SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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BACK-TO-BACK VICTORY Justin Davis Takes Another Baja 500 Win By Micah Anderson Photos by Get Some Photo In a highly competitive SCORE Trophy Truck Spec Class, Justin Davis has beat the odds and repeated his 2024 SCORE Baja 500 class win this season. Davis is also back on the podium this season with a second-place finish at the SCORE San Felipe 250, and a new TSCO truck, Davis and the Green Army team are at the top of their game. SCORE Journal: How much did your 2024 victory help set the tone or shape your preparation for this year’s race? Justin Davis: Last year’s win is a great memory, but you are only as good as your last race. We approach every race with the same thought process, prep to win and put ourselves in a position to push for the championship. SJ: How quickly were you able to make your way to the front, and what were those opening miles like in terms of traffic and terrain? JD: Qualifying 3rd behind Mike Marsal (No. 236) and Jason McNeil (No. 234) put us in a good spot to control the race. With the current starting position of the SCORE Trophy Truck Spec class, the plan was to just apply pressure from behind and not get caught up in the slower traffic ahead. We knew the dust would be bad and making no mistakes was going to be key due to how tight the course was the first half of the race. We got by Marsal about race mile 78 when he got a front flat and then followed closely behind McNeil until about race mile 155 when he had fuel pump issues. After that is all about maintaining the lead that we had while dealing with the water and mud. SJ: What changes or prep went into the truck setup ahead of this race and how it responded to the new sections of the course? JD: Every race we base our setup on what we think the course terrain is going to be. This year’s SCORE Baja 500, we knew it was going to be tight and technical. Later we adapted the truck the best we could to deal with the wet conditions. SJ: Did you feel pushed to maintain a more aggressive pace or were you just running your own race plan? JD: Once we got out front of the class, the focus was to get through the mud and water sections of the race. We knew we had more in the tank to give but decided to keep Apdaly Lopez (No. 273) to a 3-4 min split physically. He tried to apply pressure on the beach, and it ended up playing in our favor. SJ: How much of a difference does that kind of efficiency make over 500-miles of racing, especially when the top competitors are running so close? JD: Our pits continue to improve every race and give us a good advantage on most of the class. The guys work well under pressure. • Video Justin Davis SCORE Baja 500 TT Spec Winner SJ: Did anything catch you off guard during the course? JD: A total of 15 plus years of racing in Mexico helps prepare for most that Baja throws our way. We prepared for the worse and dialed in our lines through the water and silt sections. The late flat was a surprise, but we knew what needed to be done even though our air jack decided to leave the truck just after Check 1. SJ: What can you say about the team’s performance and what this win means for the rest of the SCORE season? JD: Green Army Motorsports performance has been good up to this point. We are continuing to take the 2025 season one race at a time and will be continuing to push for race wins. SJ: What does it take to stay out front in a field this competitive? JD: Consistency and minimal mistakes are the key to winning in Baja. When others make mistakes, we need to be in positions to take advantage and not miss the opportunity. SJ