Canidae Racing Team Prepares for Best in the Desert Mint 400 After SCORE San Felipe 250 Finish

March 15, 2012 - PRLog -- San Luis Obispo, CA, March 14, 2012 - Team Canidae and the Canidae Natural Pet Foods Trophy Truck took on the rugged Baja terrain in this past weekend's San Felipe 250 race. The team was gaining ground on the leaders, working their way through the pack, when adversity struck and the truck rolled hard at mile 27.  Driver Scott Whipple and navigator Patrick Gailey were bruised but unhurt and after righting the truck and checking for damages were off again in pursuit of the leaders.  At mile 127, Scott Gailey and navigator Johnny Stroschein took over pushing the truck and were gaining some time when at mile 202 all the rear left studs sheered off at 70mph forcing another delay.  

Despite the rollover, broken axle studs and getting stuck in a bottle neck at mile 228, the team managed to work its way through these obstacles and cross the finish line in this third race of the SCORE 2012 season.

"This was a tough race for us with challenges throughout the day," said team manager and co-driver Gailey.  "I can't tell you how proud I am of everyone on this team that pulled together and worked so hard to keep #95 running in the race and across the finish line. Thankfully Scott and Patrick are OK, but the rollover caused quite a bit of damage to the body and frame and we'll all be working around the clock, going over the truck completely, so we're ready to compete at the upcoming BITD Mint 400 in less than two weeks.  There's a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, but we'll make it. This is what we all love doing and welcome the challenge of putting the truck back together and being ready to race at the Mint." added Gailey.

The Best in the Desert Mint 400 takes place March 21st to 25th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The General Tire Mint 400 is one of the roughest, most spectacular off-road races in North America. Started in 1976, The Mint is steeped in American lore as thousands of racers as well as celebrities from around the world have attempted to tame the Nevada desert over the years.

A full schedule of festivities will kick off beginning on Wednesday night with a trick truck parade and pit crew competition taking place on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. Activities continue throughout Thursday and Friday all leading up to Saturday's race when teams and racers competing in 25 different divisions will thunder off into the desert in search of victory.

Team sponsor, Canidae Natural Pet Foods will be on hand throughout out the week with a booth located on Fremont street offering samples, coupons and goodies for fans and racers in attendance.

Race fans can visit team's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/CANIDAE-Racing/135713048852 or the website at canidaeracing.com to follow the Trophy Truck team's progress before, during and after the Best in the Desert Mint 400 race with live reports and photos coming in from the field. Don’t miss a second of the action.

Team Canidae would like to recognize all of their sponsors for their generous support including:  Canidae Natural Pet Food Co., Lucas Oil, Tap It Brewing, Magnaflow Exhaust, KC HiLites, Torco Race Fuels, JE Pistons, Fox Race Shox, Geiser Bros. Design & Development, K&N Air Filters, Racepak, CalTex Freight, McKenzie's Performance Products, Specialty Fasteners, XRP Hoses and Fittings, Norco Tires, GET Performance, RSP Shock Prep, Satterlee Racing Engines, East West Clutches.