Team SYLVANIA Off Road Finishes the San Felipe 250 Against the Odds

April 6, 2026

Author: John Meek, Team SYLVANIA Off Road - Driver

The San Felipe 250 is legendary in the off-road world, and not for the faint of heart. Often referred to as a "sea of carnage," this brutal Baja race pushes both drivers and machines to their absolute limits. This year, Team SYLVANIA Off Road faced that challenge head-on, turning what could have been a potential DNF into a hard-fought finish that keeps our championship hopes alive.

Charging Hard in Baja

Navigator, Lindsay Morrisey, and I pulled off the starting line at noon in a stacked class of 24 competitors, charging hard in our 2025 Polaris® Pro R. Early in the race, momentum was on our side, and by race mile 65, we had battled our way from ninth place into fifth. The heat in the washes was over 100°F, pushing us to the limit until RM 70, when things went south.

When Everything Went Wrong

At race mile 70, the race took a sudden and dramatic turn. Coolant began exploding from the car as engine temperatures spiked, forcing the Pro R into limp mode to protect itself. We pulled off course to assess the damage and discovered a freak occurrence: a rock no bigger than a dime had lodged itself between the radiator and fan. The spinning fan blades jackhammered that rock straight through the radiator.

A Desert Repair Under Pressure

Stranded in an remote section of the course, we waited four long hours for our pre-runner to reach us. With time slipping away, we made the call to pull the radiator from the pre-runner and install it into the race car. The coolant was still over 200°F, and with limited tools and burned hands, we worked quickly and efficiently to get back in the race. To save every possible second, we left the entire front clip off the car—including the factory headlights.

Lighting the Way Through the Darkness

By the time we were rolling again, nightfall was approaching. We still had more than 100 miles of some of Baja’s most punishing terrain ahead of us and less than three hours to make the 9:00 PM cutoff at Checkpoint 1. With no OEM headlights and an exposed radiator, our Polaris Pro R looked like it had been through battle.

That’s when our SYLVANIA Off Road lighting took center stage. Our 40-inch Ultra Light Bar and 3-inch Yellow Ultra Pods became our only source of visibility. The yellow pods sliced through thick silt and dust, while the Ultra Light Bar turned the desert night into daylight. Relying solely on our lights, we pushed forward at speeds exceeding 90 mph, passing broken-down vehicles and teams cheering us on from the sidelines.

Beating the Clock

We blasted into Checkpoint 1 at 8:30 PM—just 30 minutes before the cutoff. From there, Micah Johnson and his co-driver Justin Haas took over driving duties and powered the car to the finish line just before midnight. The final result: a total race time of 11 hours and 32 minutes.

Team SYLVANIA Off Road at the 2026 SCORE San Felipe 250 Finish Line.

Pictured from Left to Right: Justin Haas, John Meek, Lindsay Morrissey and Micah Johnson.



In a season where a single DNF could end championship podium hopes, finishing the San Felipe 250 was critical. This race proved that reliability, preparation, and performance matter most when conditions are at their worst. Our SYLVANIA Off Road lighting didn’t just help us see, it helped get us home.

Next up, the team turns its focus to rebuilding the Polaris Pro R and preparing for the Baja 500 this June—ready to take on the desert once again.

Post-race SYLVANIA Off Road UTV, lights on