Robby Gordon Baja 1000 summary

Robby Gordon's Red Bull Chevy on Toyo Tires Dominates 2006 Baja 1000

La Paz, Mexico (Nov. 17, 2006) -- Robby Gordon and Andy McMillin turned in a virtually perfect performance over a nearly 19-and-a-half-hour time span in dominating the 39th Baja 1000 in their Red Bull Chevrolet CK1500.

The victory is Gordon's third Baja 1000 win, while this marks the 19-year-old McMillin's first win in the granddaddy of all off-road races. It was the first Baja 1000 victory for one of Gordon's primary sponsors, Toyo Tires, who knocked BFGoodrich from its 21-year rein as the overall winner of one of racing's premier events.

"We had a flawless run," said Gordon upon his arrival in Miami, Fla., at 9 a.m. Friday for this weekend's season-ending NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. "We had absolutely no issues and I'm really happy that Andy was able to get his first win with us, and I'm pumped that we got a win on Toyo Tires."

Gordon, who started 31st in the field of 36 Trophy Trucks, the race's premier class, drove the first 725 miles of the 1,050.83-mile course before giving way to McMillin. Gordon took the overall lead on adjusted time after approximately 450 miles and had passed every four-wheeled vehicle in the field at approximately 600 miles. Nearly 450 cars, trucks, motorcycles and quads started the race.

Gordon's navigator was Andy Grider, the former motorcycle champion who will also navigate for Gordon in January's Dakar Rally. McMillin was assisted by long-time Gordon navigator Gregg Till.

"We could barely see out the front window to the nose of the truck for the first eight hours because of all the dust," Gordon said. "We started so deep in the field that we were basically driving blind until we got out in front. It was just a great run for us."

While official results are not yet available, it appears Gordon's Red Bull-sponsored Trophy Truck crossed the line as the first four-wheeled vehicle overall, followed by the class-1 car of Larry Roeseler and Troy Herbst and then the Trophy Truck of B.J. Baldwin.

The Trophy Trucks are unlimited production full-sized pickups sporting more than 800 horsepower.

Gordon's race started Thursday at 10:45 a.m. (PST) in Ensenada, Mexico, approximately 65 miles south of San Diego, and ended Friday morning with McMillin behind the wheel in La Paz at the southern end of the Baja California peninsula.

A one-hour race recap will be shown on NBC Sports Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m. EST.

-credit: rgm