Baja 500 PreRunning Goes Off Wild Style

Ensenada, Baja, Mexico (May 31, 2006)

The DirtNewz Crew arrived to the seaside city of Ensenada, Baja California under the cover of darkness mid-evening Tuesday night and immediately found race fiestas in full swing in downtown Ensenada. We caught up with the Jimco Race Team roaming the streets in search of wild fun and that was only the beginning. Leading the charge was “Hammer,” who was in full stride upon our arrival and sporting the latest DirtNewz apparel. He was subsequently rewarded the following day when he found us with the Hooters Desert Race Girlz at Hwy 3 & KM 54. Check out the photo gallery for the photos!!!

However, the prerun stories continue to develop here on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Turbo Tom Geviss reported a fatal tractor-trailer accident on Hwy 3 at the Goat Trail late Sunday night that involved some 3000 gallons of fish guts laden for fertilizer supplied to the Valle Trinidad farming community. The fish guts were over 8’ inches deep at the Goat Trail exit to Hwy 3 providing enough stench that Caleb Gaddis and his crew at the Valle Trinidad taco stand called out on the radio to inquire where the smell was coming from. Geviss reported the day after that the truck he was driving was a problem in his Alpine, California neighborhood cuz the stench was sickening.

Nonetheless, Round 3 of the six-race 2006 SCORE Desert Series, featuring a race-record lineup of over 440 entries competing in 25 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, will be held this weekend in Ensenada, Mexico. The race will be filmed for television by Aura360, SCORE’S TV production partner, to air in December as a one-hour special on NBC in the U.S. and ESPN International worldwide.

An entire SCORE contingent of officials has arrived here to Ensenada as they ready for this epic event. A variety of celebrations is already underway including the incredible Wide Open Baja / Monster Energy Drink / BFGoodrich / DirtSports hosted event tomorrow night at the Wide Open Baja ranch. Owner Todd Clement and his partners have arranged a special night to honor a few of Baja’s off road legends at the Baja Legacy Party.

Early this morning a fleet of SCORE official trucks were readying the area for what is expected to be an incredible event featuring a RECORD amount of racers ever entered in the Baja 500. It’s been reported that SCORE will reach the 440 entry mark by Thursday afternoon once late entries arrive to Ensenada. Already, the official entry is listed at 437 racers.

“I just can’t properly put into words how huge this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 500 race is going to be this week,” said Sal Fish, SCORE President/CEO who has been with SCORE since it produced its first SCORE Baja 500 on June 26, 1974. “It is mind blowing to think that we already have 53 more entries than the race record and 92 more than last year’s race that had 345 starters.”

“We have a field this year full of talented SCORE veterans as well as a large number of rookies, many of whom haven’t even been to Mexico prior to this event, let alone compete in a SCORE Baja race. While the race itself promises to be one for the ages, we exhort all the racers, chase crews and the more than 150,000 spectators we are expecting to be patient, cautious, and safe. We all want to return from Mexico with nothing but wonderful stories from an incredible racing extravaganza.”

Starting and finishing in Ensenada on the majestic Baja California peninsula, this year’s tight and technical 424.29-mile course will run in a clockwise direction, running East into the middle of the peninsula, then South, followed by a West travel section, turning north, then East, North and back West to the finish in Ensenada.

Wednesday’s prerun activities included the DirtNewz prerunner crew in two different prerunners running the first 150 miles, which some have said will make or break the race. And although it was earlier reported very tight and technical, there is no doubt that the infamous Las Vegas racers have arrived to “burn” in the course.

That includes one of the nation’s top teams, Danny Anderson, who for this race has teamed up with 2004 SCORE Class 1 Champion – John Marking, for a run to victory in Anderson’s single-seat Class 1.

Although, a late-breaking news story comes from the SMD Motorsports camp, as it was told to DirtNewz that the #27 Trophy Truck suffered a blown-motor in testing at Plaster City, California only yesterday. Word is that Team Owner Steve Scaroni and the his crew are seeking out a replacement motor and will be ready for Saturday’s epic race.

The green flag will drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday 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. Vehicles will start in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race, and while the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in approximately nine hours, all will have an 18-hour time limit to become official finishers in the summer classic.

Today’s prerun action saw the #230 Pro Truck, to be piloted by MasterCraft CEO Robbie Pierce, prerunning in his MasterCraft Bronco with young gun co-driver, Joey Westhoff. Of course, Westhoff is the owner of Zip-Tie Productions, an innovative leading edge film production company specializing in desert racing, CORR racing and professional rockcrawling.

Also seeing action today was the cagey VORRA veteran, Steve Sullivan, in his new Class 1 led by crew chief, Bob Wiederhold. Their crew is here prerunning the first section and as they say in Nascar, “Gettin’ R’ Dun.”

The DirtNewz Crew has set up Satellite Communications at Hwy 3 and KM 54 where a small city of race support teams has formed. Temperatures are 96 degrees as most everyone is hiding in the slim shade.

Just arriving at 3:00 p.m. to Hwy 3 @ KM 54 is Mike Sixbery and Andy Kirker prerunning for their Baja 500 race on the 500X bike. Sixbery said, “The course is great and challenging, we’re looking forward to the race. Special thanks to Jim Oneil of Oneil Racing for his continued support.” Their chase crew consisted of Dawn Sixbery, of Bullhead City, Arizona, who entertained the crowd of prerunner crews in her bikini.

Waiting for Big Chuck riding the 266X motorcycle from Houston, Texas was Princess Deana and Chris. Big Chuck is the team owner of Hooters Desert Racing Team and you can visit them at www.hootersdesertracing.com

Over 25 teams are assembled here at Hwy 3 and KM 54 awaiting their drivers to arrive to this access road. DirtNewz is on the scene and will continue to bring you the action from the Baja 500 prerun and evening parties from Ensenada.