57th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Post-Race Quotes Trucks and buggys

Post-Race Quotes (Finish line - As interviewed by Paul Hanson, Isaac Flores, Ariana Medrano, Adilene Ponce; transcribed by Cindy Clark, Ariana Medrano) Pro Cars, Trucks & UTVs

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Gabriel Garcia, gabriel@score-international.com

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Gabriel Garcia, gabriel@score-international.com 

 

57th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000

Finale of four-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship

Nov. 11-17 – 864.13 miles

Ensenada, Baja California

 

Post-Race Quotes

(Finish line - As interviewed by Paul Hanson, Isaac Flores, Ariana Medrano, Adilene Ponce; transcribed by Cindy Clark, Ariana Medrano)

Pro Cars, Trucks & UTVs

 

 SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (Unlimited Custom Trucks) 

LUKE MCMILLIN, No. 83 (First in class. First overall. Rob MacCachren started and drove to race mile 460. Luke McMillin drove from race mile 460 to the finish.) - - It went great. Not a single flat tire. We just kept moving and moving. Rob brought it to me in the lead, flawless, like you would expect Rob Mac to do, and we never looked back. I knew Toby was back there and would be coming so we hit the dirt running and put a few minutes on him. I may have pushed it a little too hard, but no flats. I had an issue with my speed limiter. When I got on the highway, it didn’t take over. But today the truck felt good, an effortless flow. Like Larry Roeseler says, you just gotta flow and keep momentum. Thank you to Rob MacCachren and Amber and the entire MacCachren Motorsports. They did an amazing job. BFGoodrich tires were amazing, Method race wheels has the strongest, lightest wheel; it is the best tire and wheel combo out there. They deserve this win. 

 

TAVO VILDOSOLA, No. 21 (Second in class. Second overall. Tavo Vildosola drove solo.) - - It was a day at the SCORE Baja 1000. It had a lot of ups and downs. We started well. We positioned ourselves in the beginning going into the beach. We made a little mistake there and lost some time. Then the truck shut off on us around race mile 100. We picked ourselves back up and started picking people off again. We were running second around race mile 300 and there was blinding silt and ran into a tree. Stuck on it like Curious George for about 15 minutes. and finally got unstuck. Jason McNeil got in around race mile 380 and he did an amazing job. Got by Lofton, Walser, D. McMillin. Gave me the truck back and Alan had an issue and got by him and started hunting down Luke. The truck ran amazing. Pretty clean run. We fought all day long. All the people at Vildosola Racing did an amazing job keeping us in the running today. CO-DRIVER JASON MCNEIL said: It was good. We got behind at the beginning of the race and when I got the truck we were about twelve minutes behind. It was a wild ride. My co-driver did an amazing job getting us around four or five trucks to get physical second place. These Mason AWD vehicles are really amazing. Racing at this level, these guys are really going fast. It was a good day. We wanted to win, but maybe three minutes behind after 900 miles is pretty good.

 

ALAN AMPUDIA, No. 10 (Third in class. Fourth overall. Alan Ampudia drove solo.) - - We solo’d today. Long hours. Super fun. Lotta highs, lotta lows. We got up to second from eighth, so that was fun. Then I got a flat and got passed by two guys. Then we got back out there and passed two again. Then the belt for the power steering popped twice, so we probably lost 30 minutes there. It is Baja, it’s racing, you can’t win them all. Just stoked to be here. Finishing is what matters. We will come out swinging next year. There is a little bit of everything. Thank you to all the fans that support us, all night and in the rain, cheering us on. That was sweet.

 

JUSTIN LOFTON, No. 41 (Fourth in class. Fifth overall. Justin Lofton drove solo.) - - I’m feeling good. I drove the whole way. Stopped for some AhBeef. Let’s go another couple hundred miles. Not really. It started raining on us. It’s the SCORE Baja 1000, never know what to expect. It was a lot of fun. We had the right pit equipment at the right place. Thank you to Fox, BFGoodrich, Method, Danzio, and my co-riders and all our crew volunteers that come down here and help us out. The truck performed great all day. It is amazing what the trucks can do. I want to thank my crew guys. I have some that have been with me for the last 20 plus years. Thank you to my dad, family, mom, wife and son back home. We look forward to next year. See you at the 2025 SCORE San Felipe 250.

 

DAVE TAYLOR, No. 26 (Fifth in class. Dave Taylor started and drove to race mile 470. Dodge Poelman drove from race mile 470 to race mile 660. Ryan Dodge Poelman drove from race mile 660 to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER RYAN POELMAN said: Dave started and lost a power steering line in the first pit. Then he got two flat tires. Then he got stuck in the Catavina silt. Then my son, Dodge, got in and he ripped it from 30th position to about 20th. Then I passed a couple guys and a couple more guys dropped out so we ended up with a decent finish. We had so much fun.

 

CAMERON STEELE, No. 16 (Sixth in class. Cameron Steele shared driving duties with Dave Mason.) - - I think it went alright. It’s a muddy mess right now but we got ourselves up to fourth at one point but then had a computer gremlin. It took two hours to figure out all we had to do is unplug the transmission sensor and plug back in. Dave had fun driving it for the first time. CO-DRIVER DAVE MASON said: It was a pretty smooth day. Yokohama tires were great all day. We were just trying to keep moving the whole way. The truck was phenomenal. I was really impressed how it handled in the big bumps. I wanted to deliver her in a better position than when I got her and we did that. It was just unfortunate that the gremlin popped up, otherwise we would be in a better position than we are. Overall, can’t be happier with the team. Grateful to be part of it.

 

RUBEN TORRES, No. 63 (Seventh in class.) - - We started strong and were in the top five and then we started to have brake issues around race mile 230. We had to drive over one hundred miles with no brakes. We had three flat tires, but we made it to the finish. We will be stronger next year.

 

ROBERTO ROMO JR, No. 33 (Ninth in class. Twentieth overall.) - - SCORE Baja 1000. Little . We had problems.

 

 

 *SCORE TT LEGEND (Unlimited Production Trucks, Drivers over 50 years old)—

GUSTAVO VILDOSOLA SR, No. 1L (First in class. Third overall. Ricky Johnson started and drove to race mile 380. Mike Coleman drove from race mile 380 to race mile 560. Gustavo Vildosola Sr drove from race mile 560 to the finish.) - - Thank you. Twelve in a row. What a feat. Hard to believe, but I believe it because we are here. It was raining at the end so we couldn’t see too well. My eyes got sand and water-blasted, but it was worth it. The boys at the shop deserve a big thank you. They did a perfect job. What a day. I want to thank my family always supporting us. And thank you to Baja Designs for making it like daylight. And all our other sponsors. See you in San Felipe. We are going for thirteen. CO-DRIVER RICKY JOHNSON said: It was awesome. I have to give it to the Vildosola team. We wrapped up a perfect season with a Championship and a top three overall with all these big dogs. It was perfect run this morning with the rain. I’ve never had a faster run. It wasn’t muddy, it was perfect. It dumped, then stopped. It was like God came down and watered the track for us. It was awesome. It was windy but everything worked out perfect. CO-DIVER MIKE COLEMAN said: Ricky handed me a perfect truck. We had no issues. Truck runs flawlessly. I think we are first. That is how Gus rolls.

 

GREG ADLER, No. 65L (Second in class. Greg Adler started and drove to race mile 180. Jesse Jones drove from race mile 180 to race mile 360. Thomas Fichter drove from race mile 360 to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER THOMAS FICHTER said: Jesse Jones ran out of gas at race mile 360 so I had back track and get in and bring fuel. Then I drove to the finish. We had a good run. No flats. Other than running out of gas, we had no problems. We went from sixth to second.

 

TIM HERBST, No. 19L (Third in class. Tim Herbst shared driving duties with Ryan Arciero.) - - Ryan drove a great first half until he started having alternator problems. They got stuck in a mountain pass. It’s a great Baja adventure. We had a good time. It is great to accomplish the goal of finishing.

 

CLAY LAWRENCE, No. 85L (Fourth in class. Larry Roeseler started. Steve Lawler drove the middle section. Clay Lawrence drove the last section.) - - We were smoking and then took a wrong turn and the road clipped out and could not get back up. We spent an hour trying to get out. Wade Porter was kind enough to pull us out. So I felt obliged to roll EJ back over and then lost to Tim in the end. Hey, this is Baja. I think we got second in the Championship. At the end of the day we are very thankful. The memories. The main thing is we are all safe and we can load it and come back next year.

 

  CLASS 1 (Unlimited open-wheel single or two-seaters)-- 

CODY REID, No. 168 (First in class. Cody Reid started and drove the first half. Adam Pfankuch drove to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER ADAM PFANKUCH said: We had a lot of issues today but were able to make it happen. The rear rotor sheared off the back of the car so we had to limp the car in. Two times. Thirty miles after fixing the one side, the other side broke. So we lost an hour and a half with that. But we rallied. San Felipe was beautiful and then as we approached the finish, my hands started going numb from the cold.

 

CODY PARKHOUSE, No. 127 (Second in class. Cody Parkhouse started and drove to race mile 601. Brian Parkhouse drove from race mile 601 to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER BRIAN PARKHOUSE said: It went pretty well. The car was prepped so well I think we could go do another lap around this course right now. Cody tagged a rock and damaged the power steering assist and that cost us about an hour and half, but we still got second. We only had one flat. It was a good day. 

 

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 138 (Third in class. Brendan Gaughan shared driving duties with Casey Mears and Buddy Feldkamp.) - - The race was going great. Casey Mears did a phenomenal job getting us the car in great shape about thirty minutes faster than I thought. I have been racing for about 35 years and I had a top five moment in the Catavina silt beds tonight. Then I gave it to Buddy with about a twenty minute lead. Then we had a power steering pump go. That is part of racing – parts failure. Collins Motorsports did a great job getting us fixed up. BFG pits helped us out. In the end, it looks like a top three and in the end it’s another amazing Mexico story. We gave it our best. 

 

  TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (unlimited Truck/SUV, stock, sealed engines)

THOR HERBST, No. 219 (First in class. Thor Herbst started and drove to race mile 420. Riley Herbst drove from race mile 420 to race mile 560. Pierce Herbst drove from race mil 560 to the finish.) - - I had a little bit of rain this morning. Pierce definitely got rain on his way to the finish. We all had a good day. We all had our little instances that one would have trying to get to the finish of the SCORE Baja 1000. We all had a fun day. CO-DRIVER RILEY HERBST said: It was good. It was fun. I only had a short stint. Mainly it’s driven by my cousins Thor and Pierce. They have been working really hard on this Championship and luckily they got to claim it today. It is a good Team Terrible win. Back in the top box in Baja. That is back to back wins for us. Really proud of everyone at Team Terrible Herbst Motorsports. I am proud of Thor, Pierce, Jeremy and Trevor. They have had a great year this year and I am grateful to be a small part of it. We build really good trucks at One Nine Industries. Everyone at Terrible Herbst and Monster Energy gives us a good truck for us to go compete and do our jobs at a high level and we did that today.

 

JORDAN BRENTHEL, No. 273 (Second in class. Jordan Brenthel started and drove to race mile 200. Apdaly Lopez drove from race mile 200 to race mile 560. Roy Tompkins drove from race mile 560 to the finish.) - - We had a fairly clean run. All the body panels are on and everyone is in good spirits. Unofficially we are in second place.

 

J. DAVID RUVALCABA, No. 209 (Third in class. Jose David Ruvalcaba started and drove to race mile 460. Jorge Sampietro drove from race mile 460 to the finish.) - - Everything went well. It was a very competitive race. We are glad to be here at the finish. We had some issue with our lights. Our light bar fell down right after Rancho Nelson. Then our front lights were wobbly and we had to reattach with wire. Other than that, it was a clean race. CO-DRIVER JORGE SANPIETRO said: It was a tough race. We did almost four hundred miles, and it was cold and rainy from Valley T to Ensenada. We are super excited for our unofficial third place finish. 

 

CHARLES DORRANCE, No. 299 (Fourth in class.) - - It went really well. The only hiccup we had was a flat tire early in the race. There was a lot of carnage we had to work around, but that is just Baja racing for you. We had a hard time getting up a silt hill but we did what we needed to do and are pretty happy with where we are at.

 

STEPHEN BEAL, No. 241 (Fifth in class. Sean Geiser started and drove to race mile 100. Jared Lubeck drove from race mile 100 to race mile 210. Stephen Beal drove from race mile 210 to the finish.) - - It went great. The truck was flawless. The co-driver never missed a note, never missed a call. Just as smooth as you could image. Kept the truck moving. We took the hood off to fix a brake caliper. We appreciate SCORE and all they do. Great event.

 

BRENT FOX, No. 282 (Seventh in class. Brent Fox started and drove to race mile 220. Brady Fox drove from race mile 220 to race mile 600. Preston Brigman drove from race mile 600 to the finish) - - CO-DRIVER PRESTON BRIGMAN said: Brent had a good run off the line. No issues. It was bumper to bumper headed down the coast. Then Brady got in and took it to race mile 600 and got stuck in a bottle neck but came out first on the road. Then they had an issue and dropped maybe two spots. We got in second on the road and chased down Herbst and got sideways in a wash and spent an hour and half digging out of that. And now we are here.

 

MASON CULLEN, No. 207 (Sixth in class. Broc Dickerson started and drove the first half. Mason Cullen finished.) - - It went great. Broc did an amazing job in qualifying and got us a good stating spot. It seems like he picked up a couple more spots on course, but then we had some problems with some parts. Then we had no rear bump spots and no rear sway bar so we had a lot of body roll and beating up the rear. But, we got it here. No flats though. The BFGoodrich’s were amazing. 

 

  CLASS 10 (Limited, sealed engine, single or two-seaters)

MATIAS ARJONA IV, No. 1002 (First in class.) - - I’m excited to be the first Class 10 at the finish line, and if all goes well, first buggy overall. Nineteen and a half hours later, we have finally made it to the finish line. It was a really fun and a perfect race and we’re hoping everything works out with the official times and we stay in first place. We honestly had a perfect race. No one had to unbuckle their seatbelts and get out of the car. The only issue we faced was the weather at the end. It started to rain and snow on us, so that slowed us down a bit. But, we had a good lead going, so we were able to take our time and not push car too hard.

  

HIRAM DURAN, No. 1016 (Second in class. Eric Fernando Duran started and drove to race mile 215. Evan Duran Jr, drove from race mile 215 to race mile 470. Marco Duran drove from race mile 470 to race mile 600. Hiram Duran drove from race mile 600 to the finish.) - - We got stuck in Catavina for like thirty minutes and lost the lead and he made some time on us. Then we lost the skid plate and stopped a few times to strap that back on. Now we are here. It was fun. My section had a lot of rain.

 

JASON SHIPMAN, No. 1044 (Third in class. Jason Shipman started and drove to race mile 230. Ben Swift and Chris Boyd shared driving duties. Andy Shipman drove to the finish.) - - It’s a long race. We didn’t want to go out and set the world on fire on the start. We lost a few spots in the beginning, but as the race progressed and attrition sets in, we started picking up the pace. Then busted an oil pan and spent 48 minutes fixing that. We might have had a better position if that didn’t happen. Maybe. But overall it was a fantastic race. We enjoyed it. We love it. We will probably have to come back. It’s horrible.

 

  PRO UTV OPEN (two-seat unlimited UTV open-displacement) --

BROCK HEGER, No. 1896 (First in class. Brock Heger drove solo.) - - It was a good day today. We went for it. I’ve never solo’d before. My co-driver killed it all day. We never got out once, never had to change a BFGoodrich tire. Just gas and go. Picture perfect day. Lots of rain coming in. It was slick. We just played it cool on the way in and bring it home. Thank you to SCORE for everything and Polaris for letting me come out here and compete. Thank you to all the Mexican fans cheering us on the side of the course. It was much appreciated, especially soloing and coming in to the end.

 

BRANDEN SIMS, No. 1886 (Second in class. Ethan Groom started and drove to race mile 460. Branden Sims drove from race 460 to the finish.) - - I drove the San Felipe loop, race mile 460 to finish. That was the roughest San Felipe loop I’ve done. It was extremely rough. But I’m glad we are here, we had a great run. We went on our side but got back going and had no other issues. We had a great time. Thank you to the Groom family, they had a great day, delivered me a car in great shape. My navigator, Skyler Howe, was on the ball. We didn’t have any moments, we worked well together. Family and friends that took their time to come down here and help us. My fiancée was tracking us all night. Thank you to her.

 

OSCAR ALVAREZ, No. 1824 (Third in class. Oscar Alvarez started and drove to race mile 280. Rodimiro Amaya drove from race mile 280 to race mile 540. Gustavo Pinuelas

 drove from race mile 540 to the finish.) - - The first seventy miles were tough because it was the mountain cross. There was a lot of cars flipped over. We had to go up some hills and one of them had some fences. We gained some spots there. The last section was dark and rainy and cold. Freezing cold and pouring water. But we are happy we are here and it looks like in third place. Thank you to everyone at SCORE and see you at the next one.

 

MITCHELL ALSUP, No. 1861 (Fourth in class.) - - It went good. The team showed up and we executed all the miles. We overcame the few small issues we had. I couldn’t be more proud of the team and the effort and the drivers and everyone involved with us. To be able to come out here run Pro Open and be the only Can-Am in this class, we are here to compete. I want to thank Alsup Racing Development, Baja Design lights, VP Fuels, FK Rod Ends, the list goes on. It takes a whole army.

 

MAX EDDY JR., No. 1841 (Fifth in class. Larry Job started and drove to race mile 430. Max Eddy drove from race mile 430 to the finish.) - - It was good. We had an early mishap that set up back a couple hours. The rest of the race went fine. Our Polaris Pro-R only got fuel and had one flat.

 

KRISTEN MATLOCK, No. 1854 (Sixth in class. Kristen Matlock drove solo.) - - It was a good day, a good night, a good morning. In that order. We had a few little issues. We have brand new race cars, my husband and I, and we only had about thirty miles in each vehicle, testing time. So basically the SCORE Baja 1000 was a giant test for us, a good shakedown. It took a couple hundred miles to get used to the cars and once we got used to them, we love them. We look forward to giving it a good run at the SCORE San Felipe 250. We battled hard in the beginning with three flats. One was well deserved and the other two was because I didn’t have the suspension dialed in. I had two different co-drivers. We had snow and rain on the way here. I was frozen solid. It started pouring rain, and we got soaked, then it snowed on us, then it rained again. It was definitely a full moon. It was gorgeous.

 

ALFREDO OLMEDO, No. 1819 (Eleventh in class.) - - I started and ended the race, but for us as a team, it was all very exciting. We prepared very much as a team. It was a great team that was able to make it to the end after a very hard and demanding course. Getting to the finish line is a triumph, and coming all the way from Argentina is a double triumph. We had a couple of mechanical issues, but we were able to take care of them after about two hours and continue on to the finish. 

 

  PRO UTV FI (two-seat Forced Induction, OEM engine UTVs)

PHIL BLURTON, No. 2944 (First in class. Phil Blurton shared driving duties with Vito Ranuio) - - We lost a fuel pump around race mile 700. We lost a spare tire. Besides that we just cruised along. It was really really cold at the end there. Cold and wet. I should have left Vito in the car but I wanted to bring it to the finish. We have won a SCORE Baja 1000 and had a second and a third and hopefully this is another first.

 

ERICK KOZIN, No. 2940 (Second in class.) - - It was good. We just paced ourselves all day. It was a long race. No real issues. Just took our time to make sure we made it to the finish. We got a little rain at the end, but most of the race was uneventful. We just wanted to finish so we can get the Championship.

 

PJ JONES, No. 2998 (Third in class. PJ Jones started and did the first section. Kyle Vestermark did the middle section. Jones drove to the finish.) - - We had a good day going but then had some problems with the car and it took us some time to get it fixed. We probably had a couple hours of down time, a couple flats, but I think we ended up third. Not as good as last year when we won with the Murrays but it was a good run. Brand new car. Can’t complain. Top three. At least we got a good finish out of it. It was a long, rough race.

 

  PRO STOCK UTV (Stock UTV’s FI or NA) –

KADEN WELLS, No. 3925 (First in class. Kaden Wells drove solo.) - - It was pretty rough but quicker than I thought it was going to be. I normally have Emma in the co-seat and this time I have Rudy. We never had to get out of the car for anything the entire race. Just gas and go. There were two bottlenecks but it only slowed us for a couple minutes. It was cold this morning.

 

FRANCISCO BELTRAN, No. 3921 (Second in class.) - - It was a very demanding and technical course. You had to really do your job when it came to your section and trust in your teammates to do their section, so you could relieve them in the morning. My first section was very technical. There were a lot of people stuck or flipped over. Then, when we made it up the coast, it was really fast. We started in first and we were able to keep that position until about race mile 150, when we got a flat and we lost the lead. Overall, it was a technical and beautiful course. 

 

FERNANDO KABANDE, No. 3981 (Fourth in class.) - - The race was spectacular, difficult and really complicated, but so good, I'm thankful to the team that did a great job. There were a couple of issues, but nothing the team couldn't solve. It was 27 hours of a lot of action. I think we came in third, we haven't had it confirmed, but we think that's where we placed, and were really happy about it. My sections were a lot of fun. It truly was an adventure, and there was plenty of excitement.

 

ANIBAL LOPEZ, No. 3919 (Seventh in class.) - - CO-DRIVER LEONARDO LOPEZ said: I started the race and my section was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people out there. It felt like I couldn't go more than two miles without seeing a car stuck or broken down. It was a really demanding course, but a lot of fun. The car ran perfect, but that’s why we always run with Polaris.

 

  CLASS 7F (Stock frame, 2 or 4-wheel drive mini or mid-size trucks) –

JUSTIN PARK, No. 700F (First in class. Justin Park started and shared driving duties with Pako Martinez and Cole Andrews.) - - It was a rough one. If you could see my vehicle you would see that. Great race. Unbelievable. Our team did an amazing job. They kept it together the whole time. We rolled the truck in the first sixty miles, which was a big set-back for us. But we got it put back over, topped off the fluids and luckily she was in great shape. We were able to bring it to the finish line today, not only for the win but also for the Championship and hopefully for a milestone award. The rain was tough, the excessive pre-running was difficult on the course for our class. We have broken fiberglass and bent metal. But that’s all part of it.

 

  PRO UTV (two-seat Normally Aspirated, OEM engine UTVs)-- 

MICHAEL MCFAYDEN, No. 1925 (First in class.) - - The race was awesome. Super long. I think 22 hours. It was a long day. I drove the start to race mile 480, then my teammate, Zach Sizelove, got in. He did a great job holding down his section. Then I got back in 150 miles ago. It was pretty dusty and blown out by the time we got through there. But we didn’t have any issues with the car. It was a great day.

 

JOE BOLTON, No. 1957 (Second in class. Joe Bolton started and drove to race mile 280. Mike Leslie drove from race mile 280 to race mile 560. Austin Bolton drove from race mile 560 to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER AUSTIN BOLTON said: It was very rough. It was a long night…ten hours. I could have gone faster and caught first place, but I didn’t. No issues most of the day, just one five minute stop.

 

  CLASS 5 (Unlimited Baja Bugs, VW concept engines allowed) –

TREY HERNQUIST, No. 501 (First in class. Trey Hernquist started and drove to race mile 315. Adam Johnston drove from race mile 315 to race mile 600. Bill Hernquist drove from race mile 600 to the finish.) - - It was a long day. We are here. We didn’t really have any major issues. My section was fast, no issues, didn’t get out of the car. Adam got a couple flat tires and maybe bent a tie rod. We battled all day with Eli Yee, which was awesome. Back and forth a couple times. Just did what we could to just get it here. This is my first SCORE Baja 1000 win, unofficially. It was cool that my dad got in at race mile 600 and drove to the finish for us. 

 

  CLASS 7 (unlimited, six-cylinder, production appearing trucks or SUVS) – 

DANIEL CHAMLEE, No. 700 (First in class.) - - It was a long, bumpy day. The truck performed really well. We are unofficially first so we are happy. We are probably not going to get the Championship because I think Reese got it, so congratulations to him.

 

  SCORE LITES (VW-powered, Limited single - 1776cc-or two-seaters-1835cc)

SCOTT WISDOM, No. 1221 (First in class. Scott Wisdom started and shared driving duties with Matt Ferado. Jacob Wisdom drove from race mile 465 to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER JACOB WISDOM said: It was great. It was a lot. It was a rough course. We had one flat tire but other than that it was just beating our way to the finish. The air pumper went out. Matt took the beating on that through the silt. My plan was to not get a flat. I thought I would win if I didn’t. I did get a flat but I think we still won.

 

  CLASS 1/2-1600 (VW-powered, single or two-seaters to 1600cc)

RAUL OJEDA, No. 1656 (First in class.) - - The course was very difficult and very competitive. It was competitive all night. We had brake and suspension issues, so that held us back a little, but we were able to recover and recuperate. I believe we came in first. Everyone did a great job and we are happy. 

 

DANIEL GOODRICH, No. 1606 (Second in class.) - - It was a good day. I did the start to race mile 315. We had a couple mechanical issues that we got figured out early. Once we got that figured out, we were good. I handed the car off to my brother, Michael Goodrich. He took it to race mile 600 where Matt Willert got in and drove it to the finish. Everyone drove a really good race, really smart. We were leading in points coming into this so we just needed to finish. Our goal was to just be safe, be conservative, get the car to the finish. And that’s what we did. We were down for two hours to replace an alternator but that was it. This course is definitely one of the roughest we have down here. Last SCORE Baja 1000 was 1300 miles and it wasn’t nearly as rough as this 850 miles we just did. Jose G and SCORE put together a great race course every year it just gets better and better. It had sections that were fast and fun and technical sections. It had a little bit of everything. A lot of rocks. Thank goodness we had BFGoodrich tires.

 

  STOCK FULL (Stock full-sized 2 or 4WD truck or SUV)—

TOMONORI NOTO, No. 8188 (First in class. Tomonori Noto drove solo.) - - It was super rough. There were a lot of rocks. The snow was no problem. I am from somewhere that has a lot of snow. I started the race and finished 29 hours later. The car was fantastic. We didn’t have anything break that needed to be fixed or replaced. Couldn’t have asked for much better. We punctured a tire twice hitting some hazards but we had spares and swapped those out and got back on the road.

 

  HEAVY METAL LIMITED (Open truck/SUV. Stock appearing, V8 Crate Engines

BRAD LOVELL, No. 8050 (First in class. Brad Lovell started and drove the first section. Jason Hutter drove the middle section. Jason Scherer drove from race mile 600 to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER JASON SCHERER said: We saw it all today. It was fun, amazing. We watched a sunrise, a sunset, a moonrise. We drove through dust, we drove through mud, we drove through snow. We froze our hands off. And it was all worth it. It was awesome. Great race. This vehicle is awesome. I really love driving it. This is the Bronco DR and it’s a conjunction vehicle between Ford Performance and Multimatic. They made this thing work. We never got out of it. It was an event you just kind of dream about – just get in the car and race your section and have no issues. We pulled that off today. I have to tip my hat to those guys because they really put in the testing on this truck. Honestly this is a truck you can just go buy. And basically six friends just finished the SCORE Baja 1000 in it. It’s a testament to the vehicle. It was fun too. This V-8 sounds awesome in this Bronco. It made it a fun day all the way through. There was silt beds and high-speed sections and rock fields, just everything that Baja can throw at you and it conquered it all. It was great. A great day.

 

 STOCK MID-SIZE (Stock 2WD or 4WD truck or SUV)—

LOREN HEALY, No. 773 (First in class. Loren Healy started and drove to race mile 280. John Williams drove from race mile 280 to race mile 560. Bailey Campbell drove from race mile 560 to the finish.) - - CO-DRIVER BAILEY CAMPBELL said: It went great. The guys brought me a great truck. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. My whole section was smooth sailing and here we are at the finish line. My co-driver Brian said he saw ice on the ground but I didn’t think it could be that cold. This windshield helped us. I think John might have hit a rock earlier today but other than that we kept the truck moving pretty quick. Ford did a phenomenal job putting this together. I can’t wait to see what they will put in the race next year. 

 

  CLASS 11 (stock VW sedans, safety modifications) – 

OLIVER FLEMATE, No. 1100 (First in class.) - - Honesty we are grateful to God for allowing us to get here to the finish line. Out of all the SCORE Baja 1000’s I’ve run, this has been the most difficult by far. Even more difficult than the peninsula run. The dust, the climate, the snow that was falling, but it brings us even more joy being able to finish a race like this. I'm really grateful to my whole team and to all the people like you who help support us. I just really want to thank God and all of Flemate racing and Viva México, Viva Ensenada!

 

  CLASS 7SX (2 or 4-wheel drive mini or mid-size trucks) - - 

ARMANDO DURON, No. 740 (First in class. Armando Duron Jr started and drove to race mile 150. Israel Duron drove from race mile 150 to race mile 300. Armando Duron drove from race mile 300 to race mile 450. Pedro Duron drove from race mile 450 to the finish.) - - We are a family here and my sons and brother drove sections. My brothers and nephews help on this team and that’s why we have been racing for a long time, over 40 years in this class. It was a rough course. Rocks, sand, silt. You name it. Cold. Like the SCORE Baja 1000 is supposed to be. Part of the game here…cold…rain. I want to thank God first, then my family for the support and my nephews and sons and wife. We are a big family and here.