SEMA // CASWELL & THE BAJA BIMMER - DAY FOUR

The last build day at the Miller booth has come and gone for Bill Caswell and his crew. The SEMA show is over, everyone has packed and the 100,000 sq/ft Las Vegas Convention Center now lay dormant for at least a few days. Everyone has parted ways for another year, but that doesn’t mean things have stopped for Bill Caswell. He’s now in San Diego for the next two weeks working hard to complete the rest of the build out of his Baja Bimmer. And with 14 full days ahead of Bill and his crew, they should have no trouble getting his Bimmer built and ready for final tech before the start of this year's SCORE Baja 1000... [read more]











Big thanks to Miller, a leading manufacturer of arc welding and cutting equipment for supplying Bill the welding tools needed to get the car ready for the 2010 Baja 1000.

Keep an eye out for future updates from Bill as he continues this build and epic racing adventure, It’s going be awesome!

Photo/Editorial: Curtis Creager

SEMA // CASWELL & THE BAJA BIMMER - DAY THREE

Day three of the Baja Bimmer build was another very productive day for Bill and his crew. The rear massive Bilstein shocks where installed and the car now stands as the tallest and longest E30 ever! If this car had a badge it might look like this: 325il

Day four is just around the corner and will be the final build day at SEMA before the car and crew head off to San Diego for some final assembly. On the docket for Friday will be wiring, building the front control arms, installing spindles and the front brakes. Once the car is finished Caswell and his crew will make their way to Baja for final tech inspection before the start of the 2010 SCORE Baja 1000 on November 17th... [read more]























Remember you can see the build progress live by going clicking here

Photo/Editorial: Curtis Creager

SEMA // CASWELL & THE BAJA BIMMER - DAY TWO

It's day two at the SEMA show in Las Vegas and our friend Bill Caswell and his crew have made steady progress on his Baja Bimmer. According to Bill, the transformation of this E30 is going pretty well considering the numerous press interviews and his ever increasing popularity. Yesterday concluded with finishing of the main roll cage, rear sub frame and rear suspension supports along with installing the massive trailing arms. In talking to Bill at the end of a very long day he’s pretty happy with how things are going so far and is looking forward to day three of the build... [read more]

Day three will be another busy day for the Bill and his crew assisting on the build out of the Baja car. Bill said we should have the rear Bilstein shocks installed along with the build out of the front double arm suspension from scratch, including the front light bar and brush guard, one thing’s for sure Bill’s making good use of the Miller’s welding tools.


















To see more of Caswell’s story, and to catch live reports and updates from the show, click here.

Photo/Editorial: Curtis Creager

SEMA // CREAGER INTERVIEWS CASWELL AHEAD OF BAJA 1000

ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, is at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this week and had the opportunity to sit down with DIY enthusiast turned internet sensation, Bill Caswell, as he prepares his E30 BMW for this year's SCORE Baja 1000. Caswell, who partnered with Miller Electric, will be performing all of the necessary welds on his Baja Bimmer from Miller booth #23913 in the Racing and Performance pavilion.

Follow the link for Creager's interview with Mr.Caswell... [read more]



CTD: How did you get the car that your building out for this epic adventure?

BC: The car was a junkyard car that was given to me for free. The car was just a shell and was rolled in here on dollies as you can see it has no suspension, no chassis to speak of.

CTD: What are the plans for the car during SEMA?

BC: In the four days at SEMA we’re going to install the cage, put on front and rear suspension, install the front brush guard and mount the light bar. The front suspension is going to be converted to double arm. In the rear where installing really long buggy arms that are going to be 80” wide hub-to-hub, I believe the cars wheelbase is around 107 inches which should make the car very interesting at high speed!



CTD: What engine will be powering the car?

BC: The engine is a bone stock US spec 1995 M3 3.0-liter engine. I’m using a stock M3 clutch by SACHS. In the rear we’re using a speedway quick change rear-end so I can run whatever gearing I chose. I figure we should be able to get the car up to 110 to 120mph, that’s all we’ll ever need on the straight sections.



CTD: What class will the E30 be running?

BC: The car will be entered the Sportsman class, which is the catchall. Unlike other sanctioning bodies SCORE and the BAJA 1000, has a philosophy that anyone can race whatever they want providing it meets the safety requirements. Which is why I can design and build out the car the way I want.





CTD: Do you plan on driving the entire race?

BC: We’re approaching it like the old east African safari rally. We have 48 hours to cover a thousand miles. Our goal is to iron man it, basically Cameron and I are planning on driving the entire race. Apparently this is something people do after running the BAJA for years, where going to try it straight out of the box!

Stay tuned for continued coverage of this year's SEMA show and additional images of Caswell's Baja Bimmer.

Photo/Editorial: Curtis Creager

NEWS // CASWELL TO BUILD BAJA BIMMER @ SEMA

DIY enthusiast turned WRC racer, Bill Caswell, will join the Miller Electric Mfg. Co. at this years SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada, to completely overhaul his E30 BMW, transforming it into a Baja vehicle. Caswell will complete the transformation from Miller booth #23913 in the Racing and Performance pavilion, performing all of the necessary welds in just four days to prepare his car for the upcoming SCORE Baja 1000, which will take place November 17–21... [read more]

“Bill’s passion for racing combined with his desire to create fits nicely with our vision of empowering auto enthusiasts through the Power of Blue,” said Tim Swanson, vice president of marketing for Miller Electric. “Rally and Baja racing requires a diverse skill set, from detailed fabrication and welding to high-speed driving. We’re looking forward to watching Bill build and race the Miller car.”

Formerly a finance banker from Chicago, Caswell left his job in 2009 to focus on rally racing. Caswell made a name for himself in March of this year by placing third in the Rally America class of Rally Mexico, an FIA-sanctioned event run concurrently with the World Rally Championship in Corona, Mexico.

Racing alongside professional cars valued at more than $400,000, Caswell (and co-driver Ben Slocum) competed in a 1991 BMW 318i that he bought off Craigslist for $500.

In November, Caswell will take his BMW to the Baja Peninsula to compete in the Sportsman class of SCORE Baja 1000.

“I grew up watching the Baja 1000 race, and actually running it has been a lifelong dream of mine,” said Caswell. “Welding is probably the most critical part of prepping the car for a Baja race, and I’m excited to finish the car and get underway.”

As part of the Baja 1000 BMW build, Caswell will fabricate the following components during the course of the SEMA trade show.

Day One: Main Roll Cage
Day Two: Front Cage and Suspension
Day Three: Rear Cage and Suspension
Day Four: Accessories including complete main cage structure, front brush guard, fuel cell, light bar, safety gear and exhaust.

To see more of Caswell’s story, and to catch live reports and updates from the show, click here.

Images and Info: Caswell Motorsport
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

BAJA 1000 // STARTING POSITIONS ANNOUNCED

Veteran desert racer Roger Norman has received the first starting position during Saturday’s computerized drawing for November’s 43rd Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race. While the 2008 race winner will pilot his No. 8 Norman Motorsports Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck (above), starting first among the motorcycle and ATV classes will be Gabriel Williams, of Provo, Utah, on a Honda CRF450X motorcycle. A total of 207 vehicles officially entered in time for Saturday’s computerized drawing held at SCORE International’s headquarters in Los Angeles, and with nearly 300 entries expected before the green flag drops, entries will be accepted up to race morning... [read more]

43rd Annual TECATE SCORE BAJA 1000:

SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (35)
8 Roger Norman
21 Gus Vildosola Jr.
97 B.J. Baldwin
31 Andy McMillin
84 Nick Vanderwey
71 Rick D. Johnson
9 Mark Weyhrich
23 Mark McMillin
59 Craig Potts
1 Robby Gordon
35 Jason Voss
74 Rob Bruce
2 Pete Sohren
47 James Bult
16 Cameron Steele
3 Mark Post
94 Steve Strobel
22 Damen Jefferies
13 Ed Stout
61 Josh Hall
24 Adam Householder
45 Gary Magness
49 Troy Herbst
88 Jerry Whelchel
19 Tim Herbst
54 Jesse James
7 Scott Steinberger
48 Jimmy Nuckles
27 Dave Crinklaw
73 John Harrah
86 Mike Jenkins
20 Rob MacCachren
76 Jesse Jones
30 Robbie Pierce
95 Scott Whipple

CLASS 1 (17)
101 Steve Appleton
102 Kory Halopoff
103 Daniel McMillin
104 Josh Rigsby
105 Cameron Thieriot
106 Dale Lenk
107 Dan Martin
108 Armin Schwarz
109 Eric Chase
110 Juan C. Flores
111 David Greenhill
112 Armin Kremer
113 Rudy Cortez
114 Todd Romano
115 Paul Keller
116 Conan Barker
117 Ikuo Hanawa

CLASS 1-2/1600 (8)
1601 Jay Reichert
1602 Wes McKenzie
1603 Harry Curtin
1604 Arturo Velazco
1600 Hiram Duran
1647 Arnoldo Ramirez
1648 Luke McMillin
1649 Daniel Lopez

CLASS 3 (1)
301 David Moore

CLASS 5 (5)
501 Cody Kellogg
500 Kevin Carr
503 Drew Belk
518 Vince Wavra
519 Tom Bird

CLASS 5/1600 (4)
551 Dennis Webb
552 Trevor Anderson
553 Sergio Moreno
579 Enrique Zazueta Jr.

CLASS 6 (5)
601 JT Taylor
602 Marc Burnett
603 Fernando Manzo
600 Heidi Steele
619 Dave Caspino

CLASS 7 (2)
701 Jackie Husmann
700 Dan Chamlee

CLASS 7SX (1)
741 Norman Turley

CLASS 8 (4)
800 Clyde Stacy
801 Sam Stahl
802 Noah Ostanik
839 Francisco Monroy

CLASS 10 (5)
1001 Peter Hajas
1002 Lars Ferry
1003 Jesus Gonzalez
1004 Sergio Salgado
1005 Jon Walker

SCORE LITE (10)
1201 Justin Davis
1202 Perry McNeil
1203 Zack Langley
1204 Samuel Araiza
1205 Jose Cervantes Jr.
1206 Lee Banning
1207 John Padgett
1208 Dave Wert
1209 James Marquez
1200 Brent Parkhouse

CLASS 11 (2)
1101 Alfonso Lacarra
1100 Eric Solorzano

STOCK FULL (2)
861 Sam Edgar
879 Joe Bacal

STOCK MINI (2)
778 Ivan Stewart
760 Gavin Skilton

PROTRUCK (4)
1360 Nils Castillo
1340 Chelsea Magness
1313 Paul Perrizo
1301 Troy Vest

CLASS 17 (3)
1700 Mike Shaffer
1701 Eric Filar
1702 Perry Coan

BAJA CHALLENGE (7)
BC1 Mike Cassling
BC2 John McInnis III
BC3 Dr. Steven Funk
BC4 Christian Hammarskjold
BC5 Bud Brutsman
BC6 Brian Valentine
BC19 Nick Baldwin

CLASS 2 (2)
201 James Kirby
202 Mark Stevens

CLASS 4 (1)
401 John Langley

CLASS 7-2 (2)
721 Fawn Finchum
722 Reid Rutherford

M-TRUCK (3)
M1 Glenn Harris
M2 Donald Verhoff
M3 James McAvoy

PRO MOTORCYCLES

CLASS 22 (8)
2x Gabriel Williams-S
3x A.J. Stewart
4x Junpei Saito
5x Steve Corrie
1x Kendall Norman
7x David Pearson
8x Colton Udall
9x Francisco Arredondo

CLASS 21 (2)
101x Sol Saltzman
102x Adam Neuwirth

CLASS 20 (1)
151x Jason Trubey

CLASS 30 (6)
301x Javier Henandez
302x Steve Garnett
303x Jonathan Jessy
304x Markus Saarinen
305x Ace Nilson
306x Francisco Septien

CLASS 40 (7)
401x Tom Vogt
402x Lloyd Andrew
403x Boo Custer
404x Louie Franco
405x Mike Prunty
406x Andrew Wilkins
449x Terry Peregoodoff-S

CLASS 50 (2)
501x Jim Dizney
500x Jim O’Neal

CLASS 60 (2)
600x Donald E. Lewis
619x Bill Nichols

PRO ATVS

CLASS 25 (4)
2a Felipe Velez
3a Scott Chandler
1a Wayne Matlock
5a Josh Edwards

CLASS 24 (4)
101a Shawn Robins
102a Brandon Brown
103a Tom Wright
104a Natanael Morron

CLASS 26 (1)
201a Reid Rutherford

SPORTSMAN

SPT CAR (2)
1401 Dan Kolenich
1400 Peter Lang

SPT TRUCK (2)
1501 Randy Swink
1502 Bill Wolford

SPT UTV (3)
1800 Thomas Graves
1801 Kevin Fuller
1802 Chris Koch

SPT M/C 250< (5)
201x Edd Price
202x Michele Bergman
203x Matt Ladendorf
204x Greg Willitts
205x Fred Sobke

SPT M/C 250> (32)
251x Tom Lajoie
252x Don Gentry
253x Mike Frick
254x Mike Mensinger
255x Barry Van Fossan
256x Oscar Fazz
257x Donald Hatton
258x Lance Kane-S
259x Carl Westphal
260x John Legate
261x David Smoljan-S
262x Craig Anstine
263x Yoshiyuki Imai
264x Peter Hardy-S
265x Chuck Shortt
266x Tibi Imbuzan-S
267x Tom Buikema
268x Nobuyuki Oguri
269x Go Onodera
270x Makoto Mitsuki
271x Anthony Nicodemo
272x Paul Lopez
273x Ulises Fierro
274x Salvador Sainz
275x Michael Korenwinder
276x Sanjay Shanbhag
277x James Avery
278x Tomoki Hayashi
279x Timothy Schimke
280x Andrew Tweedle
281x Keith Ciampa
282x Thierry Mas-S

SPT ATV (1)
99a Gustavo Ameca

S-Indicates Solo Rider

Image and Info: SCORE International