Ragland out to continue streak in grueling Baja 1000 off-road race

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1998 | 11 a.m.

As a four-time winner of the Baja 1000, Larry Ragland knows exactly what it takes to win one of the most grueling endurance races in North America.

"Luck," Ragland said.

OK, what else?

"Just luck," he insisted. "You can make all the preparations in the world but you're so vulnerable to so many different variables that you have no control over.

"I've won three of these (in a row) and one of them I won outright but the other two I got lucky because the competition got unlucky."

Ragland, who will start his 20th Baja 1000 Thursday as a three-time defending champion in his class, will be driving a Chevrolet C1500 Trophy Truck for owner Dale White of Las Vegas-based White Lightning Racing. Ragland also won the Class 8 title in 1991.

White, who won the Baja 1000 in 1995 and 1996 in Class 8, will team with driver Brian Collins in another Chevy truck for the 16-hour, 1,026-mile test of man and machine.

"Just finishing three Baja 1000s is impressive, let alone winning three in a row," White said of Ragland's win streak on the Baja California peninsula.

"Literally, months and months of planning go into this event. Our crew consists of over 120 people, numerous chase vehicles, three planes and a helicopter."

The 31st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the final stop of the 1998 Laughlin SCORE Desert Series, will begin in the wine-making village of Santo Tomas in the northwestern part of the Baja peninsula and finish 1,062.5 miles later in the city of La Paz.

While the Baja 1000 can be a tortuous experience for both driver and vehicle, Ragland said it is one of the greatest experiences in racing.

"It's a great adventure, that's really what the Baja 1000 is," Ragland said. "Luckily, it only happens once a year. If it happened much more often than that, you wouldn't want to do it.

"When you're doing it, you always say, 'This is the last time I'm ever doing this.' Then a month later, once it's over, you start thinking, 'Well, that wasn't too bad, I can do that one more time' and then you start looking forward to it all over again.

"The thing about the Baja 1000 is the race is always more fun when it's over."

White and Collins are only two of the local drivers entered in the Baja 1000. Other Southern Nevada residents competing include Ed and Tim Herbst in the Trophy Truck division; Troy Herbst and Rob MacCachren in Class 1; Bekki Freeman, Rudy Cortez and Dan Bradley in Class 1-2/1600; Tony McCormack in Class 8; and Bill Munchen in Class 50 motorcycles.

Troy Herbst can defend his Class 1 championship and capture his first overall SCORE points title with a strong finish this week. Henderson's Freeman, who is tied for the point lead in Class 1-2/1600, is attempting to become the first female to win a SCORE class championship.

The fastest vehicles are expected to complete the rugged desert course in approximately 16 hours. All vehicles will have 44 hours to become official finishers.

Highlights of the race will air on Speedvision on Friday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m.