“Ballistic” BJ Baldwin fights through mechanical failure for a 2nd place finish at General Tire Mint 400
The legendary Mint 400 is an annual off-road race started in 1967 known as “The Great American Desert Race”. Held just north of Las Vegas, NV the race is a 400-mile test of man and machine alike. The race is well known as being one of the toughest and roughest courses in all off-road racing. The Mint 400 has a rich and storied history with entrants from around the world that have included some of the most well-known names from all racing genres as well as the television and motion picture industry. The race was depicted in 1971 in Hunter S. Thompson’s epic novel “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, which was later made into a feature film starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro. This year’s race took place March 25th -28th and had over 300 participants in 24 Classes. The course features the infamous “Rock Garden”, silt beds, miles of rocky moon-hills, sandy washes, and high speed graded roads.
Friday the 26th all Trophy Truck and Class 1 cars were given the chance to qualify for position. BJ was determined to qualify in the front and had a solid start but was distracted when a water bottle came loose and began sliding around behind his brake and gas peddle. “I couldn’t believe the bottle started to roll around beneath my feet. At one point I was holding it down with my left foot and using my right foot to brake and gas. It cost me time for sure,” stated BJ. Despite the distraction BJ still managed to qualify 4th out of 50 unlimited competitors.
Saturday the 27th BJ started the race 4th off the line and was moving up through traffic and dust when he struck a large boulder with his left front wheel near race mile 11. “I was trying to be patient. I wanted to be out front, out of the dust as quick as possible. The dust was terrible. I went wide to pass Spruole and there is this 5-second window when you are passing when you can’t see anything and that’s when I hit the boulder. It ripped the whole right wheel off and jerked the truck and started to endo, I can’t believe we didn’t crash,” stated BJ. He then got out of his truck then went back to wait in the main pit for his father, Bobby Baldwin to bring his truck around. BJ explained, “We decided to put Chad Ragland who was supposed to be driving with my dad back in my truck once it was fixed. I wanted to get in my Dad’s truck and still go for the overall. My dad drove a great first lap coming in 5th on the road. I got in the #96 General Tire trophy truck and went for it!”
- BJ Baldwin battles to a 2nd place finish at the General Tire Mint 400
BJ rocketed out of the start finish, and began chasing down competitors. By the end of lap 2nd BJ was 2nd on the road despite having torque converter problems, which cause the transmission to over heat a high speeds. Just after the beginning of 3rd lap BJ lost all brakes, but managed to complete the whole lap with no brakes and still close the gap with the race leaders to within 10 seconds on corrected time. After fixing the bakes in the main pit BJ went back out with a vengeance, but more drama would ensue. While trying to pass 12 car on the 4th lap BJ hit a large rock and twisted the driveshaft. After spending 14 minutes changing the driveshaft BJ got back going and again began to chase down the race leaders. BJ ultimately crossed the line physically 2nd finishing 2nd in trophy trucks only 11 minutes short of first place. “I love this race. It is really tough challenge; you can’t make any mistakes or your done. The course is brutal and get’s worse every lap. Congrats to Roger Norman and Larry Roessler, they qualified well and raced well all day. I was trying my best to catch them all day, but between dust, traffic and mechanical issues it just wasn’t in the cards for us. I had a blast racing against everybody! I can’t wait until next year to do it again!” commented BJ.
- BJ and Bobby Baldwin celebrate 2nd place victory at General Tire Mint 400
BJ Baldwin is sponsored by:
General Tire, Mastercraft Safety, Method Race Wheels, Vision-X lights, King Shocks and K&N Filters
Mad Media Tapped To Produce TV Coverage Of The Legendary General Tire Mint 400
The legendary Mint 400 is an annual off-road race started in 1967 known as “The Great American Desert Race”. Held just north of Las Vegas Nevada, the race is a four hundred mile test of man and machine alike. It is known for being one of the toughest and roughest courses in North American off-road racing. The course features the infamous “rock garden”, silt beds, miles of rocky moon-hills, sandy washes, and high speed graded roads. This year’s race will take place March 25th – 28th, and has over three hundred participants expected in twenty-two vehicle classes.
The directing and producing team of Matt and Joshua Martelli, known as “The Martelli Brothers”, head up Mad Media’s production team, joined by a seasoned crew of talented cinematographers and editors. “We’re passionate about off-road racing and we have been producing content within and about the sport for several years now, so we’re thrilled to take all that we’ve learned about high-end filmmaking and apply it to such a historic competition. Our plan is simple; we want to bring the raw energy and excitement of being at the race to television”, stated Matt Martelli. Joshua Martelli added, “Our goal over the next few years is to build the Mint 400 into the most important race in off-road. It has all the right elements. We are pulling out all the stops to make this TV show great, and to build a platform for the future of off-road racing.”
The Martelli brothers have teamed up with Jason Markham, who produced the live HDTV Championship Off-Road Racing show for NBC sports and SPEED Channel, which was heralded as the best off-road race coverage on television. In 2008 Markham was also responsible for the first live broadcast of an off-road race in history. The team has plans to tackle multiple off-road related projects together. “The combination of my technical and creative background and TV production experience, with that of the Martelli Brothers / Mad Media’s ability to create slick and engaging content is really exciting. They’re incredible storytellers, and have embraced the latest in high-end film gear like the RED and Canon 5D MKII cameras, which has put them in contention with any of the larger production groups in the industry. I’m thrilled to join forces with them and focus on creating compelling and exciting new media projects”, commented Markham.
The Mint 400 has a rich and storied history that includes the best racers as well as celebrities from around the world. Indianapolis 500 winners Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Rick Mears, and Rodger Ward; off-road champions Mickey Thompson, Ivan Stewart, Jack Flannery, Walker Evans, BJ Baldwin, Andy McMillin; international off road competitor, Rod Hall; freestyle motocross celebrity Cary Hart; power boat champion Bill Muncey, movie and television stars James Garner and Steve McQueen; and astronaut Gordon Cooper, are among the many racing and entertainment luminaries who have competed in the Mint 400. The race was depicted in 1971 in Hunter S. Thompson’s epic novel “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, which was later made into a feature film starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.
About Mad Media:
Mad Media is San Diego based creative agency that offers professional film and television production, a complete arsenal of video post production services, as well as website and print design. Mad Media specializes in creating culturally relevant brand messaging that features professional athletes, musicians, and artists for the motor sports, action sports, and mixed martial arts cultures. Known for producing the award-winning viral film series “Gymkhana”, (one of the most successful viral films in history), Mad Media produces premium content for all mediums.
Method Wheels promo poster
Check out the new Method Wheels promo poster we just finished, its of “Ballistic BJ Baldwin boosting some serious air! No we did not photoshop him higher! They are free, just swing by the Method booth during contingency at any race and say hi to Colbey . Shot by our own Brendon Klein. Oh yeah, buy lots of Method wheels and keep us employed.
BJ Baldwin Method Wheels Poster
“Ballistic” BJ Baldwin wins the Parker 425!
BJ Baldwin wins Parker 425!
The Best in the Desert Parker 425 started in 1972, known then as the Norra Dam “500”, by 1974 the race had evolved to the Parker “400”, and continued to develop into one of the premier off-road races on American soil. Taking place along the banks of the Colorado River, the race features time trials pitting racers against the clock in a short dash for start position. The 140-mile loop features some of the most challenging terrain in America including sandy whoops, rocky washes, high speed graded roads, silt beds, and the crowd pleasing ” Parker Python” a spectator friendly winding infield section of the course.
On Thursday despite being 77th car to start qualifying BJ had a solid qualifying run finishing 4th setting him up for a dust free first lap. The weather also worked in the favor of racers with frequent light rains dust would be much less of a factor than previous years. The race started at daybreak on Saturday February 6th as the vehicles rocketed out of downtown Parker off-into the treacherous Arizona desert. BJ was off to a good start keeping a constant pace, pressuring the top race field. On lap one BJ had a quick-release mechanism fail causing the spare tire to fall off the rear of the truck. Shortly their after BJ received his one and only flat while in the dust passing a fellow competitor. The tire held up until the truck was at 126 mph on fence line road. By lap 2 BJ had gained position on time but kept steadily moving up. By lap 3 BJ had the lead both physically and on corrected time.
“Ballistic” BJ Baldwin won the grueling race in domination fashion finishing 19 minutes ahead of the nearest vehicle and 39 minutes ahead of the next trophy truck. Shaking off a rough 2009 season BJ had this to say about the victory; “It feels great to be back on top of the podium. We had a great race with very little problems. The truck ran great and we came prepared. We had some radio issues after we knocked our antenna off, but other than that we ran pretty much problem free. I was just trying to be steady and let the race come to me. It was hard to not push hard the whole time. There was a lot of good competition, but I just tried to run my race and not worry too much about any body else. I have to thank my crew, my sponsors, and all the fans who came out to see the best racers in off-road do battle. The champ is back!”
BJ Baldwin’s next race will be the Mastercraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 March 12th – 14th
BJ Baldwin is sponsored by:
General Tire, Mastercraft Safety, Method Race Wheels, Vision-X lights, King Shocks and K&N Filters
Ken Block and BJ Baldwin at Baja 300 Powerdays!
Method Race Wheels Ad Campaign
Take a look at the first two ads in the Method Race Wheels Campaign we have been working on.
"Ballistic" BJ Baldwin Flies through the sky outside of Las Vegas, NV.
Bryce Menzies blasts out of a corner in Primm, NV.
Ballistic BJ Baldwin Featured in 0-60 Magazine!
Ballistic BJ Baldwin is featured in the fall issue of 0-60 Magazine. Get off your ass and buy the issue or subscribe now!
Click the pics below to check out the spread!
Mad Media geht nach Deutschland! (Mad Media goes to Germany!)
We traveled across the sea to film the first annual Baja 300 Powerdays. The event was an invitation-only exhibition race in the Lausitz region of Germany, just outside of Berlin. The SCORE International sanctioned event organized by SCORE racer and former WRC driver Armin Schwarz featured world-class drivers from off-road racing, rally, enduro motocross and freestyle motocross all on one track together.
Baja 300 Powerdays marked the first time Trophy Trucks and Class 1 cars have ever been on European soil. The event was also the first time in history that off-road and rally cars competed in the same venue.
Off-road Competitors included BJ Baldwin, Jesse James, Gustavo Vildósola, and Danny Sullivan in the Trophy Truck class and Armin Schwarz, Armin Kremer, Martin Christensen and Andreas Aigner in the Class 1 buggies. The rally class consisted of rally legends Petter Solberg, Gigi Galli, Ken Block and Nasser Al-Attiyah. Motocross featured Dakar champion Cyril Despres along with numerous other enduro racers and freestyle motocross riders.
The track was composed of separate lines for each class within the same course. At three separate points, the trophy trucks jumped over the rally cars, including a mega-jump where freestyle bikes jumped over trophy trucks, while jumping over rally cars, stacking the vehicles three tall in the air.
We are in charge of the US television coverage and got some killer footage that we can’t wait to share!
The event was a massive success with nearly 20,000 spectators as well as an unprecedented amount of media coverage including RKL, Europe’s largest TV network. The event will return even larger next year as a full-fledged race.
BJ Baldwin is getting more coverage than Miss America!
BJ Baldwin has been getting more coverage than Miss America! Seven Ads and Four Magazine Covers! Watch out Robby we are closing in!
BJ Baldwin headed to Lucas Oil Off-Road Race in Surprise, AZ
Tire testing with BJ Baldwin
We just got back form tire testing with BJ Baldwin and General Tire. Two days of some of the roughest, nastiest locations the Nevada desert has to offer. The funny thing was the only flat we got was on my truck and it wasn’t a General. We shot some amazing footage on a Red Camera and the HVX for a upcoming General Tire project. Keep your eyes open, this project is going to be sick!
BJ Baldwin fly's his trophy truck over a huge jump!
BJ Baldwin charges SCORE San Felipe 250!
BJ charged the whoops and rocks at the San Felipe 250. He lead the race until race mile 197 where his ring & pinion gave out. One rock can take you from hero to zero just like that. I guess a quarter inch steel plate is no match for mother nature! He still managed a 6th in trophy trucks. We still had a great time, ate great food and were surrounded by nice people. Everywhere we went people offered us beer and food. Their are some sketchy parts of mexico but the friendly people of San Felipe more than make up for it.
BJ Baldwin at SCORE San Felipe 250 contingency
BJ Baldwin at the finish line for the SCORE San Felipe 250.
Eddie Alvarez meets BJ Baldwin
MMA warrior Eddie Alvarez stops by Baldwin Motorsports in Las Vegas, NV to hang with Off-Road Champion BJ Baldwin. Eddie was in LA to to appear on Inside MMA and show off his “Bazi” award he received for fight of the year.
Eddie Alvarez meets BJ Baldwin.
Sick shot!
Check this photo Matt took of BJ Baldwin at the SCORE Laughlin race!
