Ford can mark another completed race in its Baja 1000 history book thanks to the 2017 F-150 Raptor. The 49th running of the SCORE Baja 1000 concluded on November 20 after a grueling 854-mile race from Ensenada, Mexico down through the unforgiving deserts in the Baja peninsula and back again. The Raptor team scored a third place victory in the stock full class competition, crossing the finish line with only 52 seconds to spare. The official time was 35:59:08.151.

For those unfamiliar, the Baja 1000 is a race against the clock, navigating the terrain, and to simply finish. The time to beat is 36 hours. Though the Raptor barely squeezed by, it still finished the race. What’s more, the truck when drove some seven hours and another 400 miles east to Phoenix, Arizona – the home base for the team from Foutz Motorsports.

“That’s why the new Ford F-150 Raptor is bad-ass!” said Greg Foutz, the team leader of Foutz Motorsports. “It’s a race-proven off-road monster that can race off-road an entire weekend, then take you and your friends on a road trip the next day.

Two of the five competitors in the stock full class didn’t finish. Second place with to a Toyota Land Cruiser with a time of 32:28:37.068 and first place with to the legendary Rod Hall and his Hummer H1 with a time of 32:13:58.914.

It’s a good thing the 2017 F-150 Raptor finished the race since Ford has hinged the Raptor’s marketing on the truck’s ability to tacked desert terrain at high speeds. Don’t forget, the Raptor even has a Baja mode performance setting. It would have been hard to patch that public relations image hole.

Anyway, congratulations, Ford and the guys from Foutz Motorsports on the Baja 1000 finish.

Continue reading for more information.

2017 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Placed Third At Baja 1000 In Stock Full Class Competition

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Why It Matters

Ford undoubtedly put a lot of stock into the Raptor finishing the Baja 1000. It was the ultimate test to prove this production truck could handle the rigors of high-speed desert racing. Thankfully for Ford, things paid off and the truck crossed the finish line with no major damage or reported injuries.

The Raptor in question truly is a production truck with very little modifications. In fact, Ford released details about the truck before the race began. We’ve got a full write-up here.

For those who might want a quick run-down, the truck came off the F-150 production line and uses all the factory parts. The guys at Foutz Motorsports had to install the requisite safety and computer equipment in order to pass the SCORE inspection.

The Raptor uses its factory 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 that generates an impressive 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. The new 10-speed automatic and high-tech 4WD system were present as well. Even the wheels, tires, and suspension components were all stock, though with one minor exception. Ford engineers retuned the factory shock absorbers to account for the extra weight of the safety cage, extra fuel, spare tires, and tools needed on board.

This certainly won’t be the second-generation Raptor’s last race, so we’re definitely looking forward to more news in the future.

2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Baja 1000

Read our full review in the Ford F-150 Raptor Baja 1000 here.