BAJA 2000 RACE FIRES UP ROOKIE TEAM.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

A team of five Los Angeles firefighters will be turning in their fire coats and fire hoses for racing suits and air compressors this weekend in the SCORE Baja 2000.

The Baja 2000, the final race in the Duralast Score Desert Series, is the longest off-road race in North American history and will cover an estimated 1,679 miles over two days through the Mexican peninsula.

Battalion Chief Roy Prince, a 30-year veteran of the fire department from Agoura Hills, has formed a team of firefighters to race for FireForce Racing in the Class 1 Unlimited division.

``It will be kind of like going to a three-day brush fire,'' said Prince, who was able to land Kumho Tires and General Petroleum as sponsors for the race. ``I am positive we are going to finish this thing. And if we finish, we'll do pretty good.''

Joining Prince on the team will be Bruce Galien, Bob Motheral, Mike Reitmayer and Doug Weber. They will basically be driving a $19,000 dune buggy with a $12,000 Porsche engine. Other drivers in this class spend around $150,000 for their cars.

``We're really a little guy in this class,'' said Prince, who has experience racing Class 9 vehicles in the Baja 500. ``We got fortunate with sponsors, especially with tires.''

The rest of the team has no car desert-racing experience, although they all are proficient off-road motorcycle racers. In fact, there was talk of forming a motorcycle team for the Baja 2000. But Prince was able to change their minds.

``It will be a little bit easier in the car,'' said Reitmayer, an engineer and fire truck driver from Oceanside. ``Racing a motorcycle would have taken more guys than we had.''

--Possible fourth championship: George Seeley Jr. of Glendale is in no hurry to finish the Baja 2000. The points leader in the Class 5 division on the SCORE Desert Series holds a 19-point edge in the championship race and knows that finishing is more important than winning the historic off-road race.

``All we have to do is finish to win the championship,'' Seeley said. ``We are planning on taking a slow pace. We have two drivers and we are going to change every 500 miles. And if we can finish a long race like this, we're probably going to win it.''

Seeley will be seeking his fourth Class 5 championship. Bruce Anderson of Riverside will be Seeley's co-driver, with Scott Morris of Indiana filling in as navigator and co-rider.

Even if Seeley wins his fourth championship in 18 years of off-road racing, he said he has no plans of ending his career or moving up.

``I'd like to stay in Class 5,'' Seeley said. ``I'm familiar with it and I'm not tired of it. It's still fun.''

--Shot at title: Ty Godde of Lancaster is in a dead heat with Jerry Penhall of Costa Mesa in the SCORE Lites division. They both have 195 points with the Baja 2000 standing between them and the potential $45,000 in prize money that would go to the winner of the race and the championship.

``I'll be glad when it's over,'' Godde said. ``Then I hope they never do this again.''

Godde, like Seeley, is planning on racing at a slow pace. But he may have to take more chances if Penhall starts to break away.

``We want to run a pre-run pace. About 75 percent,'' Godde said, ``and try not to miss any turns. Once you blow a turn, you start making mistakes.''

Godde will be joined by Jim Greenway of Ojai to complete the two-day event.

--Other Baja 2000 news and notes: The race from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico, will have an 80-hour time limit. Most drivers will take between 30 and 40 hours to complete the course, according to some of the entrants. The overall race winner, which should come out of the Trophy Truck division, will probably finish the course in 32 hours. The race starts at 6 a.m. on Sunday. Motorcycles and ATVs will get a jump on the four-wheel-drive entrants, leaving the starting gate first. The four-wheel-drive entrants will start at 9 a.m. The entire race will be broadcast on Speedvision on Dec. 15 from 7 to 11 p.m. and Dec. 16 at 11 a.m.

--Crafton wins: Despite a broken differential and a DNF, Matt Crafton of Tulare was able to score enough points to win the 2000 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series championship.

Crafton, the pole winner for the Albertson/Osco 125 at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 4, led for the first 75 laps before he had to pull out of the race with mechanical problems. Garrett Evans, the NASCAR Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series champ, took over the lead and won the shortened, 100-lap season finale.

The race was cut short because of darkness.

Greg Pursley of Canyon Country finished second. Sean Woodside of Saugus was 14th; Bob Lyon of Agua Dulce was 21st; M.K. Kanke of Frazier Park was 25th, and Frank Maronski Jr. of Quartz Hill was 35th.