Grabowski Bros latest SCORE Baja 400 entries

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com
 
August 18, 2022
 
Airing on ESPN2 World of X Games
3rd SCORE Baja 400, Presented by VP Racing Fuels
USA’s Grabowski Bros, USA’s Gonzales, Bolivia’s Fab Fuentes,
Puerto Rico’s Lopez, Mexico’s Sampietro, Fernandez all entered
 
Spectacular event is Round 3 of four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship,
Sept. 13-18 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; Grand Marshal-Hall of Famer LeDuc;
more info at…
 https://score-international.com/raceinfo/2022-baja-400-sept-13-18-2022/
 
NOTE: Current unofficial entry list, in numerical order, by class, at bottom of text
 
     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—With pre-running on the official race course opening in just over two weeks, among the newest racers on the rapidly growing entry list for September’s 3rd SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels, include USA’s three Grabowski Brothers, USA’s Alex Gonzales, Bolivia’s Fabricio Fuentes, Puerto Rico’s Faelly Lopez, Mexico’s Jorge Sampietro and Mexico’s Ramon Fernandez.
WHEN
The youngest race in the long and storied nearly 50-year history of the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization will be held Sept. 13-18 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
EARLY BIRDS
Among the latest of the 105 entries of over 225 official entries expected in this newest of the legendary SCORE Baja races are Dustin Grabowski, Trophy Truck Spec, Jack and Troy Grabowski in Class 5 (all from Upland, Calif.), Alex Gonzales, Palm Desert, Calif., in Class 11, Bolivian superstar Fabricio Fuentes, from Veramontes, in Pro Moto Ironman, Puerto Rico’s Faelly Lopez, from San Lorenzo, in Pro Moto Ironman, Mexico’s Jorge Sampietro, from Ensenada in Trophy Truck Spec and Mexico’s Ramon Fernandez, also from Ensenada, in Class 5.
WHAT
Online racer registration along with a detailed schedule of events both are available on the SCORE website for Round 3 of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship. Entries from all across the United States and around the world are anticipated for the upcoming internationally-televised desert race in Mexico’s Baja California.
Inaugurated in 2019, the SCORE Baja 400 was not held in 2020 because of the global pandemic and in 2021 started and finished without spectators Northeast of the central city.
The two defending overall and SCORE Trophy Truck champions in this new race are Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif. (2019) and Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies (2021).
ONLINE RACER REGISTRATION
Online registration, by class, for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, is ongoing through the SCORE website. Information on all SCORE races can be found on the home page under the Race Info tab.
Online racer registration will close at 5 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, Aug. 31. In person registration will be held in the SCORE Ensenada office until 5 p.m. PDT on Thursday, Sept. 8.
For more info, visit
https://score-international.com/raceinfo/2022-baja-400-sept-13-18-2022/
WHERE
The race and pre-race festivities will be in the heart of Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego. All race festivities including racer registration, media registration pre-race contingency and the start/finish line compound will all be held in or adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. Contingency and the start/finish line area will once again be the fantastic, fan-friendly Boulevard Costero.
THE FIELD
Nearly 225 vehicles are expected at the start line for this third-time SCORE race with racers from as many as 20 U.S. States and 10 countries anticipated. Pro and Sportsman Classes are offered for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. To date there are racers from 19 U.S. States, host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, New Zealand and Peru.
DOUBLE DIGITS
Leading the list of entries with double-digit lineups so far are SCORE Trophy Truck with 31 entries (including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old) and Trophy Truck Spec with 19 entries.
GRABOWSKI BROTHERS RACING
All from Upland, Calif., Grabowski Brothers Racing are following in dad Neal Grabowski’s tracks in SCORE Baja racing as second-generation champion desert racers.
Grabowski Brothers Racing has two entries for the three brothers to compete in, one in Trophy Truck Spec and one in Class 5.
The three brothers and their vehicles are Dustin Grabowski, 25, TT Spec, No. 272 Herbst/Smith-Chevy, Jack Grabowski, 24 on Aug. 27 and Troy Grabowski, 20, Class 5, No. 527 Custom-Subaru.
The brothers are the son of former SCORE champion racer Neal Grabowski. Dustin teamed with his father to win Class 5 in the 2019 SCORE Baja 500.
Opening the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship in San Felipe, Dustin finished 26 out of 36 starters in Trophy Truck Spec and Jack and Troy won Class 5 over six starters. In the SCORE Baja 500, Dustin finished fifth out of 32 starters in his class while Jack and Troy were an unfortunate dnf in their class.
GONZALES
Following races in 2017 and 2019 in the Trophy Truck Spec class, Alex Gonzales, 36, Palm Desert, Calif., settled on driving in the venerable Class 11 for stock VW Sedans.
With the help of a lot of friends, he has emerged as a top contender in Class 11 and he is the reigning Class 11 SCORE season point champion in his No. 1100 Gonzales Construction VW Sedan.
During his championship season in 2021, Gonzales started the season with a did not finish in the SCORE San Felipe 250. He bounced back solidly to win Class 11 in the next two races, the SCORE Baja 500 and last year’s SCORE Baja 400.  He earned his first SCORE season point championship by finishing on the podium in third place in the 2021 SCORE Baja 1000.
This season, Gonzales had a dnf in San Felipe but bounced back to win Class 11 in this year’s SCORE Baja 500. He currently is in second place in the season points behind Class 11 leader Hector Sarabia of Ensenada, Mexico.
Gonzales’ hard-working team includes Pete McLeod, 31, Morongo Valley, Calif., Clyde Stires, 69, Irvine, Calif. and Tim ES’Sletten, 30, Desert Hot Springs, Calif.
BOLIVIA’S FAB FUENTES
Still a relative newcomer to SCORE racing, Fabricio Fuentes, 45, is a highly accomplished and well-known motorcycle racer from Villamontes, Bolivia. The affable Fuentes, known for his trademark special Bolivian Sombrero he wears at the races, is a six-time Dakar Rally veteran. In his last Dakar, he was the 39th overall motorcycle in the legendary Rally.
Fuentes is also a multi-time national motorcycle champion in Bolivia and has remained in the Pro Moto Ironman class for solo riders even though Salvatierra switched this year to the Pro Moto Unlimited class after two years competing in the same class.
Fuentes finished second in the 2021 SCORE Pro Moto Ironman class point standings and was also second to Bolivian teammate Juan Carlos Salvatierra in last year’s SCORE Baja 400.
In the SCORE World Desert Championship, Fuentes rides the No. 785x KTM 450 SX-F Factory motorcycle.
After two races this year, Fuentes is fifth in the Pro Moto Ironman season point standings following a third-place podium finish in San Felipe and a rare did-not-finish (DNF) in the SCORE Baja 500.
‘PUERTO RICAN FORCE’ LOPEZ
Faelly Lopez, 39, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, rides the No. 83a Honda TRX450R in Pro Quad Ironman, a class in the SCORE World Desert Championship that was introduced last year.
After not being able to finish his first SCORE race at last year’s SCORE Baja 1000 that went down the peninsula from Ensenada to La Paz, Lopez has recovered and is undefeated in both 2022 SCORE races and he also leads the current points standings in Pro Quad Ironman.
In the SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, the ‘Puerto Rican Force’ he rode solo and covered the 277-mile race course in a time of nine hours, 47 minutes and 10 seconds.
In June’s SCORE Baja 500, Lopez survived again and completed the rugged 463.12-mile course, again riding solo on his Honda, in a time of 18:35:46.
SAMPIETRO
Ensenada is called the ‘Off-Road Capital of the World’ and one of the reasons is all of the prominent racers from the popular Mexican Port City who are regulars in SCORE Baja racing.
One of those hometown heroes is Jorge Sampietro, 31, who thrills his legions of Baja fans in his No. 297 Monster Energy Mason-Chevy in Trophy Truck Spec.
As driver of record, he won his Trophy Truck Spec class in the Inaugural SCORE Baja 400 in 2019.
In this year’s SCORE World Desert Championship, Sampietro is second in Trophy Truck Spec points, just four points behind class leader Christopher Polvoorde.
Sampietro opened this season in San Felipe with a seventh-place finish in his class out of a race-high 36 starters and followed that by winning the SCORE Baja 500, leading his class with a race-high 32 starters.
Sampietro was the second driver for Santiago Creel, Mexico City, in 2020 to win the Trophy Truck Spec class season point championship.
FERNANDEZ
One of the most prominent veteran SCORE Baja racers from Mexico, Ensenada’s Ramon Fernandez, 46, is a two-time SCORE class point champion as a driver of record with additional race wins as a co-driver.
Fernandez was an additional driver for Greg Sullivan on the winning Class 5 team in last year’s SCORE Baja 400.
This season, Fernandez and his team are currently leading the Class 5 season point standings with a second-place finish in San Felipe and a class win in this year’s SCORE Baja 500.
His team is comprised of all Ensenada racers: Miguel Pabloff, 65, Jesus Marquez, 43, and Pedro Pabloff, 34.
Fernandez and Co. drive the No. 507 Sullivan Racing Parker-Chevy in Class 5 for unlimited Baja Bugs.
In both the 2007 and the 2008 season Ramon Fernandez won the SCORE Class 11 point championship in the class for stock VW Sedans. His primary co-driver those two seasons was his older brother Tomas Fernandez.
GREEN FLAG
It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts with the green flag dropping on Saturday (Sept. 18). Ceremonial start in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center will be 5:30 a.m. PT for Motorcycles and Quads and 9:15 a.m. PT for the Cars, Trucks and UTVs. here will be a minimum of three and one-half hours between the last SPT Quad and the first SCORE Trophy Truck.
Car, Truck and UTV classes will have a course of 393.82 miles while motorcycle and quad classes will have a race course of approximately 370 miles. All classes will have a time limit of 19 hours from the time each vehicle starters to become an official finisher in the race.
TV
The race will air domestically on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the World of X Games program on ESPN2 and will be syndicated internationally to nearly 25 countries in Europe, Latin America, South America and Asia. Co-producing the shows with SCORE is the award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles led by executive producer Bud Brutsman.
START GRID-SCORE BAJA 1000
The results of the SCORE Baja 400 also will determine the start order within each class for November’s iconic season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.
DRAW DEADLINE
The starting order within each class for this race (except for the classes that are qualifying), will be determined by a random drawing for those entries received online and paid in full by 5 p.m. (PDT) on Wednesday, August 31.
No additional online entries will be accepted after 5 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, August 31.
Late, on-site racer registration will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Sept. 13-16).
In person registration is also being held in the SCORE Ensenada office until 5 p.m. PDT on Thursday, Sept. 8.
PRE-RUNNING
Official practice, or pre-running, on the official 393.82-mile race course for this year’s 3rd SCORE Baja 400 will open at 8 a.m. PDT on Saturday, Sept. 3. Pre-running will start at race mile 33.14. The first 33.14 miles, which will be used in both directions during the race, will be available for pre-running only on Thursday (Sept. 15) and Friday (Sept. 16) and only in the outbound direction.
QUALIFYING
     Qualifying for starting positions within their respective classes will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 14), starting at 8 a.m. PDT. Classes that will be qualifying for the 3rd SCORE Baja 400 are SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend, the unlimited Class 1 and the Trophy Truck Spec class.
MAIN COURSE
The race will feature a course, designed and plotted by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva, of 393.82 miles of rugged Baja California terrain (370 for motorcycles and quads).
The challenging 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 seashore with elevations from sea level to 4,972 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California.
It will run in a clockwise direction from Ensenada and back with two physical, full-stop checkpoints and 170 virtual checkpoints. The two physical checkpoints will be: Checkpoint 1 at Ejido Jaramillo at race mile 233.64 and Checpoint 2 will be at Santo Tomas at rm312.63.
A HAPPENING…
Colorful race week festivities will start on Tuesday, Sept. 13 to help celebrate this youngest SCORE Baja race. They will be held in or adjacent to the landmark Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada.
Chassis inspections and pre-tech/Stella devise check and installation will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 14) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT by appointment and on Thursday (Sept. 15) chassis inspection/pre-tech/Stella bracket check and installation will be held at a location to be determined.
Friday (Sept. 16) will see the colorful day-long, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival in the start finish line area in Ensenada. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT contingency row will be held for all classes. Tech inspection/Transponder checks/Stella/SPICA device pickup will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. PDT on Friday as well at the end of the manufacturer’s row.
During the race on Saturday, Sept. 17 until the course closes on Sunday morning, Sept. 18, the start/finish line compound will include the massive double-sided SCOREvision LED screen broadcasting race festivities, the start, live race action from around the course and finish line interviews.
Popular Rat Sult will once again serve as host of the SCORE Live streaming. Assisting Sult will be veteran voice Dave Arnold.
Contingency and the race itself will be streamed live, airing via the internet on the SCORE website. Included in the exclusive race coverage, along with vehicle tracking, will be live drone and in-car camera footage from various locations around the race course.
AT THE RIVIERA…
The historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, in the heart of Ensenada, will again be the site of many of the activities surrounding the 3rd SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels. Racer registration and media registration will both be held in Salon Rojo on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Sept. 13-16).
On Tuesday (Sept. 13 for qualifying teams only) racer registration will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PDT. On Wednesday (Sept. 14) it will run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. PDT, Thursday (Sept. 15) it will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT and on Friday (Sept. 16) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, no new entries will be accepted after 7 p.m. PDT, on Thursday after 4 p.m. PDT and on Friday, no new entries will be accepted after 3 p.m. PDT.
SCORE Media Registration will be held in Salon Rojo at the Riviera on Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 13-14) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT and on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 15-16) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT.
The start/finish line for the race will once again be adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Blvd. Costero.
LeDUC, GRAND MARSHAL
Adding to the glamour of the SCORE Baja 400, Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Class of 2015 inductee Curt LeDuc, and SCORE champion truck racer has been named as the Grand Marshal for this year’s race.
Passionate to a flair with racing champion sons Todd LeDuc and Kyle LeDuc, Curt LeDuc, 67, of Cherry Valley, Calif., has been a winner in desert racing, short course racing, the Dakar Rally, the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb and elder LeDuc is like the energizer bunny…he’s still going, going and going.
Building most of the vehicles he raced in, many would call LeDuc an engineer, but he prefers to be referenced as an ‘imagineer’ for his mechanical acumen.
LeDuc has had a strong career in SCORE and has four career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins and he won the 1997 SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship driving a factory-sponsored Jeep Cherokee.
SCOREscope
2022 SCHEDULE
Here are the remaining two dates in the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship which is being held exclusively in Baja California, Mexico for the seventh consecutive year:
3rd SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
September 13-18, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
November 15-20, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
ESPN TV NETWORKS AGAIN IN 2022
For the fourth straight year, the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship races are airing on the ESPN family of networks. The four-races are airing as specials on the World of X Games program 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 journalists Sam Posey and Jack Arute.
All of the SCORE race coverage shows also continue to air internationally in nearly 25 countries in Euro/pe, 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. Bud Brutsman is the Executive Producer. Intro announcer for the SCORE race shows is SCORE Trophy Truck champion racer and Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Cameron Steele.
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 and Race Title Sponsor, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel and race presenting sponsor, Optima Batteries-Official Batteries, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino and PCI Race Radios.
SCORE Official Partners: The Satellite Phone Store, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Lucerna Hotel.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Baja California Secretary of Tourism, MEXICO Secretary of Tourism, San Felipe Foundational Municipal Council, Ensenada Municipal Government, San Felipe Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Hotel and Motel Association, Proturismo Ensenada and Cruz Roja Mexicana.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.
3rd SCORE Baja 400,
presented by VP Racing Fuels
Round 3 of four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship
Sept. 13-18 – 393.82 miles – Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Total Entries: 105 (as of 8/18/22)
(from 19 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, host Mexico, Argentina, Australia,
Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Peru)
 (Numerical order, by class)
Pro Cars/Trucks/UTVs
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (31*)
1 Rob MacCachren
6 Dan Myers
7 Bryce Menzies
10 Alan Ampudia
14 Bobby Pecoy
16 Cameron Steele
18 JP Gomez
19 Tim Herbst
*20L Bobby Patton
21 Gustavo Tavo Vildosola
*21L Gustavo Vildosola Sr
23 Dan McMillin
26 Dave Taylor
31 Andy McMillin
34 Broc Dickerson
*37L Rolf Helland
43 Larry Roeseler
46 Paul Weel
*53L Wade Porter
*57L Greg Sullivan
58 Tracy Graf
*61L David Payne
69 Andrew Myers
70 Kevin Thompson
82 Sam Baldi
83 Luke McMillin
85 Mikey Lawrence
*85L Clay Lawrence
89 Mike Walser
90 Raul Gomez
98 Jose Mendez
*SCORE TT LEGEND
 
CLASS 1 (3)
100 Brian Parkhouse
162 Brendan Gaughan
168 Cody Reid
 
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (19)
200 Jason McNeil
207 Mason Cullen
213 Karl Ebdrup
219 Cayden MacCachren (DOR-Christian Sourapas)
225 John McNeil
228 Ryan Hancock
229 Danny Lopez
233 Justin Davis
236 Michael Marsal
238 Elijah Kiger
240 Chris Miller
249 Dustin Swanson
263 EJ Herbst
264 Pierce Herbst
272 Dustin Grabowski
294 Vincent Munoz
289 Tanner Rust
297 Jorge Sampietro
299 Charles Dorrance
 
CLASS 10 (8)
1002 Matias Arjona IV
1011 Cesar Cuevas
1019 Alberto Mendez
1023 Britney Myers
1062 Roberto Romo
1064 Justin Buckley
1079 Manlio F. Diaz
1087 Ivan Tagle
 
CLASS 7 (1)
700 Daniel Chamlee
 
PRO UTV OPEN (1)
1831 Craig Scanlon
 
PRO UTV FI (3)
2942 Mark Shell
2946 Jose Juarez
2987 Edgar Garcia Leon
 
SCORE LITES (1)
1211 Oscar R. Alvarez
 
PRO UTV NA (1)
1957 Joe Bolton-1st RS
 
CLASS 1/2-1600 (2)
1616 Eli Yee
1651 Marco Conejo
 
PRO UTV STOCK (4)
3919 Anibal Lopez
3930 Douglas Cornwell
3933 Randy Emberton
3943 Dennis Romero
 
CLASS 8 (1)
818 Jessalyn Sells
HEAVY METAL (0)
CLASS 5 (2)
507 Ramon Fernandez
527 Jack Grabowski
 
CLASS 3 (0)
CLASS 5-1600 (0)
BAJA CHALLENGE (1)
BC4 Edward Muncey
 
CLASS 7F (2)
702F Gerardo Novelo
714F Justin Park
CLASS 7SX (0)
STOCK FULL (0)
CLASS 3000/TROPHY LITE (1)
3049 Chase Swanson
 
CLASS 2 (1)
2085 Jeremy Davis
 
CLASS 11 (4)
1100 Alex Gonzalez
1111 Eric Solorzano
1145 Hector Sarabia
1156 Arthur Penner
Sportsman
SPT UNLTD TRUCK (0)
SPT UNLTD BUGGY (0)
SPT UTV OPEN (0)
SPT UTV STOCK (0)
Pro Motorcycles
PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (3)
3x Forrest Minchinton
10x Juan Carlos Salvatierra
19x Drew Watson
 
PRO MOTO 30 (1)
325x Jano Montoya
 
PRO MOTO LIMITED (3)
102x Scott Borden
103x Giovanni Aviles
148x Guillermo Hale Bolio
 
PRO MOTO 50 (2)
500x Giovanni Spinali
568x Toby Burchfield
 
PRO MOTO 40 (3)
400x Ryan Liebelt
441x Alirio Amado
479x Luis Esquivel
 
PRO MOTO IRONMAN (2)
704x Juan Pablo Valenzuela
785x Fabricio Fuentes
PRO MOTO 60 (0)
Pro Quads
Pro Quad (3)
1a Ricardo Villafana
7a Luis Ernesto Villafana
27a Carlos Napoles
 
Pro Quad Ironman (1)
83a Faelly Lopez
Sportsman
SPT M/C (1)
217x Dustin Davis
SPT QUAD (0)