DIRTY HABITS #74 - TROPHY TRUCK
TROPHY TRUCK #74
On the 22nd of May 2008, a YouTube video was released to show the build of a “new” concept Trophy Truck, built for NASCAR driver Brian Ickler.
Using the base of the controversial JIMCO Dominator designed by Mike Julson, Tom Bryant set out to use this gargantuan Class 1 to fabricate a different and functional Trophy Truck. Most of the Trophy Trucks at that time all followed the same basics, yet Tommy decided that simplicity, effectiveness and great handling would often benefit a driver more than simply more horsepower or suspension.
A 16 car on steroids!” “Not reinventing the wheel, without quite the travel but with good handling of a race car.”
Saying that it is a 16 car on steroids, somehow falls short of the reality of this car. For a class 1, it is big! It is heavy! Really Big! Nowhere near the nimble, much, much lighter Class 1s often seen, sporting an amazing power to weight ratio and center of gravity. Currently sporting 39” wheels, it sits wide and solid, and the Trophy Truck body doesn’t look alien on it at all. However, nobody seems to have told the car that it is big! Similar to a 150lbs Rottweiler that still thinks that it is a puppy and wants to crawl into your lap, this car attacks technical terrain and tight twisty trails as though it was half its size.
The two “Trophy Truck Build” videos show the car being tested, and plans were for legendary Kash Vessels to race it with Ickler in some local races with the ultimate plans to attack the SCORE Baja 1000.
As often happens, plans change and a series of events seems to have put the car on a back burner and taken away from its racing plans. It was then purchased by Vildosola Motorsports who also seemed to have kept it on a back burner and seems to have used the car more as a “spare” truck and a prerunner and we believe that it wasn’t ever seriously raced.
TROPHY TRUCK #74
After the 2021 SCORE Baja 1000, where Tavo used the truck to pre-run the Peninsula race, No Limits Baja had the opportunity to purchase the JIMCO as it had finished the Prerun, cactus needles, dust and all. A deal was struck to purchase and prepare the car for James Sejd of DIRTY HABITS Motorsports, who has significant motorsports and extensive racing experience, but had yet to officially race in the world of Off-Road racing. Providing a comfortable and solid platform, as well as the team already being well convinced of the efficiency and drivability of the JIMCO Dominator, as No Limits Baja already has been successful making Harrah’s SPEED Technology Class 1 a Baja Championship winning car in Southern Baja with its V10 Viper motor with drivers Sandy Hall (owner) and Andrea Tomba, it seemed like a good fit.
The Ickler truck was received pretty much as it can be seen in the video, with mainly the same parts that were installed in 2008. The 431ci Patton small block chevy propels the car to 120MPH, which is no match for the modern 1000HP beast in many of today’s TTs, and the 4 speed Mendeola HD4 Sequential, although built like a vault, doesn’t have the grunt or drivability of a modern 6 speed Albins or Fortin transmission. Well, after all is a 15-year-old car. However, as you look through it, Bryant’s ideas and goals keep shining through. “Everything is built with ease for working on during a race” says Tommy. And it is! Although as the current owner starts to work though the car, older parts will slowly be replaced with modern components, however the geometry, comfort and design of the car, in our opinion, is timeless!
... the car was introduced to a short local race in La Paz, the Coyote 300, held on the 18th of June in almost 40°C weather. The short 150 mile race from Todos Santos and finishing on the beach south of La Paz at El Tecolote (what better way to finish a race than to be able to jump out of the car and jump and cool down in the Sea of Cortez), was a test for both car and driver.
Affectionally inheriting the name of “PUMA” from Vildosola Motorsports, due to its originally sleek black body, local designer Tito Frias was hired to come up with a fitting design for the truck, which then local artist Alex “SURFO” made into a reality. With ordering parts etc. still being a nightmare due to backorders and delays, the No Limits Baja prep team did the best that they could to make the truck race worthy. Meanwhile, its driver James used the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally as a means of getting some off road racing miles under his belt, clocking almost 1,500 miles by himself over 5 days in the No Limits Baja FORD BRONCO Pre-runner, without as much as getting a flat!
TROPHY TRUCK #74
The Trophy Truck 74’s virgin journey (as far as we know) finished on a sweltering beach amongst thousands of local off-road fans in 2nd place Trophy Truck, and the owner and Team No Limits couldn’t have been happier. “This truck handles like a dream” says James, gleaming at the finish line, excited to get this truck back out to race again.
Team No Limits together with Dirty Habits still have ways to go to replace and update PUMA parts as they become available, however we are eager to see how it develops, however, best of all, is how much fun this truck is to drive!
We look forward to many more races and hopefully, with some TLC, this car will pay its creators the honor that she deserves and face the big dogs in the SCORE Baja 1000. Can she hold her own against the modern beast? Maybe…or, maybe not! But there is no denying that just thinking of taking that truck down a Peninsula run is bringing a smile on my face!
