Baldwin pulls off narrow Baja 500 win

B.J. Baldwin of Las Vegas won the Baja 500 by the slimmest margin in the 40-year history of the SCORE Desert Series event Saturday at Ensenada, Mexico.

Baldwin prevailed by seven seconds over the team of Mark Post and Las Vegan Rob MacCachren by averaging 48.06 mph over the 441-mile course that started and finished in Ensenada.

Baldwin, who drove solo, needed 9 hours, 10 minutes, 47 seconds to complete the course in his Trophy-Truck.

“This win is massive. It is very important to me,” said Baldwin, the 2006 SCORE Trophy-Truck season champion.

“I have a handful of trophies, but what I don’t have is … the first overall in a SCORE Baja race. That’s what I always wanted.”

Upon reaching the finish line late Saturday, Baldwin said, “The truck is hurt. It’s been a lot of hard work to get it here. I’m going to have to go back to the hotel for some beer and some Advil.”

Several flat tires slowed Post of Laguna Beach, Calif., and MacCachren, the reigning Trophy-Truck point champs.

“I’d like to have made it here eight seconds faster,” said Post, whose Riviera Racing team was runner-up for the second time in three SCORE races this year.

“I had three flats, otherwise we would’ve had a nice truck. That was a heck of a run.”

MacCachren, who took over from Post near the midpoint, added, “Ultimately, it’s like a chess game. You’re cruising along trying to stay somewhere near the front of the pack and pick your battles at the end.”

Las Vegan Brian Collins was unable to win the event’s overall title for the third consecutive year; he and teammate Chuck Hovey finished third.

In overall motorcycle, the team of Robby Bell, Murrieta, Calif., and Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif., won its third straight title on a Honda CRF450X. They finished in 8:43:38, averaging 50.55 mph.

Of 289 cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs that started, 195 finished, the third most since the event began in 1969.