RENO, Nev. — With pre-running on the rugged race course scheduled to open Friday, official entries from 23 U.S. States and 14 countries were included the drawing for start positions in various classes for next month’s 48th Anniversary of the iconic Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 desert race, the season finale of the five-race 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship.
Over 200 entries, from 30 U.S. States and 25 countries competing in Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads are expected to take the green flag on Friday, Nov. 20 for this year’s 48th annual Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000. The granddaddy of all desert races will be held in Baja California Norte on Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting and finishing in the seaside port of Ensenada, 65 miles south of the U.S. Border at San Diego.
DRAWING RECAP
The drawing for starting positions, by class, for all classes except SCORE Trophy Truck and Class 1, was held Wednesday.
A solid total of 192 vehicles officially entered in time for Wednesday’s drawing as nearly 50 additional entries are expected to enter in the three-plus weeks before race day in Ensenada for the legendary granddaddy of all desert races.
So far among the car, truck and UTV classes, SCORE Trophy Truck has the most entries with 30, followed by Class 19 with 21, Class 10 with 18 and the unlimited Class 1 and Trophy Truck Spec each have 14 to date.
Among the motorcycle classes, the unlimited M/C class has 10 entries and Class 40 (m/c riders over 40 years old) has six entries so far.
Entry registration for the race continues at Register Here for Race. Late entries received after the drawing will be placed by class in the next available starting position following those that entered in time for the random draw.
BEFORE BAJA… VIVA LAS VEGAS!
Jumpstarting the festivities for the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 for the second straight year will be the massive SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience at the Las Vegas Convention Center next Tuesday through Friday and the special SCORE Baja 1000 qualifying for SCORE Trophy Trucks and unlimited Class 1 open-wheelers. With both events presented by BFGoodrich Tires, qualifying will be held at the Off-Road track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Tuesday evening (7 p.m. PT, Tuesday).
GLOBAL INTEREST
In addition to the 23 States represented on the entry list to date, racers have officially entered from 14 countries. In addition to the United States, entries so far have come from Austria, Australia, Canada, Columbia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Thailand and the US Territory of Guam.
TIME TRAVEL
It’s the oldest and most well known of all desert races, and it remains as the single most appealing accomplishment to a racer. Since 1967, the race has been run over the mysterious Baja California peninsula every year except 1974 when the international fuel crisis forced a cancellation.
This year’s race will start for the 41st time and finish for the 23rd time in EnsenadaThe race will start and finish on Boulevard Costero adjacent to the picturesque Bahia de Todos Santos in front of the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada.
PRE-GREEN
The race week festivities will cover Nov. 18-22, with the race and all side events starting and finishing in Ensenada. It will be a loop race this year of approximately 840 miles with the start line and finish line adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada and the first and last several spectator-friendly miles running up and back down the Ensenada Arroyo.
Pre-race festivities on Thursday (Nov. 19), for the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000, including the vastly popular tech and contingency of all vehicles and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. PTon Boulevard Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. The pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing will also be held on Thursday (Nov. 19) at 7 p.m. PT in the Cathedral Room at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center.
Racer registration will be held in the Red Room at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada. Racer registration will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT on Tuesday (Nov. 17), from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday (Nov. 18) and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT on Thursday (Nov. 19). Media registration will be held as well in the Red Room at the Riviera from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. PT on Wednesday (Nov. 18), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT on Thursday (Nov. 19) and the BFGoodrich Tires/Baja California Secretary of Tourism SCORE Media Center will be open on Friday at 5:30 a.m. PT until the course closes at approximately 11 p.m. PTon Saturday and will re-open on Sunday from seven a.m. until Noon PT.
Two special Monster Energy parties, open to the public will be held before the race starts. On Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. PT at the start/finish line area will be the SCORE Baja 1000 Goes Green Monster Energy Party. On Thursday, the night before the start of the race, the Monster Energy SCORE Papas & Beer Street Party on Avenida Ruiz in front of Papas & Beer will start at 7 p.m. PT.
POST GREEN
As the celebration continues all-night on Friday, all day and evening on Saturday while official finishers cross the line and tales are added to the legacy of the event, the post-race awards fiesta will be held in the Cathedral Room at the Riviera starting at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday.
SCORE… OH, WHAT A COURSE
SCORE has put together another memorable race course, this one for a loop race, with all of the foreboding, unforgiving terrain the northern state of the mysterious Baja California peninsula has to offer. Starting and finishing in the heart of Ensenada in front of the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, the course travels in a counter-clockwise direction. It includes the approximate 35 mile stretch to Ojos Negros which is used in both directions. Outgoing, the course heads Southwest from Ojos through Santo Tomas and then runs South along the picturesque Pacific Ocean for over 100 miles.
Featuring seven checkpoints, the approximately 840-mile course covers both sides of the peninsula parallels Highway 1 for nearly half of the race, looping south back to the Pacific and then crossing over to the other side of the peninsula below Puertocitos. The course then heads back North along the tranquil Sea of Cortez, past San Felipe paralleling Highway 5 and up to the junction with Highway 3.
The rugged course then parallels Highway 3 traveling west then northwest back into Ojos Negros and to the finish line in Ensenada. Pre-running is scheduled to open on Friday, allowing competitors three weeks of practice time and logistics planning on and around the course.
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 are once again airing in the USA and Canada on the CBS Sports Network. New for 2015, in addition to SCORE Trophy Truck coverage, the shows also feature top action and highlights from many other classes of trucks, cars, UTVs, motorcycles and quads – 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)
Remaining Shows:
· Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250 presented by the City of El Centro (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, December 20, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 (two-hour special) (first telecast-Sunday, December 27, 9 p.m. ET)
Completed Broadcasts:
· 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)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 (first telecast-Sunday, July 26, 9 p.m. ET; key repeat broadcast-Sunday, August 2, 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.
SCOREscope
The five-race 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship includes four special events in Baja California, Mexico, and one in the United States. Here is the complete 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:
Remaining race:
· 48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.18-21, Ensenada, Mexico
Completed races:
· 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, held June 4-7, Ensenada Mexico
· Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250, presented by the city of El Centro, Sept. 24-27, Coyne Powersports Motorplex-Plaster City, Calif.
SCORE JOURNAL
Issue No. 9 of the SCORE Journal, the highly-popular 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 linked 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.
SCORE SPONSORS
SCORE corporate offices are located in Reno, Nev.
Official Sponsors: Bud Light-Official Beer/Official Race Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Rigid Industries LED Lighting-Official Lights/Official Race Sponsor, 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.
48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000
Nov. 18-22, 2015—approx. 840 miles
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Total Entries: 192 (as of START DRAW on 10/28/15)
(from 23 U.S. States, U.S. Territory of Guam, Australia, Austria, Canada, Columbia,
Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Thailand)
(starting order, by class)
Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (30)
(Numerical, before Qualifying)
1 Steven Eugenio
4 Justin Matney
5 Carlos Lopez
9 Mark Weyhrich
11 Rob MacCachren
14 Heidi Steele
16 Cameron Steele
17 Eduardo Laguna
19 Tim Herbst
21 Gus Vildosola Jr
23 Dan McMillin
25 Brian Ostrom
28 Alan Pflueger-RS
36 Glen Greer
38 Eric Hustead
39 Ron Whitton
42 Jesse Hooker
44 Kyle Jergensen
45 Gary Magness
47 James Bult
50 Zak Langley
59 Craig Potts
70 Bryce Menzies
75 Mike Cook
76 Jesse Jones
77 Robby Gordon
83 Luke McMillin
91 Troy Herbst
93 Chris Kemp
97 B.J. Baldwin
CLASS 1 (14)
(Numerical, before Qualifying)
101 David Hunter-RS
104 Rob Archibald-RS
117 Stephen Squires
127 Cody Parkhouse
138 Randy Wilson
142 Steven Sells
145 Mark Workentine
147 Pat McCarthy
153 Brian Wilson
160 Victor Barreda-RS
168 Shelby Reid
175 Jaime Huerta Jr-RS
185 Justin Davis
189 Jon Walker
CLASS 1/2-1600 (8)
1666 Tony Vanillo Sr
1647 Wes McKenzie
1614 Hiram Duran
1636 Aaron Ampudia
1648 Alejandro Lozano
1605 Miguel Cortez-3rd RS
1684 Viry Felix-2nd RS
1602 Ernesto Arambula-1st RS
CLASS 3 (2)
300 Donald Moss
301 Robert Morton
CLASS 5 (1)
500 Kevin Carr
CLASS 5-1600 (5)
558 Salvador Carrillo
579 Mary Crouch-4th RS
553 Armando Garcia-3rd RS
578 Gustavo Avina-2nd RS
575 Erich Reisen-1st RS
CLASS 7 (6)
712 Ikuo Hanawa
701 Brandon Walsh
705 Carlos Diaz
700 Dan Chamlee
722 Paige Sohren
727 Jim Ryan
CLASS 8 (3)
844 Noah Ostanik
811 James Burman
839 Chris Wilson-1st RS
CLASS 10 (18)
1068 Cody Reid
1045 Travis Clarke
1011 Morgan Langley
1080 Peter Hajas
1089 Arnoldo Gutierrez Jr
1088 Luis Salgado
1062 J.J. Schnarr
1077 Daniel Reyes Jr
1042 Lars Ferry
1002 Steve Lawler
1034 Clifford Cole
1058 Clay Lawrence
1018 Miguel Tornel Sr
1078 Jorge Magana
1081 Todd Winslow
1049 Ty Godde-3rd RS
1087 Stuart Breckon-2nd RS
1078 Eliseo Garcia-1st RS
SCORE LITES (5)
1210 Cesar Pinuelas
1218 Miguel Tornel Jr
1221 Matt Drever
1209 Rafael Navarro III
1201 Mario Alcala
CLASS 11 (4)
1107 Jim Graham
1121 Dennis Hollenbeck
1129 David Bolles-2nd RS
1116 Paul Nauleau-1st RS
STOCK FULL (4)
8101 Rod Hall
8125 John Gonzales
8155 Darren Webster
8161 Douglas McArdle-1st RS
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (14)
850 Chad Broughton
862 Pete Sohren
884 Billy Wilson
878 John Langley
868 Pat Sims
8XX Andrew Hendricks
873 Jordan Brenthel
855 Lee Banning
881 Mark Luhtala
872 Jonathan Brenthel
874 Elias Hanna
888 Jim Anderson
871 Larry Connor
854 Chelsea Magness
CLASS 3000 (2)
3030 Chad Broughton
3003 Mike Jams
CLASS 19 (21)
1927 Benjamin Wilson
1958 George Felix
1939 Dan Fresh
1988 Wes Miller
1921 Johnny Angal
1949 Alonso Lopez
1930 Sean Cook
1905 Marc Burnett
1904 Cory Sappington
1943 Tom Longshore
1923 Benjamin Bischoff
1961 Cody Rahders
1915 Thomas Graves
1922 Tyler Backus
1971 Terry Hui
19XX Scott Bergen
1910 Ryan McIntire
1942 Scott McFarland
1932 Brandon Schueler
1917 Derek Murray
1908 Justin Lambert
BAJA CHALLENGE (3)
BC2 Bob Bower
BC3 Rick Skelton
BC1 Jon Largent
CLASS 4400 (1)
4451 Mel Wade III-1st RS
CLASS 2 (1)
201 Jeff Proctor
Pro Motorcycles
UNLIMITED M/C (10)
14x Raul Hernandez
35x Nicholas Gust
3x Mark Samuels
11x Ulises Fierro
81x Joseph Jepsen
45x Francisco Arredondo
1x Ricky Brabec
21x Dustin McCarthy
5x Colton Udall
7x Joseph Wingfield
LIMITED M/C (4)
111x Chad Thornton
128x Steve Kameda
122x Ruben Alamo
100x Fernando Beltran
CLASS 30 (2)
318x Jeffery Pillon
301x Christopher Schultz
CLASS 40 (6)
444x Kyle Abney
409x Stephen Sanders
424x Jeff Powell
403x Oscar Fazz
404x Jano Montoya
411x Colie Potter
CLASS 50 (4)
556x Donald Blake
505x Daniel Argano
501x Marc Prince
513x Guillermo Gomez
CLASS 60 (1)
611x Richard Jackson-1st RS
SCORE IRONMAN (4)
705x Francisco Aldrete
731x Taylor Gagnor
740x Boe Huckins
715x Jeff Benrud
Pro Quads
Pro Quad (1)
9a Said Sanchez
Sportsman
SPT BUGGY (2)
1506 Bruce Books
1515 Derek Fletcher-1st RS
SPT UNLIMITED TRUCK (4)
1409 Andrew Entwistle
1408 Spencer Morgan
1407 Gary Leyendecker
1444 Jim Bunn-1st RS
SPT UNLIMITED UTV (2)
1852 Robert Branch
1850 Matthew Pontius
SPT M/C (7)
202x Jon Harris Johnson
266x Clint Chew
222x Francois Carrete
215x Walter Lemonovich
214x Lawrence Janesky
299x Wayne Schlosser
261x Sean Tefft
SPT QUAD (3)
109a Juan Dominguez
119a Rusty Batza-2nd RS
111a Craig Wear-1st RS