Andy McMillin & Toyo Tires Win Overall SCORE World Desert Championship
Team Toyo’s Andy McMillin has captured the 2019 Overall SCORE World Desert Championship following an incredible season where he won both the 33rd Annual SCORE San Felipe 250 and the 51st SCORE Baja 500. In order to improve his chances of a strong finish at the SCORE Baja 1000, he partnered with fellow Red Bull / Team Toyo driver Bryce Menzies for the race. McMillin’s #31 Red Bull / Toyo Tires / KMC Wheels / Rigid / Fox Chevrolet Silverado SCORE Trophy Truck started second off the line, the team leading the early portion of the grueling race. McMillin and Menzies finished the race in a time of 22 hours, 3 minutes and 12 seconds, persevering after some challenges faced during the race. His performance in the final race of the season was enough to secure him the championship.
“This is my first championship in the SCORE series since I began racing it at 16 and it is a great accomplishment for my team, my sponsors, family and myself,” said McMillin. “Due to two minor setbacks of rolling the truck and a broken transmission we weren’t able to achieve our first goal which was to win the SCORE Baja 1000, but we were able to achieve our second goal of winning the season points championship. We kept our ‘never give up’ attitude and made it to the finish line. Now we start working on dominating the 2020 race season.”
“Congratulations to Andy McMillin for capturing the 2019 Overall SCORE World Desert Championship,” said Tim Chaney, vice president, marketing, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “Our race-proven Open Country M/T-R tires helped win two major championships this year in both in short course and desert off-road racing.”
McMillin’s championship was announced on the heels of Team Toyo driver Alan Ampudia winning the 52nd SCORE Baja 1000, a first for Ampudia and fourth for Toyo Tires… Robby Gordon in 2006, and BJ Baldwin in 2012 and 2013.
Team Toyo drivers have won the Overall SCORE World Desert Championship four times: Robby Gordon in 2009, BJ Baldwin in 2012 and 2013, and now Andy McMillin in 2019. In addition, Team Toyo drivers have won the SCORE Baja 500 four times: Robby Gordon 2013, Tavo Vildósola 2016, Andy McMillin 2017 and 2019.
This crowning caps off a year of victories for Toyo Tires in all the major off-road racing series. In addition to McMillin’s and Ampudia’s wins in SCORE, Kyle LeDuc captured his sixth Pro 4 Class Championship for Toyo Tires in the 2019 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and Bryce Menzies won this year’s Vegas to Reno off-road race in the Best In The Desert off-road racing series.
