunderson Chevy, but the next four cars in line were all within a minute and 20 seconds of him. He held on through lap two, but it was still tight. Then Dean developed transmission problems, and the Ford powered Truggy, driven by Tim Herbst (Troy’s Achilles tendon isn’t yet healed) moved to the front. At the end, even with a driver change so Troy could drive the final brief section that kept him in the points hunt, the Truggy took the win by two minutes and four seconds. Gary Weyhrich was second in his Jimco Chevy, regretting that he’d decided to drive the entire distance himself.

The Class 8 win went to Larry and Nick Vanderwey, in a GMC Sierra. They had one flat, but caught back up and finished the day with a 14 minute cushion.

ProTruck Winners Gustavo Vildosola and Bryan Freeman #204

The Protruck win went to Gustavo Vildosola, JR. and Bryan Freeman, in a Toyota. They had to replace a driveshaft on the first lap, and played catch up for a while after that, but managed to finish with ten minutes to spare.

Class 7 was won by David Binns and Jared Teague, in a Ford. They had no serious trouble and no flat tires and won by an hour. They had to do only three laps.

In the two-lap group, the Stock Full class went to Mark Handley, in a Ford F-150. Handley took the win by an hour, his truck having no problems at all.

SPT Truck Winners Steve Looney and Mike Ballard #1501

The final class in this group was the Sportsman Trucks, and Michael Ballard and Steven Looney, in a Ford Ranger had to deal with only a broken fan belt along the way. They said the ruts were so deep that their truck kept throwing up rocks, and that worried them some, but nothing else went wrong. They were the only finishers in their class.

This is the race that helps determine who will go racing in Baja. If a team did well here, and sits high up in the season points race, they’ll be sending in their entry for the Ensenada to La Paz race. But if they didn’t finish too well, and dropped down in the points hunt, they’ll probably stay home from the epic race.

Class 7 Winners David Binns and Jared Teague #719

The Primm race lived up to its reputation. It was challenging for both drivers and cars, and created the ideal conditions for some really close competition. In most classes it was impossible to call the winning car until it took the checkered flag.

SCORE goes to Baja next – for the Ensenada to La Paz version of the 1000 – a dramatic finish to an already dramatic and exciting season of racing.

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