King of the Hammers, Mint 400 and the California 300 to make up a new points Championship

San Diego, CA December 19th 2022 - King of the Hammers and Hammerking Productions owner and CEO Dave Cole, and The Mint 400 and The California 300 owners Matt and Josh Martelli announced today that they have structured a brand new, three-race, championship points series dubbed the “Unlimited Off-Road Racing Triple Crown Championship”. The announcement comes as King of the Hammers racers are undergoing their preparations for intense race action beginning the last weekend in January, of 2023.

The two race organizations will pool their collective classes and offer both desert and KOH racers the opportunity to compete for cash, prizes and the ultimate bragging rights for winning their class across three of the most grueling and prestigious races in the sport!

Collectively, King of the Hammers, The Mint 400 and The California 300 will be the best covered series on the 2023 event schedule with unprecedented media coverage to sponsors and race teams through their combined live stream and social media channels.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be teaming up with Dave and the KOH family once again,” said Mint 400 CEO and Co-Owner Matt Martelli. “Their addition of desert classes to King of the Hammers these past few years has been great for the sport of off-road racing and they are driving excitement for the entire off-road industry! We want to do the same for their racers and allow everyone racing in this new points series to benefit from the amount of coverage both of our groups bring to the table. It’s no secret that King of the Hammers, The Mint, and now The California 300 are the three toughest races in America. If you can tame all three, in one year, then you will be a champion among champions!”

This is the second time that Cole and The Martelli Brothers have cross promoted each other's races. The two groups produced a triple crown series together in 2018 in conjunction with Crandon. That year Jason Scherer took home the victory and nabbed $15,000 in prize money. This time around the promoters have expanded their offering to include the entire lineup of KOH and Desert classes. King of the Hammers will host all of the traditional Desert classes and The Martelli brothers will host all of the KOH classes at both the Mint and the CA 300.

“It’s time to shake things up again!” said KOH and Hammerking CEO and Owner Dave Cole. “When we added desert classes out here initially it was to give these Unlimited Trucks a fresh event and course to shine on, in front of our massive online audience and race fans. That had already grown to include quite a few more desert classes. Then when we sat down with the Martelli’s recently it became clear that what we both wanted was to propel the entire sport forward - and there’s no denying that if you come and compete at these three events you’ll get more exposure, and earn more prestige than with any other series next year. If you’ve ever wanted to compete at KOH - now’s your chance. If the Mint has been on your bucket list, next year is THE year. And by all accounts the California 300 was brutal. Anyone who can tame these three races next year deserves special recognition.”
Complete details for the 2023 Unlimited Off-Road Racing Triple Crown Championship will be released by both groups in the coming weeks including prize purses.

Mint 400 & California 300 desert racers interested in competing in the Triple Crown are encouraged to visit the King of the Hammers website and begin to familiarize themselves with the schedule of events and registration process here: https://kingofthehammers.com/competitors/

The King of the Hammers classes will be added to The Mint 400 & California 300 registration system in the coming weeks at register.offroadracer.com/.

Details on the points system, prize purses, and other FAQ’s will be released soon.

Source The Mint 400

The Jimco Racing Hammerhead Class 1 buggy remains one of the most dominant machines of its type in desert racing, and the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship was no exception. Jimco racers scored three wins and eight podiums in the grueling four-race championship, with Kyle Quinn’s victory in the season-ending 55th SCORE Baja 1000 giving him, Wilson Motorsports, and Jimco the class title.

Quinn, who split driving duties with Greg DeStefano, Ronny Wilson, and Sammy Ehrenburg, wound up this year’s Class 1 champion by 11 points. The #138 machine completed the 828.25-mile loop race in 20:09:57, nearly an hour faster than its closest competition. It was the second win of the year for the team, joining the season-opening San Felipe 250 in April. The team finished on the podium in all four events, one of just a handful of SCORE teams to accomplish the feat.

“We’re glad to be here at the finish,” Quinn told SCORE after crossing the finish line. “No flats. We tore the lower passenger arm off and had to stop and we put it all back together. I can’t thank our crew enough and all our sponsors. We’re looking forward to next year.”

Joining the #138 team on the podium in the Baja 1000 were the #113 squad of Mike and Jacob Frye, whose only start of the season ended with a third-place result. Their podium meant that two Jimco Hammerheads were on the podium in all four SCORE events this year, with both Wilson Motorsports entries accomplishing the feat in San Felipe and the father-son duo of Brian and Cody Parkhouse finishing second in the Baja 500 and first in the Baja 400.

“I’ve raced a lot, like over a hundred races, (but) I’ve never seen anything like this,” Frye said after making it back to Ensenada. “I lost power steering before race mile 200, but luckily the BFGoodrich pits helped us fix it and get going again. My son Jake got in around race mile 200 and he did his section perfect, but he almost couldn’t get out of the car, he was so beat up. Then I got back in and tried to catch a VCP and ended up getting stuck down there. After a few hours I finally MacGyvered it out. Then I handed it back to Jake and he finished the last 150 miles or so with no problems.”

Joining the Class 1 dominance was Ryan Lewis’ #287 Lewis Energy Group Trophy Truck Spec entry, which finished 10th in class with a time of 22:01:22. The 55th SCORE Baja 1000 also marked the highly anticipated debut for Jimco’s all-new Dragon AWD Trophy Truck, run by Jimco owner Robbie Pierce and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Bobby Patton as part of the Fastball Racing Team.

The 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship kicks off on March 29-April 2 with the 36th running of the SCORE San Felipe 250.

About Jimco Racing
Jimco Racing Inc. is the worldwide leader in off-road race car manufacturing and race preparation. Specialized in off road race car product development, racer safety gear sales, and arrive and drive programs. The Jimco Racing tradition is one of integrity, quality, and a winning attitude. Since the company was founded in 1975 Jimco Racing has racked up over 650+ victories and 100+ championships worldwide and has been awarded the SCORE Chassis builder of the year award an unprecedented 23 times. To learn more, please visit

Source  Jimco Racing

Honda Ridgeline captures Class 7 honors at iconic event
Second consecutive Baja 1000 class win for the Honda Ridgeline
Eighth class win for the Ridgeline in Baja competition

The Honda Off-Road Racing Team returned to Baja California this weekend, with the Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck taking Class 7 honors for the second consecutive year in the 55th running of the iconic Baja 1000.

Competing in Class 7 for unlimited V6-powered race trucks, the #709 Honda Ridgeline driving lineup of team owner #jeffproctor, Richard Glaszczak and Chip Prescott faced a challenging course, starting in the coastal city of Ensenada and featuring wildly varying terrain throughout this year’s “Single Loop” event.

The Ridgeline started off strong, with starting driver Proctor building an early lead, before handing off to Prescott at the 242-mile mark. The Ridgeline continued to stretch is Class 7 lead into the night, as Glaszcak assumed the driving duties just before 8:30 pm PT. Even a mild roll-over in the early-morning hours failed to significantly slow the Ridgeline, as the truck pressed on with only minor body damage.

The Ridgeline reached the finish with a time of 21 hours, 42 minutes and 56 seconds to claim the Class 7 win by a dominating margin of more than five hours; adding victory in this year’s “Single Loop” event to the Class 7 win in 2021’s “Point-to-Point” race from Ensenada to La Paz.

Quote
Jeff Proctor (team owner/driver Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck) won Class 7 for unlimited V6 Trucks for the second consecutive year: “You know, Baja never disappoints. It’s always full of excitement, and this race was no exception for us. It was tough. There was a lot of attrition, we saw a lot of broken competitors out there. It had every single element you can imagine. But this Ridgeline is so tough, it fought through everything to get to the finish.
“This was a bittersweet race for me. I’m going to be stepping back from driving duties next season. So this was probably my last time behind the wheel, and we were able to put the Ridgeline [in winner’s circle]. I couldn’t be more proud of our whole team. We’ve got some exciting plans coming out in the next three-four weeks. We’re going to announce our [2023] schedule and our new driver. I’m going to be assuming the role of team principal/team manager. I’m definitely not leaving the sport, just taking on this new role."

Fast Facts
This year’s Class 7 victory was the eighth for the Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck in Baja since the start of the program in 2015, including three class wins in the Baja 1000 and five at the Baja 500. In addition to the eight class wins, the Ridgeline also twice finished second in the Baja 1000, and third once in the ‘500’
The Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck utilizes the same production-based, Honda Performance Development built turbocharged V6 engine that also powered this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Rolex 24 at Daytona-winning Meyer Shank #racing Acura ARX05, driven by Tom Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves and Oliver Jarvis. The base 3.5-liter engine powers a variety of Honda and Acura passenger vehicles, including the Acura MDX and Honda Ridgeline.

Source Honda Off-Road Racing Team

Jorge Sampietro (Trophy Truck Spec), Matt Burroughs (Pro UTV FI) unofficially take titles

The 55th SCORE Baja 1000 sent hundreds of the world’s top off-road racers into the Baja California desert for 828.25 miles of intense action and any challenges the terrain could throw at them. But when all was said and done, an elite fleet of Monster Energy athletes, led by names like Mark Samuels, Phil Blurton, Jorge Sampietro, and Matt Burroughs, had what it took to bring home wins, podiums, and class titles in the most challenging event of the year.

Samuels, Justin Morgan, and Kendall Norman teamed up to dominate the Pro Moto Unlimited class on their SLR Honda CRF450X, giving the team its fifth consecutive win, Morgan’s sixth career Baja 1000 win, Samuels’ seventh, and Norman’s eighth. Their finishing time of 18:51:30 was more than an hour ahead of the next best finisher in class, and 10th among all registered entries in the event.

“It was a tough course, slower than normal, slower than we anticipated,” Samuels said at the finish line. “I’m tired, I’m sore, I’m looking forward to getting back and taking a nap. But it feels good to cross that finish line. It’s a special feeling for sure.We had our hands full at the beginning. The course was really gnarly from the hurricane that came through. It changed the course a lot, turned a lot of rocks up. We had to make our way through the pack from seventh. It was a really good race. By race mile 340 we were in the lead. From there we just had to bring it home. We had a great effort all the way.”

Multiple Monster athletes entered the season finale with a shot at the Pro UTV Forced Induction title, and with defending race winner and SCORE World Desert Champion Blurton set to join them, were a force to be reckoned with. Despite starting outside of the top 10, Blurton quickly put himself in podium position, running second for most of the race before scoring his second 1000 podium in two tries. Burroughs, meanwhile, came home fourth to claim his second class title in the past three years.

“It was a good race with really no issues,” Blurton said in Ensenada. “We got stuck in one bottleneck that separated us from the leader, as he got through there before we got there. Other than that, everything was smooth. We have only done one other SCORE Baja 1000 and it was a peninsula run, so this was a totally different game. This loop race was a little bit more tight and technical, with more of a save-the-car strategy. (But) we didn’t have to touch the car all day long.”

“In the beginning, the Summit was rough,” added Burroughs. “A bottleneck. Brad (Howe) drove all night and did a great job, and I jumped back in at the end. We only had one flat tire. Amazing. Especially with all the rocks. Thank you to SCORE for this amazing race. Thank you to my crew and my family.”

The Herbst family had a phenomenal event across both the Trophy Truck and Trophy Truck Spec classes, with top-six finishes for all three of its entries. The #264 team of Pierce and Riley Herbst and #263 of EJ Herbst and Ryan Millen came home third and fourth in TT Spec, while Tim Herbst’s #19 Trophy Truck was sixth of just 16 finishers in the premier class.

The Trophy Truck Spec championship, however, came down to Jorge Sampietro, whose 14th place finish was enough to return him to the top of the division. The 2022 Baja 500 winner finished all four of his starts this season, making up a 14-point deficit coming into the race by getting to the finish line in Ensenada. Finally, in the Trophy Truck Legends division, Mark Winkleman added third place finishes of his own in both the race and season standings.

Source Team Monster Energy

In a race full of ‘SCORE Super Teams’ that turned into a true ‘survival’ test, San Diego’s youthful super star Luke McMillin and the admired G.O.A.T. in desert racing, Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren teamed to rise above the rest in a field of 276 starters early Saturday morning to win the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck title in the legendary season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. The international event was the season-finale of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship.
Starting second physically on the road in the elapsed time race and splitting the driving in McMillin’s Big Blue M racing machine all-wheel drive 4 Wheel Parts/BFGoodrich Tires No. 83 Chevy 1500, the dynamic duo patiently worked their way to the front of the pack and finished the beautifully bodacious 828.25-mile race around the Northern Part of Mexico’s majestic Baja peninsula in a sterling penalty-free time of 16 hours, 37 minutes and 46 seconds with an average speed of 49.81 miles per hour.
The SCORE Baja 1000 is at the pinnacle of motorsports as the oldest, most iconic, most prestigious, toughest and longest continuously held desert race in the world.
SCORE International is well known around the globe as the ‘World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization.’ Celebrating its 49th season in 2022, this race is the flagship event of the SCORE World Desert Championship.

THE LUKE & THE G.O.A.T.
One of several ‘Super Teams’ competing in this race primarily because of the length of the course, Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee MacCachren, 57, stabled his aging two-wheel drive thoroughbred when invited to join the Big Blue M race team again for this historic race and be Luke McMillin’s second driver in the McMillin’s No. 83 McMilling Racing AWD Chevy 1500 built by Mason Motorsports.
Using Luke McMillin’s No. 83 SCORE Trophy Truck, McMillin entered the race as the SCORE Trophy Truck overall point leader for 2022 and second in the SCORE Overall points.
A third-generation desert racer, Luke McMillin, 29, and venerable Hall of Famer ‘Rob Mac’ started second behind another ‘Super Team’ of Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies and Luke McMillin’s cousin Andy McMillin, also of San Diego.
Last year, the McMillin family allowed MacCachren to be driver of record while driving in Luke’s truck and the pair won that race as well and MacCachren earned the SCORE Trophy Truck season point-championship.
Stalking their prey again this year like a hungry Cheetah, MacCachren started and stayed the course, with L. McMillin taking over the wheel at race mile 394, they then battled Luke’s older brother Dan McMillin and Josh Daniel, passing Josh when he had a flat tire, never looking back the rest of the way to the checkered flag.
Dan McMillin and Daniel finished second to give the iconic McMillin Racing family their first one-two overall finish in a SCORE race.

BIG BLUE M FAMILY LEGACY
With an enduring legacy started by the late family patriarch Corky McMillin, Luke McMillin added to the Big Blue M rich history with his third career victory in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division.
With his victory, L. McMillin also earned a US$25,000 contingency bonus from long-time SCORE sponsor and race title sponsor BFGoodrich Tires offered to the winner of this year’s race.
The victory also marked the 33rd overall victory in this race for vehicles equipped with BFGoodrich Tires.
Besides his late grandfather Corky, Luke McMillin’s champion family members include his brother Daniel McMillin, his dad Mark McMillin, his uncle Scott McMillin, and his cousins Andy McMillin and Jessica McMillin. As a family, the McMillins now have earned a race-record 15 overall victories in the SCORE Baja 1000.
While Luke McMillin earned his third (straight) SCORE Baja 1000 overall, his father Mark has five as does his cousin Andy and his uncle Scott has two overalls in this storied race.
Luke won in 2020 teamed with Larry Roeseler and the last two years with the legendary G.O.A.T. MacCachren.
With his overall win, L. McMillin became just the third driver in race history to earn a three-peat with his third consecutive SCORE Baja 1000 victory. The other two Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame racers to accomplish the feat have been MacCachren (2014, 2015, 2016) and super vet Larry Ragland (1995, 1996, 1997).
Ragland, Carefree, Ariz., who will turn 79 in December, was the second driver in this year’s race for Las Vegas’ Dallas Luttrell and they finished seventh in SCORE Trophy Truck and 14th overall.

Source SCORE International
Photo Luke McMillin

Envied by some, admired by many more, loathed by a few and respected by all as the ‘Monsters of the Desert,’ 38 SCORE Trophy Trucks are revved up to roar in next week’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.
The marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 1000 horsepower, unlimited custom trucks was created by legendary former SCORE owner Sal Fish in 1994 and pre-running continues this week in Mexico’s majestic and mysterious Northern part of Baja California peninsula for the season finale of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship.

FAST TRAX
The finale of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held Nov. 15-20 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, the race will start/finish and colorful pre-race activities in the heart of Ensenada at the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center and the adjacent fantastically fan-friendly Boulevard Costero.
Ensenada, ‘The Off-Road Capital of the World,’ is located 80 miles South of the U.S. Border near San Diego.
With over 275 entries expected, 45 competition classes are offered for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. To date, there are 264 total entries from 36 U.S. States, U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico and 18 countries. Joining the USA and the U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, in the field so far are racers from host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Peru and Spain. So far there are 193 cars, trucks and UTVs entered and 71 motorcycles and quads.
Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s celebration of one of the newest top motorsports events in the entire world. The race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the ESPN2 World of X Games programming.
The race show on ESPN2 is co-produced by SCORE International and the award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles. Bud Brutsman is the Executive Producer. Intro announcer for the race show will once again be Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee and SCORE champion desert racer Cameron Steele who will again pull double duty racing in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck class as well in his No. 16 Desert Assassins Monster Energy Ford Raptor.
All four 2022 SCORE races are being held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the seventh consecutive year.
CORE, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, is celebrating its 49th season in 2022.

DOUBLE DIGITS
Leading the list of entries with double-digit lineups so far are SCORE Trophy Truck with 38 entries (including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old), Trophy Truck Spec with 26 entries, Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 26 entries, Class 10 with 19 entries, Pro UTV Stock with 11, Pro UTV Open with nine and among two-wheel vehicles Pro Moto Ironman (Solo riders) with 22 entries to date and Pro Moto Unlimited with nine and Sportsman Motorcycle with 12.

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK CHAMPS
Roaring through the desert terrain with the grace, beauty and power of the Bolshoi Ballet and the speed of a runaway locomotive, a total of 14 of the last 16 SCORE Trophy Truck SCORE Baja 1000 race winners are entered in this year’s race, including the last eight straight. And 22 racers are entered in this race who have combined to earn 104 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins (out of 144 total races).
Also entered are 10 racers who have combined for 15 SCORE Trophy Truck season point championships in the first 28 years of the marquee SCORE racing division.
Leading the way among the former SCORE Trophy Truck season point champs are Ed Herbst and his brother Tim Herbst with four titles each (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003), four-time champion Rob MacCachren (1994, 2007, 2018, 2021) and three-time consecutive titles in Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez (2015, 2016, 2017).
Individually, Rob MacCachren leads with the most career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins with 19, followed by other race entries Ed and Tim Herbst (11 each), Andy McMillin (11), Larry Ragland (11), Bryce Menzies (8), Mark Post (7), Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr (6), Larry Roeseler (5), Ryan Arciero (4), Curt LeDuc (4), Gus Vildosola Sr (3), Luke McMillin (3), Juan C. Lopez (2), Roger Norman (2) and Cameron Steele (2), and entered with one each career SCORE Trophy Truck race win are Alan Ampudia, Josh Daniel, Pat Dean, Rick D. Johnson, Dan McMillin, and Justin B. Smith.

MAGNIFICENT MONSTERS
The massive 38-SCORE Trophy Truck field for this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 includes 22 racers who have combined to win 104 of the 144 races in the history of the featured class.
Enjoying its 29th season at the forefront of the sport, this year’s field also includes 10 racers who have combined to win the SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship in 15 of the first 28 campaigns.
Included in that elite group are the season champs of the last eight consecutive seasons in the SCORE World Desert Championship.
‘Chairman of the Board’ in SCORE Trophy Truck is Las Vegas’ Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Rob MacCachren, the G.O.A.T of off-road racing, with 19 all-time SCORE Trophy Truck race wins. The ‘Mac Attack’ is the winningest racer in the history of off-road racing with 315 class victories in multiple classes in the desert, short-course and stadium off-road racing, the amiable MacCachren has also won four SCORE Trophy Truck season point titles (1994, 2007-with Mark Post, 2018 and 2021-with Luke McMillin).
With a fourth-place finish in SCORE Trophy Truck in this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 and a victory in this year’s SCORE Baja 500, MacCachren finished 11th in the SCORE Baja 400. For this year’s SCORE Baja 1000, MacCachren has agreed to be the second driver for Luke McMillin in the No. 83 McMillin Racing 4 Wheel Parts AWD Chevy 1500 (built by Mason Motorsports) in hopes of earning McMillin the season championship and his third consecutive victory in this iconic race. A reversal of what McMillin did last year when they duo paired with MacCachren as the driving of record, earning him the season point championship.
Also entered are two of the four racers tied for second in career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins with 11 victories each are second-generation racer Tim Herbst, third-generation desert racer Andy McMillin and Hall of Fame racer Ragland.
Another Las Vegas ORMHOF inductee, Tim Herbst pilots his No. 19 Ford F-150 built by Herbst/Smith Fab. Sharing the driving duties with Herbst will be fellow-Las Vegan Pat Dean who has one career SCORE Trophy Truck race victory
Herbst and his older brother Ed Herbst earned four SCORE Trophy Truck season point crowns over a five-year period (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003).
San Diego’s Andy McMillin, son of former SCORE champion Scott McMillin and grandson of the late Corky McMillin, will be the second driver for Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies in the No. 7 Menzies Motorsports AWD Ford Raptor built by Mason Motorsports. Andy McMillin won the 2019 SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion. Menzies won the crown in 2011 and he also won this year’s SCORE Baja 400 for the second straight season.
In what might be his final SCORE race on the eve of his 80th birthday, Ragland will be one of a three driver team with Las Vegas’ Dallas Luttrell, the DOR, and Las Vegas’ Billy Goerke in Lutrell’s No. 87 Dodge Ram built by Collins Motorsports.

MORE STALLIONS
Leading the next wave of SCORE Trophy Truck stallions entered in this race are Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr with six career race wins, Larry Roeseler with five and Ryan Arciero who has four career SCORE Trophy Truck race victories.
Part of the most prominent Mexican racing team in SCORE, Vildosola Jr, of Mexicali, will be the second driver this year for Ensenada’s Alan Ampudia, who won the 2019 SCORE Baja 1000. With Ampudia as DOR because he is third in season points. The talented pair will drive Vildosola Jr’s new Mason-built AWD Ford Raptor with Ampudia’s No. 10 on its livery.
Dubbed ‘Mr. Baja’ because of his amazing history in SCORE Baja racing both on two-wheels and four-wheels, Roeseler, Boulevard, Calif. will be driving the No. 43 Baja Jerky Toyota Tundra built by ID Designs. A member of both the Off-Road Motorsports and America Motorcyclist Association Halls of Fame, Roeseler earned his fifth career SCORE Trophy Truck race win by capturing last year’s SCORE Baja 500.
LR has 14 career overall SCORE Baja 1000 victories including 10 on motorcycles, two in open-wheel desert race cars and one in SCORE Trophy Truck. He is the only racer in history who has won this race on a bike, in a car and in a SCORE Trophy Truck.
Roeseler also won the 2020 SCORE Baja 1000 as the second driver for Luke McMillin.
Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif., returns as the inaugural SCORE Baja 400 overall winner in 2019. This year he will be the second driver for Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif., in the No. 16 Monster Energy Geiser-built Ford Raptor.

BAJA RUTA MUY ESPECIAL!
Identified, designed and plotted by SCORE President/Race Director Abelardo Grijalva, the 828.25-mile race course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, runs in a clockwise direction after the first part to and then back and back from Ojos Negros.
The magnificent course features three physical, full-stop checkpoints and 285 virtual checkpoints. The course also has 18 speed zones for a total of 70.6 race miles.
Checkpoint 1 is at race-mile 200.22 (El Chinero), Checkpoint 2 is at rm 579.98 (Ejido Jaramillo) and Checkpoint 3 is at race-mile 726.57 (El Alamo).
After Ojos Negros, the course goes up and over the Cordillera de Molina to drop into the desert around Rm 115.
After reaching the La Ventana area it will run south to the El Chinero road crossing highway 3 at Km 192 and will keep going south to Matomi wash. Halfway into Matomi Wash it exits and goes north to Azufre Wash, then to Huatamote wash, Chanate Wash and up to Morelia Junction.
From there the course will exit the desert and go to San Matias Pass road and Mike’s Sky Rancho, down to Rancho La Jolla and will run on the San Pedro Martir road to Meling Ranch. After Meling it will run to the Pacific Coast to Ejido Jaramillo and north to just below San Vicente where it will cross back to Valley de Trinidad then back to Ojos Negros and onto to the finish line in Ensenada.
For safety reasons, all of the Sportsman 4 Wheel Vehicle classes along with Class 11 and Class 7SX will run a reduced course of 695.79 miles and the Sportsman Motorcycle and Quad classes will race on a reduced course of 760.91 miles.
This year’s course map is available on the SCORE website under race info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page at www.SCORE-International.com.

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (Unlimited CustomTrucks including Builder)--
6 Dan Myers, 44, Newport Beach, Calif./Jason O’Connor, 54, San Marcos, Calif., Toyota Tundra (Brenthel)
7 Bryce Menzies, 35, Las Vegas/Andy McMillin, 35, San Diego, Ford Raptor (Mason)
10 Alan Ampudia, 31, Ensenada, Mexico/Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, 41, Mexico, Ford Raptor (Mason)
14 Bobby Pecoy, 58, Anaheim, Calif./Rhys Millen, 50, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (New Zealand), Ford Raptor (Geiser)
16 Cameron Steele, 54, San Clemente, Calif./Ryan Arciero, 49, Foothill Ranch, Calif., Ford Raptor (Geiser)
18 JP Gomez, 38, Placerville, Calif./Danny Patterson, 49, Placerville, Calif., Ford Raptor (Geiser)
19 Tim Herbst, 59, Las Vegas/Pat Dean, 51, Las Vegas, Ford F-150 (Herbst/Smith)
23 Dan McMillin, 34, San Diego/Josh Daniel, 47, Bonsall, Calif., Chevy 1500 (Mason)
25 Cody Swanty, 47, Kingman, Ariz./Rory Ward, 52, Kingman, Ariz./Rob Reinertson, Woodside, Calif., Dodge Ram (Geiser)
26 Dave Taylor, 48, Page, Ariz./Travis Ricks, 34, Page, Ariz./Ryan Poelman, 46, East Orem, Utah, Ford Raptor (Geiser)
27 Jonathan Brenthel, 43, La Cresta, Calif./Kyle Jergensen, 27, Phelan, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Brenthel)
34 Broc Dickerson, 21, Brawley, Calif./Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, 28, Tecate, Mexico, Ford Raptor (TSCO)
41 Justin Lofton, 36, Brawley, Calif. (Lockney, Texas)/Derek Balcunas, 40, Hemet, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Mason)
43 Larry Roeseler, 65, Boulevard, Calif., Toyota Tundra (ID)
45 Gary Magness, 68, Denver/Jeff Blackwell, Oklahoma City, Ford F-150 (Herbst/Smith)
46 Paul Weel, 43, Australia/Toby Price, 35, Australia, Ford Raptor (Geiser)
58 Tracy Graf, 59, Canada/Justin B. Smith, 38, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado (Racer)
63 Ruben Torres, 24, San Luis Potosi, Mexico/Gabriel Torres, 29, San Luis Potosi, Mexico/Enrique Avalos, 33, Ensenada, Mexico, Nissan (TSCO)
70 Kevin Thompson, 49, New Braunfels, Texas/Harley Letner, 39, Corona, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Herbst/Smith)
72 Kevin Adler, 56, Lake Havasu City, Ariz./Jason Morgan, 46, Lake Havasu City, Ariz./Dan Street, 50, Chula Vista, Calif., Toyota Tundra (Maniak)
82 Sam Baldi, 57, Beaumont, Calif./Jake Johnson, 44, Yucaipa, Calif./Michael Baldi, 52, Yucaipa, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Baldi)
83 Luke McMillin, 29, San Diego/Rob MacCachren, 57, Las Vegas, Chevy 1500 (Mason)
85 Mikey Lawrence, 34, Banning, Calif., Ford Raptor (Herbst/Smith)
86 Marc Martinez, 49, Oro Valley, Ariz./James Dyer, 50, Oro Valley, Calif./Chad Carney, 53, Oro Valley, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Porter)
87 Dallas Luttrell, 49, Las Vegas/Larry Ragland, 79, Cave Creek, Ariz./Billy Goerke, 48, Las Vegas, Dodge Ram (Collins MS)
89 Mike Walser, 55, Comfort, Texas/Jax Redline, 17, Amarillo, Texas, Chevy Silverado (Mason)
90 Raul Gomez, 43, Placerville, Calif./Sergio Garcia, Chino Hills, Calif./Darian Gomez, Placerville, Calif., Ford Raptor (Geiser)
93 Jeff Bianchi, 47, Cedar Lake, Ind./Adam Suttinger, 44, Crown Point, Ind./Erik Eikenmeyer, 20, Tucson, Ariz., Chevy Silverado (Speed)
98 Jose Mendez, 34, Guadalajara, Mexico/Danny Lopez, Guadalajara, Mexico, Ford Raptor (Geiser)

Source Score International
Photo: Bryce Menzies

After an intense battle with Cayden MacCachren throughout race day, the Grabowski Brothers Racing team scored the overall Unlimited Race victory in the inaugural California 300 on Saturday afternoon. When all was said and done, Dustin and Troy Grabowski drove the #272 Unlimited Truck Spec to a four-lap finishing time of 5:44:23, just over two and a half minutes faster than MacCachren, driving his first race in his legendary father Rob’s #1 Unlimited Truck.

“It’s cool to finally have a first overall in the Spec truck!” said Dustin Grabowski, who drove the first two laps. “Maybe by mile five, we had a slow leaker, a right rear tire. We were able to push it to about mile 50 before it finally exploded, so we had to get out and change it, and it was stuck bent around the wheel so we had to get it off. On the second lap, we had a good lap until about 15 miles to the finish, when we had a left rear flat, so we had to pull over and change that. Then I pulled over and handed it off to my little brother—it was his first time racing the truck, he had maybe 50 to 75 miles testing before we came out here, but he had a flawless run.”

“I was going to take my time, drive what I could see, and not push hard,” admitted Troy Grabowski. “It ended up working out for me. I got no flats, and it was just a solid cruise. I wasn’t expecting much—I just came out here to cruise, I wasn’t going to push for an overall, I never thought that was in the picture. But it was a blast!”

The 70-mile Barstow loop was as unforgiving as it was impressive, with drivers throughout the field fighting a challenging course and even facing tire wear during the day. Drivers like Eric Hardin and Steve Olliges laid down impressive early lap times, ensuring that the fight would remain close with MacCachren, but both would retire early from the action, opening the door for Spec trucks to close in on MacCachren—both on the course itself and on corrected time. In the end, the final lap made the difference; Troy Grabowski turned the #272’s best lap of the day, a 1:22:52, compared to MacCachren’s 1:29:17.

Thomas St. Peter would complete the overall podium as the second Spec truck with a time of 6:01:46, while Will Heaton (6:11:34) would complete the Spec class podium in fourth and Johnny McCall (6:12:36) was the top Class 1 finisher at fifth overall.

“Congratulations to the Grabowski brothers for winning the inaugural California 300 Unlimited Race!” Said California 300 CEO Matt Martelli. “Off-road racing has always been a family sport, and it was amazing to see two families that have done so much for the sport represented in first and second. Dustin and Troy drove a terrific race, and Cayden MacCachren impressed us all stepping into his dad’s truck and fighting for the win all day long. What started out as a battle of attrition turned into an epic fight—and we already can’t wait to do it again next year!”

Source The Mint 400

Welcome to Day 1 of the inaugural California 300! We’re kicking things off in Barstow with the Off-Road Festival, while our top classes will also be hitting the qualifying course later today to determine when they’ll roll off on Friday and Saturday. Here’s a look at the full schedule:

8AM: California 300 Midway opens
9AM: California 300 Racer Registration opens
10AM: Beer Garden opens
10:30AM: California 300 Qualifying Group 1

Desert Pro Unlimited
Desert Pro NA
Desert Pro Turbo
Desert Pro PR-100
12PM: California 300 Off-Road Festival (Tech and Contingency) begins
12:30PM: California 300 Qualifying Group 2

Class 10
Unlimited Truck SPEC

Class 1
Unlimited Truck Legends
Unlimited Truck
5PM: Racer Registration closes/Driver’s Meeting
6PM: California 300 Off-Road Festival closes
8PM: California 300 Midway closes

Source The Mint

As the World Series is to baseball, the Super Bowl to football, the Olympics to athletics and the World Cup to soccer, the legendary SCORE Baja 1000 stands as tall at the pinnacle of the motorsports world today as it did when it began 55 years ago.

FLASHBACK
Last year’s epic 54th anniversary race started in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico and finished in La Paz, Baja California Sur, covering much of the majestic Baja California peninsula for 1226.35 grueling miles. It was the 54th anniversary of the race shrouded in mystery that continues to lure the world’s best racers and adventurers from around the globe who all continue to share the dream to conquer the Baja.
A total of 299 official starters, competing in Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads were part of last year’s annual odyssey. Racers came from 35 U.S. States, the U.S. Territories of Guam and Puerto Rico and 17 countries. There were 206 official finishers in 2021.

FLASH FORWARD
In 2022, the BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, will be a loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada. This year’s Granddaddy of All Desert Races will be held Nov. 15-20. Nearly 275 entries are expected from nearly 35 U.S. States and 15 countries.
The rugged race route covers 828.25 miles around the Northern part of Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula. More information is available at www.score-international.com.

ONLY ONE
It’s the oldest and most well known of all desert races, and it remains as the single most appealing accomplishment to a driver. Since 1967, the mother of all desert races has been run over the mysterious, majestic Baja California peninsula every year except 1974 when an international fuel crisis forced a cancellation.

COUNT ‘EM
The SCORE Baja 1000 has captured the imagination of the entire world as entries have come not only from every state in the United States, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories Guam and Puerto Rico, but also has attracted racers from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, Morocco, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia as well as the host country of Mexico.
Over the years, SCORE races have been televised in more than 100 nations worldwide.

THE PIONEERS
The first known record run occurred in 1962. Dave Ekins and Bill Robertson Jr. timed their trip from Tijuana to La Paz on a pair of Honda 250 motorcycles. Ekins made it in 39 hours, 54 minutes, Robertson in less than an hour slower. There were no official timers, of course, and to establish that they had made the trip, the two motorcycle racers time-stamped a sheet of paper in the Tijuana telegraph office and time-stamped it again at the telegraph office when they arrived in La Paz. They began their journey at midnight in Tijuana.
Capitalizing on the pioneer effort of Ekins and Robertson, Chevrolet commissioned car builder Bill Stroppe to prepare a small fleet of trucks for the run to La Paz. Late that year they left Long Beach, Calif., and all of them reached La Paz. Advertising and publicity campaigns heralded the feat as “the roughest run under the sun.”

NUMERO UNO
“Without the SCORE Baja 1000, there just wouldn’t be any desert racing,” said Jim Ryan, SCORE International’s Vice-President of Sales and Marketing. “The SCORE Baja 1000 continues to draw interest from all over the world and we now find second and even third generation racers appearing at the starting line with their family patriarchs cheering for their off-spring. This event continues to be the focal point of the SCORE World Desert Championship each year and the celebration of our 55th anniversary race in November will surely add another colorful chapter to the ever-growing legacy of the iconic SCORE Baja 1000.”

1967
Enthusiast Ed Pearlman founded the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA) and established the Mexican 1000. It started officially in Tijuana on October 31, 1967 with 68 entries. They actually motored at leisure speeds to Ensenada and restarted the next day, finishing in La Paz.
NORRA continued to organize the Mexican 1000, which came to be known as the Baja 1000. In 1968, Pearlman moved the start of the race to Ensenada, where it stayed with one exception until 1993. In 1972 NORRA started at Mexicali and ran the first half of the race down the east coast of the peninsula through the treacherous Three Sisters section. Pre-running for this race, Parnelli Jones and Walker Evans were among a group of competitors who nearly got swept out to sea during a tropical storm.
NORRA’s last race was in 1972. At that point, Mexican officials revoked NORRA’s permits to stage races in Baja. In 1973, a domestic group called the Baja Sports Committee produced the race.

ENTER SCORE
After the fuel crisis of 1974 forced local officials to cancel the event, SCORE International, founded by the late Mickey Thompson and headed soon after by Sal Fish (until 2012), was invited by the northern state of Baja California to hold the race in 1975. The SCORE Baja 1000 became a loop event starting and finishing in Ensenada.
In 1979, the government of Baja California Sur granted permission to resume the Ensenada-to-La Paz format and SCORE has used this route intermittently ever since.
The 1979 race was notable for Walker Evans’ overall win in a Dodge truck, the first truck to win the overall title of the race.

START/FINISH
In its first 54 years, the SCORE Baja 1000 has started 47 times in Ensenada, three times in Mexicali (1972, 1993, 1994), twice in Tijuana (1967, 1995) once in Santo Tomas (1998) and once in Ojos Negros (1999). The legendary race has finished in Ensenada 27 times, in La Paz 22 times, in Mexicali two times (1993, 1994), twice in Cabo San Lucas (2000, 2007) and once in Ojos Negros (1999).

CELEBS/CROSSOVERS
The famous and not-so-famous have tried their hand at conquering the Baja and they have come from all walks of life. Mark Thatcher, son of Great Britain’s then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher, raced in the 1982 SCORE Baja 1000. Celebrities James Garner, Ted Nugent and the late Steve McQueen all battled the Baja in the early 1970s and many racers from other forms of motorsports crossed over to try their skills.
Among the drivers from other arenas who have tested the Baja were Indy Car racers Rick and Roger Mears, Parnelli Jones, Danny Ongias, Danny Sullivan, Jimmy Vasser, Buddy Rice, Sebastien Bourdais, Alexander Rossi, Oriol Servia, Roberto Guerrero, Michel Jourdain Jr., Johnny Unser and Mike and Robbie Groff, NASCAR’s Robby Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Boris Said and Brendan Gaughan, SCCA legend Elliot Forbes-Robinson, World Rally Championships’ Armin Schwarz, Armin Kremer, Andreas Aigner and Harri Pavanpera,, Pikes Peak Hill Climb record holder Rod Millen, Formula Drift and Pikes Peak champion Rhys Millen, world motorcycle champions Malcolm Smith, Larry Roeseler and Destry Abbott, Motocross legends Ricky Johnson and Jeremy McGrath, XGames star Travis Pastrana, drag racers Don Prudhomme and Larry Minor and legendary SCORE founder and motorsports innovator Mickey Thompson.
The late Academy Award winning actor, racer and race team owner Paul Newman raced in the 2004 event. Jesse James, of ‘Monster Garage’ fame, and Hollywood film and TV star Patrick Dempsey both have raced in this classic several times.

LASTING LEGACY
This year’s race will commemorate the achievements of legendary desert racers like Rod Hall, Ron Bishop, Johnny Johnson, and Larry Roeseler. Hall, who passed away in 2019 at 81, retired with an unbelievable record of 25 class wins (including one overall win in 1969), and was the only racer who competed in the first 50 SCORE Baja 1000 races. Bishop, now also deceased was the only racer who competed in the first 40 SCORE Baja 1000 races all on a motorcycle.
Johnson, now retired, had 15 class wins, amazingly in eight different classes.
Roeseler, has won his class 18 times in this race, including 14 overall wins (10 on a motorcycle). Roeseler won the unlimited Class 1 for four consecutive years (2004-2007), driving with the youngest of three racing brothers, Troy Herbst, in the Smithbuilt-Ford open-wheel desert race car that was known as the ‘Land Shark’. Roeseler is the only racer in the history of the event to win the overall 4-wheel in a truck and also in a car as well as the overall 2-wheel title as well.
In 2020, Roeseler was the second driver for Luke McMillin as the pair teamed to win the overall.
In 2008, Roeseler split the driving with driver of record/team owner Roger Norman when they were the overall 4-wheel and SCORE Trophy Truck champions and the pair was second in 2009. In 2010, Roger Norman drove solo the length of the peninsula and finished third overall.
Special history was also made in 2010 when the father/son team of Gustavo Vildosola Sr and Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr drove to the overall 4-wheel and SCORE Trophy Truck victory to become the first Mexican nationals’ team to win the legendary race and it was a peninsula run from Ensenada to La Paz.
That landmark was reached again during the 50th anniversary when Mexico’s Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez and his father Juan C. Lopez split the driving to win the mammoth 2017 peninsula run from Ensenada to la Paz.
In 2019, Mexico’s brothers Alan and Aaron Ampudia became the third team of Mexican nationals to earn the overall 4-wheel and SCORE Trophy Truck win.

BAJA CALLING
Lured by the same siren that enraptured the Ekins brothers in the 1950s, the SCORE Baja 1000 remains as the No. 1 target of adventurers the world over, not to mention the cadre of pro and semi-pro desert racers who consider it the fitting climax to their racing season each year.

Source: Score International

Online Racer Registration now open at www.score-international.com for BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts
Scot Harden announced as Grand Marshal for 2022 SCORE Baja 1000;
SCORE Baja 1000 exhibit in Building 7 Sunday at SoCal’s Fairplex saluting 55th anniversary of world’s most iconic desert race

Another radically rugged race route for November’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, was unveiled Saturday at the SCORE Baja 1000 exhibit area in Building 7 at the eBay Motorsports Off-Road Expo at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif. The popular consumer show concludes Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT).

THE RACE
Nearly 275 entries, from 40 U.S. States and 20 countries are expected to compete in this year’s legendary Granddaddy of All Desert Races.
The world’s most iconic, oldest, prestigious, toughest and longest continuously held desert race, this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 will start and finish in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. It will be a loop race of 828.25 miles in the northern state of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula.
It will start for the 48th time and finish for the 28th time in Ensenada and dates for the race and race week festivities are Nov. 15 through Nov. 20. The race is annually the finale of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship, which has been held exclusively for the past seven years in Baja California.
The race festivities will be held in and around the historic fan-friendly Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada and the start and finish of the legendary race will be in front of the Riviera in the heart of Ensenada.
With a total time-limit of 36 hours in the elapsed-time race, the motorcycle and quad classes will start in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center at 3:30 a.m. (PT) on Friday, Nov. 18 and the car, truck and UTV classes will follow with their start in front of the Riviera at 9:15 a.m. (PT).
Pre-running on the official race course will open on Saturday, Oct. 29.

THE RACE COURSE
The 828.25-mile race course for the BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, runs in a clockwise after the first part to and then back and back from Ojos Negros. It goes up and over the Cordillera de Molina to drop into the desert around Rm 115.
After hitting the Ventana area it will run south to the El Chinero road crossing highway 3 at Km 192 and will keep going south to Matomi wash. Halfway into Matomi Wash it exits and goes north to Azufre Wash, then to Huatamote wash, Chanate Wash and up to Morelia Junction.
From there the course will exit the desert and go to San Matias Pass road and Mike’s Sky Rancho, down to Rancho La Jolla and will run on the San Pedro Martir road to Meling Ranch. After Meling it will run to the Pacific Coast to Ejido Jaramillo and north to San Vicente where it will cross back to Valley de Trinidad then back to Ojos Negros and onto to the finish line in Ensenada.
For safety reasons, all of the Sportsman classes along with Class 11 and Class 7SX will run a reduced course of 782.49 miles.
This year’s course map is available on the SCORE website under race info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page at www.SCORE-International.com.

Source SCORE International

Two Monster Energy-backed racers in overall top seven, three in Pro UTV Forced Induction top five

Monster Energy’s team of off-road superstars continued their quest for the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship on Saturday, taking on the 3rd SCORE Baja 400 with full force. When all was said and done, Monster-backed racers took two podiums and five top-five finishes across the Trophy Truck, Trophy Truck Spec, and Pro UTV Forced Induction divisions, as well as two of the top seven overall finishing spots.

Topping the overall finishers was the #10 Trophy Truck of Alan Ampudia, who finished fourth in both class and overall with a time of 8:11:06. It was the second straight top five finish for Ampudia, who had entered the event third in class points after finishes of seventh in the San Felipe 250 and fifth in the Baja 500.

“We had a lot of fun out there,” Ampudia said after reaching the finish line. “The course was a little muddy, but outside from an electric problem that costed us a few minutes at the start, we did great and enjoyed the race. We’re ready for the SCORE Baja 1000. I’m looking to invite some people to drive with me and we’ll see how it goes.”

Ampudia was joined in the overall top 10 by Cameron Steele, who finished seventh in the #16 Trophy Truck at 8:21:09 in his return to the series. Tim Herbst and the #19 Terrible Herbst team would also persevere through mechanical issues to make it to the finish at 18th in class, surviving the treacherous course where others struggled.

The Trophy Truck Spec class also featured two Monster machines in the top seven, this time led by Jorge Sampietro. The former SCORE class champion took third place in the division at 8:42:10, maintaining his hold on second place in the 2022 standings as a result.

“This is awesome,” Sampietro told SCORE at the finish line. “It was super tough, super tight. The goal was to get a good starting position for the SCORE Baja 1000. We had one flat, my fault. And then I lost first gear and had to take it easy on the transmission to make it to the finish.”

Joining Sampietro at the finish line in Ensenada was the #264 Terrible Herbst team led by Pierce Herbst, who completed the nearly 400-mile loop in 9:17:46; it was the second top-10 of the season for Herbst, who finished third in San Felipe.

“It was a really tough course, but that’s why we love Baja,” Herbst explained. “James Dean started and did a fantastic job. Sadly, we had a rough day. We got a flat and got stuck in dust, not where we wanted to be and then got stuck. Larry Roeseler pulled us out—he’s a great man, he didn’t have to do that at all. We’re just thankful to be here at the finish.”

But the team’s masterpiece came in Pro UTV Forced Induction, where three of the top five finishers carried Monster Energy backing to the finish. Rodrigo Ampudia joined his brother with a top-five performance in second at 9:46:34, while stellar results for Matt Burroughs and Marc Burnett saw them come home in fourth and fifth, respectively.

“It was a fun race,” Ampudia said. “Definitely finishing second and battling for first was good and making the podium. We were battling for the win!”

“(Our race) was going good until race mile 80,” added Burnett. “We had an intake boot come off and we lost all the turbo, so we had to go fix that and we were really far back. From there on, we had an axle go bad and a wheel go bad. But overall, we made it here and, we’re still in the points. The course was rough—lots of mudholes and ditches. We will be ready for the SCORE Baja 1000 with a new car!”

San Felipe 250 winner Justin Lambert, who entered the race tied for the championship lead, would finish ninth to keep his title hopes alive as well. Lambert, Burroughs, and Burnett will all enter the season-ending Baja 1000 in November with an opportunity to claim the class title.

Monster Energy is the Official Energy Drink of SCORE. The 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship wraps up on November 15-20 with the most grueling event of the year, the 55th SCORE Baja 1000. In addition, the 3rd SCORE Baja 400 will air as part of ESPN’s World of X Games coverage. The broadcast will debut on Sunday, November 6 at 9PM PT/12AM ET on ESPN2. Be sure to tune in to watch the Monster Energy athletes in action!

Source Monster Energy Team

All four Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team drivers raced a wild 2022 Vegas to Reno, plus a special guest joined them for the ride. Americans Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Seth Quintero were joined by Europeans Guillaume De Mevius and Cristina Gutiérrez as well as Dani Sordo for the latest round of the Best in the Desert series.
Heavy rainfall in Nevada during the week leading up to the race forced organisers into some last-minute modifications. Specifically, a new start line was picked and a neutralisation zone was established in the middle of the course. Despite the shake-up, there was still just shy of 500 miles of gnarly off-road action to contend with.

Mitch Guthrie Jr. qualified his Polaris RZR Pro R in 2nd place for Friday’s UTV Trophy Unlimited race. The 25-year-old carried on his pace from April’s Silver State 300 on the route out of Vegas as he kept up with the very best in his class. Guthrie Jr. was challenging for the win as the race crossed the 350 mile mark and he put the hammer down to take 1st in class at the finish line.

“After a small issue we had a perfect run to the finish, making passes and ending up 1st in class and 2nd UTV across the finish line.” – Mitch Guthrie Jr.

Seth Quintero was back at the race that he had recorded back-to-back victories at in 2019 and 2020. Racing his Polaris RZR in the UTV Turbo Pro category, the 19-year-old clocked the 18th fastest time in the qualification round. When the real race got underway on Friday, Seth wasted no time charging through the field. He reached the midway neutralisation zone in the podium positions before eventually crossing the finish line in 7th place in the UTV Turbo Pro class and in the Top 10 UTVs overall, after having a great battle with Dakar rival Chaleco Lopez along the way. Quintero's next race will see him join his team-mates at October's Rallye du Maroc.

“Excited for these next few months as we have multiple different types of racing disciplines we will be doing and I’m all in for the adventure!” – Seth Quintero

This was a first attempt at a Best in the Desert race for Guillaume De Mevius and co-driver François Cazalet. The duo qualified their OT3 (making its US debut) in 4th for the UTV Trophy Unlimited class and then amazingly led their category at the neutralisation zone. Ultimately, the Vegas to Reno adventure ended prematurely for De Mevius, but the Dakar stage winner will have picked up plenty of invaluable racing experience from his trip to Nevada.

The fourth Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team crew racing this year’s Vegas to Reno was Cristina Gutiérrez and co-driver Pablo Moreno. The plan was for the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies champion Gutiérrez to hand over the controls of her OT3 to WRC regular Dani Sordo at the halfway point of the race. Gutiérrez brought her OT3 through the first part of the race in the Top 10 of the UTV Trophy Unlimited class. Then Sordo took over for the second half of the race, an encouraging start saw him climb the rankings before eventually being forced to retire before reaching the finish line.

“It was a shame that with 250km to go an electrical problem left us without a battery while we were running 4th in our category.” – Cristina Gutiérrez

This was the first time all four Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team drivers had competed together in the United States. It is always the aim of the team to give talented and hungry drivers the chance to test themselves at prestigious races all over the world. Up next will be a return to the Rallye du Maroc in October as attention returns to the World Rally Raid Championship and preparation for the 2023 Dakar Rally.

Mitch Guthrie Jr.: “This year’s Vegas to Reno was awesome! We had a great qualifying run which set us up in 2nd for the race. Off the start we had some good battles for the lead until we ran into a small issue which got fixed quickly and we got back on course. From there we dropped back to 5th car, so we put our heads down to make up time and make some passes. From there we had a perfect run to the finish, making passes and ending up 1st in class and 2nd UTV across the finish line.”

Seth Quintero: “Super rad day battling it out within seconds for the top spot of the box the entire race. Unfortunately about mile marker 320 we folded a radius rod that hindered us until we got to pit 9 where the team swapped it out and we got back going and charged hard all the way to the finish coming up just barely short of the podium. All in all it was an amazing day and the team did flawless as always, well get that top spot soon I’m feeling it! Excited for these next few months as we have multiple different types of racing disciplines we will be doing and I’m all in for the adventure! Time to tear down and get ready for the next race quickly.”

Cristina Gutiérrez: “It has been a nice experience running alongside Dani Sordo in our first race in the US. During the race we went at a very good pace and Dani adapted perfectly to the OT3. It was a shame that with 250km to go an electrical problem left us without a battery while we were running 4th in our category. We make a positive assessment of this beautiful experience and I want to thank the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team for this opportunity to race alongside a great driver like Dani.”

Dani Sordo: “I enjoyed my experience at Vegas to Reno a lot. I think that Cristina made an amazing job before I took the car. When I jumped in the car I was pushing as much as I could and we climbed as high as fourth position. Then we had an electrical problem. Everything apart from that issue was amazing. Without suffering our problem I’m sure we were in with a shot to win the race.”

Source: Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool