Joe Bacal and the newly formed JTGrey Racing team made their Baja debut this past weekend on June 6 with their race-prepped Lexus LX 570. Bacal is no stranger to the off-road scene, combining 17 years of driving and technical skills with his successful completion of the Rubicon Trail and previous experience in the Baja 1000. Bacal competed in 2007 Baja 1000 with a Toyota Tacoma as part of the Long Beach Racers team, but his time around, he will be racing in his own vehicle with the support of his own team.
Bacal’s path to the 2009 Baja 500 is one of inspiration and hope. Prior to his team’s formation and the preparation of his Lexus SUV for competition, Bacal endured a lengthy personal ordeal with Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer. With treatment and support from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Bacal was able to beat his cancer. During the treatment process, Bacal became more focused on achieving his life goals sooner rather than later, and once his cancer experience was behind him, Bacal became dedicated to getting his dream of racing off the ground. With the sponsorship of the CTCA, Bacal formed his JTGrey Racing team and assembled an experienced team of successful off-road racers to support his efforts. Following his bout with Hodgkin’s, Bacal has been able to see his dream of racing in his own vehicle come to fruition when the flag dropped at 6 a.m. PDT on Saturday. Bacal has been inspired by renowned off-road racer and mentor Ivan Stewart to compete in all his races as a solo driver.
The CTCA Lexus LX 570 competed in the Stock Full/4100 class and is the first Lexus SUV to competitively race off-road. Unofficially, Bacal and the CTCA Lexus LX 570 finished 1st in its class, with the other two competitors in the Stock Full class not registering completions. The preliminary results indicate the CTCA Lexus finished the race in 16 hours and 22 minutes with an average speed of 26.41 mph. Final results for the 2009 Baja 500 will be released soon, and will become final and official after the tracking data from all finishers has been completely reviewed.
In addition to the Baja 500, the JTGrey Racing team is planning on competing in the following races for 2009:
Vegas to Reno 1000: Best in the Desert series, August 19-23
Bilek Silver State: Best in the Desert series, September 25-27
Henderson Fabtech: Best in the Desert series, December 4-6