ENSENADA, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MX – Team Toyo driver Andy McMillin has won the 49th Annual SCORE Baja 500 this past weekend. McMillin, from San Diego, CA, qualified fifth on Thursday over a field of 233 competitors. He then captured the overall victory on Saturday with a time of 10:03:03.888 while driving his #31 Toyo Tires / Fox / Method Race Wheels Ford truck equipped with 39-inch Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires.
This year’s race covered 513.67-miles through the Mexican desert. It began in the port city of Ensenada on the Pacific Ocean, crossed the Baja peninsula to San Felipe on the Gulf of California, and then headed west to return to the finish line in Ensenada.
MORE: 2017 SCORE Baja 500 Race Coverage
“What a race! We had an amazing day and my co-rider Brady (Thompson) and I never got out of the truck,” said McMillin. “The truck, the team, and Brady and I were just clicking all day long and everything went according to plan. We had a great pit strategy and everything just came together. This is my second SCORE Baja 500 win and my first win in Baja with my own team since 2011… man, it feels good!”
“Now, we start to prepare to back up our Vegas-to-Reno win from last year,” added McMillin. “I couldn’t have achieved this win without my Toyo tires, the support of my family, friends, sponsors and all the amazing die-hard fans cheering us on.”
“We congratulate Andy McMillin for winning the SCORE Baja 500 overall,” said Amy Coleman, senior director of marketing, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “Andy was instrumental in delivering our first Baja 1000 win in 2006, and has captured several desert-racing wins since he joined Team Toyo in 2015. We are proud to have him racing, and winning on our Open Country M/T-R tires.”
During Thursday’s qualifying, Alan Ampudia of Ensenada, BC, Mexico captured the fastest qualifying time with his #10 Papas & Beer / Monster Energy Ford Trophy Truck running on Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires. Toyo Tires-equipped trucks captured four of the top six spots during qualifying.
Toyo Open Country tires have won the SCORE Baja 500 three times, and the SCORE Baja 1000 three times thanks to Andy McMillin, Robby Gordon, BJ Baldwin and Tavo Vildósola. To learn more about the durable Open Country line of tires for light trucks and outdoor adventure vehicles, log on to www.toyotires.com/opencountry.