RPM adds Juan C. Lopez, Sara Price to ‘Apdaly’, Matney, Stacy and Fletcher for six-entry team for 32nd SCORE San Felipe 250

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

March 2, 2018

Race Dates April 4-8

RPM adds Juan C. Lopez, Sara Price to ‘Apdaly’, Matney, Stacy

and Fletcher for six-entry team for 32nd SCORE San Felipe 250

 

Start/Finish on the Malecon in the heart of San Felipe along Sea of Cortez;

to be televised internationally; Start Draw to be held on Tuesday, March 27

    ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – As online racer registration continues and the calendar moves to just 30 days from race week, RPM Racing has added Juan C. Lopez and Sara Price to give the tenacious team from Tennessee six official entries for the upcoming 32nd annual SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja California, Mexico. The race will feature classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads.

     With many of the sport’s top stars among the first 63 official entries as of today from 17 U.S. States along with the additional countries of Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy and host Mexico, Lopez and Price join previously-entered Clyde Stacy/Armin Schwarz, Justin Matney, Carlos ‘Apdaly’  Lopez and Derek Fletcher as RPM’s six-vehicle team for this race.

     Featuring a rugged Baja race course of 315.2 miles, the race will start and finish for the second straight year on the Malecon beach walk along the water’s edge in the heart of town, the season-opening event of the four-race internationally-televised 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held April 4-8 in San Felipe, the peaceful fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif.

FAB FIFTY

     All four 2018 races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the third consecutive year.
The year of 2018 also marks the 50th anniversary celebration of the legendary BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 to be held the end of May and beginning of June. The SCORE Baja 500 is one of the top 10 motorsports events held annually in the world.

RIP ROARIN’ RPM

     With most built by and all prepped and maintained by the award-winning Geiser Brothers in their shop in Phoenix, Ariz., RPM Racing will have three vehicles in SCORE Trophy Truck, one in SCORE TT Legend, one in Trophy Truck Spec and one in the unlimited Class 1.

     The revving RPM racers will be led by 23-year old Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez.  Lopez, of Tecate, Mexico, has won the SCORE Overall season point championship two of the last three years and the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 900 horsepower unlimited production trucks for three consecutive years.

     Lopez has finished third place in SCORE Trophy Truck in San Felipe in each of the last three years of his magical run in the No. 1 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck in SCORE Trophy Truck.

     Price, of Canyon Lake, Calif., has a lengthy resume of short-course and motocross racing at just 25 years old, will be racing in the No. 204 RPM Chevy in the Trophy Truck Spec class as leader of an all-female team. It will be her first SCORE race as a driver of record.

     Stacy, 73 of Bristol, Va., is co-owner of RPM Racing and is the defending season point champion in the new SCORE TT Legend class for drivers over 50 years old in the No. 5L RPM Chevy Silverado.  The second driver in San Felipe for Stacy will be Germany’s veteran World Rally Championship racer Armin Schwarz who lives in Austria.

     Matney, 32 of Bristol, Tenn., is the other RPM owner and drives the No. 4 RPM 4-wheel drive Chevy Rally Truck in SCORE Trophy Truck.

     Apdaly’s father Juan C. Lopez, 43, also of Tecate Mexico, who split the driving with his son to win last year’s epic 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 peninsula race, will drive the No. 18 RPM Ford Raptor in SCORE Trophy Truck in San Felipe.

     The other team driver in San Felipe, RPM’s Derek Fletcher, 33 of Abingdon, Va., will be racing in the unlimited Class 1 in the No. 106 Chevy-powered Tatum open-wheel desert race car.

SCORE RULE BOOK UPDATE NOW ONLINE

     Under the supervision and direction of SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman, SCORE Race Director Jose A. Grijalva and SCORE Tech Director Dan Cornwell with editing and updating by SCORE Ops personnel Lawton Shank and Christine Wait, the 2018 SCORE Rule Book had been updated along with the 2018 Rule Book Addendum and is now online.

     All relevant items are available on the SCORE website under the race info page and the Addendum summarizes the additions and changes to the SCORE rule book starting with the 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship.

THREE DECADES-PLUS

     Celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the youngest of the three legendary SCORE Baja races, sometimes referred to as the SCORE ‘baby Baja’, entries are being accepted on the SCORE website under Race Info at www.SCOREInternational.com for Pro and Sportsman entries for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads.

     Pre-race festivities will be held in San Felipe on April 4, 5 and 6 with race days on Saturday, April 7-8 concluding with the post-race awards fiesta at10 a.m. PT on Sunday, April 8.

     The colorful pre-race contingency and Manufacturer’s Midway, the starting line and the finish line will be on the Malecon in the heart of San Felipe for the second straight year.

     The deadline to enter in time to be in the drawing for starting positions within each class is 8 p.m. PT on Tuesday, March 27.

     Motorcycles and quads will leave the start line first in the elapsed-time race, starting at 6:20 a.m. PT on Saturday. The car, truck and UTV classes will begin their journey at approximately 9:30 a.m. PT. While the fastest vehicles are expected to complete the course in just over five hours, all vehicles will have 16 hours from the time each starts to become an official finisher.

FAB FIVE

    While three racers have three overall victories in the SCORE San Felipe 250, Las Vegas’ Hall of Fame racer Rob MacCachren might have set a standard that will last for awhile, unless he breaks his own record of five overall and SCORE Trophy Truck wins this year.

     MacCachren, who won the overall in San Felipe last year to give him nine class wins in this race, earned his first SCORE Trophy Truck overall in this race in 2003 when he split the driving with Mexico’s Gustavo Vildosola Sr and his second in 2007 when he split the driving with Mark Post.

     MacCachren earned back-to-back wins in 2011 and 2012 driving solo and won his fifth last year driving solo again in his No. 11 MacCachren Motorsports Rockstar Ford F-150.

MORE SCORE TROPHY TRUCKS & SCORE TT LEGENDS

     SCORE Trophy Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 900-horsepower unlimited production trucks leads the early entry list with 17 vehicles (including four SCORE TT Legend entries) in the lineup so far. In addition to MacCachren, Apdaly Lopez, Matney and Juan C. Lopez, the other early SCORE Trophy Truck entries are Andy McMillin, National City, Calif. (No. 31 Chevy Silverado), Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif. (No. 16 Chevy Silverado), Billy Wilson, Corpus Christi, Texas (No. 15 Chevy Silverado), Dan McMillin, San Diego (No. 23 Ford F-150), Luke McMillin, San Diego (No. 83 Ford F-150), Robbie Pierce/Mike Julson, Alpine, Calif. (No. 30 Ford Raptor), Mark Post, Las Vegas (No. 3 Ford -150), Mike Lawrence, Banning, Calif. (No. 85 Ford F-150) and Chas Dana, Mesa, Ariz. (No. 39 Ford F-150).

     In addition to Stacy/Schwarz, the SCORE TT Legend field includes Gustavo Vildosola Sr, Mexicali, Mexico (No. 12L Ford Raptor), Rob Reinertson, Woodside, Calif. (No. 72L Ford F-150) and Sandy Hall, Culpeper, Va. (No. 90L Chevy Silverado).

BIG DEAL

     For over three decades, the annual motorsports festival that has brought the largest economic impact of any single event held annually in this lightly-populated portion of the rugged, rough and bountifully beautiful Baja peninsula has been the SCORE San Felipe 250.

ANOTHER GOLDEN YEAR

     Following last year’s epic celebration of the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000, this year’s SCORE World Desert Championship includes the special tribute to the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 when it is held this year in Ensenada on May 30-June 3.

     The SCORE Baja 500 is one of the top motorsports events in the world. It was started originally in 1969 by the NORRA organization. Mickey Thompson and his SCORE International organization were invited by the Mexican government to take over the event in 1974. Sal Fish ran and later owned and produced the SCORE Baja 500 for 39 years until he sold SCORE to Roger and Elise Norman in December of 2012. The first Baja 500 organized and produced by SCORE was held on July 26, 1974 as the first of over 150 SCORE Baja races that have been held to date.

     Ensenada is the heart and soul of the SCORE Baja 500 as the popular summertime race. It will start in Ensenada for the 45th time and finish in Ensenada for the 41st time.

SCOREscope

     Below is the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule. For the third consecutive year all four races are being held in Baja California, Mexico. Here is the complete 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:

32nd SCORE San Felipe 250, April 4-April 8, San Felipe, Mexico
50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500, May 30-June 3, Ensenada Mexico
Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge, Sept. 19-23, Tijuana, Mexico
51st SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.14-18, Ensenada, Mexico

SCORE SPONSORS…

     Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and official race title sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, 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, 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 State 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 at www.SCOREInternational.com.

SCORE San Felipe 250 Multiple Pro Class Winners (thru 2017)

Total…Driver/Rider(Years)

17

Jim O’Neal (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005(2), 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010(2), 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)

11

Eric Solorzano (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017)

9

Rob MacCachren (1995, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2017)

Donald Moss (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013)

8

Johnny Campbell (1992, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008)

Dan Smith (1984, 1990, 1991, 1992(2), 1996, 1997, 2002)

7

Eric Fisher (1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)

Adam Pfankuch (2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011)

6

Jeff Kaplan (1982, 2007, 2008, 2010(2), 2012)

Danny Ledezma (1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000)

Larry Roeseler (1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2007)

Gerardo Rojas (2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2014)

Gustavo Vildosola Jr. (1996, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2015)

5

Dave Ashley (1991, 1992(2), 1997, 2002)

Kevin Carr (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)

Brian Collins (1990, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009)

Richard Jackson (1984, 1990, 1996, 2000, 2014)

Curt LeDuc (1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2002)

Donald Lewis (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017)

Wayne Matlock (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017)

Colton Udall (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016)

Lobsam Yee (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008)

4

Chad Broughton (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016)

Carlos Casas (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)

David Flores (1996, 1997, 1998, 2004)

John Griffin (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)

Rod Hall (1982, 1983, 1984, 2008)

Danny Hamel (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995)

Elias Hanna (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017)

Steve Hengeveld (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)

Ed Herbst (1995, 1999, 2000, 2001)

Tim Herbst (1995, 1999, 2000, 2001)

Mike Horner (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007)

Mike Johnson (2009, 2011, 2013, 2016)

Jeff Lewis (1993, 1994, 1999, 2000)

Ricardo Malo (2000, 2003, 2008, 2012)

Tim Morton (1994, 1995, 1996, 2005)

Tom Neth (1982, 1984, 1990, 1991)

Cody Robinson (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)

Roberto Romo (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)

Francisco Septien (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014)

Darren Skilton (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)

Doug Smith (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012)

Tim Staab (1995, 1997, 1998, 2000)

Marc Stein (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999)

Craig Turner (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005)

Gustavo Vildosola (1996, 2003, 2013, 2017)

Dan Worley (1993, 1995, 2005, 2006)

3

Kay Awaad (2013, 2014, 2017)

John Baker (1983, 1984, 2004)

Victor Barajas (1995, 1997, 1998)

Robby Bell (2006, 2007, 2008)

Vic Bruckmann (1999, 2001, 2017)

Marc Burnett (2009, 2014, 2016)

Mike Cafro (2002, 2007, 2014)

Victor Cesena (2015, 2016, 2017)

Martin Christensen (1998, 2008, 2010)

Shane Esposito (2010, 2013, 2014)

Tony Gera (2014, 2015, 2016)

Luis Guevara (1994, 1996, 2003)

Jason Hatz (1998, 1999, 2004)

Brett Helm (2007, 2008, 2010)

John Holmes (2005, 2006, 2008)

Arturo Honold (2001, 2002, 2008)

Mike Lawrence (2009, 2012, 2013)

Scott McMillin (1983, 1984, 2005)

Perry McNeil (2002, 2003, 2007)

Bobby Neth (1982, 1984, 1990)

Kendall Norman (2006, 2007, 2009)

Steve Olliges (1992, 1994, 1996)

Larry Plank (1991, 1992, 2000)

Mark Post (1998, 2004, 2007)

Marc Prince (2012, 2013, 2015)

Larry Ragland (1984, 1991, 1995)

Joe Rice (2010, 2011, 2012)

Earl Roberts (1993, 2014, 2017)

Reid Rutherford (2009, 2012, 2014)

Jorge Sampietro (2015, 2016, 2017)

Gilberto Santana (1998, 1999, 2004)

Ben Schlimme (1992, 1994, 1999)

Larry Schwacofer (1983, 1984, 1990)

Francisco Servin (2007, 2008, 2013)

Gavin Skilton (2007, 2009, 2010)

Pete Sohren (1997, 2001, 2016)

Marc Spaeth (1996, 2007, 2008)

Scott Steinberger (1984, 1992, 1995)

Jason Trubey (2008, 2010, 2016)

Gustavo Vildosola Sr (2003, 2013, 2017)

Jerry Whelchel (1991, 1998, 2004)

Steve Williams (1995, 1996, 1997)

Ronny Wilson (!999, 2009, 2016)

Eli Yee (2002, 2003, 2004)

2

Aaron Ampudia (2014, 2016)

Danny Anderson (1998, 2005)

Ernesto Arambula (2005, 2006)

Misael Arambula (2015, 2017)

Eric Arras (1983, 1984)

Adolfo Arellano (2013, 2015)

John Braasch Jr. (1991, 1992)

Ricky Brabec (2013, 2014)

Pietro Brassea (2006, 2008)

Tom Brindell (1995, 1997)

Brandon Brown (2010, 2011)

Tom Brown (2004, 2005)

James Burman (2014, 2015)

Carmen Cafro (1995, 1999)

Dan Chamlee (2010, 2011)

Bill Church (1982, 1992)

Larry Connor (2014, 2015)

Dave Cua (2002, 2003)

Scott Douglas (1992, 1993)

Jim Dizney (1984, 2011)

Doug Eichner (1996, 2003)

Manny Esquerra (1982, 1990)

Josh Frederick (2005, 2012)

Bryan Freeman (2005, 2006)

Martin Garibay (1991, 1992)

Todd Gatrell (1983, 1996)

Robby Gordon (1990, 1996)

Bob Graham (2003, 2004)

Allan Gregory (2002, 2003)

John Gregory (2000, 2003)

Al Guzman (1991, 1992)

Chris Haines (1992, 1993)

Troy Herbst (2000, 2006)

Brian Ickler (2002, 2003)

Gerardo Iribe (2015, 2016)

Rudolfo Iribe (2012, 2013)

Chuck Johnson (1990, 1992)

Jack Johnson (1983, 1990)

Jesse Jones (2001, 2010)

Mike Julson (1983, 2001)

Steve Kelley (1982, 1984)

Jim Knorr (1996, 1998)

Alfonso Lacarra (1995, 1997)

Eduardo Laguna (2010, 2012)

Justin Matney (2011, 2014)

Corky McMillin (1983, 1984)

Scott Morris (1990, 1993)

Noah Ostanik (2011, 2017)

Ryan Penhall (2007, 2017)

Kurt Pfeifer (1982, 1984)

Stan Potter (2005, 2006)

Rob Ransford (2010, 2013)

Arnoldo Ramirez (2004, 2012)

Rob Reinertson (1998, 1999)

Daniel Reyes (2009, 2017)

Rich Richardson (1990, 1991)

Javier Robles (2014, 2016)

Doug Roll (1991, 1994)

David Ruvalcaba (2000, 2001)

Mark Samuels (2016, 2017)

Said Sanchez (2013, 2017)

Hector Sarabia (2005, 2013)

Armin Schwarz (2008, 2010)

George Seeley (1994, 2000)

Rich Severson (2004, 2005)

Rick Shirey (1982, 1991)

Doug Siewert (1998, 2001)

Paul Simon (1990, 1994)

Clive Skilton (2001, 2002)

Giovanni Spinali (2014, 2017)

Clyde Stacy (2011, 2012)

Rex Staten (1993, 1995)

Jimmy Stephensen (2001, 2002)

Jim Sumners (1982, 1983)

Nick Vanderwey (2006, 2007)

Roberto Villalobos (2013, 2015)

Dale White (1990, 1999)

Adam Wik (2005, 2006)

Mark Winkelman (2015, 2016)