Baja 1000: Mongo Racing preview

Mongo Racing Prepares for the Baja 1000 with an all new Ford F-150

Randy Merritt and Mongo Racing are preparing to conquer the Mexican peninsula known as Baja Mexico. Their all-new 2011 Ford F-150 is similar to the Ford F-150 you can get at our local Ford Dealer with only a few modifications for racing.........and yet there is still more to this impressive story.

Randy Merritt and Mongo Racing will be debuting the all new Ford EcoBoost 3.5L V-6 direct injection twin turbo engine at this year's 2011 SCORE International Baja 1000 scheduled for November 17-20, 2011.

Randy Merritt and Mongo Racing stepped up their racing program in 2004. The mutually beneficial two-way technical engineering feedback program provides Mongo Racing, and Ford, streamlined communications. Mongo gets engineering information; Ford gets feedback from real-world extreme usage. Race wins, and Championship performances are bonuses!

Mongo Racing's successes include winning numerous races, leading to their 2006 Best In The Desert Class 8100, Full-Stock, Championship.

Randy Merritt and Mongo Racing was one of Ford's first choices to introduce the new EcoBoost 3.5L V-6 direct injection twin turbo engine to the desert environment. Randy said, "This new truck was built for this new EcoBoost 3.5L V-6 engine. The truck itself is as close to stock as possible for desert racing. Tracy Rubio at TNC Machine put in the safety cage and mounted the new massive Sway-A-Way shocks at all four corners. The truck was transferred to Mongo Racing's shop and we have been working feverishly for the past 6 weeks getting this truck into race trim." "This truck has technology that is all new. Completing the truck in time is challenging in itself. This new truck's suspension is close enough to our current race truck that we did save time there, but everything else is new," added Randy.

"The new Ford F-150 EcoBoost 3.5L V-6 is stock right off the assembly line" said Randy. The stock EcoBoost 3.5L V-6 engine is mated to a stock 6R80E Ford transmission into a stock Ford rear axle with components from Yukon. UMP supplied Randy with custom air intake and aluminum tubes to help this Ford F-150 conquer the Baja 1000.

The Ford F-150 is painted Silver and shows off the new Ford EcoBoost logo on the truck for the SCORE Baja 1000. Randy said, "We don't really know what to expect yet, but I'm really impressed with this trucks handling and performance. We have more testing scheduled before we leave for Mexico on November 15, 2011. On race-day, we'll be ready to GO!"

The Mongo Racing Ford F-150 will be out fitted with new 37x12.50x17 General Grabber Tires mounted on Trail Ready Beadlock Wheels and stopping this new truck will be up to the Brake pads and Rotors from EBC Brakes. There are ten 8 inch HID POD lights from KC Hilites mounted for night time driving and 2 Optima Batteries ensuring this new truck gets all the electrical power it needs to finish the Baja 1000. The interior is finished off with seats and safety equipment from Master Craft Safety Innovations and powder coating by ALLcoat.

Additional items helping insure the New Ford F-150 being raced by Randy Merritt crosses the finish line are lubricants by Royal Purple, Navigation by Lowrance. Helping save time during the build were products by Camburg Engineering Products and Tenneco.

For more information on Mongo Racing or the New Ford F-150 visit www.mongoracing.com or your local Ford Dealer.

-source: mongo racing