ENSENADA, Mexico — Luke ‘The Luke’ McMillin, 33, San Diego, Calif., finally captured the overall victory at the SCORE Baja 500, joining the exclusive list of champions who have completed the SCORE Baja Triple Crown,” which includes victories in the SCORE Baja 1000, SCORE Baja 500, and SCORE San Felipe 250.
The triumph also marked his second consecutive victory in the 2026 SCORE World Desert Championship.
McMillin conquered the demanding 468.70-mile race course in 9 hours, 10 minutes, and 54 seconds, averaging 51.05 mph behind the wheel of the No. 83 McMillin Racing AWD Mason Ford Raptor. The victory adds another golden chapter to the legacy of ‘The Big Blue M’ while earning McMillin his seventh career SCORE Trophy Truck victory, tying him with living legends of the sport such as Brian Collins, B.J. Baldwin, and Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr.
Now, ‘The Luke’ has etched his name in gold in the SCORE record books alongside icons such as Ivan ‘‘Ironman’ Stewart, Rob ‘The G.O.A.T.’ MacCachren, Dave Ashley, Robby Gordon, Andy McMillin, Scott McMillin, Larry Ragland, Dan Smith, Bryce Menzies, Gustavo Vildosola Jr., and Alan Ampudia.
Ensenada’s Alan Ampudia came within a minute of claiming back-to-back overall victories in the SCORE Baja 500, finishing just one minute behind McMillin. Ampudia entered the race as the defending overall winner after capturing last year’s event in the No. 1 Team Papas & Beer Mason AWD Ford Raptor.
A total of 200 race teams took the green flag on Ensenada’s majestic Boulevard Costero, while 144 teams reached the finish line within official time limits, resulting in a 72-percent finishing rate. Competitors battled through some of Northern Baja California’s most legendary locations, including Ojos Negros, Ejido Erendira, San Antonio del Mar, Ejido Punta Colonet, Valle de la Trinidad, the Summit, El Alamo, and Tres Hermanos.
For the second consecutive year, the Desert Assassins team captured victory in the SCORE Trophy Truck 2WD class thanks to the outstanding driving performance of Cameron ‘PAB’ Steele, 59, San Clemente, Calif., and Dave Mason Jr., 32, San Marcos, Calif. Sharing driving duties in the No. 16T Geiser Ford F-150, the duo completed the course in 10 hours, 6 minutes, and 24 seconds.
Steele, a former ESPN X Games commentator and one of the celebrity competitors in this year’s SCORE Baja 500, split driving responsibilities with Mason Jr., who started the race on Ensenada’s Boulevard Costero before Steele brought the truck home in the second half of the course.
Brendan Gaughan, 50, Las Vegas, continued his dominant run in Class 1 by winning the BFGoodrich Tires 58th SCORE Baja 500 and securing his third consecutive Class 1 victory. The former NASCAR Series competitor and co-owner of the renowned South Point Hotel in Las Vegas once again demonstrated his desert racing prowess.
Gaughan teamed with Tim Wilson, 29, Henderson, Nev., sharing the wheel of their HMS-Chevy. Together they conquered the Baja Peninsula in 10 hours, 32 minutes, and 53 seconds, topping a field of nine competitors.
Gustavo Vildósola Sr., 72, Mexicali, Mexico, returned to the winner’s circle in SCORE Trophy Truck Legend after seeing his remarkable streak of 16 consecutive class victories end at the King Shocks 39th SCORE San Felipe 250 in March. Once again, he teamed up with Supercross legend Ricky Johnson, 62, El Cajon, Calif.
Sharing driving duties in the No. 1L Vildosola Racing Mason AWD Ford Raptor, ‘Gus’ Vildosola Sr. and Johnson stopped the clock in 9 hours, 47 minutes, and 56 seconds as they continue their quest for a fifth consecutive SCORE championship in the class for drivers age 50 and older.
Trey Gibbs, 24, Murrieta, Calif, earned the first SCORE race victory of his career by claiming the Trophy Truck Spec class win against a field of 26 competitors. Driving the No. 215 Mason Ford Raptor, Gibbs completed the race in 9 hours, 46 minutes, and 7 seconds.
A successful short-course racer in the United States, Gibbs continues to divide his time between short-course competition and desert racing in both Mexico and the United States.
Brent Fox, 58, Highland, Utah, finished second in Trophy Truck Spec with a time of 9 hours and 55 minutes in his 1Nine Industries Ford Raptor, earning his first podium finish of the 2026 SCORE World Desert Championship.
SCORE Official UTV, Polaris RZR, captured three impressive class victories at the SCORE Baja 500. Branden Sims won Pro UTV Open, Joe Bolton topped Pro UTV NA, and Craig Scanlon emerged victorious in Pro Stock UTV.
Sims, 40, Prescott Valley, Ariz., teamed with Skyler Howell, 34, Phoenix, Ariz., to defeat a field of 24 competitors in their No. 1866 Polaris RZR Pro R. The pair celebrated in ‘The Cinderella of the Pacific’ after crossing the finish line in 10 hours, 33 minutes, and 59 seconds.
Bolton, 68, Corona, Calif., joined forces with Ian Lyons, 24, National City, Calif., to capture the Pro UTV NA victory. Sharing driving duties in the No. 1975 Bolton Racing Polaris RZR XP1000, they completed the race in 13 hours, 50 minutes, and 11 seconds.
In Pro Stock UTV, Craig Scanlon earned his second consecutive victory, this time with assistance from Justin Morgan, 36, El Cajon, Calif. Driving the No. 3931 Polaris RZR R, Scanlon and Morgan conquered the challenging 468.70-mile race course in 11 hours, 44 minutes, and 4 seconds while defeating 26 rivals in their class.
Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Eric Solorzano, 66 Tijuana, Mexico, captured the SCORE Baja 500 victory in Class 11, earning his eighth triumph in the prestigious race originally created by NORRA and later organized by SCORE under the leadership of Mickey Thompson and Sal Fish.
Solorzano had not won the SCORE Baja 500 since 2009. This June, he returned to the top alongside Matthew Watson, 54, Chowchilla, Calif, Rick Boyer, 70, Bakersfield, Calif, and Sam Dunnam, 68, Las Vegas. The team guided their VW Sedan to victory with a finishing time of 16 hours, 5 minutes, and 54 seconds.
