Andy McMillin roars way to Overall, SCORE Trophy Truck race victory Saturday at 33rd annual SCORE San Felipe 250

To air on ABC Network

Andy McMillin roars way to Overall, SCORE Trophy Truck
race victory Saturday at 33rd annual SCORE San Felipe 250

Round 1 of four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship
Morgan/Samuels/Jones take overall M/C title, W. Matlock claims overall UTV, 
other class winners include A. J. Jones, Bailey, Brad Wilson, Cuevas, Willert, K. Matlock,
Pavolka, Penner, Coleman, Liebelt, Pena, Trubey, Spinali, Richardson, Sanchez;
239 total starters from 29 States, 13 countries on race-record 349.91-mile course; SCORE record
44 SCORE Trophy Truck starters, Official results available at www.score-international.com;
SAN FELIPE, Baja California, Mexico – Prominent San Diego third-generation desert racer Andy McMillin returned to his desert racing roots Saturday, overcame an early rollover and two flat tires to hold on and capture the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck race win at the 33rd annual SCORE San Felipe 250.
The popular ‘Spring Break’ season-opener of the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship was held in San Felipe, the peaceful fishing village on the Sea of Cortez in Baja California, Mexico, 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif.
All four 2019 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the fourth consecutive year. The race will be televised on a delayed-basis as a one-hour special on the ABC World of X Games show, produced by SCORE in association with award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles.
Featuring the longest course in race history at 349.91 miles, this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 started and finished for the third straight year and just the third time in race history on the Malecon beach walk along the edge of the water in the heart of town.  The rugged route official closed Sunday morning at 5:36 a.m. PT. Following complete data-tracking review, results were made official at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday.
A total of 239 official starters raced in Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. Entries came from 29 U.S. States along with the additional countries of host Mexico, Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Finland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand. The race had 164 official finishers for a finishing rate of 68.62 percent in the extremely challenging elapsed time race that had an 18-hour time limit.
The 239 total starters were the 11th most in the 33-year history of the race and the 164 finishers tied for sixth most finishers in race history.
Helping mark the launch of 46th year of SCORE International, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization was the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division with a SCORE-record total of 44 of these ‘Monsters of the Desert’ officially starting the race, including seven in the SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old.  Created by SCORE and started in 1994, SCORE Trophy Truck is the featured SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950-horsepower unlimited custom trucks.
MCMILLIN MAGIC
Earning his 10th career SCORE Trophy Truck race and his second overall title in this race, Andy McMillin  in the SCORE Trophy Truck division and powered his No. 31 Chevy Silverado (built by Mason Motorsports) to the SCORE Overall and class win with a penalty-free elapsed time of six hours, four minutes and 26 seconds. His 10th career SCORE Trophy Truck win puts him in third place on the SCORE All-Time win list in the class behind Rob MacCachren (17), Ed/Tim Herbst (11) and Robby Gordon (11).
Just a high school senior star basketball player at the time at Poway HS in the San Diego area, Andy McMillin, now 31, won his first overall title in this race in 2005, splitting the driving in the unlimited Class 1 with his father Scott McMillin. The SCORE Overall win was just one of three Class 1 victories since SCORE Trophy Truck debuted 26 years ago.
MCMILLIN COMMENTS
After driving solo to win the race Andy McMillin commented at the finish line, “What a day. That was a really fun race; a lot going on. We rolled the truck, got a couple flat tires and still were able to pull it off because others like Bryce Menzies had more trouble than we did. It was a gnarly course, but I really like it. It was very fun, very challenging. I think the more the challenging the better.”
“I like the longer courses, the rougher the better for me, more mentally challenging. SCORE does a great job challenging us and pushing us to the limits with their rugged race courses. We made one little mental error today and rolled it, but we kept pushing. We never gave up and it was a great day.”
OVERALL MOTORCYCLE WINNERS
Reigning SCORE Overall Motorcycle and Pro Moto Unlimited class season champions, Justin Morgan and Mark Samuels, with some added help from Justin Jones, defending their class win in this race while earning the SCORE Overall Motorcycle victory in 6:50:32 (51.14mph) on their number 1x Honda CRF450X. In addition to being the second straight win in San Felipe for Morgan, 29, El Cajon, Calif., it was the fourth straight for Samuels, 29, Yucca Valley, Calif. and second for Jones, 27, Murrieta, Calif.
Morgan rode the first 92 miles and from race mile 310 to the finish, Jones rode from race mile 92 to 179 and Samuels rode their bike from race mile 179 to 310.
M/C WINNERS QUOTES
“I like this type of riding,” said Morgan. “Matomi Wash was good for me so it worked out really well for me and this new Honda bike is awesome; it has six gears. The first gear is nice and low to get through the rocks. The beginning of the race was interesting, we had a little bit of traffic ahead of us and the sun was coming up so it was difficult to see so I was glad we were able to get it out front. It makes it safer when you are in the clean air. A really great way to start defense of our title and keep the 1X plate.”
OVERALL TOTALS
Helping marking the launch of the 26th year of the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division, a race-record total of 44 of these ‘Monster of the Desert’ officially started the race and 32 of them finished (including six of the racers in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old.
SCORE Trophy Trucks have now won 23 overall in San Felipe in the 26-year history of the featured SCORE racing division. In this year’s race, SCORE Trophy Truck captured the top 13 overall finishing positions.
In 33 years of this race, Honda has now earned 22 overall motorcycle victories (including 20 of the last 23 years), Kawasaki has seven, KTM has three and Husqvarna has one.
UTV WINNERS
The fastest Pro UTV in the race and Pro UTV FI class winner was Wayne Matlock, Alpine, Calif., 41, Alpine, Calif. who won in 8:23:51 in his No. 2971 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo. Wayne Matlock defeated a total of field of 30 UTVs in San Felipe including 21 starters in the Pro UTV forced induction class.
It was also his seventh class win in San Felipe and third win in a row in this event.
…AND MRS. MATLOCK
Crossing the finish line shortly after her husband Wayne left the finish line ramp, Kristen Matlock, 38, kept things exciting for the Matlock family while winning the Pro UTV (Normally Aspirated) class with a time of 9:12:56 in her No. 1954 Polaris RZR XP4 1000.
As added icing on the Matlock victory cake, both Wayne and Kristen drove solo in the race. Kristen also finished fourth overall among the 30 UTVs in three classes that started the race.
It was also the second straight year that the Matlocks both won their respective classes in San Felipe. And for the second consecutive year they both ran penalty-free races.
MORE MCMILLIN MAGIC
All third-generation SCORE desert races, joining Andy McMillin among the top five finishers this year from the McMillin family were Andy’s cousins Dan McMillin and Luke McMillin. Dan McMillin, 31, finished third overall and in SCORE Trophy Truck in a time of 6:06:30 at 57.28 mph in his No. 23 Ford F-150 (Racer). Luke McMillin, 26, finished fifth overall and in the marquee SCORE racing division in 6:09:44 with an average speed of 56.78 mph in his No. 83 Ford F-150 (Racer).
Practically raised in SCORE Baja racing by his grandfather, the late Corky McMillin and their fathers Mark McMillin (Dan and Luke) and Scott McMillin (Andy).  All the prominent McMillin family of racers has had multiple career class wins in SCORE Baja races.
In last year’s SCORE San Felipe, the McMillin trio finished in the top six Overall and in SCORE Trophy Truck with Luke third, Andy fourth and Dan in sixth place.
TOP 5 SCORE TROPHY TRUCKS
Besides the three McMillins, rounding out the top five finishers overall and in SCORE Trophy Truck were Ryan Arciero and Zak Langley. Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif., improved on his fifth-place finish in 2018 by finishing second behind Andy McMillin this year with a time of 6:06:14 (57.33mph) in the No. 32 Ford F-150 (Herbst-Smith).
COPs racing put Zak Langley in the top five with a fourth place overall and SCORE Trophy Truck finished with a time of 6:09:40 with an average speed of 56.79mph.
ANOTHER CLASS WIN
In addition to Andy McMillin, Samuels, W. Matlock, K. Matlock, some other racers added to the multiple win totals in San Felipe.
Brad Wilson, Long Beach, Calif., won for the second time in the unlimited Class 1, Mike Coleman, LaJolla, Calif., won for the second straight year in Class 7 and Art Penner, Lynden, Wash. (Canada) also won for the second consecutive year as well in Class 11.
Said Sanchez, Tijuana, Mexico, won for the third time in the Pro quad class.
Giovanni Spinali, 52, El Cajon, Calif., won the Pro Moto 50 class (riders over 50 years old) for his fourth class win and third straight in San Felipe. Part of Spinali’s team, Earl Roberts of Mexicali, Mexico picked up his fifth class win in this race.
Danny Magdalena, Acton, Calif. won in SPT quad for the second straight year.
FIRST TIMERS
Several racers won in the SCORE San Felipe 250 for the first time as driver or rider of record.
Among the car, truck and UTV classes, first-time winners included Scott Bailey, Riverside, Calif. in SCORE TT Spec and Austin A. J. Jones, Litchfield Park, Ariz. in Trophy Truck Spec. Jones drove solo to victory. For Jones, the 23-year old son of 210 SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion Jesse Jones, it was his first SCORE race victory as driver of record and Bailey is the reigning SCORE TT Legend class champion and his first win in San Fellipe.
Bailey also finished 14th overall in winning his class while Jones finished 16th overall among four-wheel vehicles, both very impressive feats.
Both SCORE TT Legend (7) and Trophy Truck Spec (29) had SCORE-record number of starters.
Other 4-wheel vehicle class winners included Cesar Cuevas, Chula Vista, Calif. in Class 10, Freddie Willert, El Cajon, Calif., in SCORE Lites, Eric Pavolka, Sonoita, Ariz. in Class 1/2-1600, Josh Herzing, Cypress, Texas in Pro UTV Unlimited, Don Daley III, San Diego, in the Baja Challenge class and Brandon Walsh, Encinitas, Calif. in Class 7F.
Among the first-time winners in the motorcycle classes as rider of record were Aaron Richardson, Canada, in Pro Moto Ironman for solo riders, Ryan Liebelt, Reedley, Calif. in Pro Moto 30 and Jason Trubey, Henderson, Nev. in Pro Moto 40.
GRAND MARSHAL 
Inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2010, SCORE Baja racing legend Johnny Johnson was the Grand Marshal for this year’s 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250.
Among his many class race wins, Johnson had 15 class wins in the iconic SCORE Baja 1000 stretching from his first in 1968 to his last one in 1992. Amazingly, he won in seven different classes in his illustrious racing career.
RECORD-LONG COURSE
SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva worked diligently with the government officials and ejidos of the Mexicali and San Felipe areas to develop a memorable SCORE San Felipe 250 race course of 349.91 miles, the longest in the history of popular SCORE Baja desert race.
This year’s grueling race course was another beauty to behold but a tough challenge to race on. It ran in a clockwise direction running over high-speed dry lake beds, through low-speed winding, rock-strewn, twisting canyons and trails, along quick-paced dirt roads and through three of Baja’s most infamous washes in Azufre, Matomi, and Coabuso.
It featured three physical, full-stop checkpoints and 96 virtual checkpoints.
SCOREscope
2019 SCHEDULE
Here is the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship and for the fourth consecutive year all races are being held in Baja California, Mexico:
33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, April 3-7, San Felipe, Mexico
51st SCORE Baja 500, May 29-June 2, Ensenada, Mexico
Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, Sept. 19-23, Ensenada, Mexico
52nd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.19-24, Ensenada, Mexico
ABC TV IN 2019
SCORE has announced that the 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship will be televised on the ABC TV family of networks, marking the first time back on the ABC network since the 1967 and 1968 coverage of the Baja 1000 on ABC’s old Wide World of Sports show.
The one-hour shows on the 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, 51st SCORE Baja 500 and the 52nd SCORE Baja 1000 will be televised as part of ABC’s World of X Games year-long programming. Presented by SCORE sponsors Monster Energy and BFGoodrich Tires, the ABC World of X Games series profiles iconic action sports figures and also highlights athletes, artists, event previews and recaps.
SCORE also announced that the inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 next September will air as a one-hour special on ESPN TV.
All of the SCORE race coverage shows will continue to air internationally in over 20 countries in Europe, Asia and South America via syndication and ESPN International.

SCORE San Felipe 250 All-Time Overall Champion (1982 through 2019)

NOTE: This race was not held during the first five years of the combined HDRA/SCORE Desert Series (1985-1989).
Pro Cars, Trucks, UTVs
Year--Driver(s), Vehicle (Class)
1982--Dan Cornwell, Chenowth-VW (Class 1)
1983--Corky McMillin/Scott McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche (Class 2)
1984--Scott McMillin/Corky McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche (Class 2)
1990--Brian Collins/Jack Johnson, Chenowth-VW (Class 1)
1991--Larry Ragland, Chevy C1500 (Class 8)
1992--Bob Richey/Boyd Cox, Raceco-Porsche (Class 1)
1993--Scott Douglas, Ford Ranger (Class 7)
1994--Ivan Stewart, Toyota SR5 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
1995--Larry Ragland, Chevy C1500 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
1996--Robby Gordon, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
1997--Curt LeDuc, Jeep Grand Cherokee (SCORE Trophy Truck)
1998--Mark Post/Jerry Whelchel, Riviera-Chevy (Class 1)
1999--Ed Herbst/Tim Herbst, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2000--Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2001--Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2002--Dan Smith/David Ashley, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2003--Gus Vildosola/Rob MacCachren, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2004--Mark Post/Jerry Whelchel, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2005--Andy McMillin/Scott McMillin, Jimco-Chevy (Class 1)
2006--Garron Cadiente, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2007--Mark Post/Rob MacCachren, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2008--Brian Collins, Dodge Ram1500 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2009--Brian Collins, Dodge Ram1500 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2010—Armin Schwarz/Martin Christensen, Jimco-BMW (Class 1)
2011—Rob MacCachren, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2012—Rob MacCachren, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2013—Gus Vildosola/Gus Vildosola Jr, Ford Raptor (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2014—Gus Vildosola Jr, Ford Raptor (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2015—Gus Vildosola Jr, Ford Raptor (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2016—Billy Wilson, Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2017—Rob MacCachren, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2018—Rob MacCachren, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy Truck)
2019—Andy McMillin, Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy Truck)
Pro Motorcycles
Year--Rider(s), Vehicle
1982--Bob Balentine, Honda XR500 (Class 22)
1983--Jack Johnson, Honda XR500 (Class 22)
1984--Dan Smith/Dan Ashcraft, Husqvarna CR500 (Class 22)
1990--Dan Smith/Danny Hamel, KTM (Class 22)
1991--Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicut Jr, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1992--Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicut Jr, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1993--Danny Hamel, Kawasaki KX500(Class 22)
1994--Danny Hamel, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1995--Danny Hamel, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1996--Paul Krause, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1997--Tim Staab, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
1998--Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
1999--Johnny Campbell/Cole Marshall, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
2000--Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
2001--Steve Hengeveld/Jonah Street, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2002--Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2003--Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2004--Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2005--Chris Blais/Andy Grider/Quinn Cody, KTM MXC525 (Class 22)
2006--Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
2007--Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
2008--Robby Bell/Johnny Campbell, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
2009--Kendall Norman/Tim Weigand, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
2010—Colton Udall/Jeff Kargola, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
2011—Colton Udall/Jeff Kargola, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
2012—Kurt Caselli/Ivan Ramirez, KTM 450SX-F (Class 22)
2013—Tim Weigand/Colton Udall, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
2014--Ricky Brabec/Shane Esposito/Max Eddy Jr, Kawasaki KX450F (Class 22)
2015—Colton Udall/Justin Jones, Honda CRF450X (Open)
2016—Colton Udall/Mark Samuels, Honda CRF450X (Unlimited)
2017—Mark Samuels/Daymon Stokie/Ryan Penhall, Honda CRF450X (Unlimited)
2018—Justin Morgan/Mark Samuels, Honda CRF450X
2019—Justin Morgan/Mark Samuels/Justin Jones, Honda CRF450X
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com