In off-road racing, nothing is official until it’s official, but it appears as though Rob MacCachren and teammate Andy McMillin defended their 2014 SCORE Baja 1000 victory with a win this morning in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
That win, however, may not have been exactly how the team drew it up.
Although Carlos Apdaly Lopez crossed the finish line, unofficially, 3 minutes, 37.806 seconds ahead of MacCachren, Lopez will unofficially be docked at least 20 minutes on his official time, likely due to missing virtual checkpoints during the race (a penalty it appears quite a few racers will be assessed). MacCachren was also dinged 10 minutes for infractions, as was the third truck across the line in the class in Eduardo Laguna, but the larger 20-minute penalty for Lopez gives MacCachren the better overall time. As always, it’s possible more penalties could be assessed once SCORE reviews the complete tracking data for each vehicle, but for the time being these initial infractions are all that SCORE can confirm.
The change in finishing order also makes the Trophy Truck Championship picture murky, as Lopez, MacCachren, Laguna, and sixth-place finisher Gustavo Vildosola Jr. all occupied the top four spots in the points standings, with Vildosola (326 points) entering the race with a 22-point lead over Laguna (304 points).
If MacCachren did in fact earn the victory, the win will also give BFGoodrich Tires its 27th Baja 1000 victory at the race, and being that the top 10 truck racers across the line are on BFGs, even if it’s not MacCachren it appears the tire manufacturer locked up another victory.
In Class 1, Shelby Reid was the first racer to cross the finish line this morning. Reid, who along with Steven Sells, was one of only two racers who opted to qualify for starting positions out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the week of the 2015 SEMA Show earlier this month. Although Sells finished ahead of Reid in qualifying, their order was actually reversed for the race, as SCORE officials tell us that Sells did not follow protocol for qualifying. The agreement for racers who qualify is they must display their vehicle before and after qualifying at the SEMA Show, and after Sells earned the pole ahead of Reid he didn’t return his vehicle to the SEMA Show, and therefore SCORE switched their positions for the start of today’s race.
There’s much to still sort out here in Ensenada, as racers will continue to finish their journey on the 821.38-mile course for this year’s race. Be sure to check back with Off-Road.com for the official finishing order of the 48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000.
Unofficial Results – 48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000
1. Rob MacCachren – 16:08:32.484 – SCORE Trophy Truck
2. Apdaly Lopez – 16:14:54.678 – SCORE Trophy Truck
3. Eduardo Laguna – 16:17:02.825 – SCORE Trophy Truck
4. Troy Herbst – 16:26:57.912 – SCORE Trophy Truck
5. Tim Herbst – 16:40:47.256 – SCORE Trophy Truck
6. Gustavo Vildosola Jr. – 16:57:45.206 – SCORE Trophy Truck
7. Dan McMillin – 17:34:15.932 – SCORE Trophy Truck
8. Steven Eugenio – 17:37:50.483 – SCORE Trophy Truck
9. Mark Weyhrich – 18:04:22.496 – SCORE Trophy Truck
10. Larry Conner – 18:13:08.699 – Trophy Truck Special
11. Zak Langley – 18:17:00.855 – SCORE Trophy Truck
12. Jon D. Walker – 18:19:23.471 – Class 1
13. Mike Cook – 18:56:47.249 – SCORE Trophy Truck
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