Early entries from 21 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, six countries for 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500

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

May 4, 2018

May 29-June 3 this year

Early entries from 21 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico,

six countries for 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500  

 

91 early entries from USA, Puerto Rico; host Mexico, Argentina, Canada, Italy,

New Zealand for Round 2 of four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship;

more Golden Anniversary info at http://score-international.com/raceinfo/2018-baja-500/

     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—As would be expected for a celebration of this magnitude, early entries have come from 20 U.S. States, one U.S. Territory and six countries for the upcoming golden anniversary of the legendary BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500. Round 2 of the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held May 29-June 3.

     The celebratory internationally-televised race will start and finish in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.

     Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s celebration of the golden anniversary of one of the top 10 motorsports events in the entire world.

     It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday (June 3) will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 5:30 a.m. (PDT) and approximately 10 a.m. (PDT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs.

     Over 350 vehicles, in classes for cars, trucks, utvs, motorcycles and quads, are expected at the start line with racers from as many as 30 U.S. States and 20 countries anticipated.

     Race title sponsor BFGoodrich Tires has posted a US$25,000 contingency bonus to help commemorate this year’s race.

THE COUNT

     The total of 91 entries to date have come from 21 States in the U.S.A., U.S. Territory-Puerto Rico along with host country Mexico, Argentina, Canada, Italy and New Zealand.

     States among the field range so far from California, Washington and Oregon in the Pacific West, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico in the Mountain West, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in the Northeast, Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota, Kansas and Texas in the Midwest and North Carolina and Tennessee in the South.

     Leading the early entries is the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 900-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks with 17 official entries as of today.

     Included on the early entry list in SCORE Trophy Truck are former SCORE Baja 500 overall winners Rob MacCachren (1996), Robby Gordon (1989, 1990, 2005 and 2013) and Andy McMillin (2010 and 2017).

     SCORE Trophy Truck, in its 25th year as the featured racing division in the sport, have been the overall winners of the SCORE Baja 500 for the last eight consecutive years and 13 of the last 14.

ONLINE RACER REGISTRATION

     Online registration, by class, for Pro and Sportsman entries, is ongoing through the SCORE website. Information on all SCORE races can be found on the home page under the Race Info tab.

     For more info, visit http://score-international.com/raceinfo/2018-baja-500/.

     Official entries received after the drawing will be given the next available starting position within their respective classes. Online entries will be accepted until 10 p.m. (PDT) on Wednesday, May 23.

GRAN HISTORIA

     Following last year’s epic celebration of the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000, this year’s SCORE World Desert Championship spotlights the special tribute to the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500.

     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.

     This year will be the 45th time the race has started and 41st time it will finish in Ensenada, the off-road capital of the world.

START ORDER/DRAW DEADLINE

     The starting order within each class for this race will start with the finishing order from the recent SCORE San Felipe 250, if the individual entry is received by Monday, May 21 and paid in full by May 23. For racers who were DNFs in San Felipe but enter by the deadline, a special drawing will be held for them prior to the other entries that come in for each class.

     The deadline for those that raced in San Felipe to activate their reserved start position is 8 p.m. PDT on Monday, May 21. Deadline for all additional entries to be included in the drawing for starting positions is on 8 p.m. PDT Wednesday, May 23.  The results of the drawing, to determine the remainder of the start order within each class, will be held announced on Friday, May 25.

     No new entries will be accepted after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23. Late, on-site racer registration will be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (May 29-30, June 1).

PRE-RUNNING

     Official practice, or pre-running, on the official race course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 will begin on Saturday, May 19.

MAIN COURSE

    The race will feature a course, when finalized over the next couple of weeks by SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman along with Race Director Jose A. Grijalva of approximately 510 miles.

     When completed, the historic race course will be 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 over 4,000 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California.

GRANDEST CO-GRAND MARSHALS

     Legendary Hall of Fame former SCORE owner Sal Fish will join Hall of Fame retired racer Ivan Stewart as co-Grand Marshals for the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500.

     Fish, the ‘godfather’ of desert racing who ran SCORE from its Baja start in 1974 for 38 years through the end of the 2012 season joins the iconic ‘Ironman’ Stewart  to share duties for the special golden anniversary race that they both have been such a major part of over the years.

     Fish, who turned 79 on May 2 and Stewart who will turn 73 on June 4, will both be active parts of the celebration of the popular early summer race.

     Gracious as always, Fish returns to SCORE for another celebration after being Grand Marshal of last November’s spectacular 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000.

    Racing since 1973, Stewart joined the Toyota factory team in 1983 for Cal Wells at Precision Preparation Inc. (PPI). He had a total of 84 career off-road race victories in stadium, short course and desert. Stewart had17 SCORE Baja 500 class wins (including 10 SCORE Baja 500 overall wins).

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, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel, 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.

50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500

May 29-June 3, 2018—510 miles –Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

Total Entries: 91 (as of 5/04/18)

(from 21 U.S. States, U.S. Territory-Puerto Rico and Argentina, Canada, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand)

(numerical order, by class)

Pro Cars/Trucks/UTVs

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (17)

6 Larry Connor

11 Rob MacCachren

*12L Gustavo Vildosola Sr

15 Billy Wilson

23 Dan McMillin

27 Jonathan Brenthel

30 Robbie Pierce

31 Andy McMillin

45 Gary Magness

60 Cole Potts

72 Aaron Ciliceo

*72L Rob Reinertson

77 Robby Gordon

83 Luke McMillin

85 Mike Lawrence

87 Dallas Lutrell

95 Victor Gruber

*SCORE TT LEGEND

CLASS 1 (4)

129 Brandon Bailey

139 Jeff Sanca

168 Shelby Reid

185 Justin Davis

TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (8)

208 Andrew Entwistle

210 Ted Moncure

212 Case Swenson

225 Brian Trotter

232 Chelsea Magness

266 Scott Biernot

269 John Lehman

273 Jordan Brenthel

CLASS 10 (7)

1002 Clay Lawrence

1040 Matt Rusich

1062 J.J. Schnarr

1068 Cody Reid

1073 Richard Glaszczak

1078 Augie Cortez

1088 Adam McCollum

CLASS 8 (1)

852 Spencer Morgan

CLASS 1/2-1600 (1)

1625 Eric Pavolka

SCORE LITES (4)

1202 Matias Arjona IV

1238 Robert Illian

1240 Miguel Bonilla

1258 Jeremy Davis

CLASS 7 (1)

709 Jeff Proctor

CLASS 5 (2)

501 Mark McNeil

507 Greg Sullivan

Pro UTV FI (9)

2900 Marc Burnett

2906 Phil Blurton

2912 Tony Riggs

2920 Dan Eckardt

2922 Aldo Salazar

2924 Lacrecia Beurrier

2975 Mike Cafro

2981 Jesse Combs

2995 Daniel Parker

Pro UTV (5)

1906 Mark Levrett

1962 Dodge Poelman

1966 Steve Nottoli

1985 Adrian Orellana

1995 Kaden Wells

CLASS 5-1600 (2)

562 David Heredia

596 Mark Winston

CLASS 11 (3)

1111 Eric Solorzano

1156 Art Penner

1164 John Marshall

VINTAGE TRAILBLAZER (1)

V911 Timothy Vail

Sportsman

SPT UNLIMITED TRUCK (1)

1492 Mark Stevens

SPT STOCK UTV NA (1)

3975 Torrey Rush

Pro Motorcycles

PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (5)

4x Santiago Creel

17x Wyatt Brittner

19x Scott Myers

66x Santiago Creel

69x Kenny Wilson

PRO MOTO 40 (1)

402x Michael Wolff

PRO MOTO 30 (2)

360x Santiago Creel

377x Justin Hansen

PRO MOTO 50 (2)

506x Mark Adams

510x Giovanni Spinali

PRO MOTO LIMITED (1)

100x Santiago Creel

PRO MOTO IRONMAN (5)

714x Lawrence Janesky

722x Liz Karcz

730x Francisco Septien

775x Tanner Janesky

799x Tomer Tal

PRO MOTO 60 (1)

602x Oscar Ochoa

Pro Quads

Pro Quad (1)

1a Said Sanchez

Sportsman

SPT M/C (5)

235x Brad Baker

210x Arturo Parada

226x Jeremy Baker

237x Bobby Wilbanks

250x Alimirio Amado

SPT QUAD (1)

123a Ismael Hernandez