Adding to historic resumes and family legacies, Luke McMillin and Rob MacCachren overcame stiff competition, bitter cold, rain and 864 miles of Baja’s toughest terrain to claim the official overall victory at this weekend’s 57th BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000.
Representing their third overall title in four years, the duo took advantage of outright speed and reliability in their No. 83 McMillin Racing Beast Unleashed/BFGoodrich all-wheel drive Ford Raptor to earn the win over a starting field of 284 entries and 34 other SCORE Trophy Trucks and Trophy Truck Legends.
Off the start, MacCachren took advantage of his second-place qualifying effort to stay well within the lead pack. Competition for the win opened up early as pole-sitters Bryce Menzies and Christopher Polvoorde had power steering issues end their day at race mile 27. From there it was a razor tight battle to the halfway point between MacCachren, Australian Toby Price, the Mexican teams of Alan Ampudia and Tavo Vildosola, the Trophy Truck Legends entry of Supercross legend Ricky Johnson as well as Luke’s cousin Andy McMillin.
Racing in Baja is legendary for giving and taking away, and such was the case for several front-runners during the second 400 miles of the event. Price was in prime position, leading on corrected time before being sidelined in his Mason-built all-wheel drive entry. The same fate halted the progress of Dan McMillin, who had taken over from Andy after a spirited drive.
A cold and rainy night offered additional challenges as racers neared the Ensenada finish. At the checkered flag it was McMillin/MacCachren, followed just over six minutes later by the No. 21 Trophy Truck of second-generation racer Tavo Vildosola and Jason McNeil. Tavo’s father Gustavo took over from Johnson in the 1L Ford to earn the team a Trophy Truck Legends class victory and podium finish in the overall standings. Alan Ampudia drove the entire distance to capture fourth in his Ford Trophy-Truck, with Justin Lofton taking fifth. All five of the top truck were Mason Motorsports-built all-wheel-drive machines.
The McMillin/MacCachren combination covered the technical 864.13-mile course in a total time of 15h54m37s, good for an average speed of 57.6087mph. The overall Baja 1000 victory was the third out of four attempts for the potent duo as they won in 2021 and ’22. In keeping with his tough reputation, co-driver extraordinaire Jason Duncan navigated the entire distance.
The McMillin Racing legacy is a third-generation story, as family patriarch Corky McMillin’s name first appeared on a SCORE entry list for the 1976 Baja 1000. Sons Mark and Scott McMillin became synonymous with off-road racing excellence over the coming decades, with Scott serving as this year’s Baja 1000 Grand Marshal.
For MacCachren, long considered off-road racing’s most prolific talent, this weekend’s performance marked his seventh overall race win, with McMillin now earning four such titles.
Thor Herbst, joined by Riley and Pierce Herbst, joined forces to claim the highly competitive SCORE Trophy Truck Spec win after a steady drive – earning a fine sixth place in the official overall standings.
The race’s most historic and eye-opening performance, however, was turned in by the solo drive of Brock Heger and navigator Justin Wilson in the No. 1896 SCI Motorsports factory entered Polaris RZR R. The young Californian not only finished less than eight minutes behind Herbst — claiming seventh overall and the Pro UTV Open victory — but also beat every Class 1 unlimited open-wheel car in the process. Heger’s performance firmly cemented the future of UTV racing in off-road motorsports by posting the highest finish for such a vehicle in SCORE history.
Sadly, the race was marred by a tragic Thursday afternoon incident in which a crew member of the Buehler Motorsports team from Kansas City, Mo., killed two spectators driving the No. 78 Trophy Truck. The two victims were identified as Fred Goff James and Esteban Velázquez, both American citizens. Despite receiving first aid almost immediately, both passed away due to injuries sustained after being crushed between vehicles.
The accident took place in downtown Ensenada during traditional pre-race activities in which teams line up their race vehicles before technical and safety inspection. Juan Tintos Funke, SCORE International general manager, said that the accident was caused by the imprudence of the Buehler Motorsports member who was behind the wheel at the time of the incident.
Two high-speed accidents during the race also took place resulting in spectacular social media footage but thankfully no injuries. The first involving the No. 238 Trophy Truck Spec of Elijah Kiger’s at race mile 160. The No. 138 Wilson Motorsports Class 1 entered by Kyle Quinn/John Herder also went end over end, the result of a result of spectator-created “booby trap” that were built after pre-running had ended.
SCORE International earned extensive praise from viewers around the world for hours of groundbreaking coverage of the race, much of it fueled by the recent advent of in-car footage provided by on-board Starlink systems. RACER.com will explore the latest technology that is changing off-road motorsports in a significant way in an upcoming feature story.
TOP 10 RESULTS:
1). Luke McMillin No. 83 Trophy Truck 15:54:37
2). Tavo Vildosola No. 21 Trophy Truck 16:00:29
3). Gustavo Vildosola No. 1L Trophy Truck Legends 17:01:39
4). Alan Ampudia No. 10 Trophy Truck 17:12:58
5). Justin Lofton No. 41 Trophy Truck 17:15:48
6). Thor Herbst No. 219 Trophy Truck Spec 17:57:52
7). Brock Heger No. 1896 Pro UTV Open 18:06:35
8). Jordan Brenthel No. 273 Trophy Truck Spec 18:08:28
9). Jose Ruvalcaba No. 209 Trophy Truck Spec 18:48:22
10. Dave Taylor No. 26 Trophy Truck 18:51:41