The ‘Blaze’ races custom truck

Andy Blazer, otherwise known as the “Blaze,” drives and races his baja racer off road.

“I drive what I drive for the adventure,” Blazer said.

Blazer learned about off-road racing at a young age, mostly by reading about it in hot-rod magazines.

The truck he races is a custom rig, a project he started six years ago. He started out using the frame of a 1974 Ford F150 and a Ford Bronco body. At that time, his rig was nick-named the Fordonco, a combination of the word Ford and Bronco. It then was shortened to the Donc. A small, stuffed donkey rides on the grill, as the mascot of sorts, to guide the Donc down the track and over obstacles. It has never missed a race in six years.

Today the truck has progressed into a pro-series race truck with coil-over suspension and a 351 Windsor engine with fuel injection. He races under the name LBR Racing, and sports the number 127. LBR stand for Little Bit Ranch, named after his family’s ranch, and the number 127 is a tribute to late father-in-law, who raced Ferraris and Lotuses.

He competes regularly in the Yellowstone Off Road Racing (YORR) races in southwest Montana.

“The Billings YORR racing series has made it possible for me to fulfil my dream of racing,” Blazer said. “I never thought it was tangible because the price tag to travel and to race in the southern desert is just too high. So much of Montana public land is now closed to over-the-highway vehicles that unless landowners open up their land, we have nowhere local to race.”

For Blazer, race day is only part of the thrill. The rest of the time he spends in his shop perfecting his machine so it can crawl over rocks, sand washes, and mud pits. Special care is made to see that it will be safe, and hold together enough to finish ahead of the competitors. Safety is most important when it comes to off-road racing. The trucks are inspected before each race, and must meet strict safety standard to be sure they aren’t going to put anyone in danger.

“We have a whole year of engineering and creating something out of nothing,” Blazer said. “There is so much strategy involved that make this sport unique.”

Blazer admits he could never have made it this far in racing if not for his sponsors who include Northwest Pipe, King Shocks, Raceline Wheels and Northwest Parts and Equipment.

His biggest sponsors, however, are his family and friends. His wife is as much of a race enthusiast as he and they take their 1-year-old son along to the races. Their enclosed trailer has living quarters up front for the family to take up residence on race weekends.

“My wife and my friends are a big part of it, I couldn’t do it without them,” Blazer said.

To suggest someone for Why I Drive What I Drive, contact Jessica Gray at jessicagraymt@gmail.com.