SCORE Won’t Rush Into Decision on Baldwin’s Baja 500 Accident

Paul Fish, vice president of SCORE International, said Thursday his organization will not make any snap decisions about the racing future of off-road driver Jason Baldwin.

Baldwin of Laguna Beach was the driver of a Trophy Truck that rolled into a crowd of people at the Tecate Baja 500 on Saturday, killing one and injuring eight.

Any decision about Baldwin’s future in racing--he could receive sanctions that include a race disqualification, suspension from the series, both or neither--will be made after an investigation.

The final decision rests with Fish and his uncle, SCORE President Sal Fish.

“SCORE certainly is not in a position right now to say anything one way or the other about Jason Baldwin’s conduct at the wheel of that Trophy Truck,” Paul Fish said. “We’re collecting all the evidence we can get our hands on. We don’t want to compromise an objective review of this thing by putting any kind of deadline on it.

“To put us on a timeline is not fair to Jason and it’s not fair to the process.”

Fish said he talked to Baldwin’s co-driver, Mike Laughlin of Irvine, and spoke with Baldwin’s father, Jim, on Thursday. Jim Baldwin was racing in the truck that preceded Jason Baldwin through the crash site, a left-right turn combination across the Tecate Highway, 2.1 miles into the 447.6-mile race.

Fish has not talked to Jason Baldwin, who is recovering from neck and back injuries.

“Everyone’s going through enough grief, we don’t want the Baldwins or anyone who was injured to suffer anymore without knowing all the facts of the situation,” Sal Fish said. “We’re not trying to point the finger at anyone at this point.”

SCORE’s next race is the Fireworks 250, July 17 in Barstow.