Udall, 'Tres Amigos', Flores latest entries--52nd SCORE Baja 500

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominic@score-international.com
September 7, 2020
Presented by 4 Wheel Parts

Last week for online entries-Udall, ‘Tres Amigos’, Flores, Penunuri
among latest entries for BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 500

 

ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico –With advance online racer registration closing this Friday, Colton Udall, ‘Tres Amigos’ (Freddie Willert/Stan Potter/Dan Worley) along with Jose De Jesus Flores and Carlos Penunuri Ibarra 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, 97 official entries have come from 16 U.S. States along with host country Mexico, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands 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.
ONLINE RACER REGISTRATION
Online registration through the SCORE website closes at 8 p.m. PT on Friday (Sept. 11). Information on all SCORE races can be found on the home page under the Race Info tab.
For more info, visit http://score-international.com/raceinfo/baja-500-2/.
Official entries received after the drawing for starting positions will be given the next available starting position within their respective classes.
THE SHOW
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. The shows are produced by SCORE in association with prominent SoCal company BCII TV.
UDALL
Veteran SCORE motorcycle champion Colton Udall, 34, San Clemente, Calif., returns in the Pro Moto Unlimited class while continuing his comeback trail from a serious injury a few years ago.
Prior to a serious back injury late in 2016, Udall had won four career SCORE season class point titles (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016) and he also won his Pro Moto Unlimited Class twice in the SCORE Baja 500 (2013, 2016).
Among his other major motorcycle victories were two each in the Big 6 Grand Prix and the 24 hours of Glen Helen.
Co-riders on with Udall on his team for the SCORE Baja 500 will be Derek Ausserbauer, 27, Santa Ynez, Calif. and Nic Garvin, Ladera Ranch, Calif. The trio will ride the No. 5x 2019 Honda CRF 450L motorcycle.
'TRES AMIGOS'
Definitely a trio with a multitude of years of SCORE Baja racing experience with a combined 165 years in age between them, Freddie Willert, 51, El Cajon, Calif. is driver of record and his additional compadres are San Potter, 56, San Marcos, Calif. and Dan Worley, 58, Encinitas, Calif. are moving up a class after winning the SCORE Lite season point title in 2019.
After several years away from the sport, the trio returned full-time in 2017 and finished seventh in the SCORE Lite points with one race win. In 2018, the talented trio finished fourth in the SCORE Lite points before last year’s championship season in SCORE Lite where they won the SCORE San Felipe 250, the SCORE Baja 400 and the SCORE Baja 1000.
With the team’s Jimco-VW race car sitting quietly for nearly a decade, the team actually won their class in the 50th SCORE Baja 1000 in 2017.
All three of them have raced in several different SCORE classes over the years and Worley won the 1992 Pro Moto 30 season points.
For 2020, the ‘tres amigos’ have moved up to Class 10 where they will split the driving in their No. 1006 Alumi Craft-Chevy, which is shod with BFGoodrich Tires, King Shocks and Raceline Wheels.
DE JESUS FLORES
With numerous SCORE truck races under his belt and a multi-time off-road champion in Mainland Mexico and Baja California Sur, Mexico’s Jose de Jesus Flores has entered in the SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old.
Flores, 57, of Culican, Mexico, is driver of record and his principal additional driver will be former International Sports Car endurance racer Oskar Slingerland. They will drive the No. 55 Jimco-Chevy truck in SCORE TT Legend. They finished third in class last year in the SCORE Baja 1000.
PENUNURI IBARRA
Making his SCORE Trophy Truck debut as driver of record will be Canada’s Carlos Penunuri Ibarra, 39, who lives in San Diego.
Penunuri Ibarra will be the Driver of Record in the No. 35 Thor Racing Chevy C1500 at this month’s SCORE Baja 500.
MORE ENTRIES
More new entries since last Friday include: William Hedrick Jr, 24, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico/William Hedrick, 54, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, (Trophy Truck Spec, No. 295 ID Designs-Chevy), Tony Murray, 55, Villa Park, Calif. (Class 1, No. 109 Jimco-Chevy) and Sean Cook, 54, Twain Harte, Calif. (Pro UTV FI, No. 2930 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 21 trucks (including five SCORE TT Legend entries) in the lineup so far. In addition to Penunuri Ibarra, 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), Tim Herbst, 57, Las Vegas/Troy Herbst, 53, Las Vegas (No. 19 Ford F-150), Bryce Menzies, 32, Las Vegas (No. 7 Ford Raptor), Robby Gordon, 51, Charlotte, N.C. (No. 77 Chevy Silverado), Larry Roeseler, 63, Boulevard, Calif. (No. 43 Toyota Tundra), Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif. (No. 16, Ford Raptor), Alan Ampudia, 29/Aaron Ampudia, 27, Ensenada, Mexico (No. 10 Ford Raptor), A. 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 SCORE Trophy Truck 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), Jose De Jesus Flores, 57, La Paz, Mexico (No. 55L 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, as finalized and plotted 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
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 (21)
(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
35 Carlos Penunuri Ibarra
40 Chris Miller
41 Justin Lofton
43 Larry Roeseler
*47L Jim Bult
*55L Jose de Jesus Flores
71 Josh de Jong
77 Robby Gordon
83 Luke McMillin
85 Mike Lawrence
*SCORE TT LEGEND
CLASS 1 (9)
(Numerical, Before Qualifying)
103 Gabriel Torres
109 Tony Murray
114 Al Torres
121 Rodimiro Amaya
123 Broc Dickerson
127 Cody Parkhouse
162 Brendan Gaughan
163 Ruben Torres
179 Mario Fuentes
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (7)
(Numerical, Before Qualifying)
210 Ted Moncure
211 Pat Sims
260 Santiago Creel
264 Pierce Herbst
285 Clay Lawrence
294 Vincent Munoz
295 William Hedrick Jr
CLASS 10 (6)
1001 Oliver Flemate
1006 Freddie Willert
1013 Harley Meservey
1051 Adam Gonzalez
1078 Augie Cortez
1087 Ivan Tagle
PRO UTV FI (13)
2914 Martin Christensen
2920 Roberto Ruiz
2927 Justin Smith
2930 Sean Cook
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 (2)
1616 Eli Yee
1696 Chris Racan
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
CLASS 3700 (0)
CLASS 1700 (1)
1755 Bruce Gevenden
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
720F Doug Siewert
CLASS 7SX (2)
742 Brandt Anderson
741 Gerardo Novelo -RS
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 (2)
5x Colton Udall
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 (3)
105a Francisco Valle
112a Daniel Gaytan
114a Luis Ortega
SPT M/C (4)
201x Bradley Loveday
203x Giovanni Aviles
213x Scott Borden
299x Shane Redline