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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