Finishing in fifth place in Trophy Truck was Rob MacCachren. Just behind him in sixth place was BJ Baldwin, while the team of Armin Schwarz and Martin Christensen, with Schwarz handling the driving duties for qualifying, earned the seventh-place position off the line. BJ Baldwin took the seventh spot in the class, and overall he said he feels the switch to qualifying for the class is a positive thing.

“I like qualifying,” he said. “It gives some of the faster guys a chance to start out front. In previous years we had just a random drawing and you’d get a guy like Robby Gordon or Bryce Menzies would draw like a 26th or 30th or whatever, and they’d have a bunch of donkeys in front of them. The faster guys being out front is better, it’s safer, and you have the same challenges that the other guys do to win the race, and you don’t have to risk breaking your truck to get back into the race, so I think it’s a lot better.”

Just behind Schwarz in eighth place was the team of Tim Herbst and Larry Roeseler, with Roeseler handling the driving duties today for seeding. Like many of the other racers we spoke with, his sentiment toward qualifying is a positive one.

“I’m a big fan of qualifying, especially with the numbers we have in Trophy Truck,” Roeseler said. “It definitely takes some experience to run the pace, and I think by just luck of the draw getting someone up front with lack of experience it just sort of causes a little more danger. I think this offers a little more pre-race excitement and it also weeds it out where the fast guys are the fast guys, so the lead pack right from the beginning is let the games begin, you know, sort of a cat-and-mouse game right off the start. So I’m a big fan of it.”

Being that Roesler is an accomplished racer on both two and four wheels in Baja, we asked him just what he thought of this long, 833-mile Baja 1000 course.

“This is a really, really tough Baja 1000,” he said. “It’s the most technical Baja 1000 we’ve ever had, it’s long in miles, it’s really good. We’ve had a good year, our car is working good, so I think this event definitely leans toward us a little bit. Our trucks are tough and durable, and you don’t have to be the fastest guy. You need to know when to pull in the reigns and be smart.”

Rounding out the top 10 in Trophy Trucks is Ken Losch, who finished ninth in the #34 Chevy Silverado, while Dan McMillin drove his #23 Ford F-150 to 10th.

Although there are currently 15 Class 1 vehicles registered for the race, only five drivers decided to qualify today. Finishing first today in Class 1 qualifying was Justin Matney. Ronny Wilson earned the second spot for Friday’s race, while Jon Walker finished third, Todd Tuis earned fourth, and Cody Parkhouse took the final seeding position in fifth.

Be sure to check out our Off-Road.com 2013 SCORE Baja 1000 page.

2013 Baja 1000 Photo Highlights

Trophy Trucks
1. Bryce Menzies 5 minutes, 13 seconds
2. Juan Lopez – 5:20
3. Gustavo Vildosola 5:21
4. Robby Gordon – 5:22
5. Rob MacCachren – 5:25
6. BJ Baldwin – 5:27
7. Armin Schwarz – 5:27
8. Tim Herbst – 5:28
9. Ken Losch – 5:35
10. Dan McMillin – 5:35
11. Craig Potts – 5:40
12. Heidi Steele – 5:46
13. Justin Davis – 5:49
14. James Lin – 5:51
15. Kory Scheele – 5:51
16. Nick Vanderwey – 5:54
17. Robert Acer – 5:56
18. Mark Post – 5:59
19. Gary Magness – 5:59
20. Troy Herbst – 6:08

Class 1*
1. Justin Matney – 5:36.483
2. Ronny Wilson – 5:38.186
3. Jon Walker – 5:43.384
4. Todd Tuis – 5:43.928
5. Cody Parkhouse – 6:09.646
*Times still unofficial, only five drivers chose to qualify in Class 1