Roeseler, Herbst, 'New Kids' latest entries--52nd SCORE Baja 500

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominic@score-international.com
September 4, 2020
Presented by 4 Wheel Parts

‘Mr. Baja’ Roeseler, Herbst, ‘New Kids’ Watson, Polvoorde
latest entries for BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 500

 

ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico –Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer and iconic veteran SCORE Baja racing champion Larry ‘Mr. Baja’ Roeseler, champion brothers Tim Herbst/Troy Herbst, ‘New Kids on the Block’ Eliot Watson, Christopher Polvoorde, Pierce Herbst and Thor Herbst lead the most recent group of new entries for this month’s BFGoodrich Tires 52nd Annual SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.
To date, 84 official entries have come from 16 U.S. States along with host country Mexico, Denmark and New Zealand. The first of two races on the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule will be held Sept. 22-27 in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.
San Felipe is the serene fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif. All 2020 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the fifth consecutive year.
Competition will include classes for cars, trucks UTVs, motorcycles and quads for the internationally-televised BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.
Many of the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s celebration of one of the top 10 motorsports events in the entire world. The race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the ABC Network World of X Games programming and syndicated internationally to as many as 25 countries.
ONLINE RACER REGISTRATION
Online registration, by class, for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, is now open through the SCORE website. Information on all SCORE races can be found on the home page under the Race Info tab. Online entries will be accepted until 8 p.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 11.
For more info, visit http://score-international.com/raceinfo/baja-500-2/.
Official entries received after the drawing will be given the next available starting position within their respective classes.
LR-BAJA LEGEND
Inducted into both the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Hall of Fame (1999) and the Off-Road Motorsports (ORMHoF) Hall of Fame (2012), Larry Roeseler, 63, Boulevard, Calif., will be the solo driver in SCORE Trophy Truck in the No. 43 Baja Jerky Cantina Racing Toyota Tundra, built by ID Designs. He has three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins.
“With all that has been going on in the world, I am honored and excited to be able to go back SCORE Baja racing again,” said Roeseler. “This opportunity to showcase a new sponsor like Baja Jerky and race with a team like Cantina Racing is an amazing one for me. I have been in the sport for a very long time and I am really excited to race with this team with our longtime sponsors like BFGoodrich Tires and Fox Shox. I am super confident that our ID Designs-built truck will perform great. We will be ready to go.”
Roeseler has 40 total combined career class wins in the three traditional SCORE Baja races including 26 overall race wins in his legendary SCORE career. He also has earned 11 career SCORE season point championships.
In the SCORE Baja 500, ‘Mr. Baja’ as LR is known, has 17 career class wins which includes 11 overall race wins. His first class win in this race was on a motorcycle in 1972 and his most recent was in 2017 in the SCORE TT Legend class for SCORE Trophy Truck racers over 50 years old.
Roeseler also has 17 career class race wins in the iconic SCORE Baja 1000 including an event record 13 overall victories.
In SCORE San Felipe 250 Roeseler has six career class wins including two overall victories.
He has been the second driver for many of the first families of desert racing like the Herbst family and the McMillin family.
In 2008 he was the second driver for Roger Norman as the duo combined to win the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck class in the SCORE Baja 1000 peninsula run from Ensenada to La Paz.
Roeseler and the No. 43 are part of a two-truck team with Chris Miller, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who drives the No. 40 Baja Jerky Cantina Racing Chevy Silverado built by Mason Motorsports.
Roeseler is also a six-time gold medalist in the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) on a motorcycle.
LOS TERRIBLES
Truly one of the first families of SCORE desert racing with many race wins and SCORE season championships, Las Vegas’ Terrible Herbst Motorsports has entered two trucks, one in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division and the other in the Trophy Truck Spec class.
Second-generation desert racers, sons of Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer the late Jerry Herbst, Tim Herbst, 57, is driver of record and his younger brother Troy Herbst, 53, will be the second driver in the SCORE Baja 500 in the Terrible Herbst Motorsports Monster Energy No. 19 Ford F-150 built by Herbst Smith Fab.
With over 200 career race wins between the three Herbst brothers (Ed, Tim and Troy) have multiple season point championships as well. Troy Herbst has seven careers SCORE season Class 1 season point titles while Tim (racing with his older brother Ed) won four SCORE Trophy Truck season point crowns to go along with 11 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins. The 11 race wins are tied for the second most in the 26-year history of SCORE Trophy Truck.
In the SCORE Baja 500, Troy Herbst has seven career class wins including three overall victories.
Troy Herbst’s son Riley is a regular driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
‘NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK’
While Roeseler and the Herbst brothers are clearly the ageless warriors with everlasting legacies clearly cemented in SCORE desert racing history, a quartet of ‘New Kids on the Block’ have entered look to start SCORE racing careers that one day might come close to rivaling LR, Tim and Troy Herbst.
Eliott Watson, Christopher Polvoorde, and two with a familiar last name, Pierce Herbst and Thor Herbst are all entered in this year’s SCORE Baja 500.
Both champion short-course off-road racers, Eliott Watson, of El Centro, Calif., and Christopher Polvoorde, Hemet, Calif., will both be racing in new Honda Talon UTVs in the Pro UTV Unlimited class.
Pro UTV Unlimited, the new Honda Talon. Both 20 years old. First SCORE race for the Honda Talon 1000R Turbo UTV. Their first SCORE Baja race as drivers of record.
A second-gen off-road racer, Watson will drive the No. 1893 Honda Talon while Polvoorde while be the driver of the No. 1894 Honda Talon.
Both started their short-course racing careers at age 10, and as time went on, they both took on management roles on their respective teams, shouldering sponsorship and engineering responsibilities.
They are part of the factory-backed Honda Off-Road Racing Team led by Class 7 racer Jim Proctor, who drives a Honda Ridgeline truck. They are also college roommates now in San Diego in addition to being teammates on the Team Honda Talon Factory Racing program.
Joining Tim Herbst and Troy Herbst at this race in the Trophy Truck Spec class will be the third generation Herbst family team of cousins Pierce Herbst, 18 and Thor Herbst, 20. Pierce is Tim’s son and Thor, son of Ed Herbst the oldest of the three Herbst brothers, will be joined by a third driver in second generation desert racer Ryan Millen.
While the young Herbst cousins are in the start of their desert racing careers, Millen, 35, who lives in Southern California, has both U.S. and New Zealand citizenship, where is family is originally from, has been racing professionally for over 20 years in desert racing, rally racing and hill climb racing. Also a SAG stunt driving professional, Millen has championships in U.S. Stage Rally, the SCORE Baja 1000 and the International Pike’s Peak Hill Climb.
The youngest members of the Herbst family will be driving in the Terrible Herbst Motorsports Monster Energy No. 264 Chevy Silverado built by Herbst Smith Fab.
MORE ENTRIES
More new entries since Wednesday of this week include: Rodimiro Amaya, 29, Constitucion, Mexico/Damen Jefferies, 48, Apple Valley, Calif. (Class 1, No. 121 Jefferies-Chevy), Augie Cortez, 42, Colonet, Mexico (Class 10, Wicked-Chevy), Wes McKenzie, 59, Dallas (SCORE Lite, No. 1247 Raceco-VW), Wes Miller,  50, Las Vegas (Pro UTV FI, No. 2989 Polaris RZR XP Turbo), Jose Juarez, 35, Chula Vista, Calif. (Pro UTV FI, No. 2978 Can-Am X3).
MORE SCORE TROPHY TRUCKS & SCORE TT LEGENDS
SCORE Trophy Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950-horsepower unlimited custom trucks lead the entry list with 19 trucks (including four SCORE TT Legend entries) in the lineup so far. In addition to Roeseler, Tim Herbst/Troy Herbst, the other SCORE Trophy Truck entries to date include defending race and series overall point champion Andy McMillin, 32, San Diego (No. 1 Chevy Silverado), Rob MacCachren, 55, Las Vegas (No. 11 Ford F-150), Bryce Menzies, 32, Las Vegas (No. 7 Ford Raptor), Robby Gordon, 51, Charlotte, N.C. (No. 77 Chevy Silverado), Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif. (No. 16, Ford Raptor), Alan Ampudia, 29/Aaron Ampudia, 27, Ensenada, Mexico (No. 10 Ford Raptor), McMillin’s cousins Luke McMillin, 27, San Diego (No. 83 Ford F-150) and Dan McMillin, 32, San Diego (No. 23 Chevy 1500), Mike Lawrence, Banning, Calif. (No. 85 Ford F-150), Chris Miller, 46, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (No. 40, Chevy Silverado), Dave Taylor, Page, Ariz. (No. 26 Chevy Silverado) and Josh De Jong, San Jacinto, Calif. (No. 71 Chevy Silverado).
In SCORE TT Legend for drivers 50 years and older, entries so far are Clyde Stacy, Bristol, Va (No. 1L Chevy V16), Mark Winkelman, 61, Cedar Hill, Texas (No. 25L Chevy Silverado), Bobby Patton, 57, Fort Worth Texas/Robbie Pierce, 61, Alpine, Calif. (No. 20L Chevy Silverado) and Jim Bult, Monee, Ill. (No. 47L Dodge Ram2500).
START ORDER/DRAW DEADLINE
For all the non-qualifying classes, the starting order within each class for this race will be determined by a start order drawing, if the individual entry is received and all fees paid in full by 8 p.m. on Friday, September 11.
The results of the drawing, to determine the remainder of the start order within each class, will be posted on the SCORE website at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 18.
Between September 11 and 5 p.m. PT on September 18, entries will be accepted in the SCORE Ensenada office but those entries will not be able to qualify or be in the start draw. Late, on-site racer registration will be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (September 23, 24, 25) and will be given the next available start position within their respective classes.
All entries received after 8 p.m. PT on Friday, September 11 will be given the next available starting position within their respective classes.
PRE-RUNNING
Official practice, or pre-running, on the official 486.81-mile race course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts will begin at 8 a.m. PT on Saturday, September 12 starting at race mile 0.16 and finishing at race mile 485.16. Pre-running starting at 8 a.m. PT on Wednesday, September 23 through Friday, September 25 will start at race mile 0.0 to race mile 7.80 outbound only.
The official SCORE Racer Brief, course map and GPS files will be available by 6 p.m. PT on Thursday, September 10.
QUALIFYING
SCORE will hold a qualifying session for this race starting at 7 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept 23 to determine the starting positions within each class for the SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend, Class 1 and Trophy Truck Spec divisions. Entries in these classes must also be completed by Friday, September 11 to be eligible to qualifying. Start order for qualifying will be based solely on entry order into race, by class.
Starting positions for the other classes will be determined by a random drawing after the close of online racer registration which is at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11.
Late, on-site entries will receive the next starting position within the class entered.
Qualifying will be held on a 3.47-mile course South of San Felipe near the local airport.
GREEN FLAG
It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday (Sept. 26) will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 3 a.m. PT and approximately 7 a.m. PT for the cars, trucks and UTVs.
Nearly 150 vehicles are expected at the start line. Long-time SCORE sponsor and race title sponsor BFGoodrich Tires has also posted a US$25,000 contingency bonus for the overall 4-wheel winner to help commemorate this year’s race.
EL DORADO RANCH S/F
Following planning with and approval from city and state governments, SCORE International has announced that all the official pre-race activities and the start/finish line compound for this year’s SCORE Baja 500 will be held in a restricted area at the prominent El Dorado Ranch resort with no spectators allowed. Spectators following health and safety protocols will be allowed in the open areas around the 486.81-mile race course.
With the Biosecurity Protocols in place, SCORE will produce extensive live streaming of the race and pre-race festivities air on the SCORE website and SCORE social media platforms.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Because of the significant health and safety Biosecurity protocols developed by SCORE in conjunction with and the approval of state and local health authorities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all race-week festivities and the start/finish line compound will be restricted access only and closed to the general public. All race-related activities and the race start/finish compound will be on the grounds of the popular El Dorado Ranch gated resort which is located seven miles North of downtown San Felipe alongside of Mexico Federal Highway 5.
MAIN COURSE
The race will feature a course, when finalized and plotted over the next several days by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva of 486.81 miles. It will run both North and South of San Felipe in a counterclockwise direction on the East side of the Baja California peninsula.
When completed, the historic race course will be 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 ocean with elevations from sea level to over 3,000 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California.
There will be three physical full-stop checkpoints and 197 virtual checkpoints. Checkpoint 1 is at race mile 155.63 (Laguna Salada), CP2 is at rm283.52 (Laguna Amarga) and CP3 is at rm453.
Much of the course will run through Laguna Salada as well as going through parts of four of Baja California’s infamously magnificent washes: Amarillas, Chanate, Huatamote and Azufre.
All Sportsman classes along with Pro classes 7SX, 11 and 9 will run an abbreviated course of 426.41 miles.
DETAILS
As required by the health and safety Biosecurity protocols required to conduct this race, race week activities will have restricted access at the Eldorado Ranch with no spectators allowed for contingency, tech inspection and the start/finish compound.
On-site Racer Registration and Media Registration, again with restricted access, will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (September 22-25) at the Pavilion at El Dorado Ranch.
Racer registration will be held for racers who are qualifying from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 22). Racer registration for the balance of the entries will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 23) from Noon to 7 p.m. PDT, on Thursday (Sept. 24) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 25) with no new entries accepted after 3 p.m. PDT on that final day of registration.
SCORE Media registration will be held in the Pavilion at El Dorado Ranch from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 22) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT on Wednesday (Sept. 23) and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT on both Thursday and Friday (Sept. 24-25).
LIVE STREAMING
On the two days of contingency (Sept. 24-25) and during the race on Saturday, Sept. 26 until the course closes on Sunday morning, Sept. 27, there will be extensive live streaming from the start/finish line compound broadcasting race activities and start and finish line interviews. Popular Rat Sult will again serve as primary host of the SCORE live streaming.
With no spectators allowed in the start/finish line compound, all of the week’s activities will be streamed both live and same-day including the race, airing via the internet on the SCORE website and social media platforms.
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPS
While Andy McMillin returns to defend his overall win in last year’s SCORE Baja 500 in his No. 1 McMillin Racing all-wheel drive Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy Truck built by Mason Motorsports. Expected back to defend in Pro Motorcycles, Justin Morgan, El Cajon, Calif. and his co-riders Mark Samuels, Yucca Valley, Calif. and Justin Jones, Murrieta, Calif. are expected to defend their overall motorcycle title on their No. 1x Honda CRF450X, competing once again in the Pro Moto Unlimited motorcycle.
GRAN HISTORIA
This year’s SCORE World Desert Championship includes another special tribute to the iconic SCORE Baja 500 when it is held this year in San Felipe for just the second time in the 52-year history of the race.
The SCORE Baja 500 is one of the top motorsports events in the world. It was started originally in 1969 by the NORRA organization. Mickey Thompson and his SCORE International organization were invited by the Mexican government to take over the event starting in 1974. Sal Fish ran and later owned and produced the SCORE Baja 500 for 39 years until he sold SCORE in December of 2012.
The first Baja 500 organized and produced by SCORE was held on July 26, 1974 in Ensenada as the first of over 150 SCORE Baja races.
This year will be the second time that the race has started and finished in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. The only other time the race was held in San Felipe was 1989 and featured only the four-wheel vehicle classes.
While this will be just the second time for the SCORE Baja 500 to be held in San Felipe, the SCORE San Felipe 250 has been held in San Felipe for 32 of its 33-year history.
SCOREscope
2020 SCORE SKED
BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
September 22-27, San Felipe, Mexico
BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
November 17-22, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
ABC TV AGAIN IN 2020
For the second straight year, the 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship will air on the ABC family of networks. The two-races will air as specials on ABC TV’s World of X Games program with replays on ESPN2.
ABC first covered the 1967 and 1968 Baja 1000 races on the old ABC Wide World of Sports show with Jim McKay and again in the late 1980s with veteran motorsports journalist Sam Posey.
All of the SCORE race coverage shows also continue to air internationally in nearly 25 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and South America via syndication and ESPN International. The shows are co-produced by SCORE International and SoCal’s award-winning BCII TV.
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and Race Title Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, 4 Wheel Parts-Official Off-Road Retailer and Race Presenting Partner, Ford-Official Truck and SUV, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
SCORE Official Partners: PCI Race Radios, The Satellite Phone Store, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Lucerna Hotel.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Baja California Secretary of Sustainable Economy and Tourism, XXIII Ensenada Municipal Government, XXIII Mexicali Municipal Government, Mexicali and San Felipe COTUCO, Cruz Roja Mexicana.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.

BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 500,
presented by 4 Wheel Parts

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (19)
(Numerical, Before Qualifying)
1 Andy McMillin
*5L Clyde Stacy
7 Bryce Menzies
10 Alan Ampudia
11 Rob MacCachren
16 Cameron Steele
19 Tim Herbst
*20L Bobby Patton
23 Dan McMillin
*25L Mark Winkelman
26 Dave Taylor
40 Chris Miller
41 Justin Lofton
43 Larry Roeseler
*47L Jim Bult
71 Josh De Jong
77 Robby Gordon
83 Luke McMillin
85 Mike Lawrence
*SCORE TT LEGEND
CLASS 1 (6)
(Numerical, Before Qualifying)
114 Al Torres
121 Rodimiro Amaya
123 Broc Dickerson
127 Cody Parkhouse
162 Brendan Gaughan
179 Mario Fuentes
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (6)
(Numerical, Before Qualifying)
210 Ted Moncure
211 Pat Sims
260 Santiago Creel
264 Pierce Herbst
285 Clay Lawrence
294 Vincent Munoz
CLASS 10 (5)
1001 Oliver Flemate
1013 Harley Meservey
1051 Adam Gonzalez
1078 Augie Cortez
1087 Ivan Tagle
PRO UTV FI (12)
2914 Martin Christensen
2920 Roberto Ruiz
2927 Justin Smith
2931 Craig Scanlon
2940 Erick Korzin
2974 Jorge Cano
2975 Mike Cafro
2977 Justin Elenberg
2978 Jose Juarez
2989 Wes Miller
2999 Bob Jablonsky
2971 Wayne Matlock -RS
SCORE LITES (3)
1205 Miguel Cortez
1211 Oscar R. Alvarez
1247 Wes McKenzie
PRO UTV NA (3)
1912 Rickey Arslanian
1954 Kristen Matlock -RS
1995 Travis Wells
CLASS 1/2-1600 (1)
1616 Eli Yee
PRO UTV STOCK (3)
3930 Douglas Cornwell
3933 Randy Emberton
3955 Mike Cafro
CLASS 8 (0)
CLASS 7 (3)
700 Daniel Chamlee
709 Jeff Proctor
713 Mario Murillo Jr
HAMMER TRUCK UNLTD (1)
4421 Mike Hales-RS
PRO UTV UNLIMITED (2)
1893 Eliott Watson
1894 Christopher Polvoorde
CLASS 5 (1)
500 Gerardo Ibarra-RS
CLASS 3 (1)
313 David Orzolek
CLASS 5-1600 (0)
BAJA CHALLENGE (1)
BC4 Edward Muncey
CLASS 7F (2)
714F Justin Park
720 Doug Siewert
CLASS 7SX (2)
742 Brandt Anderson
741 Gerardo Novelo -RS
CLASS 3700 (0)
CLASS 2 (0)
CLASS 11 (2)
1108 Luis F. Garcia
1147 Francisco Valdez

SPT UNLTD TRUCK (1)
1404 Jessalyn Sells
SPT OPEN-WHEEL (0)

PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (1)
66x Santiago Creel
PRO MOTO LIMITED (0)
PRO MOTO 40 (0)
PRO MOTO 30 (1)
370x Francisco Septien
PRO MOTO IRONMAN (0)
PRO MOTO 50 (2)
500x Giovanni Spinali
514x Lawrence Janesky

Pro Quad (1)
37a Ricardo Villafana

SPT QUAD (1)
112a Daniel Gaytan
SPT M/C (4)
201x Bradley Loveday
203x Giovanni Aviles
213x Scott Borden
299x Shane Redline