I have a new fire suit in my closet hung beside my Blue Thunder fire suit; only this one remains dirty with the logo SVT Raptor across the chest. This was the truck I competed with alongside Steve Olliges and Rob MacCachren last weekend in Primm, Nevada, for the Terrible’s 250 Best in the Desert off-road race.

Normally, I’m in the seat of my 1,500-horsepower Blue Thunder monster truck battling cars, jumping buses and signing autographs in a Monster Jam event at some elaborate stadium in a big city. This weekend, I stood in the dusty desert admiring the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor R. The Raptor R is a modified Raptor, a new Ford production F-150, that I would be driving for the second of three laps of a 250-mile race through the desert and mountains at Primm.

I thought I would have an edge since I drove a 4WD truck professionally – that was not the case at all. This was completely unique and the only edge a driver can have is seat time in an off-road truck. Off-road racing is a lot like monster truck racing in regards to saving the vehicle, that is, not racing it until its actual race time. So knowing that fact, they had me drive the factory SVT Raptor on the 3-mile track built with all the extremities, requiring every bit of skill. For my first few laps, I had instruction from an off-road pro, then they let me loose on my own. Now being brought up on a farm, I have driven in off-road conditions, but would never dream that a production vehicle could handle what this beast could. They asked me what I thought after I had gone a few laps; I was truly speechless. There were no words to describe what I witnessed. Ford has raised the bar and good luck to whoever is trying to chase them.

Now back to my racing the Raptor R, I watched Steve race the first 73-mile lap, taking on unique terrain from sharp jagged rocks to beach sand to mountain cliffs and lake flats. I learned a ton and tried to incorporate as much as I could once I got behind the wheel. My copilot was Rob who is an extremely decorated champion. Like a typical champion, and I know their mentality, Rob was short with instructions, but confident at the same time. I was warned beforehand by his crew that Rob gets in a “race zone” and he might come across as mean or stern; just don’t take it personally. So I did my best to follow instructions to keep him comfortable, and as long as I knew he was quiet, I was reading his mind well enough to tackle the course as he would. I finished my lap with no truck issues and Rob wrapped up the 73-mile course under 2 hours later, bringing our team in second in our class.

I was proud of what I achieved that day since I was a fresh face out there with no clue about how the system ran and where Linsey fitted in it. Thankfully, the Raptor program was surrounded with nothing but positive people who wanted nothing more than great things for the truck and its drivers. I learned a lot both in racing and learning a new form of racing. Perhaps the most rewarding part of the weekend was not only finishing my leg of the Best in the Desert race, but also meeting so many great people involved in the program. It was truly an honor and I look forward to my next opportunity. If it doesn’t come knocking, guaranteed I’ll start doing the knocking, I’m hooked.