El Rey Network to air 49th SCORE Baja 500 on Aug. 6 as one-hour special show at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com
 
July 24, 2017
 
Racing in Ensenada, Mexico
El Rey Network to air 49th SCORE Baja 500 on Aug. 6
as one-hour special show at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time
 
popular race was second round of the four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship;  
grueling 513.376-mile race included Pro, Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles & quads
 
    ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—First was the successful introduction show followed by the SCORE San Felipe race coverage special. Now the El Rey Network continues to launch its coverage of the four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship with an upcoming one-hour show spotlighting the 49th SCORE Baja 500. The newest show will premiere at 2 p.m. PT on Sunday, August 6.
Hosts of the ERN shows from the SCORE World Desert Championship are SCORE champion racer Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, professional BMX rider Mike Escamilla and car artist Cherry Martini.  The SCORE Baja 500 special will also feature commentary by American actor Sung Kang (Fast and the Furious franchise) who is the executive producer.
Working with ERN to produce these shows for SCORE is award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles.
RACE REWIND
Adding to the McMillin family legacy, San Diego’s third-generation desert racer Andy McMillin drove hard enough and consistent enough to earn the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck class victory at the 49th SCORE Baja 500.
Round 2 of the four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship was held in Mexico’s Baja California Norte, starting and finishing in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.
Defeating a field of 233 starters including 33 in the marquee racing division for high-tech, 850-horsepower, unlimited production trucks, McMillin, 30, drove to victory over a tremendously tough 513.76-mile race course, finishing in the No. 31 McMillin Ford F-150 in 10 hours, three minutes, four seconds, averaging 51.12 miles per hour.
After qualifying fifth on Thursday of race week, McMillin quickly drove to the front of the voracious pack of world class drivers, earning a victory margin of three minutes, 32 seconds over Justin Matney, Bristol, Tenn., who finished second overall in 10:06:36 at 50.83 mph in the No. 4 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck.
For McMillin, whose cousins Dan McMillin and Luke McMillin were also racing in their own SCORE Trophy Trucks, it was his third class win and second overall triumph in the SCORE Baja 500 and his ninth career SCORE Trophy Truck race win. Luke finished fourth overall and in class while Dan finished 15th overall and 13th in SCORE Trophy Truck.
Storming back from a 19th qualifying run, Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren, who won the season-opening 31st SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, deftly drove himself up to the final spot on the podium with a third-place overall and SCORE Trophy Truck finish in the No. 11 MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150, just 15 seconds behind Matney in 10:06:45 while averaging 50.81 mph.
In addition to 28 U.S. States, racers came from 13 total countries. In addition to the USA, racers from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Spain were part of the field.
GOLDEN SCORE 2017
The 2017 season also marks the golden 50th anniversary celebration of the legendary season-ending SCORE Baja 1000, the iconic Granddaddy of all Desert Races to be held November 14-18. The SCORE Baja 1000 is the oldest, longest and most prestigious continuously held desert race in the world.
The El Rey Network will air two shows around the iconic race. The first will be a one hour show on the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas and qualifying for the SCORE Baja 1000 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The second will be the two-hour race show covering the historic event in detail.
ARREDONDO WINS MOTO OVERALL
Riding the No. 45x Chris Haines Adventure Co. Honda CRF450X, Guatemala’s international rally racer Francisco Arredondo and his four-rider team raced to the overall motorcycle victory. A multi-time age-group class winner, Arredondo earned his first SCORE overall motorcycle title as well as his first win in the Pro Moto Unlimited class.
His teammates were Shane Esposito, Temecula, Calif./Justin Morgan, El Cajon, Calif. and Roberto Villalobos, Dulzura, Calif. The talented quartet finished the grueling race in 11:04.52, averaging 47.09 mph. The team finished second at the season-opening SCORE San Felipe 250 in early April. It was also Esposito’s 5th class win in the SCORE Baja 500.
The win was also the 19th overall motorcycle victory for Honda in the SCORE Baja 500.
OVERALL UTV
Winning over a SCORE-record field of 25 starters in Pro UTV FI and 11 starters in Pro UTV, Justin Lambert was the overall UTV winner and Pro UTV FI class winner in the race. Lambert, Bakersfield, Calif., led his team to a winning time of 13:17:01 in a Polaris XP1000 for a victory margin of 49 minutes over the second place finisher among all 36 of the Pro UTVs that started the race.
SCOREscope
The four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship and for just the second time all four are being held in Baja California, Mexico. Here is the 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:
31st SCORE San Felipe 250, March 29-April 2, San Felipe, Mexico
49th SCORE Baja 500, June 1-4, Ensenada Mexico
Tijuana 21st SCORE Desert Challenge, Sept. 20-24, Tijuana, Mexico
50th SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.14-18, Ensenada, Mexico to La Paz, Mexico
EL REY NETWORK
The four-race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship in Baja California, Mexico along with the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience/SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying in Las Vegas will all air on El Rey Network in the United States. International distribution is by way of syndication. The season-ending 50th SCORE Baja 1000 will have a two-hour show produced while the other race shows will each be one-hour telecasts.
El Rey Network is a 24-hour, English-language lifestyle network targeting "Strivers," viewers who hold strong core beliefs about the importance of family, independence, hard work, craftsmanship, and legacy.
Founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, and curated by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, the network features action-packed programming, relatable heroes and aspirational stories that embrace today's America. El Rey's slate is anchored by signature series including the original drama "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series," the one-on-one interview program "El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair," and "Lucha Underground," a lucha libre wrestling series produced by Mark Burnett.
El Rey Network's lineup also showcases a wide range of iconic feature films and television series including genre, action, and sci-fi/ horror. El Rey Network LLC is jointly owned by Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures, with a minority stake held by Univision Networks & Studios, Inc.
El Rey Network is available in 45 million homes across the country through cable and OTT providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 341 and Dish Network Channel 253. For more information on how to watch El Rey visit http://elreynetwork.com.
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, Axial R/C-Official R/C Vehicle, El Rey Network-Official Television Partner, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
SCORE Official Partners: PCI Race Radios, 4 Wheel Parts, Coca Cola, The Satellite Phone Store, Satellite Del Norte, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, CETTO Vineyards.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Baja California Sur State Government, Baja California Sur Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamiento, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, McKenzie’s Performance Products, Advanced Color Graphics.
Tijuana SCORE Desert Challenge Special Partners: XXII Ayuntamiento de Tijuana, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Comite de Turismo and Convenciones, Comite de Marcadotecnia Turistica, Asociacion de Hoteles del Noroeste.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship atwww.SCOREInternational.com.