Bryce Menzies was looking to start Friday’s Baja 1000 on the pole, but instead found himself in the trees. He was leading Tuesday’s qualifying session before bicycling his Trophy Truck off course through the shrubbery.
Menzies was able to recover and get back on course, salvaging a sixth-place run. He and Andy McMillin are teaming up for Friday’s race. The race is his third-to-last in his Mason Gen-2 truck before his Honda Passport Baja Spec Trophy Truck debuts at the 2027 Baja 500.
“We ran into a few issues during our run and lost some time throwing it on two wheels but the Baja 1000 is a long, long race,” said Menzies. “We will be starting sixth and ready for whatever Baja throws our way.”
His off-off-road excursion enabled Christopher Polvoorde to score his third pole in four races in 2026. He, of course, hopes to finally slay the demons that have haunted him at every race this year with the help of Ray Griffith. Alan Ampudia was third, set to share the truck with Paul Weel.
Menzies wasn’t the only driver with problems on Tuesday. Ryan Arciero’s new gearbox had some snags in the shifter that slowed him down to eighth. Heck, even non-racers threw a wrench into things: qualifying was delayed by an hour because the water truck got stuck on the course, and truck pulled it out with the help of pushing spectators.
Among the 2WD trucks, Cameron Steele led the way with Chris Miller right behind. Gus Vildósola topped Legends.
Cody Reid was the fastest Class 1 ahead of RPI Racing’s final race.
Qualifying results
Trophy Truck
| Position | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 94 | Christopher Polvoorde | 2:34.868 |
| 2 | 1 | Alan Ampudia | 2:36.489 |
| 3 | 24 | Adam Householder | 2:40.073 |
| 4 | 70 | Kevin Thompson | 2:40.605 |
| 5 | 83 | Luke McMillin | 2:41.701 |
| 6 | 7 | Bryce Menzies | 2:42.092 |
| 7 | 62 | Dodge Poelman | 2:49.695 |
| 8 | 32 | Ryan Arciero | 2:50.067 |
Trophy Truck 2WD
| Position | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16T | Cameron Steele | 2:46.699 |
| 2 | 40T | Chris Miller | 2:47.151 |
| 3 | 51T | Steve Olliges | 2:49.136 |
| 4 | 26T | Dave Taylor | 2:49.777 |
| 5 | 1T | Sam Baldi | 2:51.930 |
| 6 | 19T | Tim Herbst | 2:58.199 |
| 7 | 96T | Enrique Murillo | 2:59.608 |
| 8 | 95T | Mike Perez | 3:05.824 |
| 9 | 29T | Jose Luis Rosas-Polanco | 3:10.320 |
| 10 | 39T | Andrew Herman | 3:21.751 |
| 11 | 73T | Tyler Bolland | DNS |
Trophy Truck Legends
| Position | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1L | Gus Vildósola | 2:36.540 |
| 2 | 61L | Rolf Helland | 2:41.582 |
| 3 | 85L | Clay Lawrence | 2:46.411 |
| 4 | 99L | Shawn Runyon | 3:01.338 |
| 5 | 61L | David Payne | 3:07.628 |
| 6 | 86L | Marc Martinez | DNS |
Trophy Truck Spec
| Position | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 241 | Stephen Beal | 2:46.038 |
| 2 | 215 | Trey Gibbs | 2:47.338 |
| 3 | 285 | Justin Davis | 2:47.598 |
| 4 | 237 | Patrick Wieland | 2:48.461 |
| 5 | 291 | Johnny Gould | 2:48.842 |
| 6 | 212 | Travis PeCoy | 2:51.215 |
| 7 | 282 | Brent Fox | 2:51.530 |
| 8 | 273 | Apdaly Lopez | 2:52.584 |
| 9 | 242 | Bryce Swaim | 2:52.796 |
| 10 | 236 | Mike Marsal | 2:53.696 |
| 11 | 269 | Manlio Díaz | 2:54.319 |
| 12 | 231 | Carlos Ramos-Murillo | 2:54.747 |
| 13 | 294 | Vincent Muñoz | 2:55.296 |
| 14 | 263 | EJ Herbst | 2:55.614 |
| 15 | 299 | Charles Dorrance | 2:56.226 |
| 16 | 219 | Pierce Herbst | 2:56.882 |
| 17 | 228 | Ryan Hancock | 2:58.155 |
| 18 | 270 | Jimmy Diaz | 2:59.969 |
| 19 | 278 | Isaac Mercado | 3:00.216 |
| 20 | 221 | Sergio Rangel | 3:13.189 |
| 21 | 238 | Elijah Kiger | DNS |
Class 1
| Position | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 168 | Cody Reid | 2:53.960 |
| 2 | 162 | Brendan Gaughan | 2:54:686 |
| 3 | 149 | Edgar Morales | 3:03.944 |
| 4 | 138 | Brad Wilson | 3:25.220 |
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