Why The MDR Wild Wash 250 Off Road Desert Race Matters

Fabtech's Barry Karakas is used to being in front of Class 7 but had a tough day at Wild Wash. "We had fuel pressure issues all day. We had to stop several times and reprime the fuel system. On lap four, we had to stop six times. When we pulled into the pit, we tore apart the whole fuel system and reassembled it to try to fix the problem. We later found pieces of the fuel cell in the fuel filter, so I've since built a new fuel cell to replace the old one." As for the course, Barry tells us, "It's really rough and rocky. That's the rockiest course I've run since the days of the Barstow Fireworks 250. I didn't have any tire trouble during the race, but by the end of the race, the tires were junked. The rocks were like little knife blades sticking out of the ground, and my tires had knobs with chunks ripped out of them." Just the same, "I liked the course, and I wish I could've had a clean run." Barry traded the lead with Shawn St. George several times. "Every time I had to stop, he would pass me, and when I got going again, I'd pass him back. If anybody beat me, I'm glad it was Shawn, because he's been working hard just to get a finish, so for him to not only finish but to beat three other trucks is cool. I'd like to have a clean run and dice it out with him, because I know that his truck is capable of being a fast truck."

Yucaipa, California's Dustyn and Brian Loppnow are part of the highly visible Giant squad. "Giant is a great group of people both to hang out and to race with," Dustyn tells OFF-ROAD. The father-and-son team's Wild Wash run was clean and fast enough to take First Place in the hotly contested 1450/Sportsman Prerunner class. Gaining speed and familiarity with the course as the race went on, each of Dustyn's lap times was about 5 minutes faster than the previous one. The early-'90s Ranger is propelled by a swapped-in, 351 small-block Ford V-8 backed up by the Blue Oval's durable C6 tranny. Like many MDR competitors, the drivetrain swapping and 'cage building took place in the family's garage. Last season, the team ran a rear-mounted radiator that plagued the truck with overheating problems. Air pockets would form and render the cooling system ineffective. After struggling with overheating issues for a season, they went back to a tried-and-true front-mounted radiator, and the overheating troubles vanished. "The only way to win a race against 20 or more other trucks is to run 85 to 90 percent with no problems," Loppnow reports. After struggling with a string of DNFs, the team won the first race it finished and smiled for weeks afterward. Way to go. The Loppnows have been regulars at Stoddard Wells, both to play and to compete, making the trip to Barstow two to three times a month for the past 22 years.

We're primarily a truck magazine, so it's no surprise when we cheer for the trucks, but there are times when we have to step back and be impressed with a buggy's performance and speed. The Wild Wash 250 is one of those times. Kash Vessels showed up on the starting line in an Alpha Cars Class 1 buggy and proceeded to blister the rest of the field to take the Overall and Class 1 wins. The round-roof car is filled with some of today's most advanced speed weaponry, including the latest of Chevy's LS powerplants and a Fortin five-speed sequential transaxle featuring a torque convertor in place of a clutch. BFG tires link the terrain to the King-shocked car. When not concentrating on four-wheeled speed, Kash concentrates on four-hoofed speed via the family business, Vessels Stallion Farms.

While every desert course we've ever seen has several noteworthy, nasty, gnarly obstacles, there are always one or two favorites that lend themselves readily to photos. Mike Ingalsbee found a primo photo op and snapped Mike Salter, Craig Reynolds, Jesse Ware, Lee Orr, and Mike Belcher as they bounced past. Since air time is usually inversely proportional to ground speed, these guys chose to fly low. Fabtech's Shawn Giordano had something different in mind...

Shawn Giordano had flown low and fast during previous laps, but this time around he suffered photography damage. Shawn knew Mike and camera were waiting at this spot, so he laid heavily into the throttle. "Our radio wasn't working, so we didn't know we were running in First," Shawn told us later. "Otherwise, we would've taken it easy over this jump to win the race." Re-entry and touchdown nixed some driveshaft parts and cost Shawn some time for repairs, but he still finished Fifth in the 1450 class. Look for a full feature on this truck in an upcoming issue of Off-Road. For his trouble, we hereby give Mr. Giordano maximum style points. Way to fly, sir.