Voyles--SCORE Trophy-Truck, Jefferies--Class 1, Jensen--M/C
Draw pole positions for 38th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race
330 already entered for June 2-4 race in Ensenada, Mexico,
Round 3 of six-race 2006 SCORE Desert Series
Los Angeles, California (April 23, 2006)
Veteran desert racers Mike Voyles and Damen Jefferies along with newcomer Johnny Jensen (open motorcycles) all drew pole positions in their respective classes during Saturday's live drawing for starting positions in the upcoming 38th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
Round 3 of the six-race 2006 SCORE Desert Series, the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series, will feature over 400 entries, competing in 24 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, will be held June 2-4 in Ensenada, Mexico. Traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, over 150,000 spectators are expected to enjoy the world's best desert racers in action at this year's Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
Voyles lined up all the proverbial 7s' as he nervously drew the names during the special live drawing his race team hosted at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. Ironically, Pechanga is the title sponsor of the No. 62 Mike Voyles Racing Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck and Voyles lives in Temecula.
Jefferies, Oak Hills, Calif., was the 1997 SCORE Overall point champion and will lead the unlimited Class 1
In his Chevy-powered HMS open-wheel desert race car while Jensen, a rookie SCORE racer from San Diego, will lead the motorcycle classes in his Class 22 four-stroke Honda CRF450X.
"I was standing right next to Mike (Voyles) and his hand was shaking so hard when he drew the first card out of the barrel, I thought he might not get it out," said Sal Fish, SCORE President/CEO. "After he looked at the card with his name on it, I thought he was going to faint and almost couldn't even announce his name. I think it's very safe to say that excited would be an understatement. Even if he hadn't drawn the first start, he and his race team and his sponsor Pechanga Resort hosted a wonderful live drawing party for the 38th Tecate SCORE Baja 500. I am truly speechless regarding the huge number of entries we already have for the race and, if you know me, you know I've always got something to say."
Voyles, 43, a general contractor who has raced in several different classes and returned to desert racing in 2002 after a 14-year sabbatical to start a family and build his business, is looking forward to starting first with mixed emotions.
"I don't think all be able to sleep from now until the race is over," said Voyles. "You only dream for the opportunity to lead the field into the desert and we want to make the most of it. I'm in absolute total shock."
The busy evening included a raffle for the Malcolm Smith Foundation in the name of Chase Feldkamp, the 10-month old son of second-generation SCORE racer Buddy Feldkamp, who died tragically last month. After the raffle, SCORE's Sal Fish led a one-man plea that more than doubled the proceeds to nearly $10,000 for Smith's orphanage near Valle de Trinidad, Mexico.
The evening will also featured a special showing of trailers for two upcoming films that showcase SCORE desert racing, 'Dezert People DP4', and the new documentary film, 'Chasing the Horizon'.
With late entries excepted up to race morning, over 400 entries are expected from 23 U.S. States, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, France, Japan and New Zealand, the green flag will drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday (June 3) for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes two hours later at approximately 9 a.m. The race-record 327 that entered in time for Saturday's drawing represent 65 more than the previous record set last year with 262.
NASCAR team owner/driver Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., will defend his overall 4-wheel vehicle and SCORE Trophy-Truck crown as will last year's overall motorcycle and Class 22 winner Mike Childress, Wrightwood, Calif., who is racing this year for the American Honda A team with Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif., and Josh Frederick, Moapa, Nev., the defending Overall ATV champion.
Gordon, who will pull double duty by racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race the same weekend in Dover, Dela., has entered two trucks in the class. He will drive the No. 31 SCORE Trophy-Truck and Andy McMillin, a third-generation SCORE desert racer, is running the entire 2006 SCORE Desert Series schedule in the No. 83 Team Gordon Chevy CK1500.
As of today, the classes with the most entries are: Class 1 (41), SCORE Trophy-Truck, with a class-record 40, SCORE Lite, with a class record 32, and Class 1-2/1600 (26).
Drawing the first start in SCORE Lite was Jason Batulis, San Clemente, Calif., in a PrepByJake-VW, while on the pole in Class 1-2/1600 is Mario Gastelum, El Centro, Calif., in a Jorman-VW.
A total of 12 class winners from last year are entered so far, although three of them have switched classes. Besides Gordon, Childress and Frederick, other racers who will be back to defend the class titles are George Seeley, Glendale, Calif. (Class 5, unlimited VW Baja Bug), Danny Ledezma, Chula Vista, Calif. (Class 5/1600, 1600cc VW Baja Bug), Todd Wyllie, New River, Ariz. (Class 8, Chevy C1500), Eric Fisher, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 9, Garibay-VW) Lobsam Yee, Tijuana, Mexico (Class 10, Jimco-Honda) and Jim O'Neal, Chatsworth, Calif. (Class 40, Honda XR650R).
The three class winners from last year who have switched classes are: Andy McMillin, Poway, Calif. (from Class 1 to SCORE Trophy-Truck), Rob MacCachren/Bryan Freeman (MacCachren from Class 1-2/1600 to SCORE Trophy-Truck and Freeman to Protruck), and John Holmes, Olivenhain, Calif. (from Class 7S to Class 7SX).
O'Neal has won Class 40 for motorcycle riders over 40 years old for five straight years and Fisher has won Class 9 for three straight years in this summer classic.
Among the other early entries is venerable veteran Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., who has entered the Stock Mini class in a Hummer H3. Hall, 67, has 15 class wins in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and this will be his first appearance since he won his class in 1994. Hall's oldest son Josh, 44, will drive a Hummer H2 in the Stock Full class.
The starting line area will once again be adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Convention Center in downtown Ensenada, Mexico. The finish line will again be inside the Deportivo Antonio Palacios baseball stadium at 9th Street and Guadalupe Avenue in Ensenada. It is located approximately 1.5 miles east of the start line area. Vehicles will start in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race.
Pre-race festivities for the 38th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will center around the Riviera del Pacifico convention center in downtown Ensenada on Friday (June 2). Traditionally drawing approximately 50,000 spectators, the pre-race Manufacturer's Midway and display of every race vehicle will be held adjacent to the San Nicolas Hotel, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday (June 2). The post-race awards celebration will be held at the San Nicolas Hotel on Sunday (June 4) at 10 a.m.
The 2006 SCORE Desert Series includes the chase for the $50,000 Kartek Off-Road contingency bonus to be awarded to several qualified 2006 SCORE Class point champions.
The 2006 SCORE Desert Series also includes the hunt for the annual Toyota Milestone and $12,000 Toyota True Grit Awards. The prestigious Toyota Milestone Awards are presented to every racer who completes every required mile of every race in the 2006 SCORE Desert Series. The $12,000 Toyota True Grit purse is split among the SCORE season point champions who are also Toyota Milestone award winners in several non-factory-backed classes.
Current SCORE official 2006 sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/C.L. Bryant-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Airstar America-official space lighting provider. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Kartek Off-Road, Centrix Financial, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Suzuki, SignPros, Cotuco, Fideicomiso Publico para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2006 SCORE Desert Series at
www.score-international.com.
38th Annual TECATE SCORE BAJA 500
June 2-4, 2006--Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
DRAWING RESULTS (Held April 22)
Pechanga Resort/Casino-Temecula, California
Total Entries: 330
(from 23 States, Canada, Colombia, France, Japan, New Zealand & Mexico) (as of 4/23/06)
(By starting order within each class)
Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (40)
62 Mike Voyles
39 Ron Whitton
27 David Scaroni
7 Scott Steinberger
76 Jesse Jones
86 Josh Baldwin
88 Ryan Arciero
83 Andy McMillin
2 Pete Sohren
38 Garron Cadiente
53 Jeff Stowers
3 Mark Post
26 Chris Robinson
17 Carl Renezeder
20 Mike Julson
41 Roger Norman
97 B.J. Baldwin
1 Bob Shepard
32 Juan C. Ibarra
80 Chad Ragland
81 Mark Miller
21 Roger Gray
4 Gus Vildosola
52 John Herder
25 Enrique Legaspy
58 Frank Thing
28 Alan Pflueger
12 Brian Collins
31 Robby Gordon
11 Dale Dondel
16 Cameron Steele
5 Marty Coyne
72 Matt Scaroni
40 Chet Huffman
55 Luis Wallace
96 Bobby Baldwin
51 Kory Scheeler
15 Jim Beaver
19 Ed Herbst
75 Jerry Zaiden
CLASS 1 (41)
101 Damen Jefferies
102 Luis Ramirez Jr.
103 Josh Rigsby
104 Dale Ebberts
105 Jim Birmingham
106 Rick Wilson
107 Pat Dean
108 Richard Boyle
109 Danny Anderson
110 Lee Patten
111 Dan Myers
112 Troy Herbst
100 Mark McMillin
114 Kash Vessels
115 Brian Kirby
116 John Herder
117 Vincent DeJong
118 Eli Yee
119 Buddy Feldkamp
120 Steve Melton
121 Gary Weyhrich
122 Erick Murillo
123 Steve Sullivan
124 Dino Marquez
125 Joe Myers
126 Brian Parkhouse
127 Martin Christensen
128 Steve Sourapas
129 Raymond Potter
130 B.J. Richardson
131 Billy Robertson
132 Harley Letner
133 Cam Thieriot
134 Danny Ebberts
135 Randy Wilson
136 Chuck Hovey
137 Jamie Campbell
138 Rick Thomas
147 Jarrett Lemley
148 Todd Romano
149 Daniel Moore
CLASS 1-2/1600 (26)
1601 Mario Gastelum
1602 Brett Maurer
1603 Brian Burgess
1604 Max Hanberg
1605 Sammy Ehrenberg
1606 Carlos Bernaldez
1607 Adam Pfankuch
1608 Max Thieriot
1609 Craig Forrest
1610 Mike Sandoval
1611 Joe Barboa
1612 Ed Bonanni
1613 John Manring
1614 Rodrigo Ampudia Jr.
1615 Ray Files
1616 Daniel McMillin
1617 Brent Parkhouse
1618 Arturo Velazco
1619 David Caspino
1600 Caleb Gaddis
1621 Art Navarro
1645 Gerardo Iribe
1646 Edgar Alvarez
1647 Daniel Lopez
1648 Eric Duran
1649 Rick Battey
CLASS 3 (1)
300 Donald Moss
CLASS 5 (5)
501 David Bonner
502 George Seeley
503 Drew Belk
578 Luivan Voelker
579 Kevin Carr
CLASS 5/1600 (9)
551 Chad Mayernick
552 Danny Ledezma
553 James Tedford
554 Brent Shermak
555 Richard Garavito
556 Ruben Garcia
577 Ernesto Arambula
550 Marcos Nunez
579 Mark McAnelly
CLASS 7 (4)
701 Dan Chamlee
702 Andy Grider
703 Victor Herrera Jr.
704 Scott Brady
CLASS 7S (2)
721 Javier Avila
739 Nick Moncure
CLASS 7SX (6)
741 Dan Street Jr.
742 Heidi Steele
743 Jesse Rodriguez
757 John Holmes
758 Noe Sierra
759 Jeff Lloyd
CLASS 8 (5)
801 Nick Vanderwey
802 Glen Greer
803 Dave Raimonde
800 Todd Wyllie
839 Kurtis Kupiec
CLASS 9 (6)
901 David Boss
902 Sigal Greenberg
946 Joe Castrey
900 Eric Fisher
948 Ramon Castro
949 John Scharf
CLASS 10 (12)
1001 Brian Etter
1002 Mark Weger
1003 Mark Hutchins
1004 Ron Dalke
1005 Todd Elam
1006 Carlos Cortez
1007 Will Higman
1008 Darren Hardesty
1009 Trevor Scherrer
1010 Lobsam Yee
1000 John Cooley
1049 Billy Gasper
SCORE LITE (32)
1201 Jason Batulis
1202 Mike Belk
1203 Matt Drever
1204 Red Burgin
1205 Rich Roberts
1206 Craig Brabant
1207 Vic Bruckmann
1208 David Callaway
1209 Hector Garcia
1210 Ken Stroud
1211 John Kawell
1212 Rick St. John
1213 Mitch Mitchell
1214 Jim Greenway
1215 Greg Gustin
1216 David Willey
1217 Dwayne Reinert
1218 Bob Bingham
1219 Stan Potter
1220 Greg Foster
1221 Chuck Sacks
1222 Richard Cassey
1223 Mike Halliday
1224 Tito Tapia
1225 Matt Cullen
1200 Tim Noe
1227 Cameron Steele
1228 Randy Ross
1229 Joe Bednar
1247 Ruben Gutierrez
1248 Michael Deardoff
1249 James Marquez
CLASS 11 (3)
1100 Eric Solorzano
1148 Shelby Stahler
1149 Jason Gutzmer
STOCK FULL (2)
861 Josh Hall
860 John Griffin
STOCK MINI (2)
778 Gavin Skilton
779 Rod Hall
PROTRUCK (13)
245 Chris Lucas
203 James Wasson
222 J.R. Stanley
260 Darren York
230 Robbie Pierce
234 Rob Reinertson
215 Cody Swanty
235 Jason Voss
226 Al Hogan
240 Rob Kittleson
236 Rick L. Johnson
204 Gus Vildosola Jr.
250 Gary Magness
CLASS 17 (2)
1701 Bob Land
1702 Bill Zolg
PRO MOTORCYCLES
CLASS 22 (11)
2x Johnny Jensen
3x Chris Gunnett
4x Robert Barnum
5x Rick Williams
6x Robby Bell
7x Micer Barrara
8x Gary Cluff
9x Scott Thompson
10x Jesse Sharpe
11x Jon Ortner
1x Steve Hengeveld
CLASS 20 (1)
151x Chad Erl
CLASS 21 (7)
101x Brett Helms
102x Kevin Johnson
103x Octavio Ascolani
104x Marco Bernaldez
105x Chris Parker
106x Shaun Hanson
100x Jason Trubey
CLASS 30 (14)
301x Brian Pinard
302x Robert Barnum
303x Scott Johnson
304x Kevin Smith
305x George Hecker
306x Rick Curtis
307x Matt Engstler
308x Kevin Curtis
309x Dale Mcue
310x Corey Keysar
311x Baron Pickett
312x Robert Gustine
313x Ron Wilson
314x Steve Trinies
CLASS 40 (9)
401x Jim Buckingham
402x Brian Schmuckle
403x Michael Laenger
404x Larry Gross
405x David Rentfro
406x Gwin Vaughn
407x Kevin Gould
408x David McKay
400x Jim O'Neal
CLASS 50 (3)
501x Tim Savin
500x Jim O'Neal
503x Doug Smith
PRO ATVs
CLASS 25 (11)
2a John Padgett
3a Alex Camanini
1a Josh Frederick
5a Wayne Matlock
6a Francisco Ruano
7a Robert Ulloa
8a Dean Sundahl
9a Jeff Hancock
10a Danny Prather
11a Nick Nelson
49a Kyle Needham
SPORTSMAN
SPT CAR (3)
1401 Heather Bonnani
1402 Peter Lang
1403 Rob Caveney
SPT TRUCK (4)
1500 Mark Growe
1501 Ray Schooley
1502 Marshall Madruga
1549 Matt Torian
SPT M/C (2)
201x Cody Ard
202x Kurt Steffien
SPT M/C (43)
251x Morgan Harris
252x Mike Kunz
253x Mike Crawford
254x Carlos Gonzalez
255x Eugene Lane
256x Ed Bowen
257x Kris McDonald
258x Thomas Cushman
259x Jeff Leonard
260x Scott Mills
261x Tom LaJoie
262x Greg Stevenson
263x Jeffrey Crochiere
264x Adam McCamish
265x Robert Corder
266x Charlie Wilson
267x Kevin Krasner
268x James Kabisch
269x Alastair Hilson
270x Thierry Mas
271x Alan Casner
272x Robert Gumser
273x Luis Manzano
274x Chris Guzman
275x Lance Kane
276x Yoshiori Sato
277x Michael Mannsberger
278x John Jamison
279x Dan Roush
280x Rey Heredia
281x Dave Donaldson
282x Aaron Dodson
283x Steve Soto
284x Nate Scott
285x Bill Gilbert
292x Marc Ebdrup
293x Simon Edwards
294x Mark Hellwig
295x Glen McGuire
296x Matt Watson
297x Brady Van Matre
298x David Edwards
299x Brian Matthews
SPT ATV (11)
51a Stefano Caputo
52a Stephen Babiarz
53a Jason Stratton
54a Brian Meurs
55a Oswaldo Walle
56a Craig Christy
57a John Nores
58a Jose Escudero
97a Joseph Field
98a Scott Ferguson
99a Jason Wade
