Baca Motorsports -
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Last Visited: 11/22/2006
Baca and his Baca Motorsports team had to wait out a steady rain that delayed the start of the race for four hours and then again for two hours before it could be completed at 10 p.m.
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"I didn't see or hear him until the engine went bang at about 800 feet," said Baca of his run against Kalitta.
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"We'll definitely need more parts before our race at Columbus (Ohio, Friday through Sunday)," added Baca, of Brentwood, Calif.
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doused Bristol Dragway and David Baca made only one run.
He grabbed the 16th starting position for Sunday's O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals with a traction-troubled 10.802-second effort between rain showers on a soggy Saturday.
The sun came out and made for good racing on Sunday, but Baca couldn't shake first-round foe Brandon Bernstein or his dragster's persistent lack of traction early in the run.
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"Losing three qualifying runs surely didn't help our situation," added David.
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BRISTOL, Tenn., April 30, 2005 -- "We're in," David Baca said matter-of-factly while rain drops fell on Bristol Dragway Saturday afternoon.
His Baca Motorsports Top Fuel dragster managed to hang onto the 16th and finals qualifying position for Sunday's O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals as rain forced NHRA officials to postpone three of the four scheduled qualifying attempts.
While traction trouble forced Baca to shut off early on his only appearance on the track, he coasted through in 10.902 seconds at 83.57 mph.That might not have been enough had the team been able to make one more attempt, but "we could've stepped up, too, if we'd had one more attempt," said Baca.
"Everyone knows you have to qualify if you're going to win the race," added Baca.
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Baca will square off against Brandon Bernstein, the No. 1 qualifier (4.539 seconds at 324.83 mph), in the opening round.
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of David and Dennis Baca's agenda as they scrutinize the tune-up of their Baca
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It's become more of an ongoing process and is taking much longer than David and his dad Dennis intended.
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"Our testing results after our last race (at Las Vegas) didn't go as well as we hoped," David said."This has been a challenging period for us.
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"We made some personnel changes after the race," added David.
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LAS VEGAS - After overcoming mechanical problems that occurred during Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions, David Baca and the Baca Motorsports team couldn't get past the first round of Sunday's Summitracing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Baca held an early lead in the quarter-mile run before the tires began to spin and smoke, something that has been an unwanted first-round companion.
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"That was very disappointing," said Baca.
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What driver David Baca, his father and co-tuner Dennis and the crew seem to be missing this season is a dose of good luck.
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"We'd certainly like to go home with a race win," said David Baca, of Brentwood, Calif. "That would be like hitting the jackpot.
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Baca has qualified at each 2005 event, but that's not what the team expects.
"We have high hopes going to Las Vegas," he said."We had high hopes last week, too, but we didn't do the job."
Baca's best run of 4.581 seconds put him 11th.He had another attempt that may have been a little quicker but the blower belt came off early, slowing the car to 4.707 seconds.
"That probably would've been a 4.55 or 4.56," said co-tuner Larry Meyer of the elapsed time that could've lifted Baca into the top eight qualifiers and guaranteed lane choice for the first round of eliminations.
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Baca, paired against Morgan Lucas, wasn't in contention long.
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If all car parts perform properly for the full 1320 feet this weekend, Baca should be able to divest himself of one primate.
"We have too many good parts and too many good people on this team," he said.
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In the staging lanes, Kevin helps David get suited up and straps him in to the race car.Once David is strapped in to the car, Kevin doesn't leave his side until the car is started.
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David and I had only one word: Wow.
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When David Baca discusses performance consistency of his Baca Motorsports dragster, he talks about clicking off elapsed times equal to the quickest qualifiers at NHRA POWERade Series races.
If the subject is his results after the first two 2005 events, then he has been consistent . . . but not to his or the team's liking.One can't get much more consistent than qualifying eighth in stops at Pomona, Calif., and Phoenix, and not advancing past opening round.
That kind of consistency will get you 66 points and 10th place, which is where you'll find Baca in the standings going into the Mac Tools Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
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"We're excited to be going to Florida," said David Baca.
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"We're on the cusp of running with the cars in front of us," Baca said.
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Baca Gets Early Jump on McClenathan, but Dropped Cylinder Prevents Win
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McClenathan drove past to take the win light in 4.558 seconds at 325.85 mph while Baca wasn't far behind with his 4.646 at 314.75.
"We improved our bottom-end numbers but that might've got us into trouble today," added Baca, who exited in the opening round at Pomona, Calif., two weeks ago when the car was slowed by traction problems."We will be staying here and testing Monday.We need to get this combination figured out.We'll get them next time."
Baca, who is tied for 11th in NHRA POWERade standings with 66 points, returns to competition at the Gatornationals, March 18-20 at Gainesville, Fla.
Phoenix Qualifying Results
CHANDLER, Ariz., Feb. 26, 2005 - Warmer weather Saturday made Firebird Raceway's quarter-mile asphalt hotter and slipperier, but David Baca didn't seem to mind.He drove the Baca Motorsports Top Fuel dragster to two consistent runs and will start eighth in Sunday's Checker Schuck's and Kragen Nationals eliminations.
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Baca also qualified eighth at the Winternationals, two weeks ago at Pomona, Calif.
Baca's best effort in two days of qualifying (4.553 seconds at 326.32 mph) came, ironically, on Friday's first effort.
"We came out pretty good," Baca said."We were one of the first cars to get down the track Friday, and the same was true today.We kind of went a little too far in the tune-up last night, trying to run a real low number."
His dragster lost traction and he shut off early on that run and he coasted through in 11.106 seconds at 78.99 mph.
"We needed to go from point A to B today," Baca added.
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David Baca's Baca Motorsports Dragster Will Start Eighth at Winternationals
POMONA, Calif., Feb. 12, 2005 - Mechanical gremlins struck David Baca Saturday during each of his two qualifying runs for Sunday's 45th annual CarQuest Winternationals at Pomona Raceway.
After a steady rain washed out Friday's scheduled qualifying run, Baca and the Baca Motorsports team were ready Saturday.He was third going into the opening session, thanks to his 4.502-second, 329.42-mph effort.
But a broken blower belt prematurely ended Saturday's first pass."It was a good run until then," said Baca."We pitched the belt at 4.2 seconds and we think it could've run a 4.48.
"We had a clutch malfunction on the last run," he continued.
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Baca and Baca Father-Son Top Fuel Team Ready to Build Winning Tradition45th Annual Winternationals Launches 2005 NHRA Season at Pomona, Calif.
POMONA, Calif., Feb. 8, 2005 - Will the combination of Baca and Baca unlock the door to the 2005 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel Series championship?
That's a question to be answered as the 23-race schedule unfolds over the next eight-plus months, but it's the dream scenario of Dennis and David Baca and the Baca Motorsports team.
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David Baca will be at the controls of the Murf McKinney-built dragster when the clan gathers for the 45th annual CarQuest Auto Parts Winternationals, Feb. 10-13, at Pomona Raceway while Dennis, his father and former Top Fuel driver, and Larry Meyer will be team tuners.
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Dennis, a two-time Top Fuel winner (1977 U.S. Nationals and World Finals), returned to the competitive side late last season and impressed David with his tuning acumen.
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"Having my father with us for the full season will definitely make things better this year," said David.
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Schumacher stopped Baca in the quarterfinals of last year's Winternationals.
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David Baca, runner-up for 2003 rookie of the year honors, finished seventh that year.He qualified at all 23 races and was runner-up at Sonoma, Calif., his hometown
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