McMillins keep a light on for Baja 1000
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20041117-9999-1s17baja....
Local family adding to its off-road legend
By Bill Center
November 17, 2004
Late in the 1981 Baja 1000, Mark Stahl appeared to be driving to a third overall victory in four years in off-roading's greatest race when out of the
dust behind his buggy appeared a single headlight.
To desert racers, single headlights mean motorcycles. Even 23 years ago, buggies and trucks were guided through the pitch blackness of a Baja
California night by high-powered light bars.
So the sign of a single light behind him raised no concern for Stahl as he approached the finish line.
Except the light didn't belong to a motorcycle. It was on the buggy driven by then-25-year-old Mark McMillin.
"You can never give up in one of these races," McMillin said several days ago while discussing his ? and his family's ? nearly three decades as the
first family of the Baja 1000. "You have to try to do anything you can to win."
In 1981, that meant turning off every light but one.
"Stahl was the lead four-wheel vehicle on the course," McMillin remembered. "He was running in the middle of the motorcycles. When I came up on him, I
didn't want him to know there was another four-wheel buggy gaining on him, so I turned off all but one of my lights."
Besides, because McMillin had started behind Stahl almost a day earlier, all he had to do was follow him to the finish to win.
Which he did.
"That was the first of the family's really great races," McMillin said. "I won. Stahl was second. My dad (Corky) was third and my brother (Scott) was
fourth."
That win was the first of a record five overall four-wheel Baja 1000 victories for Mark McMillin. Over the years, the McMillins have posted nearly two
dozen top-five overall finishes and won 10 class titles in the legendary race.
"The race is what we're all about," Mark McMillin said. "It's much more than a race to us. Our year sort of revolves around this race. People
associate us with the race. And for us, it's much more than a race.
"We pour a lot of ourselves into the Baja 1000. Not just the race . . . but going south each fall to prerun and renew old friendships in all the small
villages along the way. The people know us. When they see a McMillin vehicle, they know friends have returned."
The head of the McMillin off-road dynasty is 75-year-old San Diego real estate developer Corky, who will be starting his 30th Baja 1000 tomorrow
morning in Ensenada despite recent heart problems.
Corky has long shared the racing spotlight with Mark, 48, and Scott, 44. Now there are third-generation drivers coming along in Scott's 17-year-old
son, Andy, and Mark's 16-year-old son, Daniel ? who must pass on this Baja 1000 because of soccer tryouts at Granite Hills High.
"Dad is very proud of what has happened," Mark said. "He loves it that his grandsons love the Baja and the race as much as he does. They're going to
be good drivers."
Andy already is. Scott and Andy last year ran second overall to Jamul's Doug Fortin ? continuing a near-miss run in which Scott has finished second,
third and fourth overall in the past three Baja 1000s.
This year there's more at stake in the McMillin family feud than just the Baja 1000 title. Mark McMillin enters the finale of SCORE's five-race season
in second place in the points race to El Cajon's John Marking. Andy McMillin is fourth as the driver of record in the buggy he shares with his dad.
But the Baja 1000 overshadows all else in off-road racing, just as the Indy 500 does the rest of open-wheel racing.
"Over the years, my dad has poured his heart, soul and pocketbook into this race," Mark said. "To be honest, I can't ever see him not being in this
race. Where my dad is in his life . . . everyone knows how important the 1000 is to him."
For the McMillins, racing the Baja is not just climbing into their buggies and heading down the 1,016.3-mile trail that ends in La Paz on the Sea of
Cortez.
"We've had someone in Mexico every day for the past 45 days," Mark said. "I've prerun the course three days. My dad and Scott have done it four
times."
The McMillin team numbers 250 ? mostly volunteers from among their friends, employees and associates. The crew includes one of Corky's heart
specialists. The corps will be spread out in 25 pits and a dozen chase vehicles.
"We plan for everything we can, but there's always something that comes up that you can't control," Mark said.
As was the case in 1983, as Mark sped toward his second overall win.
As his buggy ran onto the pavement on its final approach to the finish, Mark was stunned to see a spectator run out and roll in front of him.
"It was a young Mexican kid who did it as a dare," Mark said. "I didn't have any time to stop. I ran right over the top of him. But the ride height of
my buggy (14 to 16 inches) allowed me to clear him without touching him. Had I braked, I would have surely hit him. Miracle."
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37th Tecate
SCORE Baja 1000
Start: Thursday, Ensenada (motorcycles and ATVs at 30-second intervals starting at 6:30 a.m.; trucks, buggies and cars at one-minute intervals
starting at 9:30 a.m.).
Finish: Friday-Saturday, La Paz (40-hour time limit for all starters).
Distance: 1,016.3 miles.
Direction: From start, course goes southeast through Ojos Negros to San Felipe (mile 180) on the Sea of Cortez. Course then turns south, running
parallel with the east coast of Baja California through Bahia de Los Angeles before turning southwest to El Arco (mile 446). The course reaches the
Pacific again at El Datil (mile 618). After a nearly oval section, the course recrosses Highway 1 just north of Ciudad Insurgentes (mile 794) before
turning south again along the Pacific before turning northeast at Santa Rita (mile 901) for the final run into La Paz.
Entries: 290 total with 220 four-wheel buggies, trucks and Baja Bugs plus 70 motorcycles and ATVs. The field represents 31 states and 10 countries.
Riders to watch: Seven-time Baja 1000 overall champ Johnny Campbell and Honda co-rider Steve Hengeveld have won nine straight SCORE races. The Yamaha
team led by Joe Desrosiers of San Marcos and Jesse Sharpe of San Diego paces the under-250cc season standings. Escondido's Ron Bishop, 61, will be the
only rider to have raced in every Baja 1000.
Drivers to watch: Robby Gordon will run the top half of the course before flying to the NASCAR Nextel Cup finale in Florida. Other celebrities in the
field include 79-year-old actor Paul Newman, IndyCar driver Jimmy Vasser and former Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan. But the drivers to beat are the
Trophy Truck teams of Tim and Ed Herbst, Jason Baldwin and Alan Pflueger and the San Diego County, open-class buggy teams of Mark McMillin-Brian
Ewalt, Scott-Andy McMillin, Chuck Hovey and John Marking-Chris Harrold-Bob Lofton plus Troy Herbst of Las Vegas.
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