SAN DIEGO — King Shocks, Steven Eugenio, Gus Vildosola, Steve Covey and Tony Gera were among the big winners Saturday night as SCORE International officially concluded the 2014 SCORE World Desert Champioship with the annual SCORE Awards Night gala in SoCal at the SCORE Tech facility in El Cajon, Calif., approximately 15 miles east of San Diego.
SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards were presented in 11 categories along with the 22 winners of the SCORE Milestone Awards and the class and overall point champions of Roger Norman’s five-race 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 400 and a worldwide audience via the live webcast of the festivities on the SCORE DirtLive HD platform, the evening was also a celebration of 41 years of SCORE championship desert racing. Following the lengthy salute to the stars of the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship, SCORE owner Roger Norman summarized his second year as SCORE’s CEO and President.
“We want to sincerely acknowledge the support, assistance and sacrifices made by family members, friends and sponsors–because without their support, the accomplishments of our racers in the series would not have been possible,” commented Norman. “Becoming a SCORE overall or class champion, or winning a coveted SCORE Off-Roadsman Award or SCORE Milestone Award is an achievement of the highest degree in our beloved sport.”
Mexico’s longtime SCORE racer and significant supporter Gus Vildosola of Mexicali, was selected as the SCORE Person of the Year for the first time in his long career.
King Shocks, the official shock of SCORE was honored as the 2014 SCORE Contingency company of the Year for the first time while Baja Pits was voted the SCORE Pit Support Team of the Year for the third time in the last six years.
The SCORE Off-Roadsman awards were determined for the fourth straight year by a public, online vote. Among the other honorees were the top point leaders from the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series. Several thousand votes were cast during the voting window following the season-ending 47th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 race this past November in Mexico.
With very tight voting in most categories, Tony Gera, Santa Cruz, Calif., was selected as the 2014 SCORE Rookie of the Year after his sterling season in the new SCORE Ironman class for solo motorcycle riders. Rodriguez won his class in the first four races of the season to win the class point championship.
Covey, the crew chief and co-rider for 2014 SCORE Trophy Truck and SCORE Overall season point champion Steven Eugenio and Galindo Motorsports, was voted the SCORE Mechanic of the Year for the first time.
“The year of 2014 was another memorable year in the history of SCORE International,” Norman added. “We witnessed a total of nearly 2,500 different drivers/co-drivers and riders/co-riders that participated in our five spectacular races in SCORE World Desert Championship. For my wife Elise and I, this was our just our second year as the caretakers of this amazing international treasure we all know as SCORE International. We are committed to work with our racers to expand the reach of SCORE even further than it has achieved so far.”
Mike Julson, of Santee, Calif., who is a SCORE regular co-driver in both SCORE Trophy Truck and the unlimited Class 1, saw his Jimco open-wheel desert race cars win the 2014 SCORE Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer point championship for the 21st time and 20th straight.
Kevin Kroyer’s Kroyer Racing Engines of Las Vegas captured the 2014 Engine Builder point championship for the fifth straight year.
In the first year decided by points, Kawasaki won the SCORE Motorcyle Manufacturer of the Year SCORE Off-Roadsman award.
Another element of the diverse program will be the presentation of the SCORE Milestone Awards. As it has for 29 years, the coveted SCORE Milestone Awards were presented to those drivers in who finished all required miles of the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship. A total of 22 racers completed all 2,315.8 required miles in the five-race 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship. It was the first time in SCORE history that all car, truck, UTV, motorcycle and ATV classes, pro and sportsman, we eligible for the award.
The evening included a colorful video/photographic tribute to the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship produced by DirtLive HD and GetSome Photo.
The entire evening will be streamed live on the DirtLive HD platform on the SCORE website.
Veteran racer-turned-journalist Judy Smith of Hot VWs Magazine, was honored for the 16th time in as the SCORE Journalist of the Year, while GetSome Photo (Art Eugenio) earned the SCORE Photographer of the Year honors for the first time. Winning the SCORE Videographer of the Year award for the third time in the four-year history of the honor was Cactus Films (Esteban Flores).
Leading the parade of 2014 SCORE Desert Series point champions were the three overall titlists—Steven Eugenio, Carlsbad, Calif. (Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck in the No. 7 Galindo Motorsports Chevy Silverado), Giovanni Spinali, Dulzura, Calif. (Overall motorcycle and Class 40 on a Honda CRF450X) and Javier Robles Jr, Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico (Overall ATV and Pro ATV on a Honda TRX450R).
It was the first time for all three winners to earn SCORE Overall point titles in their respective divisions.
Emcees for the evening were prominent racer/action sports TV announcer Dave Arnold and Mexico’s SCORE Trophy Truck star Gus Vildosola Jr.
MOVING FORWARD
The five-race 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship, with four races in Mexico opens with the 29th Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja California, Mexico, Jan. 22-25.
The original SCORE International founded in 1973 by the late Mickey Thompson and headed by Sal Fish from 1974 until Fish transferred ownership of SCORE International to Roger Norman on Dec. 20, 2012. SCORE continues as the premier sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. SCORE races feature competition in 25 Pro and five Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and ATVs competing in the races in Mexico.
CBS SPORTS NETWORK COVERAGE
All races in the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship series, along with the special SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and qualifying for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, are televised on a delayed basis in the USA and Canada as a one-hour special on the CBS Sports Network. The shows, produced by SoCal’s acclaimed BCII TV, air a minimum of two times on the CBS Sports Spectacular show.
All shows are scheduled to premier in the next month following the event. The success of the productions has enabled CBS Sports Network to air multiple airings of the first three 2014 races. The SCORE San Felipe 250 had 17 extra airings, the SCORE Imperial Valley 250 had five extra airings, and the SCORE Baja 500 garnered seven hours of extra airings in CBS Sports Network.
Following the CBS Sports Network telecasts in the US, the SCORE races air worldwide in over 100 countries through international distribution.
Following are the air dates for the debut of the remaining 2014 SCORE shows on the CBS Sports Network
· Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 qualifying from Las Vegas Motor Speedway/SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience (Sunday, Dec. 21, 9 p.m. ET)
· Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 (Sunday, Dec. 28, 9 p.m. ET)
CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
SCORE SPONSORS
Official Sponsors: Tecate Beer-Official Beer/Official Race Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Rigid Industries LED Lighting-Official Lights, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris-Official UTV, Volaris Airlines-Official Airline, CBS Sports Network-Official Television Partner, Wide Open Excursions- Official Arrive and Drive Company, Coca-Cola-Official Soft Drink, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino, Hotel Coral and Marina-Official Hotel.
Associate Sponsors: SatellitePhoneStore.com and Symons Ambulance Company.
Additional SCORE Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Visit Baja California Sur, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Baja California Sur State Government, Mexicali Ayuntamineto, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, GoPro, PCI Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information, visit the official website of the new SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
2014 SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year Award Winners
SCORE Contingency Company of the Year—King Shocks
SCORE Mechanic of the Year—Steve Covey, Galindo Motorsports
SCORE Pit Support Team of the Year—Baja Pits
SCORE Journalist of the Year—Judy Smith, Hot VWs Magazine
SCORE Photographer of the Year—GetSome Photo (Art Eugenio)
SCORE Videographer of the Year—Cactus Films (Esteban Flores)
SCORE Rookie of the Year—Tony Gera (SCORE Ironman)
SCORE Person of the Year—Gus Vildsola, Vildosola Racing
*SCORE Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer—Jimco (Mike Julson)
*SCORE Engine Builder—Kroyer Racing Engines (Kevin Kroyer)
*SCORE Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year—Kawasaki Motorcycles
*Determined by points; others-public, online voting