ABC airing SCORE Baja 500 Saturday on World of X Games

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com
July 3, 2019
Racing in Ensenda, Mexico

ABC TV airing one-hour special on Saturday, July 6
from 51st SCORE Baja 500 on World of X Games

 

     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—Coverage of the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship continues on ABC TV this Saturday with the first of multiple airings of the 51st annual SCORE Baja 500. The one-hour show will be broadcast on the World of X Games show on ABC on Saturday (July 6) at 2 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. PT.
Check local listings to confirm the time in your area.
Hosts of the World of X Games shows from the 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship are SCORE champion racers Cameron Steele and Aaron Ampudia.
Co-producing the shows with SCORE is award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles. Bud Brutsman is the executive producer.
FINAL FLAG
When the final checkered flag fell, a total of 245 vehicles left the start line early morning on June 1 with racers from 26 U.S. States and 12 countries. When the course closed at 6:05 a.m. on Sunday (June 2), there were 144 official finishers for a very high 58.78 finishing percentage, especially considering the difficulty of the race course. The results were made official following complete data tracking review of the devices on each vehicle in the event late morning on June 2.
ESTERO BEACH S/F
Start/finish line area for this year’s SCORE Baja 500 was the Lucas Oil Off-Road Stadium on the grounds of the Estero Beach Hotel & Resort, south of downtown Ensenada. It marked the first time the race started or finished at the popular luxury resort.
51st SCORE Baja 500
The 51st anniversary SCORE Baja 500 race course, designed and finalized by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva was a rugged, challenging 485.02 miles. The course ran in a clockwise direction starting and finishing for approximately one mile in each direction on the off-road track at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Stadium. The first and last 27.74 miles up to Uruapan and back were shared course outbound and inbound.
The historic race course was another memorable example of all that Mexico’s Baja California has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy, rocky and silty natural terrain, majestic Baja washes and canyons, stretches along the Pacific Ocean seashore with elevations from sea level to over 3,000 feet. The course was another jewel reflecting the mesmerizing, stark beauty of Baja California.
This year’s 51st anniversary course had four physical checkpoints, 146 virtual checkpoints and 11 speed zones (total of 41.72 race miles).
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK WINNER
For the second straight race, third-generation desert racing champion Andy McMillin roared to Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck race victory on June 1 by winning the 51st SCORE Baja 500 in dynamic fashion by starting first, never losing the physical lead and finishing first in the elapsed-time race.
Round 2 of the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship was held June 1-2 in Mexico’s Baja California, starting and finishing in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.
Andy McMillin, 32, of San Diego recorded a penalty-free winning time 9 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds while averaging 49.39 miles per hour in his No. 31 Red Bull McMillin Racing Chevy Silverado built by Mason Motorsports.
After starting the season with the overall at the 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, McMillin’s 11th career SCORE Trophy Truck race win moved him into a tie for second with Ed/Tim Herbst, Larry Ragland and Robby Gordon. That group trails Rob MacCachren, the all-time winningest SCORE Trophy Truck racer with 17 career victories.
It was also Andy McMillin’s third overall victory in the SCORE Baja 500, winning in 2010 with his father Scott McMillin along with his solo driving efforts in 2017 and this year. A. McMillin joined his father and uncle Mark McMillin with three overall wins each in this race giving his family a combined 11 overall wins in this race.
Andy McMillin’s grandfather and family patriarch Corky McMillin had two career overall victories in the SCORE Baja 500.
THE PODIUM
Joining Andy McMillin on the podium in this year’s SCORE Baja 500 were Andy’s cousin Luke McMillin, also of San Diego and Mexico’s Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez.
Luke McMillin, 26, finished second with a penalty-free time of 9:51:06 (49.23mph) in his No. 83 Mark Racing Ford F-150 (Racer built) and Lopez, 24, of Tecate, Mexico, was third with a penalty-free finishing time of 10:12:43 (47.49mph) in his No. 9 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck (Geiser).
MORGAN MOTORCYCLE MAGIC
Riding the No. 1x Honda CRF450X, Justin Morgan, 26, El Cajon, Calif. and his three-rider team raced to the overall motorcycle victory for his sixth consecutive overall motorcycle win in the SCORE World Desert Championship and his fourth overall win in the last five years in this race. The trio crossed the finish line in 10:50:11 at an average speed of 44.76mph.
Morgan split the riding with Mark Samuels, Yucca Valley, Calif. who won his third overall moto title in this race in three years and Justin Jones, Murrieta, Calif. who won his second consecutive SCORE overall motorcycle title in this race.
UTV WINNER
Defeating 24 starters in his class and 37 total UTVs to win the overall UTV title in this year’s race was former Polaris key executive Craig Scanlon, Yorba Linda, Calif., with a winning time of 13:26.41 in his No. 2931 Polaris RZR Turbo. It was his first SCORE race win as a driver of record.
SCOREscope
2019 SCHEDULE
Here is the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship and for the fourth consecutive year all races are being held in Baja California, Mexico:
33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, April 3-7, San Felipe, Mexico
51st SCORE Baja 500, May 29-June 2, Ensenada, Mexico
Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, Sept. 19-23, Ensenada, Mexico
52nd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.19-24, Ensenada, Mexico
ABC TV IN 2019
The 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship is being televised on the ABC TV family of networks, marking the first time back on the ABC network since the 1967 and 1968 coverage of the Baja 1000 on ABC’s old Wide World of Sports show.
The one-hour shows on the 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, 51st SCORE Baja 500 and the 52nd SCORE Baja 1000 are being televised as part of ABC’s World of X Games year-long programming. Presented by SCORE sponsors Monster Energy and BFGoodrich Tires, the ABC World of X Games series profiles iconic action sports figures and also highlights athletes, artists, event previews and recaps.
The inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 in September will air as a one-hour special on ESPN TV, also on the World of X Games programming.
All of the SCORE race coverage shows continue to air internationally in nearly 25 countries in Europe, Asia and South America via syndication and ESPN International.
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel, Lucerna Hotels & Resorts-Official Hotel and official race title sponsor, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
SCORE Official Partners: PCI Race Radios, The Satellite Phone Store.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamiento, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.