VISTA, Calif. – NHRA legend Don Prudhomme is returning to the desert later this month for another attempt to win the National Off-Road Racing Ass’n Mexican 1,000.
Prudhomme, 80, competed in the 2018 and ’19 editions of the event. This year the four-time NHRA Funny Car champion will compete in the Modified Turbo UTV class aboard a Can-Am UTV with sponsorship from MAVTV.
“I want to run hard and have fun,” said Prudhomme, who finished the 2019 Mexican 1,000 in 16th place. “The great thing about this race is you don’t know the course until a couple days before you take off. NORRA doesn’t want anyone pre-running the course so that will make it exciting. I feel more confident every time I do this and I have to thank MAVTV for coming along for the ride.”
During his last Mexican 1,000 race, fuel pump issues on the last day had the team battling to get to the finish line. This year, along with navigator and support driver Rich Minga, Prudhomme is looking to improve on that effort. He will once again have P.J. Jones assisting with equipment and on-course support.
“I will be doing a lot of the driving but Rich will also jump behind the wheel and I’ll navigate. It is a long route and we want to be competitive. I hated to miss the race last year because of everything going on but there was no way I was going to miss this race again. It is just too much fun,” added Prudhomme.
“Teaming up with a legend like Don Prudhomme for the Mexican 1000 is a great partnership for MAVTV and Lucas Oil,” said Brandon Bernstein, Lucas Oil Director of Partnership Marketing. “The interest in off-road racing is growing every year and there is a huge audience of motorsports viewers on MAVTV. We know tons of people will be keeping an eye on Prudhomme’s progress throughout the race.”
The Mexican 1,000 is a five-day, off-road rally run by NORRA as a celebration of off-road racing history and vintage off-road machinery. Cars, buggies, trucks, and motorcycles from all eras of Baja racing are eligible to participate in a variety of classes. The race begins Friday, April 23 in Ensenda, Baja, Mexico, and ends Friday, April 30 back in Ensenda. The course has been rerouted this year to work within COVID protocols and will be a 1,000 mile loop.