Henderson race moved to 2005
SCORE International Announces Five-Race
Schedule for 2004 SCORE DESERT SERIES
Schedule starts in Laughlin, NV, in January;
ends in Baja California, Mexico
with peninsula run to La Paz in November

LOS ANGELES (December 9, 2003) -- Starting it's fourth decade as America's foremost desert racing sanctioning body, SCORE International officially announced today its five-race schedule for the 2004 SCORE Desert Series.

Keeping the same venues for its five races as in 2003, the significant change is that the SCORE 3rd Annual Henderson's Terrible 250, has been moved to 2005 because no suitable replacement date could be found for 2004. It was held the past two years in July in the scorching Southern Nevada desert.

"We have incredible marketing partners with Herbst Gaming and the Henderson Convention and Visitors Bureau and last year we put together an incredibly challenging racecourse," said Sal Fish, CEO/President of SCORE, which is based in Los Angeles. "Despite some terrific ancillary events, great Henderson and Terrible's Hotel/Casino hospitality and Terrible's big bonus purse, the heat is unbearable, reaching over 120 degrees both years. The heat definitely reduced the number of participants both years and we had to consider the safety issues inherent to that brutal heat."

"There wasn't a suitable date in 2004, but as soon as we can find an acceptable one on the busy desert racing calendar, the SCORE Henderson's Terrible 250 will return bigger and better than ever," Fish added. "In the meantime, Herbst Gaming is putting it's 'Terrible' bonus money from the Henderson race into the overall purse for next November's 37th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. The 2004 race will be going from Ensenada all the way down the Baja California peninsula to La Paz."

The SCORE Desert Series, which features 23 Pro and five Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycle and ATVs, will kick off Jan. 15-18 with the popular 10th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in the Southern Nevada resort city of Laughlin on the banks of the Colorado River. The season will conclude Nov. 18-21 with the legendary 37th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the granddaddy of all desert racing.

The 2004 SCORE Desert Series will again start with the most unique and the shortest race of the season and finish with the oldest and most recognized desert race in the world. After starting the season in Laughlin, 90 miles south of Las Vegas, it will conclude with the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, which will start in Ensenada in the Northwest and finish in La Paz on the Southeast tip of the majestic Baja California peninsula.

For the 2004 SCORE Desert Series, two races will be in Southern Nevada and three in Mexico.

Since its debut in 1995, the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge has helped establish Laughlin as a viable host for special events. Thousands of spectators join over 130 racers and their crews in converging on the city each year to watch the best of the best desert racers compete in a unique-format, two-day race that includes a temporary stadium surrounding the start/finish line area and the main pits.

A total of 16 different classes for cars and trucks are split into seven groups in Laughlin, each running as part of one of seven races of two to five laps each over the much-abbreviated 11-mile loop each day. The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge also includes a pre-race activity that is not part of any other race on the schedule-the $26,000 Laughlin Leap and SCORE Pit Crew Showdown. The Laughlin Leap is held under the lights on Thursday evening of race week and the SCORE Pit Crew Showdown is held on Friday afternoon as the final pre-race special event at the Laughlin Events Park.

The newest element that brings the racing up close and personal was added in 2003 and will continue in 2004. The immensely popular SCOREvision large-screen LCD display will broadcast live footage from various locations around the racecourse to the grandstand seating area.

The 2004 race will be the first of a new three-year agreement to bring the event to Laughlin.

Round 2 and 3 of the 2004 SCORE Desert Series will both be held in Mexico. The 18th Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 is set for Feb. 27-28, followed by the 36th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500, June 4-6, in Ensenada. The series returns to Southern Nevada for Round 4, the 9th Annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 which will be held Sept. 10-11 in Primm, Nev., 35 miles south of Las Vegas.

SCORE International, founded in 1973 by the late Mickey Thompson and headed by Sal Fish since 1974, continues today as the premier sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. SCORE races feature 16 Pro and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks in the U.S. with seven additional Pro and three more Sportsman classes for motorcycles and ATVs competing in the races in Mexico.

SCORE races in the U.S. average 130 entries while the average in Mexico, with motorcycle and ATV classes running as well as the cars and trucks is 250.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Southern California Ford Dealers-official vehicle, 76 Racing Fuel-official fuel and Rental Service Corporation-official equipment supplier.

Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bilstein, Signpros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's, and Advanced Color Graphics.

The 10th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is sponsored by the Laughlin Tourism Committee, the Laughlin Visitors Bureau, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Las Vegas Events.

For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official Optima SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com

2004 SCORE Desert Series
Schedule of Events

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