Start Draw Results: 4th K&N SCORE Baja 400

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com
 
September 9, 2023
 
‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’
K&N 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels
Starting Draw results, qualifying order all confirmed;
Pre-running extremely busy for next week’s big race
 
Round 3 of 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship on 384.66-mile course,
Late, on-site racer registration Wednesday-Friday at Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center;
In the Off-Road Racing Capital of the World—Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico;
SCORE LIVE—Contingency, Start, tracking, course action, studio updates, finish—
Rat Sult in eighth season as lead announcer, host; Dave Arnold veteran voice assisting
 
#SCORE Baja 400
NOTE: Current name/number entry list—qualifying or start order, by class, at bottom of text
 
     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’ this year, everything has gotten a whole lot busier in preparation for next week’s K&N 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels.
SoCal’s SCORE newcomer Dayton Meyer, has drawn the first start among the motorcycles and quads, the qualifying order (for three qualifying classes) has been announced and pre-running opened this past Saturday on the rugged 384.66-mile race course for Round 3 of the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship.
With 196 pre-registered entries, Late, on-site registration will be held next Wednesday through Friday (Sept. 13-15) in Ensenada.
Racing in the Pro Moto Unlimited class, Meyer, 30, of Newhall, Calif., is the rider or record and will have four additional riders on his No. 27x KTM450XCF motorcycle for this race. His co-riders are Zack Brawner, 29, Phoenix, Drey Lacroix, 29, Phoenix, Danny Fiel, 29, Phoenix, KTM 450XCF. This is the first time that Meyer has drawn the first start in a SCORE race.
DIRT FAX
The youngest race in the long and storied 50-year history of the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, Round 3 of the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held Wednesday through Sunday (Sept. 13-17), in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Ensenada, ‘The Off-Road Racing Capital of the World,’ is a Pacific Ocean port located 80 miles South of the U.S. Border near San Diego.
Pre-race Contingency and Tech Inspection and the start/finish line compound will be located on Boulevard Costero adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada.
All four 2023 SCORE races are being held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the eighth consecutive year.
SCORE, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, is celebrating its 50th season in 2023.
LATE RACER REGISTRATION
Late, on-site racer registration will be held on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (Sept. 13-15) in Salon Rojo in Ensenada’s iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center.
On Wednesday (Sept. 13) racer registration will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PDT. On Thursday (Sept. 14) it will run from 9a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT, and on Friday (Sept. 15) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Wednesday, no new entries will be accepted after 7 p.m. PDT, and on Thursday and Friday after 4 p.m. PDT.
SCORE LIVE
During qualifying on Thursday, contingency on Friday and the race on Saturday, until the course closes on Sunday morning, live streaming will be broadcasting race activities, start and finish line interviews as well as live drone and land coverage from around the race course. There will also be live updates from the SCORE Studio in El Cajon, Calif., throughout the race.
Popular Rat Sult, who has been the voice of SCORE over the last eight seasons, will once again serve as host of the SCORE Live streaming. Assisting Sult once again will be veteran voice Dave Arnold.
SCORE live may be launched from the home page of the SCORE website or from the SCORE App.
GREEN FLAG
The SCORE Baja 400 will be an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 5:30 a.m. (PDT) and 8:15 a.m. (PDT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs.
While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around seven hours, all vehicles will have a 16-hour time limit to become official finishers in the race.
QUALIFYING
     Qualifying (closed to the public) for starting positions will be held on an undisclosed 5.29-mile course on Thursday (Sept. 14), starting at 7 a.m. PDT. Classes that will be qualifying for start positions within their respective classes for the SCORE Baja 400 are SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend, and the Trophy Truck Spec classes.
DOUBLE DIGITS
Leading the list of entries with double-digit lineups so far are SCORE Trophy Truck with 38 entries (including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old), Trophy Truck Spec with 36 entries, Pro UTV Open with 15 entries, Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 12 entries, Class 10 with 10 entries, and Pro UTV Stock with 10 entries to date.
Among 2-wheel vehicles, Pro Moto Ironman (for solo riders) has seven entries.
PRE-RUNNING
Official practice, or pre-running, on the official 384.66-mile race course for this year’s 4th K&N SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels, opened on Sept. 2.
Pre-running begins at race mile 33.98, ending at race-mile 343.70. The first section from race mile 4.89 up to race mile 33.98, which will be used in both directions during the race, will be available for pre-running only on Friday (Sept. 15) and only in the outbound direction.
The official SCORE Racer Brief, Penalty brief, course map and GPS files are available on the SCORE website under race info/SCORE Baja 400.
MORE DIRT FAX
     With over 225 entries anticipated at the start line, 196 total entries have been received so far for this growing event, with racers representing 27 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, and 10 countries. The countries with at least one racer so far are United States, host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, France, Israel, New Zealand, and Peru.
MORE FIRST STARTS
Among the other first starts in their respective classes are Carlos Guillen, San Diego (Class 10, No. 1020), Mike Cafro, Temecula, Calif. (Pro UTV Open, No. 1876), Matt Burroughs, Norco, Calif. (Pro UTV FI, No. 2948), Mike Podratz, Winchester, Calif.. (Pro UTV NA, No. 1951), Dennis Romero, Charlotte, N.C. (Pro UTV Stock, No. 3943), and Eric Brandt, Brawley, Calif. (Class 11, No. 1143).
Besides Meyer in Pro Moto Unlimited, among the other motorcycle first starts in their respective classes are David Smith, Escondido, Calif. (Pro Moto 30, No. 319x), Steve Abrams, Meridian, Idaho (Pro Moto Limited, No. 102x), Alirio Amado, The Woodlands, Texas. (Pro Moto 40, No. 441x), Bob Creemer, Aukland, New Zealand (Pro Moto 50, No. 501x) and Brad Wright, Oak Hills, Calif. (Pro Moto Ironman, No. 700x).
FIRST FIVE
Set by the order that they entered the race, the first five to run their qualifying lap for starting positions out of 38 entries in SCORE Trophy Truck will be No. 7 Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, No. 91 Christopher Polvoorde, Hemet, Calif., No. 69 Andrew Myers, San Marcos, Calif., No. 26 Dave Taylor, Page, Ariz., and No. 6 Dan Myers, Newport Beach, Calif..
BRIEF HISTORY
Inaugurated in 2019, the SCORE Baja 400 was not held in 2020 because of the international health pandemic, in 2021 started and finished without spectators Northeast of the central city and returned to the heart of the city in 2022.
BOMBASTIC BAJA
The race features a remarkable course, designed, plotted, and fully marked by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva, SCORE Assistant Race Director Rodolfo Fernandez and their staff, of 384.66 miles of rugged Baja California terrain in the Northern part of the State.
The race course runs a clockwise direction in Baja California, staying almost entirely on the West side of Highway 3. The farthest South that it goes is just past Mike’s Sky Rancho (rm149.90) and includes the magnificently beautiful stretch of more than 10 miles along the coast of the Pacific Ocean past Erendira.
The course has one physical checkpoint at race-mile 222.00 at Llano Colorado, 185 total virtual checkpoints and a total of 10 speed zones for a total of 54.47 miles.
The highest point on the course is at race mile 152.05 at Cerro Blanco with an altitude of 4,741 feet.
The first 33.98 miles of the route East and West to and from the Ojos Negros area will be raced in both directions.
Heading South from Ojos, the course winds slowly east until it hits Highway 3 for a brief speed zone section before traveling near Santa Catarina (rm 89.23), Jamau (108.16) before going downhill on the infamous Goat Trail. After a short section on Highway 3, the course moves Southwest up to Mike’s Sky Rancho (rm 149.90) before taking the downhill at Simpson Ranch heading North.
The race course turns west towards the Pacific Ocean Southeast of Valle de la Trinidad then West to the only physical checkpoint at rm 220 (Llano Colorado). The course turns north to run up the coastline near Colonet (rm243.75). At La Calavera (rm 281.30), the course leaves the Pacific Ocean and winds slowly inland up to Santo Tomas (rm302.06) then just south of Uruapan (rm307.96) and east and then north up to Rancho El Mezcal (rm343.70) and the final section to the finish, running just west of Ojos Negros and past Ejido Piedras Gordas to the finish line in Ensenada.
Overall, the challenging race course is 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 4,741 feet. The course is another jewel reflecting the stark and eternal beauty of Baja California.
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 56th SCORE Baja 1000.
BFGOODRICH TIRES UNMATCHED
BFGoodrich Tires, the official tire of SCORE for 47 years, was honored after the 2022 season as the SCORE Contingency Company of the year for the 32nd time.
BFGoodrich Tires has been the choice of 35 of the 55 overall winners of the popular SCORE Baja 500 and 34 of the 56 overall winners of the legendary SCORE Baja 1000. BFGoodrich Tires is also the title sponsor of both iconic races again in 2023.
BFGoodrich Tires also has been the choice of 30 of the 36 overall winners of the SCORE San Felipe 250, all three SCORE Desert Challenge races, the lone SCORE Challenge of Champions in San Felipe, the one SCORE Baja Sur 500 and one of the three overall winners in the SCORE Baja 400.
This year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 overall victory by San Diego’s Luke McMillin marked the 103rd SCORE Baja overall race win for BFGoodrich Tires.
SCOREscope
2023 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY SCHEDULE
Here are the dates for the remaining two races in the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship Golden Anniversary season, ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’, which are being held totally in Baja California, Mexico for the eighth consecutive year:
K&N 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
September 13-17, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by K&N—
November 13-18, La Paz, Baja California Sur to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and Race Title Sponsor, Ford-Official Truck and SUV, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber and Race Title Sponsor, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel and race presenting sponsor, Baja Vida-Official Snacks and race presenting sponsor, Optima Batteries-Official Batteries, Rugged Radios-Official Radio Communications, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
SCORE Official Partners: The Satellite Phone Store, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance.
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.
Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’
K&N 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels
Round 3 of four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship
Sept. 13-17 – 384.66 miles – Ensenada, Baja California
Total Entries: 196 (as of 9/08/23)
(from 27 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, host Mexico,
Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, France, Israel, New Zealand, Peru)
Start order, by class)
Pro Cars/Trucks/UTVs
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (38*)
(Qualifying Order)
7 Bryce Menzies
91 Christopher Polvoorde
69 Andrew Myers
26 Dave Taylor
6 Dan Myers
19 Tim Herbst
31 Andy McMillin
58 Tracy Graf
10 Alan Ampudia
43 Larry Roeseler
82 Sam Baldi
70 Kevin Thompson
71 Harley Letner
89 Mike Walser
11 Rob MacCachren
46 Paul Weel
92 Paul Nauleau
1 Luke McMillin
23 Dan McMillin
85 Mikey Lawrence
28 Ryan Daniel
21 Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola
33 Roberto Romo Jr
16 Cameron Steele
87 Dallas Lutrell
38 Eric Hustead
96 Enrique Murillo
27 Jonathan Brenthel
68 Roberto Ruiz
*61L David Payne
*1L Gustavo Vildosola Sr
*85L Clay Lawrence
*37L Rolf Helland
*79L Russell Buehler
*55L Jose Flores
*5L Clyde Stacy
*53L Wade Porter
*3L Ed Herbst (DOR-Mark Post)
*SCORE TT LEGEND
 
CLASS 1 (6)
153 Brad Wilson
127 Cody Parkhouse
168 Cody Reid
100 Kyle Quinn
101 Al Torres
121 Damen Jefferies-1st RS
 
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (36) (Qualifying Order)
225 Scott McNeil
238 Elijah Kiger
249 Dustin Swanson
219 Thor Herbst
277 Travis Williams
263 EJ Herbst
236 Michael Marsal
299 Charles Dorrance
298 Jordan Dean (DOR-Riley Herbst)
240 Chris Miller
282 Brent Fox
207 Mason Cullen
200 Jorge Sampietro
234 Jason McNeil
289 Tanner Rust
294 Vincent Munoz
228 Ryan Hancock
205 Joe Delucie
247 Scott Shields
295 William Hedrick Jr
206 Joshua Cobb
260 Santiago Creel
280 Bryan Scheible
231 Carlos Ramos
272 Jack Grabowski
273 Jordan Brenthel
281 Damon Lewis
211 Pat Sims
246 Ethan Hagle
244 Oliver Flemate
241 Stephen Beal
283 Garth Owens
268 Paul Kraus
266 David Ziegler
210 Kolton Hustead
235 Zach Lumsden-1st RS
 
CLASS 10 (10)
1020 Carlos Guillen
1011 Cesar Cuevas
1061 Arturo Garza
1064 Justin Buckley
1091 Francisco Vera
1047 Zack McLaren
1006 Stan Potter
1079 Manlio F. Diaz
1000 J. David Ruvalcaba-2nd RS
1023 Britney Myers-1st RS
 
PRO UTV OPEN (15)
1876 Mike Cafro
1827 Austin Weiland
1871 Wayne Matlock
1823 Ricardo Malo Jr
1821 Cayden MacCachren
1854 Kristen Matlock
1886 Branden Sims
1867 Mike Pratt
1895 Kaden Wells
1888 Roger Norman
1831 Craig Scanlon
1869 Justin Lambert
1896 Brock Heger
1829 Sierra Romo
1868 Bernie Gomez-1st RS
 
PRO UTV FI (12)
2948 Matt Burroughs
2905 Marc Burnett
2987 Edgar Garcia
2928 Carlos Quezeda
2976 Jesus Mendez Jr
2915 Rickey Arslanian
2970 Francisco Beltran
2981 Fernando Kabande
2962 Clinton Shue
2940 Erick Kozin
2947 Francisco Espinoza
2917 Jason Murray
 
CLASS 7 (1)
700 Daniel Chamlee
 
SCORE LITES (1)
1211 Oscar R. Alvarez
 
PRO UTV NA (6)
1951 Mike Podratz
1980 Gabe Matthews
1914 Lawrence Janesky
1984 David Pedder
1957 Joe Bolton
1911 Carlos Waumann-1st RS
 
CLASS 1/2-1600 (3)
1685 Pablo Jauregui
1625 Eric Pavolka
1606 Matt Willert-1st RS
 
PRO UTV STOCK (10)
3943 Dennis Romero
3928 Endy Chavez
3916 Jeffrey Embree
3959 Antonio Mendez
3930 Douglas Cornwell
3900 Anibal Lopez
3936 Jorge Cano
3967 Manuel Norzagaray
3933 Randy Emberton
3924 Ricardo Zaragoza
 
CLASS 8 (1)
852 Spencer Morgan
 
CLASS 5 (1)
511 Eli Yee-1st RS
 
BAJA CHALLENGE (4)
BC3 Jason Rich
BC4 Edward Muncey
BC1 John Gill-2nd RS
BC2 Dave Miller-1st RS
 
CLASS 7F (2)
714F Justin Park
704F Aaron Celiceo
 
TROPHY LITE (1)
6049 Chase Swanson
 
CLASS 11 (4)
1143 Eric Brandt
1145 Esteban Ruiz
1105 Oliver Flemate
1111 Eric Solorzano
Pro Motorcycles
PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (6)
27x Dayton Meyer
3x Ciaran Naran
11x Arturo Salas Jr
1x Juan Carlos Salvatierra
15x Eric Holt
13x Adrian Ortiz
 
PRO MOTO 30 (3)
319x David Smith
300x Jano Montoya
377x Joseph Putrino
 
PRO MOTO LIMITED (5)
102x Steven Abrams
114x Ely Ramirez
137x Erick Ramirez
119x Oscar Garcia Jr
100x Fernando Beltran
 
PRO MOTO 50 (1)
501x Robert Creemers
 
PRO MOTO 40 (3)
441x Alirio Amado
435x Adrian Indusco
400x Ryan Liebelt
 
PRO MOTO IRONMAN (7)
700x Brandon Wright
704x Juan Pablo Valenzuela
723x Edgar Cota
718x Kurt Steever
731x Charles Whistler
753x Jose Hannan-2nd RS
737x Virgilio Lozano-1st RS
 
PRO MOTO 60 (1)
644x Kevin Ward
 
Pro Quads
Pro Quad (3)
1a Nicolas Velez
18a Roberto Villalobos
21a Jose Castro
 
Pro Quad Ironman (1)
83a Faelly Lopez
 
Sportsman
SPT M/C (9)
259x Jhoan Sanchez
272x Quetzal Estrada
233x Juan Montano (ROR-Eluminio Berrelleza)
210x Brayan Verduzco
215x Gabi Abayov
291x Andy Cervantes
235x Hugo Veilleux
249x Armando Ortiz
257x Luis Rivera
 
SPT QUAD (6)
139a Sergio Jimenez
105a Francisco Valle
138a Jose Hernandez
101a Jerry Ruiz
123a Eva Hernandez
187a Jose Gonzalez