Joe Bacal Brings First Professional Off-Road Race Victory to Lexus And & JTGrey Racing @ Baja 500
Cancer Survivor Drives Race Distance Solo to Win in
First Attempt
ENSENADA, Mexico, June 8, 2009 In a remarkable first for driver, team, vehicle and manufacturer, Joe
Bacal and navigator Paul Williamsen took their freshly-built Cancer Treatment
Centers of America JTGrey Racing Lexus LX 570 to a landmark maiden victory in
the 41st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 early Sunday. Their win
in the Stock Full class* marks a world’s first for Lexus and the
culmination of a dream for Bacal and his new team.
This is truly a dream come
true, said Bacal. The LX 570 was bulletproof and we went
the entire distance without a tire change. I was tired at the end but not
exhausted, which is something that two years ago was hard to imagine after my
cancer ordeal.
Assisted by first-time navigator
Williamsen and a new but well-organized team, Baja 500 rookie Bacal drove all
16 hours of his race without leaving the vehicle and with only brief stops for
fuel and nourishment along the way. They moved the big LX into the class
lead a little before the halfway point and were never headed again.
Joe has a great ability to
read the course and managed to steer clear of most of the bigger obstacles that
this kind of trail constantly throws at you, said Williamsen. But you can’t dodge them all, so Joe’s stamina and the
durability of the Lexus and the BFGoodrich tires were big factors.
Remarkably, the LX 570 had been
completed just days before the race and was tested only briefly in Arizona
before shipping to Ensenada for the race. But the big SUV responded well
and the team’s considerable efforts rewarded.
The dusty, rocky and alternately
fast-slow Baja 500 course took its toll on many competitors. It crossed
mountains, dry lake beds and even ran alongside the Pacific Ocean for several
miles. It did manage to take a small bite out of the LX when an anti-roll
bar link failed, but Bacal simply adjusted his driving to accommodate the
degradation in handling and soldiered on. It proved to be a smart
strategy.
Bacal and the JTGrey team look forward
to their next race in late summer when they challenge the Vegas to Reno 1000 in
the Best of the Desert series on August 19-23.
*Please Note: SCORE International
has indicated that all results are provisional until final posting on Thursday
of this week.
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About JTGrey:
JTGrey Performance Driving, LLC was created in 2007
by Joe and Teresa Bacal to provide expert high-performance driving services (on
and off-road) to the auto industry and related companies such as parts
suppliers, print advertising and marketing agencies and the commercial and
feature film industries, among others. The company is based in
Phoenix, Arizona.
JTGrey
Racing was created by Joe and Teresa Bacal in 2008 to support Joe
Bacal’s off-road racing efforts. It is also based in Phoenix.
Credit: BN Communications
Copy by: Flipside909
