290 total entries to date
World’s best desert racers at 37th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 to decide
Overall and Class Point Champs for 2004 SCORE Desert Series
Casino owners to blue-collar workers, entries from 31 U.S. States & 10 countries
In Mexico for this week’s granddaddy of all desert races

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 14, 2004) -- When all the pre-race fireworks, pageantry and autograph sessions are finished, reality will abruptly return Thursday morning when the green flag drops for the 37th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race. Emphasis will quickly shift from all the celebrity and crossover drivers when the rubber meets the rugged desert of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula as the world’s best desert racers will earn and lose SCORE point championships in the season-finale of the five-race 2004 SCORE Desert Series.

The granddaddy of all desert races, the flagship event of the world’s foremost desert racing series will be a rugged peninsula odyssey of 1,016.3 miles from Ensenada in Baja California to La Paz, in Baja California Sur. It’s the 30th time the race has started in Ensenada, and 16th time it will finish in La Paz.

As it has for nearly four decades, the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will once again be the road to SCORE season championships for several, the trail to ‘what could have been’ for many, and the stairway to memorable storybook tales for all in what has truly become the adventure of a lifetime.

To date, an impressive total of 290 vehicles have officially entered this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. When registration is complete Thursday morning, nearly 300 vehicles competing in 26 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs are expected to take the green flag in Mexico. So far, participants have come from 31 U.S. States and 10 countries.

The classes with the most entries to date are Class 1-2/1600 (26), SCORE Trophy-Truck and Class 1 (24 each), SCORE Lite and Class 8 (16 each) and Protruck (14).

SCORE points are decided both by final position and the number of starters in the class, and each race has starting and finishing points added to the total. The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, as expected, has the most with 30 starting and 60 finishing points.

Truly the race of champions, this year’s race will again determine the SCORE season class champs. The closest point races include the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division, where just 18 points separate the top four, the unlimited Class 1, where just 22 points separate the top four, Class 1-2/1600, where just 37 points separate the top four, Class 8, where one point separate the top two, Class 10, where six points separate the top three, and Stock Full where just six points separate the top two.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, pre-race festivities will be held around the Riviera del Pacifico Convention Center in downtown Ensenada and the nearby San Nicolas Hotel.

The race will start on Thursday at the end of Avenida Ruiz, two miles east of downtown Ensenada, with motorcycles and ATVs getting the green flag at approximately 6:30 a.m., followed by the car and truck classes at approximately 9:30 a.m. The finish line will be on the outskirts of La Paz adjacent to the tourism office. While the fastest finishers will complete the rugged route in approximately 16 hours, each vehicle will have a 40-hour time limit to become official finishers in the historic elapsed-time event.

Pre-race festivities on Wednesday, for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, including tech and contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. across from the San Nicolas Hotel. The pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Cathedral room at the Riviera CC. Racer registration will be held at the Riviera CC from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

The post-race SCORE Survivor Award’s Celebration will be held Saturday at Noon in La Paz at the Crowne Plaza Resort, adjacent to the official finish line of the race.

Veteran Jason Baldwin, Laguna Beach, CA, is leading this year’s championship race in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division with 235 points in a Ford F-150. Tied for second with 221 points each are the teams of Gus Vildosola, Mexicali, Mexico/Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas in a Ford F-150 and Honolulu’s Alan Pflueger in a Chevy Silverado. Fourth in the class for high-tech, 750-horsepower unlimited production trucks, is Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, CA, with 217 points in a Ford F-150.

In Class 1, the team of John Marking, El Cajon, CA/Chris Harrold, Chula Vista, CA, are on top with 250 points in a Jimco-Chevy open-wheel desert race car. Mark McMillin, El Cajon, CA, is second with 237 in another Jimco-Chevy, Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst is third in a Smithbuilt-Ford with 234, and fourth is Andy McMillin and his father Scott McMillin (Mark’s nephew and brother) with 228 points in a Jimco-Chevy.

In Class 1-2/1600, Brian Jeffrey, Acton, CA, and Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, CA, lead the way not only in their class, but also in the hunt for the 2004 SCORE Overall point championship, with 301 points in a Dunrite-VW. Second with 291 points is MacCachren (also second in SCORE Trophy-Truck with Gus Vildosola) in a Fraley-VW while third is Leonardo Navarette, Mexicali, Mexico, with 268 points in a Jimco-VW.

In the championship chase for Class 8, Dave Raimonde, Phoenix, has a slim, one-point lead over Todd Wyllie, New River, Ariz. Raimonde and Wyllie, who both drive Chevy C1500 trucks, have 177 and 176 points.

The race for the title in Class 10, which has 12 entries in Mexico, is led by Steve Myers, Newport Beach, CA, with 228 points in a Jimco-Toyota, but he is being closely chased by Mark Hutchins, Henderson, Nev., with 224 points in a Jimco-Honda and John Cooley, Santee, CA, who has 222 points in a AlumiCraft-VW.

In the Stock Full class, which has 10 entries so far, Mark Handley, San Marcos, CA, leads John Griffin, Mission Viejo, CA, by just six points, 156-50. Handley drives a Ford F-150, while Griffin, who has won three straight SCORE point titles in the class, drives a Hummer H1.

Starting first in the motorcycle and ATV classes Thursday will be the legendary American Honda racing team of Hengeveld, Oak Hills, CA, and Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif. The pair has won nine consecutive SCORE races. Campbell also has seven consecutive overall motorcycle victories in this race, including three with Hengeveld (2000, 2002 and 2003). Sharing seat time on the No. 1x Honda XR650R, Hengeveld also one other motorcycle class win in this race. In 2002, they set an average speed record in this race for a motorcycle, averaging an incredible 62.45mph. Their third rider this year is 20-year old rising star Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, CA.

Ted Hunnicutt, Mission Viejo, CA, drew the first start for the car and truck classes. Hunnicutt, a seven-time class winner in this race including four overalls on a motorcycle (Class 22), is driver of record for the new Synergy Motorsports team, that will debut the team’s No. 45 Toytota Tundra in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division.

A team of proven racers who will each drive a third of the course, Hunnicutt will start, with Jeff Lewis, San Clemente, CA, driving the middle section and Cory Susag, also from Mission Viejo, handling the final split.

The popular event features the $40,000 Terrible’s Baja Bonus purse, which includes a $20,000 bonus to the first overall 4-wheel vehicle, provided by Herbst Gaming of Las Vegas. The first overall motorcycle will also receive $2,000 and the first overall ATV will earn an added $1,000 from the Terrible’s Baja Bonus.

The race will also culminate the chase for both the $10,000 Kartek Off-Road bonus and the $12,000 Toyota True-Grit and Toyota Milestone Awards. The Kartek Off-Road bonus goes to the 2004 SCORE Overall point champion. This is the 18th year of the Toyota awards.

An additional $5,000 purse has been added by UPracing.com and DirtSports Magazine, who will pay $1,000 each to qualified cars or trucks that cross the finish line physically first, fifth, 10th, 15th or 20th.

Celebrating its 31st anniversary this year as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, the SCORE Desert Series is returning to Mexico for the last of three races held annually in Baja California.

The race will be televised as a one-hour NBC Sports special in December on the NBC Television Network. The show, produced by Aura360 in association with NBC Sports, will air on Saturday, Dec. 11 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). The NBC anchor for the show will be veteran Emmy-Award winning sportscaster Al Trautwig. A special preview for the race telecast will air on the Jeep World of Adventure Sports, also produced by Aura360, on Saturday, Dec. 4 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (EST).

CNBC’s ‘Bullseye’ show, with host Dylan Ratigan, will also produce special-angle segments scheduled to air Nov. 30, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 during the daily show at 3 p.m. (EST).

Additionally, The Learning Channel’s Rides weekly program (Tuesday’s at 10 p.m. EST/PST),
will produce a Terrible Herbst Motorsports profile show, entitled ‘Terrible Baja’, to air early in 2005.

SCORE official sponsors for 2004 are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Southern California Ford Dealers-official vehicle and C.L. Bryant-VP Racing Fuels-official fuel supplier. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Herbst Gaming, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bilstein, Signpros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products, and Advanced Color Graphics.

Additional sponsors of this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are: Cotuco, Fideicomiso Publico para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada and Centrix Financial of Denver.

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
Race-by-Race Class Winners

10th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
Laughlin, Nevada • Jan. 17-18, 2004
Total Starters: 180 Total Finishers: 100
Cars & Trucks
TROPHY-TRUCK—Gary Dircks, Anthem, Ariz., Ford F-150
CLASS 1—Troy Herbst, Las Vegas, Smithbuilt-Ford
CLASS 1-2/1600—Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Fraley (VW)
CLASS 3--Donald Moss, Sacramento, CA, Ford Bronco
CLASS 5—George Seeley, Glendale, CA, VW Baja Bug
CLASS 5/1600—Gerardo Iribe, Rosarito, Mexico, VW Baja Bug
CLASS 7—Jason Jernigan, Imperial, CA, Ford Ranger
CLASS 7S—Bob Graham, Yorba Linda, CA, Toyota Tacoma
CLASS 7SX—Rich Severson, Mesa, Ariz., Ford Ranger
CLASS 8—Dave Raimonde, Phoenix, Chevy C1500
CLASS 9—Ken Fisher/Hector Sarabia, Ensenada, Mexico, Garibay (VW)
CLASS 10—Harley Letner/Kory Halopoff, Orange, CA, Chenowth (Honda)
SCORE LITE—Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Fraley (VW)
CLASS 11—Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, VW Sedan
STOCK FULL—Travis Walser, Hemet, CA, Chevy C1500
PROTRUCK--Jeff Dickerson/Geno Licitra, Bend, Ore., Ford F-150

18th Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250
San Felipe, B.C., Mexico • February 28, 2004
Total Starters: 249 Total Finishers: 149
Cars & Trucks
TROPHY-TRUCK—Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, CA/Jerry Whelchel, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, Ford F-150
CLASS 1—Mark McMillin, El Cajon, CA, Jimco-Chevy
CLASS 1-2/1600—Brian Jeffrey, Acton, CA/Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, CA, Dunrite (VW)
CLASS 3--Donald Moss, Sacramento, CA, Ford Bronco
CLASS 5—Tom Brown, Phoenix, VW Baja Bug
CLASS 5/1600—Brent Shermak, Fort Mohave, Ariz., VW Baja Bug
CLASS 7--Craig Turner, Yorba Linda, CA, Ford Ranger
CLASS 7S--Bob Graham,Yorba Linda, CA/Mike Horner, Mission Viejo, CA, Toyota Tacoma
CLASS 7SX—Rich Severson, Mesa, Ariz., Ford Ranger
CLASS 8—Dave Raimonde, Phoenix, C1500
CLASS 9—Eric Fisher/Hector Sarabia, Ensenada, Mexico, Garibay (VW)
CLASS 10—Lobsam Yee/Eli Yee, Tijuana, Mexico, Jimco (Honda)
SCORE LITE—James Golden, Costa Mesa, CA/Jason Hatz, Lemon Grove, CA, Jimco (VW)
CLASS 11--Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, B.C., Mexico, VW Sedan
STOCK FULL--John Griffin, Mission Viejo, CA/Mike Sabbarese, Huntington Beach, CA, Hummer
STOCK MINI—John Baker, Costa Mesa, CA, Ford Ranger
CLASS 17—Ricardo Ramirez, Jeep Cherokee
Motorcycles
CLASS 22--Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, CA/Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif.., Honda XR650R
CLASS 21—Joe Desrosiers, San Marcos, CA, Yamaha YZ250
CLASS 30—Gerardo Rojas, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico/Sergio Vega, Ensanada, Mexico, Honda XR650
CLASS 40--Jim O’Neal, Chatsworth, CA/Tim Withers, Pepeekeo, Hawaii, Honda XR650R
CLASS 50—David Flores, Reseda, CA, Honda XR650R
ATVs
CLASS 25—Ruben Martin/Gilberto Santana, Tijuana, Mexico, Bombardier Baja X
CLASS 24—Francisco Ruano, Chula Vista, CA, CA, Honda TRX250R

36th Tecate SCORE Baja 500
Ensenada, B.C., Mexico • June 5-6, 2004
Total Starters: 300 Total Finishers: 181
Cars & Trucks
TROPHY-TRUCK—Alan Pflueger, Honolulu, Chevy Silverado
CLASS 1--Troy Herbst, Las Vegas/Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, Calif, Smithbuilt (Ford)
CLASS 1-2/1600—Rob MacCachren/Danny Anderson, Las Vegas, Fraley (VW)
CLASS 3—Donald Moss, Sacramento, CA, Ford Bronco
CLASS 5—George Seeley, Glendale, CA, VW Baja Bug
CLASS 5/1600--Marcos Nunez, Ensenada, Mexico, VW Baja Bug
CLASS 7—Craig Turner, Yorba Linda, CA, Ford Ranger
CLASS 7S--No Finishers
CLASS 7SX—Rich Severson, Mesa, Ariz., Ford Ranger
CLASS 8--Nick Vanderwey, Litchfield Park, Ariz., GMC Sierra
CLASS 9--Eric Fisher, Ensenada, Mexico, Garibay (VW)
CLASS 10—Mark Hutchins/C.J. Hutchines, Henderson, Nev., Jimco (Honda)
SCORE LITE—Tom Watson, El Centro, CA, Jimco (VW)
CLASS 11—Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, VW Sedan
STOCK FULL—Mark Handley, San Marcos, CA, Ford F-150
PROTRUCK—Rick D. Johnson, Barstow, CA, Ford F-150
CLASS 17--Barrie Thompson, Hesperia, CA, Jeep Cherokee
Motorcycles
CLASS 22--Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, CA/Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, CA, Honda XR650R
CLASS 21—Alfredo Contreras, Tijuana, Mexico, Yamaha YZ250
CLASS 30—Gerardo Rojas, Vicente Guerero, Mexico, Honda XR650R
CLASS 40--Jim O’Neal, Chatsworth, CA, Honda XR650R
CLASS 50--Richard Jackson, Acton, CA, Honda XR650R
ATVs
CLASS 25--Gilberto Santana, Tijuana, Mexico, Bombardier Baja X
CLASS 24—Kirk Schreier, Phoenix, Honda TRX250R

9th SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300
Primm, Nevada • September 11, 2004
Total Starters: 184 Total Finishers: 68
Cars & Trucks
TROPHY-TRUCK—Alan Pflueger, Honolulu, Chevy Silverado
CLASS 1—Damen Jefferies, Oak Hills, CA, Porter-Chevy
CLASS 1-2/1600—Rob MacCachren/Danny Anderson, Las Vegas, Fraley-VW
CLASS 3—Donald Moss, Sacramento, CA, Ford Bronco
CLASS 5—Chris Bowman, Upland, CA, VW Baja Bug
CLASS 5/1600—Dave Collier, San Marcos, CA, VW Baja Bug
CLASS 7—Craig Turner, Yorba Linda, CA, Ford Ranger
CLASS 7S--No Finishers
CLASS 7SX--No Finishers
CLASS 8—Todd Wyllie, New River, Ariz., Chevy C1500
CLASS 9--Eric Fisher, Ensenada, Mexico, Garibay-VW
CLASS 10—Martin Christensen, Escondido, CA/Dave Mason, Valley Center, CA, Jimco-BMW
SCORE LITE—Vic Bruckmann, Lemon Grove, CA/David Scaroni, Heber, CA, Jimco-VW
CLASS 11--Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, VW Sedan
STOCK FULL—Mark Handley, San Marcos, CA, Ford F-150
STOCK MINI—Kreg Donahoe, Anaheim, CA, Toyota Tacoma
CLASS 17—Ricardo Ramirez, San Diego, Jeep Cherokee
PROTRUCK-- Matt Scaroni/Steve Scaroni, Heber, CA, Ford F-150

Home : News : Team : Photos : Schedule : Points : Sponsors
Archives : Links : Contact

Nikal Motorsports
E-mail: Todd@NikalMotorsports.com