2026 Mexican 1000: Lightning Bronco fights on in Stage 2

May 4, 2026

Racing a 54-year-old car was always going to be tough, but Chris Greenwood is still in the fight.

Greenwood’s 1972 Ford Bronco, now rocking the Johnny Lightning livery that Parnelli Jones and Al Unser used before switching to the legendary Big Oly look, has taken a beating to start the Mexican 1000. In Stage 1, the carburetor was out of shape while the rear axle seals sprung leaks but he managed to reach the finish.

Sunday wasn’t any kinder. A spindle on the Bronco broke, which he was able to fix before the radius arm also snapped. After doing the first two Selective Sessions, respectively finishing 137th and 147th overall (the latter last among finishers), Greenwood opted to skip SS3 and head straight to the Bahía de los Ángeles to assess the damage and make repairs.

“Bronco’s looking mighty fine and we look forward to being on the race course today and have fun,” Greenwood said on Monday before Stage 3.

If it was any consolation, modern vehicles had their share of troubles too. In SS2, EJ Herbst got stuck on his roof for an extended period until Ryan Arciero came by to flip him back over. He still finished fifth overall for the special and remains fourth overall.

After a tough Saturday, Darren Skilton and the SCG 008 completed all three specials with a best run of 90th on the last.

“Cars and in this case experimental cars are simply a different level,” his navigator Willem Avenant stated.

Brad Lovell’s son and co-driver Adam was feeling unwell prior to Sunday, so Brad’s brother Roger took over navigating duties for the day. The brothers finished as high as 66th in SS3.

Guy Yocom took the overall lead from James Griffith, while Colton Udall remains on top for the bikes. Kristen Matlock and her husband Wayne, who are sharing a Polaris, leads the UTV overall in tenth. The Matlocks found the very technical and rocky course was very well suited for UTVs, which has been vital to their solid run thus far.

2025 NORRA 500 winner Craig McCarthy sits third and tops among non-Unlimited Trucks.

Stage winners

Selective Section	Number	Competitor of Record	Vehicle	Class	Total Time
SS1	282	Brent Fox	2023 1Nine Industries Spec Trophy Truck	Evolution 6100	1:08:58
SS2	7	Max Gordon	2024 Geiser Bros / RPM Offroad 6100	Evolution 6100	1:06:30
SS3	57	Guy Yocom	2015 Geiser Bros Trophy Truck	Evolution Unlimited Truck	51:33
Bikes	7	Colton Udall	2005 Honda CRF450X	Pro Rally / Ironman Roadbook	2:50:02