“This is an incredible win for us,” said John Marking. “The Baja 1000 is such a brutal race. We’ve always had great results here, but the overall has been elusive. With this one under our belt, we’re more motivated than ever to win some more.”Watsonville, CA January 6, 2010 -- The FOX Racing Shox sponsored father-son duo of Scott and Andy McMillin bested the entire 4-wheel racing field to take the overall victory in the 42nd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race. The legendary Baja 1000 has long been considered to be the most difficult point-to-point offroad race, and this year's event tested drivers and equipment with 673 miles of some of the most torturous terrain imaginable.
McMillin and crew at the Baja 1000 finish line.
FOX Racing Shox equipped vehicles drove to victory in 10 of the 13 4-wheel classes:
Andy and Scott McMillin -- Trophy Truck and Overall winner
Jerry Penhall -- Class 1
Heidi Steele -- Class 6
Eric Duran -- Class 1-2/1600
Jon Holmes -- Class 7SX
Richard Cassey -- Class 7.2
Pancho Bio -- Class 9
Josh Hall -- Stock Mini
Chad Hall -- Stock Full
Reid Nordin -- UTV
Despite always being a contender, not to mention the numerous class titles FOX has collected, McMillin Racing's dominant performance marks the first overall win in the SCORE Baja 1000 for FOX Racing Shox since the suspension manufacturer first started building shocks for offroad icon Roger Mears' desert racing trucks in the early 80's.
"This is an incredible win for us," said John Marking, VP of the Offroad Division at FOX Racing Shox. "The Baja 1000 is such a brutal race. We've always had great results here, but the overall has been elusive. With this one under our belt, we're more motivated than ever to win some more."
A vital contributing factor to the success of FOX Racing Shox in offroad racing and its dominance in the 2009 SCORE Baja 1000 is that its employees are racers themselves, so they not only understand the needs of the racer but can also apply real world testing to the products they develop. Marking narrowly missed a spot on the podium in Class 1, after sharing driving duties with Chuck Dempsey, finishing fourth. Overall champion Andy McMillin's co-driver is Todd Tenbroek, FOX's Race Support Manager.
"My co-driver, Todd Tenbroek, is a suspension-tuning specialist with FOX Racing Shox and he's worked all season perfecting the truck's suspension," explained the 22 year-old McMillin. "The countless hours of testing proved itself here at the Baja 1000."
Download Baja 1000 wallpapers, watch video highlights, browse the photo gallery and more: www.foxracingshox.com/baja1000
About FOX Racing Shox:
For over three decades, FOX Racing Shox has been the industry leader in the design and development of high performance shock absorbers and racing suspension products for ATVs, Motorcycles, Mountain Bikes, Offroad cars and trucks, Snowmobiles and UTVs. In 1974, Bob Fox started racing his products in motocross and they haven't stopped racing since. FOX Racing Shox equipped vehicles and racers have stood atop podiums in every sport they have competed in -- from the sands of Baja to the dunes of Dakar. FOX's team of engineers perform rigorous tests with their athletes year round. The data FOX collects from performance testing and the application of that knowledge to their products is what separates FOX Racing Shox from every other suspension company. World Headquarters are in Watsonville, CA with its Offroad Division in Santee, CA. FOX Racing Shox distributes its products in more than 40 countries.
