SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1542694
CHAMLEE’S RETURN Dan Chamlee Takes Back The Class 7 Championship By Mike Vieira Photos by Get Some Photo The 2025 SCORE Season started off well for Dan Chamlee, with a win in the King Shocks SCORE San Felipe 250, as he pursued his 20th SCORE Championship. His Class 7 Championship winning streak of 19 in a row ended in 2024, when mechanical problems forced him out of that year’s San Felipe race. That denied him enough points for the championship, despite two wins and a second-place finish in that season’s other contests. In his quest to gain back the championship 700 number on his truck, Chamlee had a trouble-free run in the 2025 38th SCORE San Felipe 250, after replacing a throttle mechanism the day before the race to fix a hesitation issue. Starting third in class, he had taken over first place by about twenty miles into the race, and finished with more than a 50-minute lead. The BFGoodrich 57th SCORE Baja 500 wasn’t quite as smooth, with a broken suspension pivot causing the team to lose time for repairs, and settle for a second-place finish behind Rhys Millen. “We felt like we were at a competitive speed,” said Chamlee. “We were happy with the truck, other than that one component. If it wasn’t for that, it could have been a whole different deal.” At the 6th SCORE Baja 400, Millen did not make the start, and Chamlee was back to his winning ways. “We put in a good, competitive time, he said. “We finished ahead of a lot of faster classes. It was a good race, and we felt like we had good speed. We got a finish, and that was the most important thing to us.” The BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000 saw the team start first in class and stretch out a lead throughout the race. “By somewhere near the halfway point, we had a couple of hours lead on second place, so that allowed us to kind of back off the speed a little bit,” said Chamlee. “We were trying to run fast enough not to lose time, but not push the truck and do anything stupid.” With his decades of successful experience racing in Baja, Chamlee has a winning formula for his driving and vehicle preparation. During the 2025 season, there were no issues that prevented him from finishing a race, and the problems that did occur were minor enough to battle through without losing too much time. “The twenty championships have come from two things,” he said. “Starting more races than anyone else, and finishing more races than anyone else. And trying to be at a competitive speed along the way. We try to be faster than those competitors racing at medium and slow speeds. If the very fastest guys hiccup, I’ll go by them.” Competing against teams with much deeper pockets than he has, Chamlee has consistently shown that it takes more than just money to win races. He says that part of the reason for that is the simpler, more cost-effective choices he makes in building his vehicles often end up being more dependable and durable than newer, more exotic constructions. Presently, his Ford Ranger is several years old, and the engine dates back to 2018. Nevertheless, Chamlee says it’s running at a good, competitive speed and that it’s fun to drive and reliable. He plans to keep prepping it the right way between races and to go out and finish each race for the 2026 season. He did mention he absolutely has a new design idea for a new truck, but it’s beyond what his current budget will allow. So without a large cash infusion, that truck will stay in his head for now. Chamlee offered special thanks to BFGoodrich and King Shocks for their help, as well as all his other sponsors. The people who make all this racing success possible include his wife and crew chief, Laurie, son Shawn, Todd Craven, Kurt “Granny” Kimble, and many others who provide support for the racing efforts throughout the year. SJ