No. 11 MacCachren, No. 16 Steele, No. 1 Lopez top qualifiers In SCORE Trophy Truck for 31st annual SCORE San Felipe 250

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com

March 30, 2017

Race Saturday
No. 11 MacCachren, No. 16 Steele, No. 1 Lopez top qualifiers
In SCORE Trophy Truck for 31st annual SCORE San Felipe 250
Overall Qualifying Results
Class Summary

Malloy tops unlimited class 1 qualifying, J. Langley top qualifier in Trophy Truck Spec
season-opener of 4-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship on 271.9-mile course;
entries from 25 U.S. states eight countries in Baja California, Mexico

Tecnovision producing LIVE streaming; vehicle tracking at www.SCORE-international.com

SAN FELIPE, Mexico—Three-time overall race winner Rob MacCachren made his presence felt Thursday as he turned in the fastest qualifying time for Saturday’s internationally televised 31st SCORE San Felipe 250, the opening round of the four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship.
Driving the No. 11 MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150, MacCachren, a hall of fame desert racer with nearly 250 career race wins, covered the special 4.0-mile qualifying course located just south of the San Felipe airport in five minutes, 14.43 seconds with an average speed of 45.80 miles per hour.
Qualifying was held first time in the history of this SCORE Baja race and the classes included SCORE Trophy Truck, unlimited Class 1 and Trophy Truck Spec.
Fastest qualifier in Class 1 was Mike Malloy, La Jolla, Calif., turning in a hot lap of 5:43.29 while averaging 41.95 mph in a Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car.
Top qualifier in the Trophy Truck Spec class was John Langley, Santa Monica, Calif., with a time of 5:40.00 (42.23 mph) in a Mason-Chevy.
With over 200 vehicles expected to leave the start line, the race is being held in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico, the quaint fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif.
With classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads from 25 U.S. States and eight countries, the elapsed-time race over a rugged 271.9-mile course will start at 6:20 a.m. PDT on Saturday for the motorcycle/quad classes following by the start of the car/truck/UTV classes at 9 a.m. PDT.
The race will start and finish for the first time on the Malecon with the tranquil Sea of Cortez on one side and the popular restaurants, souvenir stores and San Felipe night clubs on the other
While the fastest finishers are expected to complete the course in approximately five hours, all vehicles will have 13.5 hours from the time each starts to become an official finisher in the popular ‘Spring Break’ race.
REGISTRATION/MANUFACTURER’S MIDWAY
Racer registration will conclude at the Hotel El Cortez from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PDT) while Media registration will also conclude at the Hotel El Cortez during the same hours on Friday.
The pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway, contingency and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday. Contingency will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) and tech/transponder check from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the picturesque Malecon, flanked by the Sea of Cortez on one side and the popular restaurants and night clubs of San Felipe on the other.
Here are Thursday’s official qualifying results…
31st SCORE San Felipe 250
Season-opener of four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship
March 29-April 2, 2017—271.9 miles—San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico
Thursday’s Qualifying Results (race on Saturday)
(Qualifying determined class starting order)
Position, Vehicle Number, Driver of Record/Co-Driver, Hometown, Vehicle, time, average speed for one lap of special 4.0-mile course
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (Unlimited Production Trucks)--
TOP QUALIFIER: 11 Rob MacCachren, 52, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, five minutes, 14.43 seconds (45.80 miles per hour)
2. 16 Cameron Steele, 48, San Clemente, Calif./Cody Stuart, 32, Capistrano Beach, Calif., Chevy Silverado, 5:22.28 (44.68mph)
3. 1 Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, 22, Tecate, Mexico, Chevy Rally Truck, 5:24.14 (44.43mph)
4. 97 B.J. Baldwin, 37, Las Vegas, Toyota Tundra, 5:24.43 (45.08mph)
5. 83 Luke McMillin, 24, San Diego/Cameron Parrish, 39, Valley, Center, Calif., Ford F-150, 5:25.74 (44.21mph)
6. 76 Jesse Jones, 51, Phoenix/Toby Price, 28, Australia/Austin Jones, 19, Phoenix, Ford F-150, 5:26.85 (44.06mph)
7. 40 Chris Miller, 43, LaJolla, Calif./Tavo Vildosola, 35, Mexicali, Mexico, 5:29.34 (43.72mph)
8. 23 Dan McMillin, 29, La Mesa, Calif., Ford F-150, 5:31.79 (43.40mph)
9. 18 Juan C. Lopez, 42, Tecate, Mexico, Ford Raptor, 5:34.06 (43.11mph)
10. 13 Damen Jefferies, 44, Apple Valley, Calif., Chevy Silverado, 5:35.54 (42.92mph)
11. 6 Larry Connor, 67, Miamisburg, Ohio/Ricky Johnson, 52, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., Chevy Silverado, 5:35.87 (42.87mph)
12. 15 Billy Wilson, 31, Corpus Christi, Texas, Chevy Silverado, 5:38.05 (42.60mph)
13. 24 Cory Keysar, 49, Colorado Springs, Colo., Ford Raptor, 5:40.11 (42.34mph)
14. 50 Zak Langley, 42, Santa Monica, Calif./Harley Letner, 33, Corona, Calif., Ford F-150, 5:46.14 (41.60mph)
15. 85 Mike Lawrence, 29, Murrieta, Calif./Luis Meyers, 30, Riverside, Calif., 5:47.51 (41.44mph)
16. 38 Eric Hustead, 46, St. George, Utah, Ford F-150, 5:50.71 (41.06mph)
17. 9 Armin Schwarz, 53, Austria (Germany), Chevy Silverado, 5:51.76 (40.94mph)
18. 19 Tim Herbst, 53, Las Vegas/Troy Herbst 50, Ford F-150, 5:55.05 (40.56mph)
19. 3 Mark Post, 59, Las Vegas/Ed Herbst, 55, Las Vegas/Kyle LeDuc, 34, Temecula, Calif., Ford F-150, 5:55.49 (40.51mph)
20. 2L Pete Sohren, 52, Glendale, Ariz., BajaLite-Chevy, 5:55.50 (40.51mph)
21. 4 Justin Matney, 32, Bristol, Tenn., Chevy Rally Truck, 10:00.34 (23.00mph)
22. 21 Gustavo Vildosola, 63, Mexicali, Mexico/Tavo Vildosola, 35, Mexicali, Mexico, Ford Raptor, 15:06.20 (15.89mph)
23. 5 Clyde Stacy, 73, Bristol, Va./Dakota Hopkins, 26, Bristol, Va., Rally Diesel, Did Not Qualify
24. 45 Gary Magness, 63, Denver/Devin Housh, 36, Desert Hot Springs, Calif., Ford F-150, DNQ
25. 47L Jim Bult, 55, Monee, Ill./Dan Vroom, 47, Crete, Ill., Dodge Ram1500, DNQ
CLASS 1 (Unlimited open-wheel single or two-seaters)--
1. 111 Mike Malloy, 59, La Jolla, Calif., Jimco-Chevy, 5:43.29 (41.95mph)
2. 109 Tony Murray, 52, Long Beach, Calif./Kyle Murray, 25, Villa Park, Calif. , Jimco-Chevy, 6:00.77 (38.93mph)
3. 105 Matt Cullen, 49, Long Beach, Calif./Greg Sacks, 60, Canyon Lake, Calif./Gregg Ryan, 53, Temecula, Calif./Mike Lombardi, 47, Long Beach, Calif., Jimco-Chevy, 6:06.86 (39.25mph)
4. 118 Ricardo Malo, 46, San Diego, Jimco-Chevy, 6:14.18 (36.48mph)
5. 150 Morgan Langley, 43, Santa Monica, Calif./Kory Halopoff, 34, Anaheim, Calif./Harley Letner, 34, Irvine, Calif., Racer-Chevy, 6:23.01 (37.60mph)
6. 168 Shelby Reid, 49, Apple Valley, Calif./Danny Ebberts, 35, Menifee, Calif., Jefferies-Chevy, DNQ
7. 103 Luis Saenz, 54, El Paso, Texas/Christopher Saenz, 19, El Paso, Texas, Tatum-Chevy, DNQ
8. 104 Rob Archibald, 44, Lakeside, Calif./Judyta Katona, 37, San Diego/Travis Rojas, San Diego, Jimco-Chevy, DNQ
9. 153 Brad Wilson, 27, Long Beach, Calif./ Ronny Wilson, 55, Long Beach, Calif./Justin Munyon, 30, San Clemente, Calif., Jimco-Chevy, DNQ
10. 138 Brian Wilson, 31, Lakewood, Calif./Kyle Quinn, 29, Irvine, Calif., Jimco-Chevy, DNQ
11. 116 Chris Paxson, 37, Redlands, Calif./Kyle Paxson, 35, Redlands, Calif., Racer-Chevy, DNQ
12. 114 Al Torres, 32, El Centro, Calif./Alfredo Torres, Penasco, Mexico/Jose Lopez, Jimco-Chevy, DNQ
13. 1 Pat Bell, 45, Anchorage, Alaska/Kolt Bell, 43, Charlotte, N.C./Ben Wright, 33, Garden Grove, Calif., Jimco-Chevy, DNQ
14. 106 Derek Fletcher, 32, Arlington, Va./Christyan Samano, 27, Ensenada, Mexico, Tatum-Chevy, DNQ
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (unlimted Truck/SUV, stock, sealed V8s)--
1. 250 John Langley, 73, Santa Monica, Calif./Luke Johnson, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., Mason-Chevy, 5:40.00 (42.23mph)
2. 274 Elias Hanna, 34, Ensenada, Mexico/Rehuel Ramirez, 34, Las Vegas, Chevy 1500, 5:44.02 (41.86mph)
3. 215 Chad Bunch, 41, Phoenix, BajaLite-Chevy, 6:05.14 (39.44mph)
4. 297 Bill McBeath, 53, Las Vegas/Chris Faulkner, 31, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 6:05.68 (39.38mph)
5. 211 Pat Sims, 50, Eunice, N.M./Joe DeLucie, 38, Las Vegas, ESM-Chevy, 6:10.77 (38.84mph)
6. 227 Jonathan Brenthel, 37, Newport Beach, Calif./Jordan Brenthel, 29, Newport Beach, Calif., Brenthel-Chevy, 6:15.87 (38.31mph)
7. 203 Dion Podgumy, 47, Spring, Texas/Louis Gilbert, 47, Houston, BajaLite-Chevy, 6:19.80 (37.92mph)
8. 200 Chad Broughton, 21, Scotts Valley, Calif./Paul Broughton, 50, Scotts Valley, Calif., BajaLite-Chevy, 6:21.57 (37.74mph)
9. 255 Lee Banning, 64, Laveen, Ariz./Chris Godfrey, 41, Phoenix/Steve Melton, 47, Buckeye, Ariz., Geiser-Chevy, 6:35.20 (36.44mph)
10. 248 Miles Wyatt, 31, Brawley, Calif., Chevy Silverado, 6:41.13 (36.00mph)
11. 224 Paul Nauleau, 20, Los Gatos, Calif./Sydney Schwab, 21, Indianapolis/Justin Eminio, 35, Wellington, Ohio, Brenthel-Chevy, 6:42.69 (35.76mph)
12. 201 Russell Buehler, 58, Liberty, Mo./Neil Buehler, 54, Kansas City, Mo., Jimco-Chevy, 6:58.01 (34.45mph)
13. 299 Charles Dorrance, 41, Austin, Texas/Dylan Herman, 24, Reno, Nev., Ford Raptor, DNQ
14. 220 Craig Christy, 42, Burbank, Calif. /Neal Manion, San Diego/Steve Parks, Brenthel-Chevy, DNQ
15. 271 Carey Chrisman, 51, Monterrey Park, Calif./Kelly Chrisman, 49, Temecula, Calif., Armada-Chevy, DNQ
16. 229 Brian Goldstein, 29, Beverly Hills, Calif., Brenthel-Chevy, DNQ
17. 232 Steve Knudson, 64, Denver (DOR-Chelsea Magness)/Mike McNaughton, Denver, Mango-Ford, DNQ
18. 252 Gonzalo Pirron, 44, Lancaster, Calif./Rudy Iribe, Jefferies-Chevy, DNQ

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK
Post-Qualifying Quotes, March 31, 2017

ROB MacCACHREN, No. 11 (MacCachren qualified first.) -- The qualifying track is not specific to what we actually race on so it was an awkward thing. It was the same for everybody so we tried to get the best lap in we could without making a mistake. It seemed to go pretty well. We wanted a good starting position and to get somewhere near the front. Last year we didn't run this race so it is good to be back here in San Felipe. We love the people and definitely have a lot of fans that support us. It is good to be here for them. The course on Saturday has very few breaks and there are a lot of whoops and a lot of rocks and sand. Maintaining a good pace and not having any problems is the big thing. You can't have any down time with flat tires or anything else that will get you out off pace with everybody else.

CARLOS LOPEZ, No. 1 (Lopez qualified third.) -- The qualifying course was really challenging and it was completely different than the practice lap. On Saturday the challenge will be from race mile 170 the finish line. It is so rough. There are a lot of rocks, whoops and hard washes. We will need to watch water temperatures all day long.

B.J. BALDWIN, No. 97 (Baldwin qualified fourth.) -- We made some changes to the truck and I think we have a little bit better truck than we've had in some qualifying sessions. I think the four-wheel drives will do really well here. If the four-wheel drives don't beat us I would be very surprised. It was a battle to get traction out there and there is only so much you can do. It was really soft silt. I don't really care where I qualify but I want to start with the fast guys in the top ten. I don't think I want to start first and be out there all by myself. I like being in the crowd and passing trucks and making my way to first car on the road. I haven't seen the race course yet. I'm going to try and do 150 miles today (Thursday) of the last half but that's all I'll see. The suspension of the truck is incredible and we've worked really hard tuning the suspension and getting it perfect. I hope that will give me a little bit of an edge on race day and compensate for not pre-running.

LUKE McMILLIN, No. 83 (McMillin qualified fifth.) -- We did our practice lap and we carried a little more speed because I wanted to try out some of the jumps. I'm glad I did because they kicked us kind of funny. I was a little bit nervous going into it after the practice lap but once we took off on the green flag in the qualifying lap I felt solid the whole time. Typically we do pretty good in this truck if we have a clean qualifying run and I feel like we drove hard the whole time. I hope we land in a spot where I'm comfortable with who is right in front of me and who is right behind me. The key is to be confident at the start line on race day. The biggest challenge of the SCORE San Felipe 250 course is rocks. Everybody says it and it seems like after every Baja race people say it was the toughest one. I'm usually the opposite and say that it is normal Baja conditions. However, this course is all rocks. When you come around blind turns at 80 miles an hour and there is a basketball-sized rock right in the middle of the road. You have to decide if you want to square up on it, if you want to try and dodge it or if you want to square up on the tire. The rocks are brutal this race.

TIM HERBST, No. 19 (Herbst qualified 18th.) -- I think we are happy and we left a little bit out there. We put a good run in but the qualifying track has gotten a little eaten up since the lap we all took to pre-run it. The course had a lot of sand but we were first off so everybody else had to go through it too. We've been out on the main course and that is getting pretty beat up too. It is traditional San Felipe course. Fast, rough and challenging for all. The first 30 or 40 miles is just whooped out. It is going to be interesting on Saturday and hopefully there will be a little bit of wind to get the dust out of the way. We've been in the winner’s circle here a couple of times but this truck is ready to go and hopefully it is competitive.

JUSTIN MATNEY, No. 4 (Matney qualified 21st.) -- Everything was running great but we pitched in and lost it in a corner and rolled it over. We are going to have a long race day on Saturday. We will have to go through the truck and check out the suspension components. We had some overheating issues so we might have a fan problem. The challenging part of Saturday's course for us, now that we've rolled, is that we will be starting in the back of the pack. We will be working our way through the dust and seeing how we come out.