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Cadiente in SCORE
Trophy-Truck, Bell in Motorcycle draw
Pole positions for 40th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
desert race
Racers from 37 States, 11 countries entered
in internationally-televised
40th anniversary of Granddaddy of all desert
races;
Peninsula run Nov. 10-16 in Mexico from
Ensenada, Baja California to Cabo San Lucas,
Baja California Sur
LOS ANGELES—If Saturday's
‘live’ drawing for starting positions is any
indication, November's 40th Annual Tecate SCORE
Baja 1000 desert race should be another one for
the ages. Garron Cadiente in SCORE Trophy-Truck
and Robby Bell in Class 22 for open motorcycles
drew the pole positions for the legendary
granddaddy of all desert races. This year’s
odyssey of nearly 1,300 miles will be a grueling
and memorable adventure down Mexico’s mysterious
Baja California peninsula starting in Ensenada,
Baja California and finishing in Cabo San Lucas,
Baja California, Sur. It will be held Nov.
10-16.
An amazing total of 326 vehicles officially entered in
time for Saturday’s live drawing for starting
positions, by class, held during the RACEfest at
the Lake Elsinore (Calif.) Hotel/Casino and
presented by the Cameron Steele’s Desert
Assassins race team.
This year’s memorable adventure will cover nearly 1,300
miles of the rugged and tortuous Baja California
peninsula, starting on the Pacific Ocean side
and stretching across and down the majestic
peninsula to the Sea of Cortez side, back to the
Pacific before winding down to the finish line
on the southernmost tip of Baja.
Over 400 entries from 40 U.S. States and 15 countries,
competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for
cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs will be part
of this year’s 40th anniversary tribute to the
world’s richest and most famous desert race. The
granddaddy of all desert races is the
season-finale of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert
Series, the world’s foremost desert racing
series.
“The Lake Elsinore Hotel/Casino and the Desert
Assassins race team hosted a great event to
honor our drawing for the Tecate SCORE Baja
1000,” said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO and President.
“The place was packed and there was still plenty
of food and refreshments to go around. It was a
tremendous start for what promises to be another
memorable chapter in the history of the world’s
greatest desert race.”
With massive crowds reaching over 300,000 anticipated
to again be spread out along the point-to-point
race course, the race will start for the 33rd
time in Ensenada and will finish for only the
second time in Cabo San Lucas.
The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey
at 6:30 a.m. (Tuesday, Nov. 13) with the car and
truck classes starting at approximately 10:30
a.m., or three hours after the last ATV leaves
the line. The starting line will be on Blvd. Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico
Cultural Center in Ensenada. Vehicles will leave
in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race
and while the fastest finishers are expected to
complete the course in approximately 22 hours.
The finish line area in Cabo San Lucas will be inside
the Campos de Futbol “Yenecamu” soccer fields
next to the Villa del Palmar Resort, the
official SCORE race headquarters. The SCORE
Media Center and SCORE Race Operations will both
be located at the Villa del Palmar. Passing
times from all BFG Tires pit locations, of all
vehicles, will be posted there as well to assist
in monitoring the race progress.
Cadiente, 31, of Mesa, Ariz., was the 2006 SCORE Rookie of the
year and is third in this year’s SCORE
Trophy-Truck season point standings after
winning the recent SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 in
the No. 38 G&R Racing Ford F-150. The drawing
featured 32 entries in the SCORE Trophy-Truck,
the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech,
800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks.
Bell, 21, Sun City, Calif., will lead 22 entries (to
date) in Class 22 for open motorcycles on the
No. 1x American Honda factory Honda XR650R. His
talented teammates are Kendall Norman, Santa
Barbara, Calif., Johnny Campbell, San Clemente,
Calif. and Steve Hengeveld, Hesperia, Calif.
Drawing the first start in the ATV classes was the
championship team led by Danny Prather, 27,
Ramona, Calif., who will ride the No. 1a
American Honda factory Honda TRX450R in Class
25. His teammates are Mike Cafro, Bonsall,
Calif., Levi Marana, Ramona, Calif., and Marc
Speath, Warner Springs, Calif.
NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner/driver Robby Gordon,
Charlotte, N.C., whose roots are in SCORE desert
racing, drew the fourth starting position in
SCORE Trophy-Truck in the Team Gordon No. 71
Chevy CK1500. Gordon, , will again pull
double-duty, driving the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
before flying to Homestead, Fla., to race in the
NASCAR Nextel Cup season finale.
Among the other cross-over racers who are entered so
far include World Rally champion Armin Schwarz,
former IndyCar star Danny Sullivan and
actor/racer Patrick Dempsey, star of the ABC TV
hit show ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’
Pre-race festivities on Monday, Nov. 12, for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, including tech and
contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway
will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. adjacent the
San Nicolas Hotel, the official SCORE race
headquarters in Ensenada. The pre-race
mandatory driver/rider briefing will be held
Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Riviera del Pacifico
Cultural Center. Racer registration will be held
at the San Nicolas from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on
Sunday, Nov. 11 and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on
Monday, Nov. 12.
While entries will be accepted up to race morning (Nov.
13), late entries will be assigned the next
available number and starting position within
each class.
The post-race Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Survivor’s
Celebration will be held during the SCORE Fiesta
in at the Playa Cascadas (adjacent to the Villa
del Palmar) at noon on Friday, Nov. 16.
Besides the Cadiente and Gordon, other entries in the
marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division include Las
Vegas brothers Tim and Ed Herbst (No. 19-Ford
F-150), B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas (1-Chevy
Silverado), Mexico's Gus Vildosola/Gus Vildosola
Jr. (4-Ford F-150), Honolulu’s Alan Pflueger/Rick
Johnson, Encinitas, Calif. (28-Chevy Silverado),
Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz./Brian Collins,
Las Vegas (12-Chevy Silverado), Josh Baldwin,
Newport Beach, Calif. (86-Ford F-150), Mark
Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Rob MacCachren,
Las Vegas (3-Ford F-150), Ryan Arciero, Foothill
Ranch, Calif./Bob Shepard, Phoenix (82-Chevy
Silverado), Pete Sohren, Glendale, Ariz. (2-Ford
F-150), Chad Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz./Danny
Sullivan, Aspen, Colo. (33-Toyota Tundra),
Garron Cadiente, Phoenix (38-Ford F-150), Damen
Jefferies, Oak Hills, Calif./Steve Sourapas,
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (22-Chevy Silverado),
Dave Sykes, Del Mar, Calif./Scott Steinberger,
Cypress, Calif. (7-Ford F-150), Jesse Jones,
Phoenix (76-Ford F-150), Japan's Ikuo Hanawa
(14-Toyota Tundra), Todd Wyllie, New River,
Ariz. (85-Chevy Silverado), Travis Coyne, El
Centro, Calif. (77-Ford F-150), Cameron Steele,
San Clemente, Calif. (16-Ford F-150), Bobby
Baldwin, Las Vegas (96-Chevy Silverado), and
brothers David and Matt Scaroni, Heber, Calif.
(27-Ford F-150).
In his first full season in the SCORE Desert Series, TV
personality Jesse James, of Monster Garage fame,
will drive his new No. 54 Chevy Silverado SCORE
Trophy-Truck.
The four-wheel vehicle classes with the most
entries in the drawing were SCORE Trophy-Truck
(31), Class 1 (28), Class 5/1600 and Baja
Challenge (18 each), Class 1-2/1600 (17), SCORE Lite (15), and Protruck (11).
The motorcycle classes with the most entries in the drawing
were: Class 22 (22) and Class 40 (11).
Leading the six Sportsman classes in the race is
Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc which had a
race-record 38 entries in the drawing.
Drawing first start in Class 1 were brothers Gary Weyhrich, 40, and Mark Weyhrich, 37, Troutdale,
Ore., in a Jimco-Chevy. Drawing first in Class
5/1600 was Darren Walsh, 39, Long Beach, Calif.,
in a VW Baja Bug while first off in the special
Baja Challenge class will be Mark Zajec, 40,
Rocklin, Calif., in a Subaru-powered Baja
touring car.
First start in Class 1-2/1600 will be Sparky Wilbur, 51,
Huntington Beach, Calif., Jimco-VW, while first
start in SCORE Lite went to Craig Brabant, 45,
Hesperia, Calif., in a Dunrite-VW. First
start in Protruck will be Joe Bednar, 45, Augora
Hills, Calif., in a Chevy Silverado.
Sportscaster Cameron Steele, 39, San Clemente, Calif.,
who hosted the two-day drawing festival, has
once again entered in three classes. He will
drive the No. 16 Desert Assassins Cadillac
Escalade in SCORE Trophy-Truck, the Desert
Assassin-VW in SCORE Lite and is also rider of
record on the Desert Assassins Honda XR650R in
Class 22.
Also among the Class 1 entries is the team of Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, Calif./Troy Herbst, Las
Vegas, who will be going for a record fourth
consecutive Class 1 victory in the Tecate SCORE
Baja 1000 in a Smithbuilt-Ford. They drew the
seventh starting position in their class.
Among the other early entries are Rod Hall, Reno, Nev.,
and Ron Bishop, Escondido, the only two
individuals who have raced in all 39 previous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races.
The legendary Hall, 69, of Reno, Nev., has a
race-record 18 career class wins in this race
and is the only driver to have competed every
year in a car or truck class. Hall returns this
year as the defending season point champion in a
Hummer H3 in the Stock Mini class. His son’s
Chad and Josh will complete the Team Hummer
entry, each driving different Hummers in the
Stock Full Class.
Bishop, 64, who will lead a five-rider team as rider of
record this year in Class 22, is the only racer
who has competed every year on a motorcycle. He
will be racing on a KTM 525XC motorcycle.
The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 race course will be marked
and open for pre-running on Saturday, October
13th.
It’s the oldest and most well known of all desert
races, and it remains as the single most
appealing accomplishment to a driver. Since
1967, the mother of all desert races has been
run over the mysterious Baja California
peninsula.
This year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be
televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC
Sports special for the fourth consecutive year,
airing on Dec. 30 on the NBC Television Network.
It will also air on a delayed basis outside of
the U.S. on ESPN International.
In addition to the ‘live’ SCORE race drawing, other
activities in the two-day RACEfest included a
Freestyle Motocross Demonstration, a SCORE Pit
Crew Challenge, a Texas Hold ‘em Poker
Tournament, Pool Party, the Blue C Trophy-Lite
Challenge, a Silent Auction and live music.
Proceeds from the two-day SCORE Fiesta are going
to the Chris Ackerman Foundation.
In addition to appearances by several of SCORE’s top
drivers and riders and their incredible
desert-racing machines, the festivities started
on Friday night with the Unbound energy drink
Freestyle MX show, presented by Quality Toyota
of Corona, Calif., silent auction, and live
music. Appearing at the Freestyle show were and
Brian Deegan’s Metal Mulisha team and Kyle
Loza’s Riders for Christ.
Saturday’s activities started with Kettle One/ Lake
Elsinore Casino sponsored brunch and continued
with the Blue C Enthusiast Advertising
Champion’s Challenge where more than a dozen top
SCORE desert racers raced individually, one lap,
for times. The afternoon included the Yokohama
Pit Crew Challenge.
During the drawing there was a luncheon for racers and
their families catered by Wahoo’s Fish Tacos.
The live SCORE drawing, which featured the second-most
entries in race history, was presented by Lucas
Oil.
Five full entries into this year’s 40th Tecate SCORE
Baja 1000 were given away on Saturday, courtesy
of Blue C Enthusiast Advertising (Mike
Childress-Protruck), Yokohama Tire (Cameron
Steele-SCORE Lite), Lake Elsinore Casino (Pete
Sohren-SCORE Trophy-Truck), baja.net (Scott
Bloom-Class 22) and Lucas Oil Products (Ed
Stout-SCORE Trophy-Truck. The winners had to be
present and already entered in the race.
Additional sponsors providing product and prizes on
Saturday are Bosch Power Tools, American Racing
ATX Wheels, Camburg Engineering and Wahoo’s Fish
Tacos.
The top driver in the Poker Tournament was Pete Sohren
while winning the Blue C Champion’s Challenge
was Mike Childress (29.15 seconds) with Harley
Letner second (29.97) and Darren Hardesty third
(30.00). On the podium in the Yokohama
SCORE Pit Crew Challenge were the teams led by
the winning Cameron Steele (5 minutes, 26
seconds) and runner-up Matt Scaroni (6 minutes,
34 seconds).
Ruben Gutierrez, who races in Class 5/1600, won a
random drawing for a $3,000 product package from Camburg Engineering.
The 2007 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase
for the $75,000 Kartek Off-Road contingency
bonus to be awarded to several 2007 SCORE Class
point champions along with the run for the
$12,000 Toyota True Grit and Toyota Milestone
Awards.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich
Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant
Petroleum-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official
shock, Volkswagen-official vehicle, Instant
Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto
insurance, American Racing ATX Series-official
wheel, Slime-official tire sealant, Airstar
America-official space lighting provider, Red
Bull--official energy drink and Bosch Power
Tools-official power tool. Associate sponsors
are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas
Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C
Communications, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite,
Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, NAPA Chassis,
SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s
Performance Products and Advanced Color
Graphics.
40th Annual Tecate
SCORE Baja 1000
Nov. 10-16, 2007—Final round of six-race 2007
SCORE Desert Series
Ensenada, Baja California, to Cabo San Lucas, BC
Sur, Mexico
Live Start Draw Results held Sept. 22 at Lake
Elsinore Casino
PRO ATVS
CLASS 25 (8)
1a Danny Prather
2a Josh Row
3a Javier Beltran
4a Jerry Cook
5a Wayne Matlock
6a Cody Mitchell
7a Carmen Cafro
8a Jeff Hancock
SPT UTV (2)
1801 Jim Creagan
1802 Sean Creagan
SPT ATV (9)
51a Anthony Baker
52a Reid Rutherford
53a Craig Christy
54a John Corwley
55a Mike Penland
56a JV Lattimore
97a Shawn Robins
98a Mark Lindsay
99a Joao de Barros
For more information, contact SCORE at its
Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit
the official website of the SCORE Desert Series
at
www.score-international.com.
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