Auto Racing

Larry Ragland drove his Chevrolet pickup to victory in the four-wheel division of the SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.

Ragland, of Phoenix, covered 756.1 miles to finish in 16 hours 37 minutes 35.1 seconds. He averaged 45.36 miles per hour.

Ragland said he used a conservative strategy to beat Ed Herbst of Las Vegas, driving a Chenowth Porsche, by 1 minute.

The motorcycle team of Larry Roeseler, Ted Hunnicutt Jr. and Marty Smith were the first home late Friday night in 13:37:25. The team’s average speed was 55.35 m.p.h. on a Kawasaki 500.

Doug Fortin Jr. of Jamul, Calif., finished fifth overall to win the championship of the eight-race SCORE-HDRA desert racing season.

Veteran racers described the conditions as among the toughest and most challenging in recent memory. Of 271 starters, 124 made it to the finish line.

Many racers wound up stuck in deep sand or mired in water or mud in the last 60 miles of the race.