New course sections, new series owner and new rules made for an especially exciting race. The 500 course was very technical, compared to recent years, which meant most race teams had no choice but to turn on their lights and drive through the night.

Baja Designs’ Team Enlightened earned a total of 19 podium finishes in 16 classes.

Trophy Truck

Menzies Motorsports – 3rd
Terrible Herbst – 4th
Galindo Motorsports – 6th
RPM OFFROAD – 8th
Terrible Herbst – 10th
McMillin Racing – 11th
Vildosola Racing – 12th
Greg Nunley – 17th
Mastercraft – 18th
All German Motorsports – 19th

RPM OFFROAD – 1st
Corey Keysar – 2nd
Parkhouse Racing – 4th
Lyle Bask – 6th
Edge Motorsports – 7th

Trophy Truck Special

RPM OFFROAD – 1st
Mills Motorsports – 2nd

Class 10

Mike Johnson – 1st

RPM OFFROAD – 1st
Rick Sanchez – 2nd

12 SCORE Lites

Rafael Navarro IV – 1st

Class 1/2 1600

Jose Ruvalcaba – 4th
Jorge Sampietro – 5th

Class 5 UnLtd

Cody Kellogg – 1st
Jose Lopez – 3rd

Class 5-1600 LTD

RPM OFFROAD – 1st

Class 7sx

Elias Hanna – 1st

Team Arredondo – 1st

Class 22

Kurt Caselli – 2nd

Class 21

Adam Neuwirth – 1st

Mark Bradford – 2nd

Sportsman 1500 UnLtd Buggy

Jorge Valdes – 1st

M-A 25 ATV

Adolfo Arellano – 2nd

Red Bull Trophy Truck racer Bryce Menzies qualified 3rd and finished 3rd in class, only minutes behind the first place team. Bryce’s co-driver Pete Mortensen had this to say, “This was our first race with an all LED setup. We had them at the Mint 400, but we didn’t get a chance to use them for more than 20 minutes. Bryce and I were very satisfied with how they performed and I like the fact that they are easy to package on the truck.”

Last year’s release of the Baja Designs OnX LED light bar brought a new technology and experience to off road night racing, allowing for high speed night driving with only LEDs.

Alan Roach, founder and head engineer of Baja Designs raced with Mills Racing in a Spec Trophy Truck finishing 2nd in class. “I drove the entire night section – I saw the sun go down and come up again from the driver’s seat. The LED setup is so much easier on the eye and with the projection of the OnX, I barely noticed it was night time.”

Cody Parkhouse, 4th place finisher in Class 1, said, “The Baja Designs OnX is by far the best light we have ever used on a race car. We came back into Ensenada after more than 120 miles at night with the OnX, not once were we concerned.”

Thank you again to all of our supporters and Team Enlightened for another amazing display of skill, sportsmanship and athleticism at this year’s Tecate Score Baja 500. The Scientists of Lighting are here for all of your lighting needs – no matter what vehicle you choose – ensuring that bright ideas are always made better.

Media Contact:
Trent Kirby – Marketing Director
Baja Designs, Inc.

“We have written many white papers and spoken countless times about LED efficiency over the years, but it never ceases to amaze us how much room there is for improvement from LED manufacturers. CREE, like us, is an engineering based company and once again their engineers have not only improved their efficiency, but have used new technology to increase the brightness of these LEDs.” – Alan Roach

Media Contact:
Trent Kirby – Marketing Director
Baja Designs

“Our lights have to be impervious to pretty much everything – dust, rain, snow, water crossings and collisions to name a few,” says founder and Chief Engineer Alan Roach. “Our new Moisture Block cord system is a fail-safe way to make sure that our lights are 100% waterproof no matter how harsh the conditions are and even if the customer cuts off our waterproof connector,” says Roach.

The Moisture Block functions exactly to its name, completely blocking moisture or water from working it’s way through the cord and into your LED light. Even if you cut the connector off, your light is still waterproof and you won‘t void your warranty. Moisture Block, another great innovation in lighting from the Scientists of Lighting at Baja Designs.

In other news, the Baja Designs’ Scientists of Lighting have yet another “bright” idea made better. Squadron and SII LED lights are now available in an attractive and salt water resistant white coating. These MIL-SPEC lights provide amazing light output with incredible functionality and customization.

“The Squadron and SII LED lights have been used in every imaginable condition and surpassed our expectations every time” says BD Engineer Tex Mitchell.

“I am an avid fishing enthusiast and as everyone knows, boat deck lighting can be power hungry and extremely fatiguing to the human eye,” says Mitchell. “The Squadron and SII are available in four patterns and utilize uService™ technology which gives the pattern choices and customization that has been lacking in the marine market. On top of that, the 5000 kelvin color temperature is comfortable to the eye and provides excellent color recognition.”

BD’s marine white Squadron and SII LED lights boast the same quality and construction that has been proven in off road, agriculture, and military applications for more than 20 years.

Baja Designs is attending

Stadium Super Trucks!

“Stadium racing helped Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears and myself launch our careers,” said Robby Gordon, President of SST. “Bringing off-road racing back to the stadium like Mickey Thompson did has been something that I have wanted to do for a long time, and I am proud to say that we have finally accomplished it. SST offers attractive racing venues, remarkable track designs, substantial purse, and opportunity for network TV a lot like NASCAR because you can visualize the whole track.”

Baja Designs will be equipped with a variation of products and the Scientists will be more than happy to answer any and all lighting questions. Come stop by our booth in the PIT section of the stadium for exciting discounts and prizes, just look for the labcoats! For more information on Stadium Super Trucks, events, and racers please follow this link.

SII colored lenses now available in amber, blue, green and red.

Baja Designs’ Team Enlightened takes the overall and first in class in all five of the unlimited classes at the Mint 400. When lighting performance really counts, top racers choose Baja Designs lighting to get them to the podium.

At the Mint 400, the unlimited vehicles start in the afternoon, and the 400 mile race runs until well after dark. This year, every one of the unlimited classes was won by racers using Baja Designs lights.

Class 1400 – Trophy Truck – Bryce Menzies – 1st overall and first Trophy Truck

Class 1500 – Class 1 Unlimited Buggy – Chuck Hovey – 1st in Class

Class 1000 – Class 10 Buggy (Unlimited Suspension-Spec Motor Buggy) – Chip Prescott – 1st in Class

Class 6100 – Spec Trophy Truck (Unlimited Suspension-Spec Motor Truck) – Jason Ruane – 1st in Class

Class 7200 – 6 cyl Unlimited Truck (Max Track Width- 85”) – Al Hogan – 1st in Class

The Mint 400 has long been known as one of the toughest desert races in the US. The brutal 100-mile Mint 400 loop course was devastating this year. Of the 255 starters, only 132 finished within the time limit-making the attrition at 48%, the toughest in recent Mint 400 history.