The Red Bastard
How ’bout these? I built the “Red Bastard” in 1990. One of One. Chrysler reps came to look at it in my garage in ’90 while I was building it. It was a regular cab, long bed that was rolled in September ’89—25 miles from my home. It had a January ’89 build date. One of the first Cummins built. My youngest son owns it now and won’t sell it back to me!
The 1948 Power Wagon was driven onto the trailer when I picked it up in ’02. It had been on this ranch since 1968—the last year it was ever plated. The rancher’s father drove it from Grand Lake, Colorado that year. Top speed 45 mph! It’s been in storage ever since.
Luke Stabnow
Via email
From the Desert Assassins’ Crew
2011 was a rough year for the Desert Assassins (DA). I, for one, am glad to see it slip into history. What we expected to be “The Year of the DA” turned into a year of tragedy for us. The loss of Jeff “Ox” Kargola on The Rip to the Tip in Baja Mexico (April 2011) impacted all of us in ways that we are still struggling to come to terms with. The effort to move forward after his death with anything Baja is a daily battle.
Cameron Steele, who is the ring leader of the DA, was crushed by the loss of Ox. He’d just ordered a brand new Geiser Brothers Trophy Truck. The Desert Assassins were to become a two Trophy Truck team with the 2011 SCORE Baja 500 (June 2011) being the debut race for the second Trophy Truck. The debut didn’t happen until November 2011.
I can tell you that being anywhere near Baja was the last place I wanted to be for a while. I know the rest of the DA pretty much felt the same. Yet we had to fight forward. Finding the strength wasn’t easy for any of us. With heavy hearts and low spirits we fought on. The Baja 1000 was our final test. We fought hard and we pushed ourselves well beyond our breaking points. We didn’t win the Trophy Truck class, but we did bring both trucks to the finish line. The day wasn’t without a victory though; Cameron’s wife, Heidi, won the Class 6 championship.
We finished out the 2011 SCORE racing season as a team, a family, and as brothers in arms. I think in 2011 the DA was forced to grow up. I know I was. My hope is that 2011 will be remembered as a turning point for us.
Ken Neal
Mesa, Arizona