BJ Baldwin Takes The Overall Victory At BITD Silver State 300

Simon | May 12, 2012

Las Vegas, NV – BJ Baldwin was out to prove something at the Silver State 300 and he did just that. He had the daunting task of starting third behind Robby Gordon and Rob MacCachren, two of the fastest off road racers in the world. The Silver State course has great natural beauty and some features like train trestle bridges, high speed roads, cliffs, and a few water crossings that make it unique. The course is narrow, mostly flat and very dusty. The challenge is to run flat out with limited visibility all day long. The Trophy Trucks would reach speeds of up to 140mph and with plenty of dangers hiding in the dust that can end your day, it takes great skill and quite frankly, a huge amount of bravery to get around fast. Robby Gordon starting out front in clean air would have a huge advantage.

BJ had Gordon in his sights before the race even started. The two had developed a friendly rivalry this season due to Gordon’s back to back wins the last two races but Robby took it a little too far. It all started with a photograph from Parker of Robby Gordon on BJ’s bumper. BJ was suffering from an electrical glitch that left him down on power. Gordon was right on BJ’s bumper and that image was blasted across cyberspace. Robby vowed to make posters of the shot and pass them out in Mexico at the 500; that got under BJ’s skin. Usually a mad driver is a bad driver but BJ Baldwin was not compromised just highly motivated. He channeled his anger into positive determination to beat Robby.

BJ always feels confident when he can run his Monster Energy, Toyo Tires, Trophy Truck at speed. He has spent the time to dial in his King shocks and feels the truck is set up better now than ever before. BJ was anxious to let it eat the 300 miles of treacherous terrain. At mile 90 he had an eye opener when he clipped a tree right next to the course but all it did was break the fiberglass bedside. He kept the pressure up on the two leaders and passed Rob MacCachren in the pits in Caliente. MacCachren then re-passed when BJ stopped due to a mystery flat tire; “I could have easily clipped a boulder when trying to pass Robby Gordon in his dust.” Limited visibility would strike again when BJ blew a corner not far from the finish and went into a barb wire fence. The barbs where no match for the Toyo tires so BJ got back on course wasting no time in his pursuit of the two out front. BJ’s brazen driving and relentless determination paid off at the finish where he bested the two Robs and everyone else, taking the Trophy Truck class win and overall race victory by 14 seconds!

The vindication is sweet but BJ now heads for Baja Mexico to race the brutal Baja 500. He has done well in the past there taking the victory in a hard fought battle in 2008 and landing on the podium 4 years in a row. BJ and Robby start far apart in the race so it’s unlikely the two will tangle out on the course but something tells me the rivalry is still strong so we can expect some great racing all season.

Photography By: Cody Boor

About “Ballistic” BJ Baldwin
BJ Baldwin is a veteran off road racer that has competed in all different types of off road racing. He holds 4 Championships in the last 6 years with several race wins including the Baja 500 and a Dakar rally class win. With 15 years experience and having competed in over 100 desert races BJ and his team are taking off road racing to the next level.

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