RENO, Nev., USA — As entries continue to come in from around the globe, veteran SoCal desert racing superstars Jim O’Neal and Larry Roeseler are relishing the opportunity to add to their legacies as two of the all-time winningest racers in the glorious history of next month’s Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 desert race. Round 3 of the 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held June 4-7 in Mexico’s Baja California Norte, starting and finishing in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 85 miles south of San Diego.
O’Neal, a champion age-group motorcycle racer and Roeseler, the world-renown champion racer on both motorcycles and in four-wheel vehicles, lead a group of 70 racers with a combined 193 class wins in the Bud Light SCORE Baja 500.
SCORE is celebrating its 42nd year as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization in 2015 and this race is traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule.
This year is the 47th anniversary of the Bud Light SCORE Baja 500, the original desert race produced by SCORE on July 26, 1974.
It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday (June 6) will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 5:30 a.m. and approximately 10 a.m. for the cars, trucks and UTVs.
Nearly 250 entries are expected at the start line with entries from 25 U.S. States and 10 countries already in the field. Besides the USA and host country Mexico, other countries represented on the starting grid so far are Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala and Japan.
O’NEAL OUTINGS
O’Neal, 68, of Simi Valley, Calif., has 17 all-time class wins in the Bud Light SCORE Baja 500. His first win in this race was in 1991 and after going a decade before he got his second one, he added 16 more class wins in the first 14 years of this decade. He was part of two class-winning teams in the races in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2011 despite no class wins in 2009 and 2013.
This year, the owner of the noted apparel company that bears his name, will be a co-rider on the impressive Class 30 team (riders over 30 years old) of rider of record Mark Winkelman, Cedar Hill, Texas.
ROESELER ROARINGS
Roeseler, 58, of Boulevard, Calif., is the legendary motorcycle champion who has evolved into one of the top four-wheel vehicle drivers in the world. While Roeseler has 16 class wins in this race, 11 of them (10 on a motorcycle and one in a race car) were overall victories as well, the most of any racer in the history of this great SCORE Baja race.
This year the personable Roeseler will again be the second driver for driver of record Tim Herbst, Las Vegas, in the No. 19 Monster Energy Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150 in SCORE Trophy Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850-horsepower unlimited production trucks.
MORE MULTI-S
In addition to O’Neal and Roeseler, among the other racers with multi-class entered again in this year’s Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 are: Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif., who has eight wins all in Class 3, Troy Herbst, Las Vegas, with seven class wins and racing this year in No. 91 SCORE Trophy Truck and Nick Vanderwey, Phoenix, with six class wins and racing this year in No. 84 SCORE Trophy Truck).
Entered with five career class wins in this race and the class they are entered in this year are: Dan Chamlee, Summerland, Calif. (Class 7), Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C. (SCORE Trophy Truck), Rick D. Johnson, Barstow, Calif. (SCORE Trophy Truck), Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas (SCORE Trophy Truck), Scott Myers, Menifee, Calif. (Unlimited Motorcycle) and Clyde Stacy, Bristol, Va. (SCORE Trophy Truck).
ENTRY LEADERS
While SCORE Trophy Truck has the most entries of any class in the race with 30, other car/truck/UTV classes with double figure entries so far is Class 19 with 20, Class 10 with 19, Class 1 with 18 and Trophy Truck Spec with 13 entries to date.
Leading the Pro motorcycle classes is the Unlimited M/C class with 11 entries as of today.
Leading the Sportsman classes is SPT M/C with eight entries so far.
PRE-RUNNING
While pre-running began last Friday, May 15, the first 35 miles of the race course to Ojos Negros (which is used both directions) will be open for outbound pre-running only on Thursday and Friday of race week (June 4-5). The official course map and the GPS files are available online on the SCORE website.
QUALIFYING
On Thursday, June 4 qualifying for starting positions will be held. Qualifying will be for both the SCORE Trophy Truck and the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars and will be held over a special course near Ensenada and will not be open to the public. The start drawing for these two classes will determine their respective qualifying orders.
While most entries in these two top classes are expected to qualify, those who elect not to will be given the remaining start positions in the elapsed-time race based on the original drawing or entry into the race.
Qualifying is closed to the public because of safety concerns, but taped highlights of qualifying will be shown starting Thursday evening (June 4) on the SCORE website.
MAIN COURSE
The race features a 495.58-mile course, designed by SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman along with co-race directors Abelardo Grijalva and Dick Gray.
The historic race course runs in a clockwise direction going north out of the Ojos Negros area almog up to the U.S. border west of Mexicali. The race route is another memorable example of all that Mexico’s Baja California has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy, rocky and silty natural terrain, majestic Baja washes and canyons, stretches along the seashore with elevations from sea level to over 4,000 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the stark and magnificent beauty of Baja California.
GRANDEST MARSHAL
SCORE is honored to have the legendary desert racer Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart, who turns 70 on Thursday (June 4) as the Grand Marshal of this year’s race. Racing since 1973, Stewart joined the Toyota factory team in 1983 for Cal Wells at Precision Preparation Inc. (PPI). He won a total of 82 victories with PPI.
Stewart won a record 17 races in Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group’s (MTEG) stadium series, a record 17 SCORE Baja 500s (including 10 SCORE Baja 500 overall wins), three SCORE Baja 1000s, and five SCORE season class point titles, including SCORE overall point championships in 1990 and 1993. He also won four SCORE World championships and three MTEG stadium racing titles.
Stewart was a 2006 inductee in the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. In 2009, Stewart was also inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame.
SCORE BAJA FIESTA
Colorful race week festivities will start with qualifying for SCORE Trophy Truck and Class 1 followed by the Monster Energy SCORE Kick Off Party on Thursday, June 4 from 7 p.m. until Midnight at the start/finish line area in the heart of Ensenada. With donations for La Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexico’s Red Cross), the event will be include a racer’s autograph party and vehicle display.
Friday, June 5 will see the day-long, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival in the start finish line area in Ensenada.
On Friday evening (June 5), the Monster Energy Papas Y Beer SCORE Street Party will be held from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Avenida Ruiz in downtown Ensenada.
During the race on Saturday, June 6 the Monster Energy SCORE VIP hospitality area, will be part of the start/finish line compound. The area will also include the massive Tecnovision LED screens broadcasting race festivities and start and finish line interviews.
All of the week’s festivities will be aired both live and same-day including the race, airing via the internet on the SCORE website.
AT THE RIVIERA
The Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, in the heart of Ensenada, will again be the site of many of the activities surrounding the Bud Light SCORE Baja 500. Racer registration and Media registration will be held in the Red room at the Riviera on Thursday and Friday (June 4-5) and the SCORE Media Center will be in the Red room during the race (June 6-7) with internet access and live race updates, vehicle tracking displays including unofficial elapsed times.
In the Cathedral Room at the Riviera will be pre-race media conference as well as the mandatory pre-race racer’s meeting on Friday (June 5). The post-race awards celebration will be in the outdoor Riviera amphitheater at noon on Sunday (June 7).
The start/finish line for the race will once again be adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Blvd. Costero.
DAKAR CHALLENGE 2015
This year’s Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 has been identified as a qualifying race for special entry packages into the 2016 Dakar Rally in South America. The winner in car and truck classes will come from SCORE Trophy Truck, Class 1 and Class 10 (all calculated with time adjustments). Complete regulations and other information on Dakar Challenge 2015 are available at http://score-international.com/dakar-challenge/.
GRAN HISTORIA
The Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 is one of the top motorsports events in the world. It was started originally in 1969 by the NORRA organization. Mickey Thompson and his SCORE International organization were asked by Mexican government to take over the event in 1974. Sal Fish ran and later owned and produced the Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 for 39 years until he sold SCORE to Roger Norman in December of 2012.
Ensenada has been the heart and soul of the Bud Light SCORE Baja 500. This year marks the 42nd time it has started and 38th time it has finished in Ensenada.
SCORE JOURNAL
Issue No. 4 of the SCORE Journal, the new monthly on-line digital magazine of SCORE International and the five-race SCORE World Desert Championship, is live on the SCORE website at www.SCORE-International.com and is available through SCORE social media channels as well as a direct link at http://scorejournal.digital/.
The new digital magazine, which includes numerous attached video segments, is a major element in the media expansion that SCORE is implementing for 2015 which includes its most aggressive national and international television packages, four new online video series, each with 26 episodes and a new consumer based SCORE website.
SCOREscope
In its 42nd year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization in 2015, the five-race 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship series includes four special events in Baja California, Mexico, and one in the United States. Here is the 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:
· 29th Bud Light SCORE San Felipe 250, held Jan. 22-25, San Felipe, Mexico
· Inaugural Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500, held April 15-19, Cabo San Lucas to Loreto, Mexico
· 47th Bud Light SCORE Baja 500, June 4-7, Ensenada Mexico
· 3rd SCORE Imperial Valley 250, Sept. 24-27, Coyne Powersports Motorplex-Plaster City, Calif.
· 48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.18-21, Ensenada, Mexico
CBS SPORTS NETWORK COVERAGE
All races in the 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship series, along with the special SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and qualifying for the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will once again be aired in the USA and Canada on the CBS Sports Network. New for 2015, in addition to SCORE Trophy Truck coverage, the shows will also feature top action and highlights from many other classes of trucks, buggies, motorcycles, quads and UTVs – making sure that the most exciting footage and most compelling stories are now part of each race event broadcast.
Capping off the 2015 broadcast season, the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 broadcast on CBS Sports Network will be expanded to a full two-hour program – providing the most expansive television coverage of the “Main Event” of all desert races ever, allowing all the major class action to be showcased around the globe to the SCORE International fan base.
2015 CBS Sports Network Original Broadcast Schedule (subject to change, check local listings)
· Bud Light SCORE San Felipe 250 (first telecasts-Tuesday, March 17, 7 p.m. ET & 11 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 (first telecast-Sunday, May 31, 9 p.m. ET; key repeat broadcast-Sunday, June 7, 9 p.m. ET) (Trailer — https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=601704029970642)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 (first telecast-Sunday, July 26, 9 p.m. ET; key repeat broadcast-Sunday, August 2, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Imperial Valley 250 (first telecast-Sunday, November 15, 9 p.m. ET; key repeat broadcast-Sunday, November 29, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying @SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience (first telecast-Sunday, January 10, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 (two-hour special) (first telecast-Sunday, January 17, 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
SCORE corporate offices are located in Reno, Nev. and the SCORE Tech Shop is in El Cajon, Calif., just east of San Diego.
Official Sponsors: Bud Light-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, Vision Wheel – Official Wheel, Axial R/C-Official R/C Vehicle, CBS Sports Network-Official Television Partner, Coca-Cola-Official Soft Drink, Coyne Powersports-Official Powersports Supplier,Wide Open Excursions- Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
Associate Sponsors: All Road Satellite, Symons Ambulance Company, Aero Calafia, Tessco.
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, Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.
47th Bud Light SCORE Baja 500
Round 3 of five-race 2015 SCORE Baja 500
June 4-7, 2015—495.58 miles * Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Below is a list of the racers entered to date this year with three or more class wins AND who have been driver/rider of record at least once in the SCORE Baja 500
17 Wins
Jim O’Neal—1991, 2001, 2002 (2), 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (2), 2007 (2), 2008, 2010, 2011 (2), 2012, 2014
16 Wins
Larry Roeseler – 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
8 Wins
Donald Moss –2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
7 Wins
Troy Herbst — 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
6 Wins
Nick Vanderwey — 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
5 Wins
Dan Chamlee — 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Ramon Fernandez – 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013
Robby Gordon — 1988, 1989, 1990, 2005, 2013
Rick D. Johnson — 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009
Rob MacCachren — 1990, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2005
Scott Myers – 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014
Clyde Stacy – 2011, 2012(2), 2013(2)
4 Wins
Vic Bruckmann – 1998, 1999, 2011, 2013
Eizaburo Karasawa – 1994, 1999, 2005, 2009
Adam Pfankuch – 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011
J. David Ruvalcaba — 1999, 2000, 2001, 2014
3 Wins
Marc Burnett – 1996, 2011, 2014
Shane Esposito – 2010, 2012, 2014
Steven Eugenio – 2008, 2010, 2011
Elias Hanna – 2010, 2011, 2013
Chelsea Magness – 2012, 2013, 2014
Wayne Matlock – 2008, 2010, 2011
Hector Sarabia — 1993, 1995, 2000
Lance Schoonmaker – 1987, 1988, 1991