Frank DeAngelo, Grand Marshal--53rd SCORE Baja 1000

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominic@score-international.com
November 4, 2020
Race week Nov. 17-22
BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000,
presented by 4 Wheel Parts
Hall of Fame key motorsports executive Frank DeAngelo
Selected to be Grand Marshal for this year’s iconic race
Granddaddy of All Desert Races in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Iconic season finale of two-race 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship
Internationally televised race to air on ABC TV Network’s World of X Games
more info available at http://score-international.com
ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—Having been a significant part of the desert-racing nation for well over 40 years, SCORE International has selected Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Special Achievement inductee and renown motorsports business executive Frank DeAngelo as the Grand Marshal for this month’s iconic internationally-televised season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, the final round of the pandemic-abbreviated two-race 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship.
Starting and finishing under strict BioSecurity health and safety protocols in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, race-week activities and the Granddaddy of All Desert Races itself will be held Nov. 17-22.
The SCORE Baja 1000 is at the pinnacle of motorsports as the most iconic, oldest, prestigious, toughest and longest continuously held desert race in the world.
Because of the Pandemic BioSecurity protocols, all race-week activities and the start/finish line area will be closed to the public. The start/finish line compound will be located East of downtown Ensenada at the end of the extension of Avenida Ruiz on the Highway overpass.
Spectators, adhering to the protocols, will be allowed to watch the race from around the race course.
‘MR D’
While SCORE is celebrating its 47th season of producing desert racing in Baja California, DeAngelo is clearly not only a pillar in the history of SCORE Baja racing, but also a critical part of its foundation. No history of desert racing in North America would be complete without continuous references to the impact that he has had on the sport and the industry. Both in the forefront and even more significantly behind the scenes as well. DeAngelo is one of the most trusted and respected individuals in the off-road industry.
With a tenure of over 40 years in the sport, DeAngelo, an Ohio native who is also an accomplished horseman, has ‘somewhat’ departed from the desert starting this year as he is now the Series Director for the Championship Off-Road short-course series. Prior to that, he identified and plotted more desert race courses than anyone possibly other than the legendary former SCORE owner Sal Fish, himself a member of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Not unexpectedly, he will be assisting BFGoodrich Tires at this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 with the myriad support elements that BFG brings to SCORE events.
Working tirelessly under the hood as an independent marketing company owner, as a BFGoodrich Tires long-time employee, a key executive for over 20 years in a BFG-affiliated marketing company, DeAngelo has been the ‘Henry Kissinger’ of the sport every bit as much as the much more visable honorable Mr. Fish. DeAngelo has been a catalyst in putting together many of the sport-changing elements over the years.
SCORE COMMENTS
“Frank has been a major part of the backbone of this sport and integral part of SCORE without ever being an official part of SCORE so we are honored to be able to recognize him in this way, celebrating all that he has done,” commented Jim Ryan, SCORE Sales and Marketing Director. “He was involved with SCORE racing on behalf of BFGoodrich Tires for over 40 years and it is great that he will be at the race not only as our Grand Marshal, but also assisting BFGoodrich Tires, our long-time SCORE Official Tire and title sponsor of the SCORE Baja 1000, one more time. This race will be a wonderful farewell tour for a person who has meant so much to SCORE and all of desert racing. Be sure and join with us and thank Frank in Ensenada.”
ONLINE RACER ENTRY APPLICATIONS
Racer entry applications are now available at www.SCORE-International.com under Race Info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page. Questions should be directed to SCORE Registration and Membership Director Audreonna Garcia at 775. 852.8907 or via email at registration@score-international.com. Online racer entry applications will be accepted through this Friday, Nov. 6.
53rd SCORE BAJA 1000
Many of the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s massive BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. The race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the ABC TV Network’s World of X Games programming.
Ensenada, “The Off-Road Capital of the World” is a coastal city on the Bahia de Todos Santos area of the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego.
Over 200 vehicles are expected at the start line with racers from nearly 30 U.S. States and as many as 15 countries anticipated. 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 the renewal of this legendary SCORE race.
This year’s SCORE Baja 1000 will be a loop race of a spectacular 898.40 miles in the northern state of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula. The distance is a race-record for a SCORE Baja loop race.
It will start for the 46th time and finish for the 27th time in Ensenada and the race is annually the finale of the SCORE World Desert Championship, which has been held exclusively for the past five years in Baja California.
With a total time limit of 40 hours in the elapsed-time race, the motorcycle and quad classes will start at 4 a.m. (PT) on Friday, Nov. 20 and the car, truck and UTV classes will follow with their start on at 10 a.m. (PT). While the fastest vehicles are expected to cover the course in approximately 18 hours, all vehicles will have 40 hours from the time each starts to become an official finisher.
STATES, COUNTRIES
Included in the first 159 official entry applications of the more than 200 anticipated for this year’s renewal of the world’s most iconic desert race are racers from 26 U.S. States and 12 countries.
U.S. States represented in the field of competitors to date are from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Besides the United States and host Mexico, countries represented to date in the total entry field are from Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa.
MORE ‘MR D’
Two of DeAngelo’s most notable negotiations helped tremendously in the forming of the old combined HDRA/SCORE Desert Series than ran for seven years (1985-1991) and the creation of the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck racing division for high-tech, 950-horsepower unlimited custom trucks in 1994.
Among his numerous accolades, DeAngelo was voted the 1985 SCORE Person of the Year, the 2006 BFGoodrich Tires Motorsports Person of the Year and has been on the Board of Directors for the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame for nearly over a decade.
With all of his time exploring and identifying race routes in majestic Baja California, DeAngelo has also found time to race on occasion and he had two class wins in the SCORE Baja 1000 with the late, great Hall of Famer Rod Hall.
DeAngelo was a key person for over four decades tied closely to SCORE through his positions with BFGoodrich Tires and later with Jackson Motorsports Group in South Carolina, where he spent over 20 years working on the BFGoodrich Tires marketing team.
With BFGoodrich Tires, as an employee and as a member of an affiliated marketing company, DeAngelo worked with thousands of racers, crews, media and fans over the years while managing the tire and extensive pit support program for BFGoodrich Tires. He also assisted SCORE
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.