Las Vegas’ Post earns top SCORE Trophy Truck Qualifying position for 49th SCORE Baja 1000

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com
 
November 2, 2016
 
Televised on CBS Sports Network
Las Vegas’ Post earns top SCORE Trophy Truck
Qualifying position for 49th SCORE Baja 1000
 
co-driver and stadium racing star Kyle LeDuc tops qualifying field for driver of record Post,
Quiros tops Trophy Truck Spec qualifiers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Off-Road Track
as both teams earn Ultimate Dana Top Qualifier Awards
pre-running continues for upcoming iconic Granddaddy of all Desert Races;
 
pre-race festivities include SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience, presented by BFGoodrich Tires
through Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center
 
on-line racer registration continues until Nov. 13 at RegisterHereForRace;
 
    LAS VEGAS, USA—Helped by a huge assist from short-course racing champion co-driver Kyle LeDuc, Riviera Racing’s Mark Post has earned the first starting position in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division in this month’s 49th annual SCORE Baja 1000.
The special SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying, presented by BFGoodrich Tires, was held Tuesday night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Off-Road Track. The qualifying event was held in conjunction with the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience being held through Friday at the SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The legendary race itself, starting and finishing in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 will be held Nov. 15-20. The season-finale of the four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship will feature a typically rugged 854.50-mile race course.
In front of an appreciative capacity crowd at the LVMS Off-Road Track, LeDuc, who has won three Pro 4 point championships and is tied for the lead again this year in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series of short-course stadium events, blistered the dirt, recording a top qualifying time of in three minutes, 5.62 seconds with an average speed of 40.73 miles per hour in Post’s No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150.
The qualifying course was three laps over the .7 mile LVMS Off-Road Track for 2.1 total miles. LeDuc was quickest among the 25 trucks out of the 30 entered in the race that elected to participate in the optional qualifying event to earn the Ultimate Dana Top Qualifier Award.
LeDuc, driving Post’s SCORE Trophy Truck, finished nearly a second faster than the runner-up qualifier as 24 of the 25 qualifiers finished the course in less than three minutes, 45 seconds.
LeDuc, of Temecula, Calif., is part of a three-driver team for this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 that includes Post and Ed Herbst both of Las Vegas. Both champion SCORE desert racers, Post and Ed Herbst are two of the winningest drivers in the 23-year history of the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 850-horsepower unlimited production trucks. Ed Herbst has 11 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins and four season point championships while Post has seven race wins and one season point championship in SCORE Trophy Truck.
Second was co-driver Ricky Johnson of Trabuco Canyon, last year’s top qualifier for driver of record Justin Matney, Bristol, Tenn., who covered the three-lap course in 3:06.21  in the No. 4 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck.
Completing the podium as third quickest was former NASCAR team owner/driver and champion desert racer Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., with a time of 3:08.34 in the No. 200 Speed Energy Chevy Silverado.
Rounding out the top five SCORE Trophy Truck qualifiers were Craig Potts, Scottsdale, Ariz., who was fourth in 3:08.75 in the No. 59 Chevy Silverado and fifth was Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren in a time of 3:10.88 in the No. 11 MacCachren Motorsports Rockstar Ford F-150.
With Post receiving the Ultimate Dana Top Qualifier Award, 24 SCORE Trophy Trucks and eight Trophy Truck Spec racers participated in the optional qualifying for starting positions within their respective classes. With late entries accepted up to Thursday, Nov. 17, SCORE Trophy Truck has 30 official entries to date and Trophy Truck Spec has 20 total entries so far.
The SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying was part of the massive celebratory SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience that is a spotlight attraction this week at the annual SEMA Show trade gathering in Las Vegas. Both special activities are being presented by BFGoodrich Tires.
With some teams in the race using multiple drivers, several co-drivers actually drove for qualifying. Earning the Ultimate Dana Top Qualifier award in Trophy Truck Spec was champion sports car racer Javier Quiros of Costa Rica. He recorded a qualifying time of 3:19.82 (37.83 miles per hour) for his three laps in the brand new No. 244 Toyota Tacoma built by Herbst-Smith Fab of Huntington Beach, Calif.
BAJA MIL
The race, with over 250 entries expected in classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and quads, will run over an 854.50-mile course that traverses Baja California Norte on Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting and finishing in Ensenada, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The race and surrounding festivities of the final round of the four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held Nov. 15-20.
SEMA SCORE BAJA 1000 EXPERIENCE
For the third straight year, the SEMA Show SCORE Baja 1000 Experience includes a 70,000-square foot desert racing exhibit in the Silver Lot 3 outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Hall alongside Paradise Road.
On display are 24 SCORE Trophy Truck and eight Trophy Truck Spec race trucks, exhibits from leading off-road and desert racing companies, the SCORE transporter, a huge stage, a massive SCOREvision LED screen showing SCORE race videos, press conferences, autograph sessions and an interactive BFGoodrich Tires display which will include a public pit-crew challenge.
The daily winners will receive a set of BFGoodrich Tires and one lucky team selected at random will be rewarded with a trip to an upcoming SCORE Baja race as guests of BFGoodrich Tires.
In addition to BFGoodrich Tires, King Shocks and Vision Wheel, all SCORE sponsors, are among several elaborate exhibits inside of the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience.
The SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience even includes a ‘taste of Baja’ with the El Jimador Tequila Mike's Sky Ranch Eat and Meet area. This part of the Experience has a building that represents the main entrance to the popular Mike’s Sky Ranch watering hole and resort located in central Baja California in the foothills of the San Pedro Martir mountains.
On Wednesday, at 3 p.m. the 2016 SCORE Baja 1000 Ultimate Dana Top Qualifier in SCORE Trophy Truck and in Trophy Truck Spec will be introduced, full results of qualifying will be presented and the drawing for starting positions for the racers in both classes that did not qualify in Las Vegas will be held.
AIRING ON CBS SPORTS NETWORK
All of the festivities will be taped for a special one-hour television show to air on the CBS Sports Network on Dec. 18 at 9 p.m. (ET) -- the week before the actual SCORE Baja 1000 race is shown on Dec. 25 at 9 p.m. (ET) for the second time as a two-hour special. The CBS Sports Network is the home of the SCORE World Desert Championship broadcasts in the United States. The programs also air throughout the world across numerous licensed network platforms as well as in syndication.
SEMA SHOW
The SEMA Show is a trade show produced by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a nonprofit trade association founded in 1963. Since the first SEMA Show debuted in 1967, the annual event has served as the leading venue bringing together manufacturers and buyers within the automotive specialty equipment industry. Products featured at the SEMA Show include those that enhance the styling, functionality, comfort, convenience and safety of cars and trucks. The event attracts more than 130,000 industry professionals from more than 130 countries each year. Additional details are available at www.SEMAShow.com orwww.sema.org, 909.396.0289.
RACE REGISTRATION CONTINUES
Online entry registration for the race continues at Register Here for Race.  Late entries received after the start drawing are being placed by class in the next available starting position following those that entered in time for the random draw.
ENTRY UPDATE
Over 250 cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads from 35 U.S. States and 15 countries are expected to take the green flag on Friday, Nov. 18 for this year’s 49th SCORE Baja 1000. The granddaddy of all desert races will be held Nov. 15-20 in Baja California Norte on Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting and finishing in the seaside port of Ensenada, 65 miles south of the U.S. Border at San Diego.
A growing total of 234 vehicles are officially entered as of today and nearly 40 additional entries are expected to enter in the two weeks before race day in Ensenada for the legendary race.
So far among the car, truck and UTV classes, SCORE Trophy Truck has the most entries with 30, followed by Pro UTV FI with 21, Trophy Truck Spec with 20, Class 10 with 19, the unlimited Class 1 with 16, Pro UTV with 15 and SCORE Lites with 10 officially entered to date.
Among the motorcycle classes, the Pro Moto Ironman (solo rider) has eight entries followed by Pro Moto Unlimited class and the Pro Moto 40 (m/c riders over 40 years old) with six entries each and Pro Moto Limited with five entries so far.
In the Sportsman classes, leading the way is Sportsman Motorcycle with 14 entries to date.
GLOBAL INTEREST
In addition to the 30 States represented on the entry list to date, racers have officially entered from 14 countries.  In addition to the United States, entries so far have come from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Guatemala, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand and the US Territory of Guam.
BEGINNING TO END
This year’s race will start for the 42nd time and finish for the 24th time in Ensenada. The start line and finish line will once again be adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada and the first and last several spectator-friendly miles running up and back down the Ensenada Arroyo.
CBS SPORTS NETWORK COVERAGE
All races in the four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship, along with the special SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and qualifying for the SCORE Baja 1000 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway are once again airing in the USA and Canada on the CBS Sports Network.  The spectacular shows feature not only SCORE Trophy Truck coverage, but also top action and highlights from many other classes of trucks, cars, UTVs, motorcycles and quads – making sure that the most exciting footage and most compelling stories continue as part of each race event broadcast.
Capping off the 2016 broadcast season, the SCORE Baja 1000 broadcast on CBS Sports Network will air as a full two-hour special for the second straight year.
ON THE AIR
2016 CBS Sports Network Original Broadcast Schedule (subject to change, check local listings)
SCORE San Felipe 250 (first telecast-Sunday, April 17, 9 p.m. ET)
SCORE Baja 500 (first telecast-Sunday, July 24, 9 p.m. ET)
Rosarito Beach SCORE Desert Challenge (first telecast-Sunday, Nov. 13, 9 p.m. ET)
SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying @SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience (first telecast-Sunday, Dec.18, 9 p.m. ET)
SCORE Baja 1000 (two-hour special) (first telecast-Sunday, December 25, 9 p.m. ET)
CBS SPORTS NETWORK
CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
DUST2GLORY
From award-winning documentary filmmaker Dana Brown, Dust2Glory will chronicle each of the four races in the 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship. Now, D2G, which began shooting at last year’s SCORE Baja 1000, and is continuing up close and personal coverage capturing the robust racers in their amazing adventures in Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula through all four spectacular 2016 races ending with this year’s 49th SCORE Baja 1000.
SCOREscope
The four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship includes four special events and for the first time all four are being held in Baja California, Mexico. Here is the complete 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:
30th SCORE San Felipe 250, Feb. 25-28, San Felipe, Mexico
48th SCORE Baja 500, June 1-5, Ensenada Mexico
Rosarito Beach 20th SCORE Desert Challenge, Sept. 14-18, Rosarito, Mexico
49th SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.16-20, Ensenada, Mexico
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: Bud Light-Official Beer, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Vision Wheel – Official Wheel, Axial R/C-Official R/C Vehicle, Muck Daddy-Official Hand Cleaner, CBS Sports Network-Official Television Partner, Wide Open Excursions- Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
Official SCORE Partners: 4 Wheel Parts, Coca Cola, The Satellite Phone Store, PCI Race Radios.
Additional SCORE Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Visit Baja California Sur, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamineto, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, McKenzie’s Performance Products, Advanced Color Graphics.
Rosarito Beach SCORE Desert Challenge Special Partners: Vi Ayuntamiento de Playas de Rosarito, Cotuco de Playas de Rosarito, Comite de Mercadatecnia Playas de Rosarito, Baja California Secretary of Tourism.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship atwww.SCORE-International.com.
49th annual SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying
Presented by BFGoodrich Tires
Nov. 1, 2016—Las Vegas Motor Speedway Off-Road Track
Driver of record may use a co-driver to drive in qualifying
Race Dates: Nov. 15-20, Season Finale of the 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship
Race Distance/Location: 854.50 miles, loop race around Mexico’s Baja California Norte
Race Start/Finish: Ensenada, Baja California
Race Participants: Over 250 entries are expected from 35 U.S. States and 15 countries with competition in Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads
 
(NOTE: Entries that elected not to qualify will have a separate random drawing today, Nov. 2, to determine their starting order and they will start after the vehicles that qualified in their respective classes).
 
QUALIFYING RESULTS: (2.1 total miles, 3 laps of .7 mile dirt race course)
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (25) (Unlimited Production Trucks) (30 Total Entries)
(Position, Vehicle number, qualifying driver/driver of record if different, hometown, vehicle, elapsed time, miles per hour)
3 Kyle LeDuc, Temecula, Calif. (Driver of Record--Mark Post, Las Vegas), Ford F-150, 3 minutes, 5.62 seconds (40.73 miles per hour)
4 Ricky Johnson, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (DOR-Justin Matney, Bristol, Tenn.) Chevy Rally Truck, 3:06.21
200 Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., Chevy Silverado, 3:08.34
59 Craig Potts, Scottsdale, Ariz., Chevy Silverado, 3:08.75
11 Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 3:10.27
91 Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif. (DOR--Troy Herbst, Las Vegas), Ford F-150, 3:10.88
19 Brett Sourapas, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (DOR--Tim Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 3:11.00
76 Jesse Jones, Phoenix, Ford F-150, 3:11.24
31 Andy McMillin, San Diego, Ford F-150, 3:11.45
23 Dan McMillin, La Mesa, Calif., Ford F-150, 3:11.74
83 Luke McMillin, Ford F-150, 3:11.98
16 Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif., Chevy Silverado, 3:12.80
6 Steven Eugenio, Carlsbad, Calif., Chevy Silverado, 3:13.07
97 B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, Toyota Tundra, 3:13.73
15 Billy Wilson, Corpus Christi, Texas, Chevy Silverado, 3:15.98
17 Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico, Chevy Silverado, 3:16.21
10 Alan Ampudia, Ensenada, Mexico (DOR--Aaron Ampudia, Ensenada, Mexico), Chevy Silverado, 3:16.87
22 Casey Currie, Corona, Calif., Custom, 3:16.89
21 Gus Vildosola Jr, Mexicali, Mexico, Ford Raptor, 3:18.17
1 Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, Tecate, Mexico, Chevy Rally Truck, 3:18.25
50 Zak Langley, Santa Monica, Calif., Ford F-150, 3:20.93
68 Todd Peterson, Orem, Utah (DOR--Tim Weston, Corona, Calif.), Chevy Silverado, 3:31.47
20 Pat O’Keefe, Martinez, Calif., Dodge Ram Ecodiesel, 3:36.91
67 Brian Trapnell, Springville, Utah, Chevy Silverado, 3:37.99
48 Jimmy Nuckles, Brawley, Calif., Ford F-150, Did Not Start
 
Additional SCORE Trophy Truck race entries not qualifying:
36 Glen Greer, Green Valley, Ariz., Dodge Ram
39 Ron Whitton, Mesa, Ariz., Ford F-150
45 Gary Magness, Denver, Ford F-150
55 Jose de Jesus Flores, Culiacan, Mexico, Chevy Silverado
57 Mike Palmer, Denver, Chevy Silverado
 
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (8) (unlimited trucks/sport utility vehicles, stock, sealed V-8s) (20 Total Entries)
(Position, Vehicle number, qualifying driver/driver of record if different, hometown, vehicle, elapsed time, miles per hour)
244 Javier Quiros, Costa Rica, Toyota Tacoma, 3:19.82 (37.82mph)
271 Igor Dorojinski, Simi Valley, Calif. (DOR--Carey Chrisman, Monterrey Park, Calif.), Armada-Chevy, 3:21.67
222 Pete Sohren, Glendale, Ariz., BajaLite-Chevy, 3:33.83
227 Jonathan Brenthel, Newport Beach, Calif., Brenthel-Chevy, 3:35.35
255 Steve Melton, Phoenix (DOR--Lee Banning, Laveen, Ariz.), Geiser-Chevy, 3:36.42
273 Jordan Brenthel, Newport Beach, Calif., Brenthel-Chevy, 3:39.18
211 Joe DeLucie, Las Vegas (DOR--Pat Sims, Eunice, N.M.), Brenthel-Chevy, 3:40.63
202 Chad Broughton, Scotts Valley, Calif., BajaLite-Chevy, 3:56.97
 
Additional TROPHY TRUCK SPEC race entries not qualifying:
201 Russell Buehler, Liberty, Mo., Jimco-Chevy
203 Dion Podgumy, Spring, Texas, BajaLite-Chevy
216 Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif., Brenthel-Chevy
220 Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif., Brenthel-Chevy
223 William Hedrick, Chula Vista, Calif., H&M-Chevy
232 Chelsea Magness, Denver, Mango-Chevy
250 John Langley, Santa Monica, Calif., Racer-Chevy
252 Gonzalo Pirron, Lancaster, Calif., Jefferies-Chevy
268 Jeffrey Kozak, Sugar Land, Texas, Geiser-Chevy
274 Elias Hanna, Ensenada, Mexico, Chevy 1500
277 Rod Lewis, San Antonio, Texas, Jimco-Chevy
288 Mark Luhtala, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Fusion-Chevy