“Every overlapping seam
is heading toward the north,”
Baggett says with enthusi-
asm typically reserved for
showing off a new sports car.
“Everything is done a certain
way.” And everything, includ-
ing running the electrical,
forming the concrete, and
erecting steel beams, had
Blake’s hands on it.
The 56’ x 120’ steel
structure, now in the fi nish-
ing stages, is the fi rst of
two he’s building here at
the El Chupacabra Ranch.
The second building will be
bigger and will house his
race shop and a 2,500 sq.
ft. apartment, where he and
his wife, Keleigh, will live.
When fi nished, it’ll be like the
Taj Mahal compared to the
converted 8’ x 20’ shipping
container he was using as
a race shop. Outfi tted with
electricity, insulation, and a
wall-mounted air conditioner
older than Blake, it’s now
used as a utility room.
Building number one
is big enough to store his
best heavy equipment. He
owns 11 pieces, including a
monstrous 436hp Caterpillar
DT9 bulldozer. He also parks
two campers inside, one for
his father, Tom, when he’s
in town and one where he
and Keleigh have lived for
three years. For two years,
the trailer sat in a fi eld where
the frequent storms mangled
15 pop-up tents. During the
2016 hurricane season, they
took shelter in the DT9. At
106,000 pounds, it was their
best chance of remaining on
the ground.Tom Baggett, 53, is
operating an endless rotation
of power tools and preparing
for the HVAC equipment that
will be delivered later that
day. Blake says they called
fi ve different companies to
fi nd one that would let them
buy and install the equipment.
They had to void the warran-
ties, but they don’t mind; it’s a
huge project, and this saved
them thousands of dollars.B
lake Phillip Baggett
was born in Red-
lands, California,
the fi rst child of a
structural steel contractor and
a dental hygienist. Hard work
and athleticism run in the
family. Blake’s great grand-
mother, Madeline Giancola,
spent nearly 40 years playing
fast-pitch softball for the
American Softball Associa-
tion, won two New York State96 http://www.racerxonline.com
You could
give [a motor-
cycle] to me
in a box, and
I could put
the whole en-
gine together,
tranny and
everything.”BLAKE BAGGETT