Robby Gordon of Charlotte, NC, drove his No. 77 SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires Chevy CK1500 trophy truck to victory in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 off road race. Gordon took the win in the 501-mile race with a time of 10:04:36. Finishing second was B.J. Baldwin of Las Vegas, NV, in the No. 1 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Chevy Silverado trophy truck, crossing the finish line with an elapsed time of 10:13:51. Both drivers ran on Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires, finishing ahead of a field of approximately 275 international competitors.

For the very first time, pre-race qualifying was held a few days earlier on a section of the Baja 500 course near the town of Ojos Negros. Gordon qualified the fastest, gaining him the first starting position. Gordon led the race from the start, but was challenged by surprise obstacles throughout the loop around the Baja California peninsula. An early spin off-course nearly changed the outcome of his race, but a determined Gordon managed to return to the lead position.

Commenting on the race on the finish line podium, Gordon said, “I can’t say enough about the Toyo tires and the race this weekend. To be able to win the race overall and have B.J. finish second, and then on the other side, our other car Justin Matney of RPM Offroad. We got the Overall, Trophy Truck, Class 1, Spec 8, Class 8 … all on Toyo Tires. It was a killer weekend.”

“This year’s Baja 500 was so close to being a flawless victory. A bolt that held the brake pedal assembly together broke, forcing us to lose valuable time limping it into the pits,” said Baldwin. “We were easily and consistently leading the race for five hours up until then. Other than that we had no issues. My Toyo’s performed perfectly. We had great traction and no tire failures during the entire Baja 500.”

The #844 Chevy truck, also running on Toyo Tires, driven by Apdaly Lopez took the Trophy Truck Special Class win with a time of 13:34:40. In Class 8, Derek Fletcher from Arlington, VA, won on Toyo tires with a time of 17:52:28 driving his #802 Chevy truck.