Rows of Trophy Trucks and other SCORE off-road race vehicles invaded the Las Vegas Convention Center as part of the 2014 SEMA Show.
Rows of Trophy Trucks and other SCORE off-road race vehicles invaded the Las Vegas Convention Center as part of the 2014 SEMA Show.

In another departure from the status quo in major league off-road racing, SCORE has invaded the 2014 SEMA Show in a big way, creating hype for its crowning event, the 2014 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, which gets underway 413 miles away, in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, next weekend.

And the buzz among the automotive industry has been palpable, as scores (pardon the pun) of SEMA attendees ventured into the BFGoodrich-backed Race Control midway located outside of the South Exhibition Hall today to get an up close and personal look at numerous Baja race vehicles—old and new—and visit with drivers and crews as they prepared for this evening’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Today was a day for the teams and for SCORE to draw attention to its brand of off-road racing, according to SCORE CEO Roger Norman.

 

The SCORE display took up the entire South Hall parking lot at SEMA.
The SCORE display took up the entire South Hall parking lot at SEMA.

“Last year we were looking at a much smaller presence here, but there wasn’t enough room to do that. We started kicking around some ideas of how we could fit in here, and SEMA offered us this parking lot to create the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience. We are also doing qualifying out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which is really exciting.”

The decision to have qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is clearly a move to make the most of the moment, and it may have been just the thing to solidify SCORE’s tenure at future SEMA shows.

SCORE's past, as well as its present, is on display in Las Vegas this week.
SCORE’s past, as well as its present, is on display in Las Vegas this week.

“Right off the bat, before we even officially announced this, all of the booth space was sold, so SEMA has asked us to do it next year,” Norman said. “So, we are really excited about this, and they are, too. They really like having something that is a real deal and doesn’t take away from their show.”

The rows of top-level Trophy Trucks were ample proof that the race teams recognize the value of being at SEMA. Red Bull/Menzies Motorsports driver Bryce Menzies, a former Baja 500 winner, said that he was excited to be a part of the spectacle.

“To bring the Trophy Trucks to SEMA is huge,” Menzies said. “To put is into the limelight and show the automotive industry what we do is awesome. Qualifying will be a little different, so I’m just looking forward to getting through it somewhere in the top five. We have a long race to go, 1300 miles, and it is going to be long and grueling. So I just want to make sure I keep the truck in one piece and then go racing. I think we are ready to go.”

(Left to right) Robby Gordon, SCORE CEO Roger Norman and Rob MacCachren--all former Baja 1000 winners--were part of the SCORE action at SEMA in Las Vegas this week.
(Left to right) Robby Gordon, SCORE CEO Roger Norman and Rob MacCachren–all former Baja 1000 winners–were part of the SCORE action at SEMA in Las Vegas this week.

The Las Vegas qualifying definitely throws a wrench into the routine of the race teams, even the best ones, like that of former Baja 1000 winner Rob MacCachren.

“It does a little bit,” MacCachren said. “Right now we would be down in Mexico, pre-running. Also, the teams had to get the trucks done a week earlier so that they could be at to the SEMA Show, so it kind of through them for a loop. But the opportunity we have here is worth it. I was born in Las Vegas, and my dad used to be in the automotive industry, so I would come to SEMA every year and spend four days, walking every single row. I realize the benefit of being here. This is a great opportunity for us to be in front of all these people. We need to come here and get in their face again, let them kick the tires and see what we are all about, and hopefully that will turn a lot of lightbulbs on in getting people in the industry involved in what we do again. I applaud Roger Norman for giving us this opportunity.”

MacCachren last won the race, a peninsula run similar to this year’s event, in 2007 with Mark Post and the Riviera Racing team.

“The feeling that I got when we won that race is a feeling that I’d never had before or since,” MacCachren said. “This year I’m driving my own (Rockstar Energy Ford) truck, and I have Andy McMillin and Jason Voss, two great talents, driving with me. I will start, Andy will do the middle, and Jason will do the end. We think we have a great strategy, and our guys have been working super hard on the truck to make sure that it is reliable. Combining three teams has given us tremendous resources to draw from for pit support, and we all know how to win a long race. The biggest thing will be keeping the truck in one piece. I’m certainly not going to try and set the world on fire. I’m just going to try to hand it off to Andy in as good a shape as I can.”

MacCachren said that he has never experienced a feeling like he did when winning the Baja 1000 as a driver. Imagine how that feeling might be magnified if he wins it as an owner/driver, especially after the buzz that SCORE created at SEMA in Las Vegas, his hometown.

“You know, I’ve never even thought about that until you just said that, and I got chills,” MacCachren said. “It would be awesome.”