Overall champions MacCachren, Troy Herbst, Gordon, Baldwin, Menzies, ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, Andy McMillin all seeking more glory during Golden Anniversary of BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500

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

May 17, 2018

Pre-running Opens Saturday

Overall champions MacCachren, Troy Herbst, Gordon, Baldwin,

Menzies, ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, Andy McMillin all seeking more glory

during Golden Anniversary of BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500

 

242 entries to date from 29 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico; host Mexico,

Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Spain;

Rd 2 of 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship May 29-June 3 in Ensenada, Mexico;

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

     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—Past overall race winners Rob MacCachren, Troy Herbst, Robby Gordon, B.J. Baldwin, Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez and Andy McMillin will be seeking more glory as they are among the entry field to date for the upcoming Golden Anniversary of the legendary BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500. With 15 overall SCORE Baja 500 wins between the seven of them, racers from around the world will converge on Baja California, Mexico when pre-running on the race-record 542.12-mile course opens on Saturday.

    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, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.

PRE-RUNNING

     Official practice, or pre-running, on the official race-record 542.12-mile course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 will open on Saturday. Pre-running will start at race mile 39.30 at Rancho Mezcal and that section from the start to race mile 39.30 may only be run outbound on Thursday and Friday of race-week. For safety reasons new trails will be used for the race course in the Ojos Negros area.

     GPS files, course notes and preliminary Racer’s Briefing are available on the race page on the SCORE website under race info.

DETAILS

     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 2) will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 3:30 a.m. (PDT) and approximately 8 a.m. (PDT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around 11 hours, all vehicles will have a 22-hour time limit from the time each starts to become an official finisher.

     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 CHAMPS

    With four of the champions all from Las Vegas, and all racing in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division in this year’s race, included on the entry list so far are former SCORE Baja 500 overall winners Rob MacCachren (1996), Troy Herbst (1996, 2002, 2003), Robby Gordon (1989, 1990, 2005 and 2013), B.J. Baldwin (2007), Bryce Menzies (2011, 2012, 2014), Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez (2015) and Andy McMillin (2010 and 2017).

     MacCachren, 53, Las Vegas, who opened the year by winning the SCORE San Felipe 250 and has five class wins in this race as well, drives the No. 11 Rockstar Energy MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-250 (Geiser builder).

     Troy Herbst, the youngest of the three racing Herbst brother at 53, has seven class wins in the SCORE Baja 500 including his three overall wins. He will drive this year in the No. 54 Monster Energy Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150 (Herbst-Smith).

     Gordon, 49, the SoCal transplant and former NASCAR and Indy Car racer who lives in Charlotte, N.C., has five class wins in this race, including his four overalls and pilots the No. 77 Speed Engergy Team Gordon Chevy Silverado (Custom).

     Baldwin, 38, also of Las Vegas, has one overall win in this race and will be driving the No. 97 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Toyota Tundra (ID).

     Mexico’s Lopez, 23, who became the first Mexican national to win this race overall in 2015 and is the reigning three-time SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion, drives the No. 1 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck (Geiser)

     The fourth Las Vegas racer in the group of former overall champions, Menzies, 30 won three overalls in four years and drives the No. 7 Red Bull Menzies Motorsports Ford Raptor (Geiser).

     Still recovering from a serious back injury in early April, splitting the driving with Menzies will be France’s international rally racer and five-time Dakar Rally-raid motorcycle champion Cyril Despres, 44, who has raced the last three years in Dakar in a Peugeot car.

      San Diego’s Andy McMillin, 30, last year’s overall winner, has three class wins in the SCORE Baja 500 including his two overall wins.  McMillin, a third-generation McMillin family racer is part of a family that has combined for 10 overall wins in this race.

THE COUNT

     The total of 242 entries to date have come from 29 U.S. States, U.S. Territory-Puerto Rico along with 12 total countries--host country Mexico, Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Peru and Spain.

     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, Rhode Island and Connecticut in the Northeast, Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota, Kansas and Texas in the Midwest and Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia in the South.

     Leading the entries so far is the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 950-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks with 35 official entries as of today.

     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.

     Other classes with double-figure entries so far besides SCORE Trophy Truck with 35 are Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 28 entries, Trophy Truck Spec with 23, Class 10 with 20, Sportsman Moto with 14, the unlimited Class 1 with 13, SCORE Lites with 13 also, and Class 1/2-1600 with 10.

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 8 p.m. (PDT) on Wednesday, May 23.

START ORDER/DRAW DEADLINE

     The starting order within each class for this race will start with the finishing order from this year’s 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. PDT on Wednesday, May 23. Late, on-site racer registration will be held on Wednesday, Thursday andFriday (May 29-30, June 1) in Ensenada.

RECORD LONG COURSE

     The Golden Anniversary course, designed and finalized by SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman and SCORE Race Director Jose A. Grijalva is an astounding race-record 542.12 miles. The course will run in a clockwise direction. The first and last 19.5 miles will be shared course outbound and inbound.

     Starting and finishing once again in the heart of Ensenada in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, it will quickly leave the pavement and head up the spectator-friendly Ensenada Arroyo for two miles as it heads out of town. Upwards of 50,000 spectators are expected to watch the race in that area alone.

     The historic race course is 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 3,000 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the mesmerizing, stark beauty of Baja California.

     This year’s anniversary course will have four physical checkpoints—Checkpoint No. 1-El Chinero, (Race Mile 174.20), Checkpoint No. 2-San Matias (RM 260.72), Checkpoint No. 3-Vicente Guerrero (RM 368.15) and Checkpoint No. 4-Santo Tomas (RM 466.83).

     Reflecting on the course, Grijalva commented, “This is going to be the roughest, toughest, longest and most spectacular SCORE Baja 500 race course in its 50 years of existence without exception.”

     Among the other towns, areas and landmarks the course goes through or near are Ensenada Arroyo, Ojos Negros, the Goat Trail, Valle de Trinidad, Diablo Dry Lake Bed, Las Cuevitas Wash, Mike’s Sky Rancho, Rancho El Coyote, Rancho Meling, Camalu, Colonet, Colonet Wash and Erendira .

COURSE MAP

     The official 542.12-mile course map is available on the SCORE website at the following link…http://score-international.com/raceinfo/2018-baja-500-course-map/.

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.

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, who has 17 class wins (including 10 overalls) in the SCORE Baja 500, 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 will turn 73 on June 4.

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 29-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, 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—542.12 miles–Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

Total Entries: 242 (as of 5/17/18)

(from 29 U.S. States, U.S. Territory-Puerto Rico and Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,

Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Spain)

 (numerical order, by class)

Pro Cars/Trucks/UTVs

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (35)

1 Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez

4 Justin Matney

*5L Clyde Stacy

6 Larry Connor

7 Bryce Menzies

10 Alan Ampudia

11 Rob MacCachren

*12L Gustavo Vildosola Sr

15 Billy Wilson

16 Cameron Steele

19 Tim Herbst

23 Dan McMillin

26 Dave Taylor

27 Jonathan Brenthel

18 Juan C. Lopez

30 Robbie Pierce

31 Andy McMillin

32 Ryan Arciero

40 Chris Miller

44 Jayson Strachan

45 Gary Magness

50 Zak Langley

54 Troy Herbst

56 Ruben Ledezma

57 Mike Palmer

60 Cole Potts

72 Aaron Ciliceo

*72L Rob Reinertson

77 Robby Gordon

*81L David Westhem

83 Luke McMillin

85 Mike Lawrence

87 Dallas Lutrell

95 Victor Gruber

97 B.J. Baldwin

*SCORE TT LEGEND

CLASS 1 (13)

100 Brian Wilson

106 Derek Fletcher

109 Tony Murray

114 Al Torres

127 Brian Parkhouse

129 Brandon Bailey

139 Jeff Sanca

150 Morgan Langley

153 Brad Wilson

155 Brad Vicic

168 Shelby Reid

185 Justin Davis

187 Ryan Sharman

TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (23)

200 Elias Hanna

204 Sara Price

208 Andrew Entwistle

210 Ted Moncure

211 Pat Sims

212 Case Swenson

225 Brian Trotter

232 Chelsea Magness

234 Jason McNeil

242 Bryce Swaim

243 Noah Ostanik

245 Mark Winkelman

250 John Langley

252 Gonzalo Pirron

266 Scott Biernot

267 Hammond Meredith

269 John Lehman

273 Jordan Brenthel

276 Gerardo Iribe

277 Rod Lewis

291 Rafael Navarro IV

295 William Hedrick Jr

CLASS 10 (20)

1002 Clay Lawrence

1008 Chase Warren

1011 Cesar Cuevas

1016 Hiram Duran

1022 Rafael Aguirre

1023 Broc Dickerson

1031 Brent Peterson

1036 Corey Goin

1040 Matt Rusich

1048 Kevin Price

1049 Ty Godde

1062 J.J. Schnarr

1066 Dave Mason Jr

1068 Cody Reid

10 71 Mike Lund

1072 Karl Ebdrup

1073 Richard Glaszczak

1078 Augie Cortez

1081 Todd Winslow

1088 Adam McCollum

HAMMER TRUCK UNLTD (1)

4422 Casey Currie

CLASS 8 (5)

802 Jared Adame

804 Jayson Walmsley

852 Spencer Morgan

869 Juan Carlos Calderon

894 Vincent Munoz

CLASS 1/2-1600 (10)

1603 Oscar Alvarez

1605 Miguel Cortez

1609 J. David Ruvalcaba

1613 Dana Jussila

1614 Bruce Yee

1621 Christopher Sanchez

1625 Eric Pavolka

1637 Daniel Pacheco

1644 Cesar Fiscal

1678 Gustavo Avina

SCORE LITES (13)

1202 Matias Arjona IV

1206 Freddie Willert

1206 Matt Ferrato

1208 Rich Roberts

1210 Luis Barragan

1212 Martin Lazarraga

1236 Guillermo Arteaga

1237 Jesus de la Torre

1238 Robert Illian

1240 Miguel Bonilla

1255 Darren Walsh

1257 Michael Cooper

1258 Jeremy Davis

CLASS 7 (2)

700 Dan Chamlee

709 Jeff Proctor

CLASS 5 (5)

501 Mark McNeil

507 Greg Sullivan

524 Ben Swift

525 Tony Steingraber

527 Dustin Grabowski

Pro UTV FI (28)

2900 Marc Burnett

2903 Juan Martinez

2904 Cory Sappington

2906 Phil Blurton

2910 Scott Trafton

2912 Tony Riggs

2915 Juan Olmos

2918 Justin Lambert

2919 Brandon Schueler

2920 Dan Eckardt

2922 Aldo Salazar

2924 Lacrecia Beurrier

2931 Craig Scanlon

2936 Jacob Carver

2937 Alex Nicholas

2940 Erick Kozin

2948 Matt Burroughs

2951 Robert Beuchat

2966 Rhys Millen

2967 Anthony Perez

2968 Christine Giampaoli Zonca

2971 Wayne Matlock

2975 Mike Cafro

2980 Rodney Pyburn

2981 Jesse Combs

2988 Jorge Vela

2989 Wes Miller

2995 Daniel Parker

Pro UTV (9)

1906 Mark Levrett

1954 Kristen Matlock

1955 Paul Champion

1958 George Felix

1962 Dodge Poelman

1966 Steve Nottoli

1985 Adrian Orellana

1995 Kaden Wells

1998 Don Whittington

Pro UTV UNL (2)

1867 Erik Davis

1898 Johnny Estes

CLASS 5-1600 (5)

557 Mario Ledezma

562 David Heredia

577 Luis Herrera

582 Rodolfo Martinez

596 Mark Winston

CLASS 7SX (1)

750 Sean Whalen

VINTAGE TRAILBLAZER (3)

V129 Peter Alesi Jr

V911 Timothy Vail

V800 Mario Alesi

CLASS 11 (7)

1104 Viry Felix

1111 Eric Solorzano

1113 Mario Vazquez

1149 Victor Esparza

1156 Art Penner

1164 John Marshall

1168 Robert Shanaberger

Sportsman

SPT UNLIMITED TRUCK (1)

1492 Mark Stevens

SPT BUGGY (1)

1516 Juan Naranjo

SPT UTV UNLIMITED (1)

1818 Jessalyn Farrington

SPT UTV STOCK FI (3)

39XX Shane Redline

3937 Brad Lovell

3986 Tomas Sallvin

SPT UTV STOCK NA (1)

3975 Torrey Rush

Pro Motorcycles

PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (8)

1x Shane Esposito

4x Santiago Creel

7x Justin Morgan

17x Wyatt Brittner

19x Scott Myers

66x Santiago Creel

69x Kenny Wilson

82x Tanner Dutton

PRO MOTO 40 (2)

400x Jano Montoya

402x Michael Wolff

PRO MOTO 30 (9)

300x Ryan Liebelt

301x Chris Kassity

303x Luis M. Gomez

323x Jaime Aguilar

333x Chad Thornton

357x Terrence Montelongo

360x Santiago Creel

365x Nick Lanning

377x Justin Hansen

PRO MOTO 50 (3)

506x Mark Adams

510x Giovanni Spinali

550 Bill Sekers

PRO MOTO LIMITED (3)

100x Santiago Creel

106x Philip Jaramillo

110x Carlos Miranda

PRO MOTO IRONMAN (7)

706x Kevin Daniels

714x Lawrence Janesky

721x Jose Carrasco

722x Liz Karcz

730x Francisco Septien

775x Tanner Janesky

799x Tomer Tal

PRO MOTO 60 (3)

602x Oscar Ochoa

608x Eizaburo Karaswa

649x Guy Laycraft

Pro Quads

Pro Quad (1)

1a Said Sanchez

Sportsman

SPT M/C (14)

201x R. Hank Salyer

210x Arturo Parada

213x Bradley Loveday

216x Luke Berlet

226x Jeremy Baker

232x Giovanni Perez

235x Brad Baker

236x Tadao Ezure

237x Bobby Wilbanks

238x Rolando Cabrera

247x Michael Boge

250x Alimirio Amado

275x Eric Saltzer

284x Shane Schorno

SPT QUAD (3)

123a Ismael Hernandez

148a Alejandro Amador

150a Richard Epperson