Guillermo Arias/Associated Press

Carlos Lopez came out on top in the 50th Baja 1000 race, which featured 405 drivers in the 1,134.40-mile event that started in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, and ended in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

After finishing as the runner-up to Rob MacCachren last year, Lopez finally had his breakthrough moment in one of the world's most prestigious off-road races. MacCachren had won this event each of the last three years.

Full results are still being tabulated on the Score International Off-Road Racing website, but Lopez was the biggest winner and Francisco Arredondo's team won the five-man motorcycle competition.

With MacCachren and B.J. Baldwin out of commission, Lopez, literally and figuratively, put the pedal to the metal to take the victory in just under 20 hours.

Arredondo's victory was not without controversy because of a potentially faulty GPS involving the motorcycle team led by Mark Samuels that appeared to finish first, per AutoWeek.com:

"But the apparent winners were penalized after what looked like a glitch on the GPS software that showed straight lines where the course curved over the terrain. Some of the straight lines appeared to go over the water. So something was wrong, seemingly with the GPS units. The Ox Motorpsorts team was assessed a 30-minute penalty, which moved it from first place to second."

In a statement about the situation, off-road sanctioning body Score International said the penalty was because of a "reckless incident at the finish line ramp" by Samuels' team:

After Samuels' squad was assessed the penalty, Arredondo and his team jumped into the top spot for motorcycle teams with a time of 21:26.47.

MacCachren's race came to a premature end on Friday when the engine in his truck blew, ensuring there would be a new champion for the first time since 2013.

Considering the rigors of competing in an event like the Baja 1000, which requires endurance and stamina from both the driver and vehicle, MacCachren's success over the past three years is an achievement that won't be overshadowed by this year's finish.

A similar fate befell Baldwin, a two-time champion in 2012-13, whose transmission and computer issues caused him to drop out on the course.

Despite that shortcoming, Baldwin did take it in stride with an Instagram message to his family with other detailed information about what happened to his trophy truck:

Lopez has been patiently waiting and working for his chance to claim victory in this race. He didn't get out ahead of the pack early and cruise to a win. Instead, his ability to sit back and let things play out worked to his advantage in 2017.

Sometimes, the best vehicle to have is the most durable one instead of just the fastest one. Lopez outlasted the competition, particularly when MacCachren and Baldwin went down, to take his place in the Baja 1000 spotlight.