Rob MacCachren Masters The SCORE Baja 500 Again

Rob MacCachren overcame a field of 259 starters and a rugged race course to capture the Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck victory at the Baja 500.
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Rob MacCachren winning the Baja 500 again. SCORE

Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren, the veritable GOAT of off-road racing, added another amazing accomplishment to his Hall of Fame record Saturday. MacCachren overcame a field of 259 starters and a ridiculously-rugged race course to capture the Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck victory in the internationally-televised BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.

MacCachren worked his way to the front of the field in his sturdy and dependable no. 1 Ford F-150 to an admirable error-free, the penalty-free winning time of nine hours, 22 minutes and 47 seconds with an average speed of 49.37 miles per hour over the gut-wrenching 463.12-mile course.

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“It was a very good day,” the always humble MacCachren said at the finish line. “We started out to race on our pace. The three all-wheel-drive trucks in front of us were pulling away a little bit at a time.”

“When Bryce (Menzies) lost a motor that put us third on the road to the bottom of the Summit,” MacCachren continued. “It is an unbelievable mountain pass; it takes probably 20 minutes to get down it. It is awesome. Halfway down we caught up to (Mike) Walser but then he took off again; but then he got a flat and we got by him for good.”

Rob MacCachren
Rob MacCachren on his way to win the 2022 SCORE Baja 500. SCORE

Under superbly sunny skies, light winds with mild temperatures in the mid-70s Fahrenheit on the Western side of the course and upwards of 100 on the Eastern side. Finishers called it “the most beautifully brutal course ever” in the history of this legendary desert race.

Starting fourth in the elapsed-time race out of 31 starters in his class, MacCachren, in his dependable two-wheel-drive Geiser-built truck, was positioned behind San Diego’s Luke McMillin, Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies, and Texas’ Mike Walser.

MacCachren, 57, has nearly 300 career race wins in the desert, short-course, and stadium all while being the reigning SCORE Trophy Truck point champion, the marquee racing division created by SCORE in 1994 for high-tech, 1000 horsepower, unlimited custom trucks.

Content to maintain his position to see how the race unfolded, McMillin built a lead of nearly 10 minutes on the field nearly more than halfway through the race before his steering box went out which cost him valuable time. The motor in Menzies truck blew early in the race and MacCachren got around Walser when his truck had a flat tire. After getting past McMillin, MacCachren just weaved his way through slower traffic of motorcycles and quads to hold onto the victory by holding off Dickerson and Roeseler.

2022 SCORE Baja 500.
Rob MacCachren at the finish line of the 2022 SCORE Baja 500. SCORE

“Then we started hauling ass knowing Luke (McMillin) was 10 minutes ahead of us,” MacCachren explained. “I couldn’t see his tracks anymore after a while. So that meant we were first on the road.”

“I just had to maintain the gaps back to (Broc) Dickerson and (Alan) Ampudia,” MacCachren continued. “We started taking it easy and being cautious and careful about everything and it went well. SCORE outdid themselves again designing a tough, challenging course. Hat’s off to my crew as well. And no flats on my BFGoodrich Tires. They’re absolutely the best!”

Up next in the 2022 SCORE schedule is the Baja 400 taking place from September 13th to the 18th. For more information on the series and schedule, be sure to visit their website.