Brian Collins (below center), winner of the 2006 and 2007 Tecate SCORE Baja 500, fell just short in his bid for a three-peat, earning the third-place spot on the podium along with co-driver Chuck Hovey (below left). The duo piloted the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Mopar Dodge Ram 1500 to third overall and also in the Trophy Truck class. Shown at right is the third Collins Motorsports driver, Larry Ragland.

June 2, 2008 –Collins was also bidding for a three-peat at the Baja 500, which he won in 2006 and 2007, but came up just short in his attempt. The Las Vegas resident slid into a tree and suffered a flat tire on the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Mopar Dodge Ram 1500, then lost precious minutes when the truck sank into talcum powder-like sand as the flat was fixed. The stroke of misfortune relegated Collins and co-driver Chuck Hovey to a still strong third-place finish overall and in the SCORE Trophy Truck class of the SCORE Desert Series.

Collins and Hovey navigated the grueling desert course in 9:25:47 at 46.78 mph. The Team Mopar and Collins Motorsports duo, eighth in the SCORE Trophy Truck standings prior to the event, are likely to jump into the top-five in class points after their strong Baja 500 run.

"The No. 12 Mopar Dodge Ram 1500 ran flawless," said Collins. "Everyone said it looked fast. It performed beautifully."

"The podium is good," said Escondido, Calif. native Hovey of the Collins Motorsports team's finish. "We got in the truck about 14 minutes down. Brian just said cruise it in. The last 80 miles was very technical."

Despite his podium run, Collins said the highlight of his week was the positive feedback both spectators and racers continued to offer on the return of Mopar and Dodge to SCORE off-road racing.

"It seemed like everyone was coming up to us and mentioning that they were excited to see Mopar and Dodge back in off-road," Collins said. "People were coming up and saying their truck had the same paint scheme as the one Walker Evans had when he drove for Mopar in off-road racing twenty years ago. It was amazing how excited people were to see the Mopar Dodge Ram out here competing in the desert again. My podium finish was huge, but I think what was even greater for the Mopar and Dodge motorsports program was the positive comments we received all weekend."