Wasted Trails magazine March 2014 vol 10 | Page 14

Bill Baird

Starting from the 9th position, Loren and co-Driver, Casey Trujillo,
they ran a steady race, passing other Drivers and by the 3rd lap, the
lead was theirs. Later Loren was telling the Tale of being half way
thru the 3rd and final lap when all of a sudden, the jack worked loose
and punctured the radiator. He said “ Everything just kind of fell
apart from there. I thought we were done.”

Randy Slawson

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W T4x4

March 2014

At remote Pit 2, his crew was there and
they mended the rig and quickly got it
back on the Course. One problem fixed and
another pops up, the tranny was reduced
to a 3 speed and traversing the terrain required them to winch in areas that normally they could just drive thru.
30 miles from the finish line they lost a
u-joint, limping across the Finish line at
4:05pm.
Tony Pellegrino and co-driver Bryan Lyttle, took second place with a steady pace
on the Course and was able to complete it
in eight hours and 15 minutes.
Bill Baird, 64, the oldest competitor in the
Race, Piloting a single-seater car, taking
home third place Honors. Bill is no stranger
to Racing with a background in Sprint Cup
Racing and a inductee of the Talladega Hall
of Fame since 1999.
Overcoming 3 flat tires and winching
alone, over the rocks, the 64 year old is a
Drivers’ favorite in this Sport.
Having failed to complete this Race on
two previous tries, he not only completed
this one, but, made the podium. Bill is the
only single Driver that placed in the top 5.
Bill was quoted saying “Just because
you’re getting older, doesn’t mean you
can’t do things.”