Ten Classes, Ten Fights: SCORE's 2026 Season Hits the Halfway Point With Almost Nothing Settled

Two rounds down, two to go in the SCORE World Desert Championship, and the points sheet reads like a photo finish across the board. Here's who's actually in front once you get past the big trucks.

The Season's Flipped Its Calendar Page

SCORE International dropped its midseason points update this week and if you were hoping for a runaway leader to root for or against, you're not getting one. The 2026 World Desert Championship is a four-race deal this year, and with San Felipe and the Baja 500 in the books, half the classes on the sheet are separated by single digits.

That's the thing about desert racing that a lot of stick-and-ball fans never quite get. You can win the opening round, get a flat halfway through round two, and watch your points lead evaporate before you've even had time to enjoy it. The Baja 500 alone chewed up more than a quarter of the 200 teams that lined up at the start, with just 144 crossing the line in Ensenada. That attrition rate is baked into every one of these standings, and it's why nobody in the pits is talking like the fight is over.

Trophy Truck Is a Flat-Out Tie

Up top, Luke McMillin's No. 83 Ford Raptor has banked wins at both San Felipe and the Baja 500, and it still only has him level with Sam Baldi's Trophy Truck 2WD effort. Both drivers sit at 224 points, which tells you the points system rewards consistency almost as much as trophies. Baldi's been running second twice, McMillin's been winning twice, and somehow the math lands them in the same spot.

One tier below, David Payne and Larry Roeseler are quietly building a case in Trophy Truck Legend, sitting at 202 after a win and a third-place run. Brent Fox has the highest raw total of anyone in the truck ranks, 244 points, leading a Trophy Truck Spec field that SCORE says has swelled to 41 competitive teams this year. That's a stacked class, and Fox getting through it clean says a lot.

The UTV Classes Are Where the Real War Is

If you're the type who cares more about side-by-sides than full-size trucks, this is your season. Three separate UTV classes have three separate leaders running three different rigs. Kaden Wells is out front in Pro UTV Forced Induction aboard his Can-Am Maverick R with 245 points and a pair of wins, building on the kind of form that made him a points champion last year.

Branden Sims is doing the same job in Pro UTV Open, piloting a Polaris RZR Pro R to 231 points with a Baja 500 class win mixed in with a sixth-place finish at San Felipe. Meanwhile Craig Scanlon has the single highest point total of anyone in the entire championship, truck or buggy, sitting at 250 in Pro Stock UTV behind two class wins in his Polaris RZR R. Three different builds, three different fights, all wide open.

Moto and the Open-Wheel Guys Aren't Sitting Still Either

On two wheels, the Pro Moto Unlimited class belongs to the trio of Tyler Lynn, Carter Klein and Sam Pretscherer, who've combined for two class wins on Honda CRF450X machinery and sit at 210 points. Down in the open-wheel ranks, Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan has his HMS-Chevy Class 1 buggy out front with 216 points off back-to-back wins, and Stan Potter isn't far behind in Class 10, running an Alumicraft-Chevy to 217 points and a pair of victories of his own.

It's easy to let the Trophy Truck headline eat all the oxygen, but walk the pits at any SCORE event and you'll find just as many people huddled around the UTV and Class 1 rigs. These midseason numbers back that up. There isn't a single class right now where the door's closed.

What's Left Before Anybody Can Relax

Round three is the 7th SCORE Baja 400, set for September 9-13 back in Ensenada, followed by the season-closing 59th SCORE Baja 1000 running November 9-15 out of Los Cabos. That's two more shots for every one of these leaders to either lock things down or get run over by whoever's sitting second right now.

For the crews and drivers, that means a summer of wrenching, testing and trying to find whatever's left on the table before the trucks roll back into Baja. For the rest of us, it means there's a real reason to keep an eye on the points sheet between now and September instead of just showing up for the big races. Follow the standings, follow the builds, and get ready for the second half to get loud.

Eight Names Worth Tracking the Rest of the Way

Halfway through the season, these are the drivers and teams sitting on top of their classes, and the ones with the most to lose if the second half doesn't go their way.

1. Luke McMillin: No. 83 Ford Raptor, tied atop Trophy Truck at 224 points with wins at San Felipe and the Baja 500.
2. Sam Baldi: No. 1 Ford Raptor, level with McMillin in Trophy Truck 2WD off two runner-up finishes.
3. David Payne & Larry Roeseler: Trophy Truck Legend leaders at 202 points with a win and a third-place run in their Chevy Silverado.
4. Brent Fox: Leading a 41-team-deep Trophy Truck Spec class at 244 points in his No. 282 Ford Raptor.
5. Kaden Wells: Pro UTV Forced Induction leader at 245 points, two wins deep in his Can-Am Maverick R.
6. Branden Sims: Pro UTV Open points leader at 231 in a Polaris RZR Pro R, including a Baja 500 class win.
7. Craig Scanlon: Highest point total in the championship, 250, leading Pro Stock UTV in a Polaris RZR R.
8. Brendan Gaughan: Las Vegas driver leading Class 1 at 216 points with back-to-back wins in his HMS-Chevy buggy.

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