SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1542108
NO MISTAKES Only A Perfect Race Wins In The Trophy Truck Classes By Dan Sanchez, Isaac Flores, Ariana Medrano, Adilene Ponce, Paul Hanson, and Jamie Lopez Amador Photos by Get Some Photo The BFGoodrich Tires 58th SCORE Baja 1000 had top racers in various classes team up to improve their chances of winning. In the SCORE Trophy Truck class, Luke McMillin and ORMHOF Hall of Famer Rob MacCachren teamed up in the No. 83 truck to try and repeat their 2024 SCORE Baja 1000 overall victory. MacCachren was also the driver of record for the No. 11 Jimco Fastball with Josh Daniel co-driving. Dan McMillin teamed up again with his cousin Andy McMillin in the No. 23 truck, and Chris Polvoorde again teamed up with Bryce Menzies in the No. 94 truck. But the incredible racing talent in the class also included the 2024 SCORE Trophy Truck Champion, and current points leader, Alan Ampudia, who drove the entire race with navigator Kyle Craft. Australians Toby Price and Paul Weel in the No. 46 truck were also extremely fast racers, and Tavo Vildosola in the No. 21 truck continued to be a top contender, who also started with a fast pace. Also in the mix was the No. 5 RPM Off-Road truck driven by Robby Gordon and his son Max, which delighted fans and added to the extremely high level of competition in this race. While every racer had high expectations for this race, they all knew that any mistake could cost them the race. Yet the outcome would not be what any of them expected. Price and Weel moved to first place early, but with Ampudia, Polvoorde, and McMillin right behind, the lead changed several times. By race mile 300, Polvoorde had taken the lead, handing the No. 94 truck to Bryce Menzies, who then began having issues with the front wheel drive. After slowing a bit, Ampudia had caught up to within less than a minute of Menzies in the No. 94 truck, ready to pass if they made a mistake. It never happened. By race mile 777, Price was ahead on time by about three minutes and going strong heading back into Ensenada. Menzies had begun to push his truck to the limit with something wrong in the drivetrain, but kept it moving forward, creating a wider gap between himself and Ampudia. Price had pulled over at race mile 803, out of fuel. A heartbreaking disappointment, and one which left the door open for Menzies and Polvoorde to take the win. Catching up to them with a hard push to the finish was Luke McMillin, who finished in second place. He had issues early with a driveshaft that seized up, and had pushed hard to make up about 30 minutes of lost time. Driving a conservative pace, Dan and Andy McMillin finished in third place. The SCORE Trophy Truck win gave Polvoorde his first in SCORE, which left him emotional at the finish line. “This is what I’ve lived for. So yeah, it’s hard not to tear up,” he said. “We had a lot of ups and downs. We went from winning to losing really fast, to losing, losing, losing, and now we just won. It’s still hard to process. It’s just something I’ve been dreaming of for a long, long time. I’ve never won a SCORE race, so to win a SCORE Baja 1000 as the first one is pretty awesome.” Once we jumped in, we put about four minutes on Alan,” said Menzies. “At La Ventana, I started feeling a little vibration in the front. At San Matias, it just kept getting worse and worse. And then we finally lost the front-wheel drive. And then after that, anything over 80 miles an hour, it seemed like something was going to come apart, so we backed it down. Toby was right on us. He actually caught us at one point, and I pulled over, let him go. And then I just dove in right behind him and sat like 15 seconds off his bumper. And then we saw him pull off, and we just kept going, and then we got word that he ran out of gas. So the Baja gods were on our side today. Epic run, man. The pace was unreal.” Fan favorites Robby and Max Gordon finished fifth, crossing the finish line ahead of Dan and Andy McMillin, but with a slower time. Ampudia also ran a conservative race, especially after something had gone wrong with the truck. He decided to finish in order to get a second SCORE Trophy Truck Championship and came in sixth place. Price’s teammates reached his truck to add fuel, allowing him to finish in seventh place. BALDI TAKES THE 2WD TT CLASS In a Trophy Truck segment that has grown in competition, Sam Baldi in the No. 82T won the SCORE 2WD TT among 17 starters in this race. It was Baldi’s first win of the season, racing with co-driver Jake Johnson. “We had a good day today and ran our race,” said Baldi. “Everybody worked really hard and pushed hard where we needed to, and got around some of our competition. We just couldn’t be happier.” Cameron Steele in the No. 16T truck finished second, followed by David Zeiger in the No. 15T truck for a third-place finish in the first season of this exciting class. VILDOSOLA CONTINUES WITH #16 Continuing their winning streak, Gus Vildosola and Ricky Johnson won the SCORE TT Legend class, making it their 16th win in a row. The team finished 12th overall but not without some difficulties. “Ricky didn’t have any brakes in the morning,” said Vildosola Sr. “We had to repair them, but we were challenged by the rain, and the road was very bad. I punctured tires a couple of times. Today was not a very good day, but it improved a lot. But, we’re here now, so it’s all good.” I got by Andy [McMillin] (No. 23), and then I was catching Robbie [Gordon] (No. 5),” said Johnson. “As we headed down on the second set of rocks, one just came up, hit my caliper, and broke the line. And I lost all brakes for 25 miles, so we had to stop, pull it, and cap it. We kept the cap on for 150 miles. So I had to adjust my speed. But I wanted to keep moving. I turned the truck over to Gus, and he did a great job. But another problem with the line happened. So they had to change the brake again for Gus in San Matias.” BRENT FOX GETS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON Driving the No. 282 One-Nine truck, Brent Fox, with co-drivers Brady Fox and Preston Brigman, won the SCORE TT Spec Class. It was tough competition in this class with different winners at each of the three other races this season. Fox and his team opened up a gap ahead of the competition and kept the lead without encountering any problems along the course. “It was a little dusty at first, but we didn’t have anyone in front of us, and then it started raining in San Matias,” said co-driver Preston Brigman. “We had a wide enough gap ahead of the competition that we felt like we could just coast it in. This is the first time we didn’t have to get out of the car at a SCORE Baja 1000, and we finished it with the way it came on the trailer. So yeah, good day. Baja is awesome.” Finishing second was the No. 227 One-Nine truck of Jack Oligies, followed by the No. 236 Brenthel truck of Mike Marsal for a third-place finish. SJ