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Published Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 | 7:37 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010 | 2:59 p.m.
Trophy-Truck driver Andy McMillin, who won on Saturday, took the checkered flag on Sunday and finished first overall at the season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. McMillin’s combined total time from the two days of racing was 2 hours, 2 minutes and 03 seconds.
Kory Scheeler of Las Vegas finished second and Nick Vanderwey of Phoenix finished third.
I was able to view Sunday’s race from the infield where members of the media are allowed to stand as close to the action as they can stomach. The trucks looked as if they were on the edge of losing control as they blazed through the corners. I almost felt like ducking a number of times when the trucks kicked up huge dirt rooster tails as they accelerated out of the turns.
What impressed me the most was how fast these drivers entered the corners. And out of all of the drivers I witness today, Robby Gordon drove his Trophy-Truck with an aggressiveness that was a step above the other drivers. The speeds at which he attacked the turns were noticeably faster than any other driver in the Trophy-Truck class.
SCORE Race
Nevertheless, Gordon finished sixth in class and had a DNF overall due to the fact that his truck, which was driven by Steve Kendall on Saturday, only finished seven of eight laps in the required time limit for Saturday’s race. Gordon’s Chevy also broke two wheels during today’s race.
Equally as impressive as Gordon’s aggressive driving style was that fact that he raced today after having traveled all the way from Argentina where he competed in the Dakar Rally.
Here are some videos and a few photos from today’s event.
You can see all results here.
Gordon's truck in the pits prior to the race
Race winner Andy McMillin
Race winner Andy McMillin
Gordon signs a few autographs after the race
Trophy-Trucks lined up at the finish line
Not bad photos :)
As a former track photograhper for Corona, Ascot and Pearsonville I can appreciate what it takes to get those shots.
I found your comment about "as close to the action as they can stomach" and similar ones amusing. I recall many a time when I had to dive away from a driver who got loose in the corner. Once I actually got a sequence of shots of a car headed directly at me, directly away from me, and the underside as it jumped the berm I was sheltering behind.
Thanks. I used my wife's Cannon Power Shot for the shots. It's amazing how well it works for an inexpensive camera. The video was also shot with the camera. But getting the action shots with a camera that has such a long lag time was a little tough.
I know what you mean Mike. My Nikon D50 takes great action shots with no delay, but my little Nikon L19 takes forever to take a picture. Most of the time they come out blury, or miss what I was shooting. Great pics!
My camera of choice was a Canon AT1 with an AE1 for a fallback. But that was back in the 80's.
isnt the dakar race on the dark continent