I've been racing ATVs for more than 25 years. I've raced and ridden just about every type of ATV and in every form of competition. Through the years, desert racing in Baja had become my passion. I started racing the Baja 1000 back in '95 and had been trying to win the race ever since. I've ridden on some great teams with some very talented riders, but we never seemed to get over the hump to take the win. I joked that my teams had led more miles in Baja than any other team without a win. I was really starting to feel like a perennial bridesmaid.
A few years back, Wayne Matlock asked me to ride on his factory Honda team. Our two teams had been battling it out the previous season, and we decided to join forces. I thank Wayne for the chance, because I think a lot of people thought I was "cursed" racing down there.
Our first few races together, I was really beginning to wonder if I was cursed. We'd be leading a race only to have something happen that cost us the win. It hit a low for me when I was racing the Baja 500 in '07. I was given the quad with a 10-minute-plus lead for my second leg in the race. We were about three-quarters of the way through the race, and all I needed was to ride smart and we would win our first Baja 500. About midway through my section, I somehow got mixed up on a line that I had prerun. I ended up going off a cliff and breaking my leg. It was a horrible feeling knowing that I had probably just thrown the race away. I think letting my team down was worse than my leg. I ended up resetting it [the broken leg] myself, getting back on and riding to the next pit. But the damage was done and we ended up second. In all my years racing down there, that was the first time I had crashed and it couldn't have been at a worse time.
For the '08 season, Wayne was taking some heat about having me on the team after the crash. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I ended up racing the 500 and 1000. At the 500, it was the first major race for the new 700XX. Honda really wanted us to win the race for its debut. Wayne and Marc Spaeth rode the first part of the race and had us in a tight battle for the lead. We were dicing it out with a fast Mexican team that was still on a 450. When the quad got to me, we were literally seconds apart and were in the pits at the same time. I was able to get out ahead and open a lead. I was riding the same section where I broke my leg the year before. As I rode by the spot where I had crashed, I thought to myself that this was it, I wasn't going to make a mistake this time and was determined to give it back to Wayne in the lead. In the end, I gave it to Wayne with a little over a two-minute lead. He brought it to the finish and we took the Baja 500 win by 29 seconds in adjusted time. I felt like I had finally broken the curse.
But the Baja 1000 was the race that had brought me down there in the first place, and that was what I really wanted to win. After our [Baja] 500 victory, I felt good about our chances. Again Wayne, Marc and Harold Goodman would ride the first three-quarters; I would get on for the night section. Generally, desert races are fairly well settled in after a few hundred miles. But as I waited at our pit, I heard we were running neck and neck with Danny Prather's team. As I readied for my ride it was Danny who came through first, and Wayne arrived about two minutes later. We'd started two minutes behind their team, so all I needed to do was stay in their dust and we would win on adjusted time. I tried to ride smart, but I pushed as hard as I could without riding over my head. I was able to slowly reel him in and came into our next visual pit 15 seconds down. They did a rider switch and Levi Marana got on. That put me right on his back tires. There was a new section with a couple of lines. Levi went to the left and I took the line to the right. I was able to get by and make the pass. I think it was the most exciting pass of my life because I knew that probably just secured the win and SCORE championship for our team. I kept pushing and handed it over with about a 41/2-minute lead. Our pits went crazy when I came in first. Wayne brought it in and we ended up winning by nine minutes.
The '08 season has definitely been the highlight of my racing career and one of the most gratifying and redeeming points in my life. Racing, and especially desert racing, is a team sport. I would like to thank my teammates, crew and sponsors for all of their help. And most importantly, Wayne, Marc and Harold for putting in tremendous rides.