Luke McMillin takes a three-race winning streak into the historic Baja 1000 after completing his SCORE Baja Grand Slam in Ensenada.
Luke McMillin has one race standing between him and a sweep of the 2026 SCORE World Desert Championship. His SCORE Baja 400 victory on September 13 made him three for three this season and gave him a clear shot at perfection in the Baja 1000 finale.
The entire field will face unfamiliar ground next. Scheduled for November 9 through 15 in San Jose del Cabo, the 59th SCORE Baja 1000 will be the first edition held entirely within Baja California Sur.
McMillin’s perfect season reaches the finale
McMillin and navigator Jason Duncan completed the Baja 400’s 423.42-mile course in 8 hours, 40 minutes, 50 seconds. Their No. 83 McMillin Racing AWD Ford Raptor Mason crossed the line 2 minutes, 32 seconds ahead of Bryce Menzies in the No. 7 Menzies Motorsports Ford Raptor Mason.
McMillin had already won the San Felipe 250 and Baja 500. He joined Robby Gordon, Curt LeDuc, Menzies and Alan Ampudia on the list of drivers with three consecutive SCORE Trophy Truck victories.
“I’m very excited that we’re three for three this season. It was an emotional day with a lot of ups and downs. With the dust, the sun, and everything else we faced, we were able to pull off the win. So I’m very, very happy and proud of the entire team,” McMillin said.
The victory also completed McMillin’s SCORE Baja Grand Slam, comprising wins in the San Felipe 250, Baja 500, Baja 400 and Baja 1000.
Menzies keeps banking podiums
Menzies finished in 8 hours, 43 minutes, 22 seconds. The runner-up result gave him a third podium in three championship rounds after he placed third in both the San Felipe 250 and Baja 500.
Outside of McMillin, that makes him the only Trophy Truck driver identified in the Baja 400 results with a podium in every 2026 round.
The published Trophy Truck standings come with an important limitation. They are labeled as points through the San Felipe 250, not as an updated table after the Baja 400. That listing shows McMillin with 225 points and Menzies with 205, while Ampudia and Justin Lofton are tied at 199.
As a result, the displayed table does not establish the exact championship margin entering November. The race results leave no doubt about the finishing record: McMillin has won all three rounds, and Menzies has reached every podium.
Ninth win puts McMillin among established names
The Baja 400 marked McMillin’s ninth career SCORE Trophy Truck victory, putting him level with Ivan Stewart, Dan Smith, Dave Ashley and Mark Post.
SCORE Trophy Truck has run since 1994 as an unlimited custom-truck category. Entrants must use a body resembling a production truck or SUV, and both two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are allowed.
McMillin earned his latest win in an all-wheel-drive Ford Raptor Mason. The class and overall triumph also put the Baja 400 crown back in American hands after Ampudia won in 2025, becoming the first and only Mexican racer identified as an overall winner of the event.
Other unbeaten campaigns continue
McMillin is not the championship’s only three-time winner.
Kaden Wells in Pro UTV FI and Jesse Astorga in Class 5 also won each of the first three rounds. Both are still in contention for the SCORE Rod Hall Milestone Award, which recognizes racers who complete every required mile during the season.
Gustavo Vildosola Sr. and Ricky Johnson extended another run in Ensenada. They took their fifth consecutive Baja 400 victory in the No. 1L Vildosola Racing Ford Raptor Mason AWD, covering the course in 9 hours, 15 minutes, 48 seconds. It was their second consecutive championship win this season.
The broader Baja 400 field showed the level of attrition teams can expect in November. Only 102 of the 164 starters officially finished, producing a 62-percent completion rate.
A new Baja 1000 challenge awaits
The championship finale moves to San Jose del Cabo, where more than 220 teams from 18 countries are expected to enter. Running the full race within Baja California Sur will be a first for an event nearing its 59th edition.
McMillin heads to the finale with the strongest confirmed sequence of results available. Menzies has three consecutive podiums, while Wells and Astorga each bring perfect class records.
The BFGoodrich Tires 59th SCORE Baja 1000 begins its scheduled event week on November 9 in San Jose del Cabo.
