May 26, 2008
This weekend in Mexico Collins Motorsports in 4-wheel, Honda in M/C
and ATV all
Seeking 3-peat Overalls at 40th Tecate SCORE Baja 500
Ensenada to host over 300 entries from 24 States, 9 countries; ‘live’
vehicle tracking online at
www.racetheworld.net
ENSENADA, Mexico—Las Vegas’ Collins Motorsports in SCORE Trophy-Truck
and American Honda in Class 22 and Class 25 are hoping to capture
their third straight overall 4-wheel, motorcycle and ATV victories in
this weekend’s 40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the second-oldest
desert race in the world.
Round 3 of the five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series, the World’s
Foremost Desert Racing Series, featuring over 300 entries, competing
in 27 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and
ATVs, will be held in Ensenada, Mexico, with pre-race activities
starting Thursday and racing starting on Saturday and lasting until
early Sunday morning. Traditionally one of the most popular events on
the SCORE schedule, over 100,000 spectators are expected to enjoy the
world’s best desert racers in action at this year’s 40th anniversary
of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
With late entries accepted up to race morning, entries are expected
for the 441.15-mile race from 24 U.S. States from Hawaii to
Connecticut, Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy
and Japan.
The green flag will drop for the elapsed-time race at 6 a.m. on
Saturday for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja
500, followed by the car and truck classes three hours after the last
ATV at approximately 9:30 a.m. In the elapsed-time race, motorcycles
and ATVs will start one every 15 seconds, while the faster car/truck
classes will start one every 30 seconds and the slower ones will start
in 15-second intervals. All starters will have a 20-hour time limit to
become official finishers.
This race began in 1969 under the auspices of the old NORRA
organization and SCORE began its enduring run on July 26, 1974. This
year is the 35th anniversary of the first SCORE race in Baja.
“SCORE desert racing and Baja have almost become synonymous over all
these decades and we look forward to a great celebration of the 40th
anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 this week in Ensenada,” said
Sal Fish, SCORE CEO/President since soon after SCORE was founded in
1973 by the late Mickey Thompson. “The people of Baja have embraced
SCORE and desert racing to the point where an entire off-road industry
is blossoming in Baja California because of the legacy that SCORE has
built for all these glorious years. We sincerely appreciate the
dedicated and tireless work by government officials in Baja and in
Ensenada to help us continue the rich tradition of SCORE desert racing
in Baja.”
For the first time in the 40-year history of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500
desert race, the colorful pre- race Manufacturer’s Midway and
Contingency, the start and the finish line will all be located in the
heart of Ensenada, Mexico on Boulevard Costero adjacent to the
historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. It will be first time
in race history that the pre-race activities and the finish will be
held on this historic boulevard. The SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will
be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.
Pre-race festivities will launch on Thursday, when Mexico’s El Vigia
newspaper hosts its annual SCORE Meet the Racers Fiesta from 1 p.m. to
10 p.m. at the Ventana al Mar Plaza.
Racer registration will again be held in the Grand Ballroom of the San
Nicolas Hotel. Registration hours will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on
Thursday, May 29 and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
The awards celebration will be held poolside at the San Nicolas Hotel
on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Volkswagen has been selected as the Grand Marshall for this year’s
race and will be represented at the event by Clark Campbell,
Volkswagen of America Motorsports Manager.
The talented field of veteran desert racers includes 21 defending
class champions out of the 25 Pro classes that had finishers in last
year’s race that had an all-time SCORE record of 492 starters.
All three overall winners from last year’s race are entered and all
three have won their respective categories two consecutive years.
Las Vegas’ Brian Collins, Las Vegas, returns seeking a third straight
overall 4-Wheel vehicle victory with new teammate Chuck Hovey,
Escondido, Calif. Collins, who drives the No. 12 Collins Motorsports
Mopar Dodge Ram 1500, won the last two years in a Chevy Silverado with
Larry Ragland as his second driver.
Returning as the two-time overall motorcycle and Class 22 champs is
the team of Robby Bell, Murrieta, Calif./Kendall Norman, Santa
Barbara, Calif., on the No. 1x Honda CRF450X.
Back to defend their overall ATV and Class 25 victory is the team of
Danny Prather, Ramona, Calif./Mike Cafro, Carlsbad, Calif., on the new
No. 1a Honda TRXX700. Splitting the seat time with Prather and Cafro
this year will be Chad Prull, Laveen, Ariz., and Levi Marana, Hemet,
Calif.
Collins/Hovey drew the eighth starting spot in SCORE Trophy-Truck
while Bell/Norman will be fourth off the line in Class 22 and Prather/Cafro/Prull/Marana
will start seventh in Class 25.
To date, the Pro 4-Wheel vehicles classes with the most entries are:
Class 1 (23), SCORE Trophy-Truck (21), Class 1-2/1600 (20), Class
5/1600 (16) and SCORE Lite (13).
Leading the Motorcycle classes in entries so far are Class 22 (18) and
Class 30 (11).
Class 24 leads the ATV classes with 15 entries while Class 25 has 11.
Among the Sportsman classes, SPT Motorcycles over 250cc has 39
entries.
Among the entries is venerable veteran Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., who has
entered the Stock Mini class in a Hummer H3. Hall, 70, is tied for
first with 17 class wins in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500. Hall’s son Josh
and Chad will driver separate Hummers in the Stock Full class. Josh
will drive a Hummer H2SUT and Chad will drive a Hummer H3Alpha.
Larry Roeseler, who has 16 class wins, including a race-record 11
overall victories (a race-record nine on motorcycles), will return as
the second driver for Roger Norman in the No. 8 Roger Norman Racing
Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck. Roeseler had been the second driver the
last several years for Troy Herbst in Class 1 where the pair teamed up
to win Class 1 in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006. They were also the
overall 4-wheel winners in 2002 and 2003.
Besides Hall and Roeseler, the other top multiple class winners in
this race who are entered this year are led by Jim O’Neal, Simi
Valley, Calif., leading teams in both Class 30 and Class 50 motorcycle
age group divisions, has 11 career class race wins, Mexico’s team of
Marcos Nunez/Norberto Rivera, racing in Class 5/1600, who have eight
class wins and motorcycle legend Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif.,
who will be making his SCORE Trophy-Truck debut as the second driver
for Chad Ragland in the No. 33 TForce Motorsports Toyota Tundra, with
seven class wins, including six overall motorcycle titles.
Other multiple class winners entered this year include: Mexico’s Eric
Solorzano, six wins in Class 8, Nick Vanderwey, Phoenix, making his
SCORE Trophy-Truck debut in this race in the No. 84. gotmilkracing
Chevy Silverado after six Class 8 wins as well as Mike Cafro (Class
25), Johnny Campbell (Class 22), Rob MacCachren (SCORE Trophy-Truck),
Donald Moss (Class 3) and George Seeley (Class 5), who each have five
career class wins in this challenging race.
Several crossover/celebrity racers are already entered in this year’s
race, led by NASCAR’s Robby Gordon. A second generation desert racer,
Gordon, who has four class wins and three overalls in this race, is a
NASCAR team owner/driver and is entered in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the
No. 77 Chevy Silverado.
Rick D. Johnson, Barstow, Calif., also has four class wins in this
race and will be making his SCORE Trophy-Truck debut as the driver of
record in the No. 71 Place Racing Ford F-150.
Germany’s Armin Schwarz, whose World Rally Championship career saw 119
starts, won Class 1 in this year’s Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 with
Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif. and are currently fourth in
Class 1 points in a Jimco-BMW. Making his SCORE race debut in Jimco-Chevy
in this race will be German Rally ace Armin Kremer. Kremer will team
with SCORE regular Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, Calif., who is also racing
in Class 1-2/1600 where he is the class and series co-leader in
points.
Arizona real estate mogul Ken Losch, a team owner/driver in the Indy
Lights series, will be driving a Ford F-150 in the Protruck class.
Two celebrity drivers who are all SCORE regulars are SCORE
Trophy-Truck drivers Cameron Steele and Jesse James.
Steele, San Clemente, Calif., is a TV sports announcer for Supercross
and X Games and until the IndyCar merger this year was a Champ Car pit
reporter. The Steele family and Desert Assassins race team drew three
of a kind for this race as three family members each received the
second starting position in their respective classes. Cameron will
drive the No. 36 GMC Sierra in SCORE Trophy-Truck, while his wife
Heidi will drive a Ford Ranger in Class 7SX (the class she leads in
points) and his younger brother Grant will ride a Honda CRF450X in
Class 22.
James, whose wife is legendary motion picture star Sandra Bullock,
lives in Sunset Beach, Calif., owns the world-famous West Cost
Choppers company and was the star of the old Monster Garage television
series. He will drive the No. 54 Chevy Silverado in SCORE
Trophy-Truck.
Debuting her new race team in SCORE Lite will be prominent Automotive
electronic and print journalist Barbara Terry, Clover, South Carolina,
who will be the driver of record in a Bunderson-VW for this race and
the season-ending Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in November.
With mandatory tracking equipment, supplied and overseen by
International Racing Consultants of Southern California, near
real-time tracking of the race will be available online at
racetheworld.net.
Aura360, SCORE’s electronic media partner, will be filming this year’s
race to be televised in 22 countries on ESPN International while the
domestic telecast is being finalized and will be announced shortly.
Aura360 is also producing the exclusive Tecate SCORE Baja 500 40th
anniversary DVD which will be available online at thebajaunlimited.com.
The 2008 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase for the $20,000
Volkswagen Point Leader Bonus and the run for the Toyota Milestone
Awards. Volkswagen has also posted a special $5,000 cash contingency
bonus for the highest-finishing VW-powered race vehicle in this race.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official
tire, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official
shock, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Instant Mexico Auto
Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire
sealant, Red Bull--official energy drink and Bosch Power
Tools-official power tool. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer,
Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C
Enthusiast Advertising,
Kartek Off-Road, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios,
McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
Additional race sponsor for the 40th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 is
Proturismo of Ensenada.
For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los
Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the
SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500
May 29-June 1, 2008--Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
All-Time Race Sites, Starters, Finishers
All-Time Start Sites
Times, City
34-Ensenada
3-Ojos Negros
1-Barstow, California
1-San Felipe
All-Time Finish Sites
Times, City
30-Ensenada
5-Sano Tomas
2-Ojos Negros
1-Barstow, California
1-San Felipe
Top Total Starters
Year, Number (Finishers)
2007—492 Starters (283 Finishers)
2006—438 Starters (221 Finishers)
1977—384 Starters (161 Finishers)
1976—384 Starters (179 Finishers)
1975—365 Starters (153 Finishers)
2005—345 Starters (179 Finishers)
1973—333 Starters (138 Finishers)
1972—301 Starters (144 Finishers)
2004—300 Starters (181 Finishers)
Top Total Finishers
Year, Number (Starters)
2007—283 Finishers (492 Starters)
2006—221 Finishers (438 Starters)
1987—185 Finishers (299 Starters
2004—181 Finishers (300 Starters)
2005—179 Finishers (345 Starters)
1976—179 Finishers (384 Starters)
1995—172 Finishers (251 Starters)
1970—170 Finishers (260 Starters)
1977—161 Finishers (384 Starters)
1969
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 163, Total Finishers: 73
1970
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 260, Total Finishers: 170
1971
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 226, Total Finishers: 114
1972
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 301, Total Finishers: 144
1973
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 333, Total Finishers: 138
1974
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 279, Total Finishers: 173
1975
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 365, Total Finishers: 155
1976
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 384, Total Finishers: 179
1977
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 384, Total Finishers: 161
1978
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 282, Total Finishers: 96
1979
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 283, Total Finishers: 139
1980
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 294, Total Finishers: 126
1981
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 277, Total Finishers: 117
1982
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 208, Total Finishers: 117
1983
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 192, Total Finishers: 86
1984
Barstow, California
Total Starters: 174, Total Finishers: 84
1985
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 213, Total Finishers: 95
1986
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 277, Total Finishers: 174
1987
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 299, Total Finishers: 185
1988
Ensenada to Santo Tomas, Mexico
Total Starters: 237, Total Finishers: 147
1989
San Felipe, Mexico
Total Starters: 219, Total Finishers: 118
1990
Ensenada to Santo Tomas
Total Starters: 272, Total Finishers: 159
1991
Ojos Negros to Ojos Negros, Mexico
Total Starters: 254, Total Finishers: 163
1992
Ojos Negros to Ojos Negros
Total Starters: 209 Total Finishers: 138
1993
Ojos Negros to Santo Tomas
Total Starters: 198, Total Finishers: 110
1994
Ensenada to Santo Tomas
Total Starters: 212, Total Finishers: 109
1995
Ensenada to Santo Tomas
Total Starters: 251, Total Finishers: 172
1996
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 204, Total Finishers: 99
1997
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 214, Total Finishers: 98
1998
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 201, Total Finishers: 98
1999
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 221, Total Finishers: 120
2000
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 219, Total Finishers: 107
2001
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 249, Total Finishers: 146
2002
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 258, Total Finishers: 132
2003
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 260, Total Finishers: 147
2004
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 300, Total Finishers: 181
2005
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 345, Total Finishers: 179
2006
Ensenada to Ensenada
Total Starters: 438, Total Finishers: 221
2007
Ensenada to Ensenada
*Total Starters: 492, Total Finishers: 283
*Event Record-Starters & Finishers
