LOS ANGELES—Saturday’s LIVE drawing for starting positions for November’s 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will highlight a special open-house at the newest Off Road Warehouse facility in Temecula, Calif.
The SCORE Baja 1000 day at the Off Road Warehouse in Temecula will run from Noon until 5 p.m. and the actual live drawing will be held for start positions, by class, at 2 p.m.
Open to the public at no charge the special day at the store, located at 26901 Jefferson Avenue (just north of the Winchester exit on I-15), will include a bar-b-que, a pit crew competition, vendor’s village, along with appearances by several of the top SCORE desert racers and numerous SCORE desert racing vehicles on display. There will also be special showings of official SCORE Baja race DVDs produced by Aura360 along with a raffle for Coco’s Corner and another for Baja Pits.
With over 300 entries expected from over 30 U.S. States and more than 15 countries expected to compete in 28 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, the granddaddy of all desert races will be held Nov. 19-23 in Ensenada, Mexico. Completing its 35th year as the World’s foremost desert racing sanctioning body, the event is the finale of the five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series.
While late entries are expected up to race day, nearly 250 entries are expected in time for Saturday’s live start drawing.
A unique part of Saturday’s drawing will be the special drawing for the top 10 finishers from the nearest previous race entered in the current race in both SCORE Trophy-Truck and the unlimited Class 1. For this race it will be the top 10 finishers from this year’s 40th Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
The top 10 finishers in SCORE Trophy-Truck from the 2008 Tecate SCORE Baja 500 were: B.J. Baldwin, Mark Post/Rob MacCachren, Brian Collins, Roger Norman/Larry Roeseler, Ron Whitton, Robbie Pierce, Cameron Steele, Rick D. Johnson, Chad Ragland and Scott Steinberger.
In the unlimited Class 1, the top 10 finishers from the 2008 Tecate SCORE Baja 500 were: Luis Ramirez Jr., Dale Ebberts/Brad Etter, Armin Schwarz/Martin Christensen, Brian Parkhouse, Eric Chase, Pat Dean, Miguel Sandoval, Rob Bruce, Chuck Dempsey and B.J. Richardson.
“We have announced the race course and entries are starting to come in at a faster pace now,” said Sal Fish, the legendary desert racing pioneer who has been part of SCORE since soon after it was founded in 1973. “The Mexican government and tourism officials have assured us that all the safety measures implemented at this year’s Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 and Tecate SCORE Baja 500 races. The course is fantastic with portions we haven’t raced on for 12 years so we’re looking forward to another spectacular and memorable event at the Granddaddy of all desert races.”
The new 6,000-square foot ORW Temecula store is the fifth outlet of the popular group in San Diego County. Off Road Warehouse, headquartered in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego has been a racer’s favorite since 1972. The Temecula store celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 27. With over 1 million items to choose from, ORW outlets present over 600 product lines in their colorful showrooms.
Red Bull will be providing entertainment for the fiesta and among the vendors participating will be Dion & Sons and MasterCraft.
Leading the group of racers and vehicles on display will be B.J. Baldwin, Chuck Hovey, Robbie Pierce, Curt LeDuc, and Andy McMillin as well as the All German Motorsports’ BMW-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car that races in the unlimited Class 1 in the SCORE Desert Series.
Currently second in 2008 SCORE Class 1 point standings, Martin Christensen, of Escondido, Calif., the team’s second driver, will be part of the festivities on Saturday. Driver of record for the team this year is Germany’s Armin Schwarz, a veteran World Rally Championship series driver. The team has won their class this year both in March’s Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 and the recent SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300.
Baldwin, of Las Vegas, was the 2006 SCORE Trophy-Truck season point champion and is the current SCORE Trophy-Truck point leader in the No. 97 Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado.
Part of the legendary McMillin Motorsports team of San Diego, Andy McMillin, a third-generation desert racer, was the 2006 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 overall winner with Robby Gordon. McMillin drives the No. 31 McMillin Motorsports Chevy CK1500 SCORE Trophy-Truck.
Also on display will be the new VW-powered Penhall open-wheel desert race car owned by Hollywood television producer Richard Langley, who produces the popular COPS TV show. The new SCORE Lite ‘COPS’ vehicle will be driven by Derek Hill, a veteran pavement racer and son of the late Phill Hill, the popular former F-1 champion. Hill has raced in a variety of series, including the American Le Mans series, Toyota Atlantic series and the Formula 3000 series but this will be his first attempt at desert racing.
SCORE International, founded in 1973 by the late Mickey Thompson and headed by Sal Fish since 1974, continues today as the premier sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. SCORE races feature 17 Pro and three Sportsman classes for cars and trucks in the U.S. with 10 additional Pro and three more Sportsman classes for motorcycles and ATVs competing in the races in Mexico. SCORE races in the U.S. average nearly 200 entries while the average in Mexico, with motorcycle and ATV classes running as well as the cars and trucks is over 300.
Pre-running on the approximately 634-mile loop course that will start and finish in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada will officially begin on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The 2008 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase for the $20,000 Volkswagen of America Point Leader Bonus and the run for the Toyota Milestone Awards for car and truck racers who complete every required mile of the season.
The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 also features the $5,000 Volkswagen bonus to the highest finishing Volkwagen-powered vehicle in the race. Among the other special awards at the event will be the Sal Fish SCORE IronRider award presented to all declared motorcycle and ATV riders who are official finishers of the race while riding solo.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull--official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast Advertising, Kartek Off-Road, American Suzuki, SignPros, 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 2008 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
For more information regarding Off Road Warehouse, contact ORW at 800.341.7757 or visit their website at www.offroadwarehouse.com.
