Trophy Trucks are the fastest class of off-road racing vehicles which are designed and built to resemble modern pickup trucks. Although any truck that meets the safety standards can race the trophy truck class, they, for the most part, feature long travel suspensions and high power engines. They are intended for desert racing, and most are not street legal like their practice counterparts, the pre-runners. Trophy Trucks can reach speeds in excess of 135 miles per hour even over rough terrain. This puts them among the fastest off-road vehicles in the world. The trucks are most frequently associated with the Baja 1000 race, series that have featured trophy trucks including SCORE International, and Best In The Desert or BITD, in which they are referred to as "Trick Trucks".
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Flying Dutchmen Racing TT #84 post race report

Now that the dust has settled and the silt has been washed away, the Vanderwey brothers, of Flying Dutchmen Racing, have had time
to review the 2011 Baja 1000 race and evaluate all that went right and how very little went wrong along the racecourse. “Curt LeDuc started the race for us, sixth off the line and by approximately mile 250, he had us in second place,” said Nick Vanderwey, the Flying Dutchmen driver of record. “Larry Vanderwey got it to me, still in second place and by
approximately mile 500, we were in first place and we held that
position and crossed the finish line first,” he added. “Unfortunately we were beat by corrected time and #31 of McMillin Racing took first place by 2min 35 secs.”

Nick and the #84 Trophy Truck came in 2nd overall and 2nd in Trophy Truck. After nearly 700 miles of racing, the Flying Dutchmen’s race temporarily came to a stop because a spectator car got high centered and stuck on the racecourse. After waiting for about a minute, Nick was forced to carefully push the car off the berm and out of the way. He was just seven miles from the finish at this point with Andy McMillin quickly closing the gap between them.
“I want to thank all our sponsors for their support and for making this race possible,” Nick said. The Flying Dutchmen are sponsored by: BF Goodrich; KC HiLights; King Shocks; Dougan’s Racing Engines; Rancho Drivetrain Engineering; Tubeworks; TrailReady Wheels; All Start Electric and “got milk?”
The Vanderweys ran the race on the new 42” BF Goodrich race tires. They were the only team racing on the 42”s. The huge tires are mounted on special 20” TrailReady beadlock wheels. “Those 42” BFGs have so much traction and can go over any rock. They are incredible,” Nick explained. “The KC lights were a great
asset. They got us through the most treacherous nighttime sections of the 1000.” The night run comprised 2/3 of this year’s Baja 1000, so lights were a key
component of a successful finish. “The KC lights were perfect for the night race,” he said, “and the King Shocks performed flawlessly,” he added.
The Vanderwey brothers Nick, Larry, John and Mike, comprise the Flying Dutchmen race team. They have been desert racing for 20 years. The #84 Trophy Truck was built in-house by Flying Dutchmen Racing. Nick, Larry and former Trophy Truck champion, Curt LeDuc, all drove the #84 in the 2011 Baja 1000.
For more information contact: John Vanderwey 602-763-3200

Credits: News release Flying Dutchmen Racing

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