To date—381 entries from 42 U.S. States, 2 U.S. Territories,  25 countries for 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000
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To date—381 entries from 42 U.S. States, 2 U.S. Territories, 25 countries for 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000

Author: Dominic Clark - SCORE

Advance racer registration continues until Wed., Nov. 8 at www.score-international.com,
Granddaddy of All Desert Races to be televised as two-hour special on El Rey Network

    ENSENADA, Mexico—While SCORE Trophy Truck qualifying determined the starting order for the marquee racing division, the start draw for starting positions for all the other classes was held in Las Vegas this week for the upcoming 50th annual BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000, the iconic Granddaddy of all desert races. To date 381 entries have been processed with racers coming from 42 U.S. States, two U.S. Territories and 25 total countries.

     Racers continue pre-running on their golden quest over the rugged 1,134.40-mile race course all the way down Mexico’s majestically magnificent Baja California Peninsula.

     The start draw was held on Wednesday in conjunction with the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience that was part of the week-long SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

     Advance on-line racer-registration continues until 5 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday (Nov. 8) at www.score-international.com for this year’s legendary competition. The event and race-week festivities will be held Nov. 12-18 in Baja California, Mexico.

GOLDEN BAJA MIL

      Nearly 400 entries, from over 40 U.S. States and 30 countries are expected to compete in this year’s 50th anniversary celebration of the BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000. There are multiple Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, utvs, motorcycles and quads.

     The world’s most iconic, oldest, prestigious and longest continuously held desert race, this year’s 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 will be held over a 1,134.40-mile race course down Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting in Ensenada, Baja California Norte and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

     The race is annually the finale of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship, held exclusively for the past two years in Baja California.

SPLIT-START

     Commemorating the first race, motorcycle and quad classes will start at midnight (PT) on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and the car, truck and UTV classes will begin their journey in the elapsed-time race 10 hours later at 10 a.m. (PT) on Thursday, Nov. 16. While the fastest vehicles are expected to complete the course in approximately 19 hours, all vehicles will have 48 hours from the time each starts to complete the course and become an official finisher of the 50th anniversary race.

THE COUNT

     To date, there are 381 total entries from 42 U.S. States, two U.S. Territories and 25 countries officially signed up to compete. In addition to the United States, the U.S. Territories of Guam and Puerto Rico and host country Mexico, the other countries with racers entered to date are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, England, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and Spain.

MORE NUMBERS

       Including SCORE Trophy Truck (41), 12 total classes already have double figures in terms of entries so far. While several other classes have nearly reached at least 10 entries, the other classes with double figure entries to date are: Class 10 (30), Trophy Truck Spec (26), Pro UTV FI (25), unlimited Class 1 (20), Pro Moto Ironman (18), Class 1/2-1600 (17), Pro UTV (16), Baja Challenge (12), Class 7 (10), Class 5-1600 (10) and leading the Sportsman classes is SPT M/C with 25 entries so far.

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK QUALIFYING

      Former NASCAR Cup team owner/driver and SCORE Baja racing legend Robby Gordon earned the first starting position in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division in Las Vegas on Oct. 31.

    The special BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying, presented by BFGoodrich Tires, was held under the lights at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Off-Road Track. The qualifying event was held in conjunction with the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience being held through Friday (Nov. 3) at the SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

     The qualifying course was three laps over the .6 mile LVMS Off-Road Track for 1.8 total miles. Gordon was quickest among the 29 trucks out of the 41 entered in the race that elected to participate in the optional qualifying event to earn the Ultimate Dana Top Qualifier Award.

     Gordon finished just .47 of a second faster than the runner-up qualifier as 12 of the SCORE Trophy Truck qualifiers finished the course in less than three minutes.

     Gordon, originally from Orange, Calif. but who resides in Mooresville, N.C. won the top qualifying spot for the second time in the four years this specially qualifying event has been held in Las Vegas.

     Second was Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren in the No. 11 Rockstar MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150. MacCachren, the off-road Hall of Famer who has five overall victories in the SCORE Baja 1000 has won the last three consecutive SCORE Baja 1000 races.

     For this year’s race MacCachren will use a three-member team with Las Vegas’ Justin Smith and Jason Voss, Cupertino, Calif., as his two other drivers. Voss was an additional driver for MacCachren in both 2014 and last year’s SCORE Baja 1000 overall and SCORE Trophy Truck race wins.

     Completing the podium as third quickest was SCORE rookie Brandon Arthur, of San Diego, who subbed for driver of record Andy McMillin, National City, Calif., in the No. 31 TSCO Racing Ford F-150.

       Rounding out the top five SCORE Trophy Truck qualifiers were Ricky Johnson, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (DOR—Larry Connor, Miamisburg, Ohio), who was fourth in the No. 6 Team C Racing Chevy Silverado and fifth was Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies in the No. 7 Menzies Motorsports Red Bull Ford Raptor.

SALIDA Y LA META

     This year’s race will start for the 43rd time in Ensenada, Baja California and finish for the 21st time in La Paz, Baja California Sur. The start line will once again be adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada with the first several spectator-friendly miles running up the Ensenada Arroyo. The course will finish just off of Highway 1 in the outskirts of the city, adjacent to the Grand Plaza Hotel, official race headquarters in La Paz at the Fidepaz Marina.

PRE-GREEN

     The 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 race week festivities will cover Nov. 12-18.

      Pre-race festivities include for the first time, the vastly popular tech and contingency of all vehicles and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway being held over two days on Boulevard Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center.  Contingency will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and pre-race tech will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for motorcycles, quads and UTVs on Tuesday (Nov. 14) and for cars and trucks on Wednesday (Nov. 15) at the same times.

     The pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing for motorcycles and quads will be held on Tuesday (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m. PT in the Cathedral Room at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center and on Wednesday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. PT for the car, truck and UTV classes.

     Racer registration will be held in the Red Room at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada. Racer registration will be held from noon to 5 p.m. (PT) on Sunday (Nov. 12), from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (PT) on Monday (Nov. 13), from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday (Nov. 14) and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday (Nov. 15).

     Media registration will be held as well in the Red Room at the Riviera from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. (PT) on Monday (Nov. 13), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) on both Tuesday (Nov. 14) and Wednesday (Nov. 15) and the BFGoodrich Tires/Baja California Secretary of Tourism SCORE Media Center in Ensenada will be open on Wednesday (Nov. 15) from 11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. (PT) and on Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (PT).

     SCORE sponsor Monster Energy will host the Monster Energy Papas y Beer SCORE Street Party on Avenida Ruiz in downtown Ensenada from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. (PT) on Tuesday, Nov. 14

     In La Paz, media registration will be held in the Emperor’s Ballroom at the Grand Plaza Hotel from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. onWednesday, Nov. 15 and the BFGoodrich Tires/Baja California Secretary of Tourism SCORE Media Center will be open on race days from 10 a.m. (PT) on Thursday, Nov. 16 until 4 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, Nov. 18.

POST GREEN

     As the celebration continues Thursday (Nov. 15) night to all day and evening on Friday and on the morning of Saturday (Nov. 18) in La Paz while official finishers cross the line and tales and epic accomplishments are added to the legacy of the event. The post-race awards fiesta will be held in La Paz starting at 7 p.m. (PT) on Saturday (Nov. 18).

VIVA BAJA!

     As it has for over four decades, SCORE has put together another memorable race course for the 50th anniversary, this one is a point-to-point race, with all of the foreboding, unforgiving terrain that both the northern state and southern state of the majestic Baja California peninsula has to offer. SCORE CEO/president Roger Norman and SCORE Race Director Jose A. Grijalva have designed and finalized this year’s race course of 1,134.40 miles. This year’s golden course will have five physical checkpoints along the way to the finish, 149 virtual checkpoints and 20 speedzones.

     Starting in the heart of Ensenada in front of the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, the course travels east to Ojos Negros before launching its weaving way south to the finish line in La Paz.

     The five checkpoints will be located at Coco’s Corner (race mile 312.30), Mujica Baja Sur (RM 524.22), near Loreto (RM 784.11), road crossing at the Lopez Mateos Highway (RM 930.58) and at Loma Amarilla (RM 1,033.65).

WHO ELSE BUT SAL!

     Sal Fish, 78, the iconic desert racing promoter who owned SCORE International for 38 years, will be the Grand Marshal for November’s 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000.

     Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Fish, who lives in Malibu, Calif., has earned more awards in his life than most racers have won races and was the face of SCORE from 1974 until he sold the company to Roger and Elise Norman on Dec. 20, 2012.

DUST 2 GLORY

     From award-winning documentary filmmaker Dana Brown, ‘Dust 2 Glory,’ scheduled to premiere nationwide on Dec. 6, chronicled each of the four races in the 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship. Brown’s original Dust to Glory, released in 2005, became an iconic classic showcasing the legendary SCORE Baja 1000. D2G, which began shooting at the 2015 SCORE Baja 1000, continued up close and personal coverage capturing the robust racers in their amazing adventures in Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula through all four spectacular 2016 races. Executive Producer is BCII’s Bud Brutsman.

     Tickets for the special, one-night Dec. 6 nationwide premiere are now on sale. For information regarding tickets and theater locations, visit https://www.fathomevents.com/events/dust-2-glory.

EL REY NETWORK

     The four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship in Baja California, Mexico along with the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and the SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying in Las Vegas are all airing on El Rey Network in the United States. International distribution is by way of syndication. The season-ending 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 will have a two-hour show produced while the other race shows are each one-hour telecasts.

     El Rey Network is available in 45 million homes across the country through cable and OTT providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 341 and Dish Network Channel 253. For more information on how to watch El Rey visit http://elreynetwork.com.

SCORE SPONSORS…

     Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire & Official Race Title Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, Axial R/C-Official R/C Vehicle, El Rey Network-Official Television Partner, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.

     SCORE Official Partners: PCI Race Radios, 4 Wheel Parts, The Satellite Phone Store, Satellite Del Norte, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, CETTO Vineyards.

     Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Baja California Sur State Government, Baja California Sur Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamiento, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, McKenzie’s Performance Products, Advanced Color Graphics.

     Tijuana SCORE Desert Challenge Special Partners: XXII Ayuntamiento de Tijuana, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Tijuana Comite de Turismo and Convenciones, Comite de Marcadotecnia Turistica, Asociacion de Hoteles del Noroeste.

     For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.

50th annual BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000

 Final Round of four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship

Nov. 12-18, 2017— 1,134.40 miles;

Ensenada, Baja California to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Total Entries: 381 (as of 11/3/17)

(from 42 U.S. States, U.S. Territories Guam & Puerto Rico, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, England, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary,  India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and Spain)

(after start draw, by class)

Pro Cars & Trucks

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (41)

(After Qualifying)

77 Robby Gordon

11 Rob MacCachren

31 Andy McMillin

6 Larry Connor

7 Bryce Menzies

76 Jesse Jones

83 Luke McMillin

50 Zak Langley

41 Justin Lofton

4 Justin Matney

19 Tim Herbst

1 Carlos Lopez

22 Casey Currie

97 B.J. Baldwin

16 Cameron Steele

15 Billy Wilson

94 Steve Strobel

23 Dan McMillin

14 Cameron Steele

84 Nick Vanderwey

9 Armin Schwarz

*21L Gus Vildosola Sr

*5L Clyde Stacy

30 Robbie Pierce

38 Eric Husted

87 Dallas Luttrell

26 Dave Taylor

91 Troy Herbst

3 Mark Post

62 Richard Armstrong

20 Pat O’Keefe

72 Aaron Celiceo

29 Enrique Murillo

43 Mark McMillin

68 Tim Weston

85 Mike Lawrence

40 Chris Miller

55 Jose de Jesus Flores

45 Gary Magness

44 Jayson Strachan

80 Jessi Combs

  *SCORE TT LEGEND

CLASS 1 (20)

168 Shelby Reid

138 Brian Wilson

114 Al Torres

150 Morgan Langley

153 Brad Wilson

101 Joe Sim

147 Pat McCarthy

157 Brandon Dawson

152 Mark Hutchins

188 Sergio Salgado

156 Tom Kirkmeyer

129 Brandon Bailey

189 Jon Walker

166 Don Hatch

124 Rick Freschet

105 Matt Cullen

107 Mike Mitchell

103 Luis Saenz

121 Pat Bell-2nd RS

106 Derek Fletcher-1st RS

TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (26)

274 Elias Hanna

229 Brian Goldstein

200 Chad Broughton

227 Jonathan Brenthel

250 John Langley

255 Lee Banning

289 Corey Terry

242 Bryce Swaim

233 Andrew Hendricks

277 Rod Lewis

208 Andrew Entwistle

295 William Hedrick

268 Jeff Kozak

296 Alex Gonzales

220 Craig Christy

271 Carey Chrisman

201 Russell Buehler

222 Pete Sohren

232 Chelsea Magness

205 Joseph Delucie

225 Sydney Schwab

249 Guillerme Gallardo

256 Johnny Buss-4th RS

287 Ryan Lewis-3rd RS

210 Ted Moncure-2nd RS

276 Gerardo Iribe-1st RS

HAMMER TRUCK UNLTD (6)

4401 Joshua Bertschy

4451 Mel Wade

4454 David Cole

4405 Shannon Campbell

4410 Greg Adler

4415 Josh Tedesco-1st RS

HAMMER TRUCK LTD (1)

4502 Sergio Pinollos

CLASS 10 (30)

1023 Broc Dickerson

1000 Rafael Navarro IV

1092 Reinaldo Varela

1068 Cody Reid

1062 J.J. Schnarr

1032 Chip Prescott

1085 Justin Davis

1045 Travis Clarke

1096 Steve Baron

1082 Miguel Monroy

1046 Dwayne Reinert

1043 Scott Youngren

1018 Miguel Tornel A-Z

1067 Tim Pangborn

1002 Clay Lawrence

1012 Eric Dollente

1070 George Marsh

1075 Eliseo Garcia

1078 Augie Cortez

1021 Jeremiah Watson

1050 Luke Erceg

1015 Steve Tyo

1041 Todd Stemmerman

1024 Geno Licitra

1049 Ty Godde

1010 Cory Boyer

1064 Justin Buckley

1016 Hiram Duran

1048 Kevin Price

CLASS 8 (9)

844 Noah Ostanik

852 Spencer Morgan

810 Tom Bradley

813 Alfredo Carballo

805 Josh Klenske

801 Dave Westhem

802 Tim Gabbert-3rd RS

806 Conrad Diaz-2nd RS

832 Dean Schlingmann-1st RS

CLASS 1/2-1600 (17)

1603 Oscar Alvarez

1601 Roberto Romo

1662 Rick Boyer

1635 Brandon Steele

1605 Miguel Cortez

1629 Jorge Alarcon

1699 Jay Reichert

1626 Martin Rangel

1621 Kevin Sanchez

1622 Enrique Avalos

1613 Harley Meservey

1650 Adolfo Arambula-6th RS

1617 Ernesto Arambula-5th RS

1683 Juan Peralta-4th RS

1661 Mike Lichtenfeld-3rd RS

1645 Viry Felix-2nd RS

1609 J. David Ruvalcaba-1st RS

SCORE LITES (10)

1222 Rafael Aguirre

1240 Miguel Bonilla

1208 Rich Roberts

1202 Matias Arjona IV

1215 Juan  Gallo

1206 Freddie Willert

1221 Matt Drever

1203 Oliver Flemate3rd RS

1220 Jeremy Sundt-2nd RS

1288 Don Ponder-1st RS

CLASS 5 (6)

509 Jose Lopez

511 Kevin Carr

525 Tony Steingraber

527 Parker Grabowski

507 Greg Sullivan-2nd RS

512 Drew Belk-1st RS

HEAVY METAL (1)

8001 John Maine

CLASS 3000 (5)

3010 Reid Rutherford

3006 Bill Bayes

3068 Earl Fraser

3044 Phillip Casey

3003 Mike Jams

TROPHY LITE (3)

6099 Joy Biran

6061 Kyle Ahensberg

6066 Joshua Cobb-1st RS

CLASS 7 (10)

719 Mark Johnson

700 Dan Chamlee

701 Brandon Walsh

710 Mike Shaffer

718 Julio Escobedo

726 Al Hogan

709 Jeff Proctor

704 Kevin Adler

717 Mike Perez

713 Mario Murillo

Pro UTV FI (25)

2905 Marc Burnett

2966 Rhys Millen

2919 Brandon Schueler

2904 Cory Sappington

2930 Sean Cook

2917 Derek Murray

2975 Mike Cafro

2949 Alonso Lopez

2971 Wayne Matlock

2982 Hammond Meredith

2948 Matt Burroughs

2924 Lacrecia Beurrier

2911 Kris Werth

2988 Jorge Vela

2903 Jaime Romero Jr

2912 Tony Riggs

2969 Stu Wild

2957 Al McBeth

2968 Christine Giampaoli Zonca

2977 Justin Elenburg

2918 Justin Lambert

2987 Burt Jenner

2906 Marc Burnett

2901 Daniel Parker

2989 Wes Miller-1st RS

Pro UTV (16)

1954 Kristen Matlock

1998 Don Whittington

1950 J.T. Holmes

1955 Paul Champion

1903 Cameron Chin

1962 Dodge Poelman

1905 John T. Holmes

1996 Jim Daniels

1984 Mike Lewis

1922 Aldo Salazar

1939 Dan Fresh

1924 Jorge Hernandez

1913 Dean Acton

1923 Ben Bischoff

1995  Kaden Wells-2nd RS

1970 Paul Hodge-1st RS

PRO UTV UNLIMITED (1)

1888 Earl Berg

PROTRUCK (2)

1377 Jason Vandenborn

1350 Cody Swanty-1st RS

CLASS 5-1600 (10)

555 Tomas A. Fernandez

569 Guy Savedra

572 Oreany Rojas

570 Mike Ray

550 Hector Hurtado

585 Robert Gutierrez-5th RS

575 Erich Reisen-4th RS

597 Enrique Zazueta Jr-3rd RS

578 Gustavo Avina-2nd RS

599 Jorge Gutierrez-1st RS

CLASS 3 (3)

302 Donald Moss

303 Chris Wilson

349 Ken Leavitt-1st RS

BAJA CHALLENGE (12)

BC2 Jeff Smith

BC7 Antonio Marmolejo

BC9 Bruce Burkard

BC10 Edward Muncey

BC6 Oskar Slingerland

BC12 Bud Pecoy

BC3 Marco Gonzales

BC8 Eric Tedder

BC11 John Leon

BC1 Brian Finch

STOCK FULL (2)

8155 Marc Van Tassell

8101 Rod Hall

CLASS 7SX (5)

746 Rigoberto Cazares

742 Alonso Gonzalez

750 Sean Whalen

751 Mike Horner-2nd RS

741 Gerardo Novelo O.-1st RS

CLASS 1700 (2)

1744 Calvin Booth-2nd RS

1788 Mark Murrell-1st RS

CLASS 11 (9)

1121 Dennis Hollenbeck

1111 Eric Solorzano

1156 Art Penner

1137 Josh McGuckin

1113 Mario Vazquez

1110 Robert Johnson

1167 Sean Danley

1168 Robert Shanaberger-2nd RS

1117 Hector Maymes-1st RS

VINTAGE TRAILBLAZER (6)

v911 Timothy Vail

v863 Jim Sparks

v129 Robert Lawrence

v800 Mario Alesi

v399 David Irving

v511 Jason Paule

VINTAGE INNOVATOR (3)

829v Buddy Feldkamp