ENSENADA, Mexico – Running a relatively conservative pace over a rugged, dusty, tight and twisty race course, third-generation veteran SoCal desert racing champion Ryan Arciero roared to the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck race victory Saturday in the inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400.

The race on a characteristically challenging, intensely rugged 390-mile course started and finished in front of the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada.

Arciero, 46, recorded a hard-fought penalty-free winning time 8 hours, 26 minutes and 32 seconds while averaging 46.20 mph in his No. 32 Levi Arciero Racing Ford F-150 built by Herbst-Smith Fabrication.

It was Arciero’s fourth SCORE Trophy Truck race win and first since 2004, when he won the SCORE Baja 500 with Mark Miller.

When the final checkered flag waved, a total of 189 vehicles left the start line early Saturday morning with racers from 25 U.S. States and eight countries. When the course closed at 3:58 a.m. PT on Sunday, there were 146 official finishers for an unusually high 77.25 finishing percentage, especially considering the difficulty of the race course.

The results were made official following complete data tracking review of the devices on each vehicle in the event late Sunday morning.

“It was a great race for us,” said Arciero. “We started in the middle of the Trophy Truck field and I knew Andy McMillin was just two trucks in front of us. I used Andy as a guide for most of the race. Everything was smooth for us today and the new Joe Gibbs Racing motor was sensational. Great power and we have NASCAR guys in off-road which is a super crossover in the sport. We didn’t quite know where we stood overall with so many trucks bunched up and running very close.”

“The dust made it tougher for the SCORE Trophy Trucks and we just had to work our way through the field as best we could. I’m excited that my dad (Frank Arciero Jr.) could make it down to this race too. He got me started in the sport and it’s fun to celebrate an overall win with him. We knew we needed a good finish for the starting position in the upcoming SCORE Baja 1,000. And we couldn’t have done better than taking the victory today.”

Joining Arciero on the podium were San Diego’s Andy McMillin, who won the first two races of the 2019 SCORE World Desert Racing Championship, and Mexico’s Gustavo Vildosola Jr.

Besides podium finishers Arciero, McMillin and Vildosola, all of the top 19 overall four-wheel vehicle finishers were SCORE Trophy Trucks.

SCORE Trophy Truck had a race-high 36 vehicles, including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50, start the race.

All among the top 19 overall four-wheel vehicle finishers after penalties were assessed, fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck was Robby Gordon, fifth was brothers Alan, Aaron and Rodrigo Ampudia, sixth was Justin Lofton, seventh was Cameron Steele and eighth in class was Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin.

Finishing ninth in SCORE Trophy Truck and overall four-wheel vehicle was Chris Miller and 10th was Ricky Johnson.

Riding the No. 1x Honda CRF450X, Justin Morgan, and his three-rider team raced to the overall motorcycle victory for his seventh consecutive overall motorcycle win in the SCORE World Desert Championship.

The trio crossed the finish line in 8:32:30 with an average speed of 45.66 mph. Morgan split the riding with Mark Samuels and Ricky Dietrich.

Defeating 20 starters in his class and 34 total UTVs to win the overall UTV win title in this year’s race was veteran racer Wes Miller with a winning time of 10:00:50 in his No. 2975 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo. He also won his Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class.

Second generation SCORE desert racer Cody Parkhouse captured the unlimited Class 1 victory while finishing 21st overall among four-wheel vehicles in the No. 127 Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car. His winning effort was completed in a penalty-free 9:12:02 (42.39 mph). He defeated 10 starters in his class.

After three races, there remain three unbeaten racers in their respective classes for this season. Leading the group is the Morgan team (Pro Moto Unlimited). The other three-time 2019 two-wheel class winner is Giovanni Spinali in Pro Moto 50. Spinali’s teammates were Earl Roberts, Troy Pearce and John Griffin.

Pro Quad San winner Said Sanchez won again to remain unbeaten in the SCORE World Desert Championship this season.

Driving as a substitute driver for Clyde Stacy, former SCORE Class 8 season point champion Nick Vanderwey won SCORE TT Legends class for SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old for the second straight race.

In a class with 25 starters, winning the Trophy Truck Spec class for the first time was Jorge Sampietro, Ensenada, Mexico in the No. 298 Mason-Chevy. He finished the race with a class-winning time 9:30:24 (41.02 mph).

Besides Stacy/Vanderwey in SCORE TT Legend, winning for the second time in three races in the SCORE World Desert Championship were: Kaden Wells (Pro UTV NA), Freddie Willert (SCORE Lites), Edward Muncey (Baja Challenge), Marco Pena (Pro Moto Limited) and Jason Trubey (Pro Moto 40).