RENO, Nev., USA—After the first half of the 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship, Southern California racers Ronny Wilson and Rafael Navarro IV find themselves not only leading the point standings in their respective classes, but they are also tied for the top spot in the SCORE Overall point standings.
Each with 176 championship points after the first two races of the season, Ronny Wilson, Long Beach, Calif., drives the No. 138 Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car in the unlimited Class 1 while Navarro IV, a third generation racer from Temecula, Calif., drives the No. 1009 Alumi Craft-Chevy in Class 10 for 1650cc open-wheel desert race cars.
While Ro. Wilson, with primary driving help from family members, has won Class 1 in both races so far this season, Navarro IV finished second in Class 10 in both the SCORE San Felipe 250 in February and the SCORE Baja 500 in early June. Navarro IV drove solo in San Felipe and split driving duties with Vic Bruckmann, Lemon Grove, Calif. in Ensenada. Class 10 had a race-high 22 starters in San Felipe and 26 starters in Ensenada. SCORE Trophy Truck had a race-high 31 starters at the SCORE Baja 500.
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POINT REGS
SCORE point regulations for 2016 has all four-races counting for final points, with three minimum, and one of the four races SCORE World Desert Championship that is mandatory to qualify for a class season point championship is for the driver/rider of record to start or finish the SCORE Baja 1000.
SCORE points are calculated on a set amount of start points and finish points for a particular race along with a variable amount for placement points for finishers based on the number of starters within the racer’s class.
FAMILY TIME
Ronny Wilson drove solo in the season-opener in San Felipe and had driving help in Ensenada from his brother Randy Wilson and Randy’s son Brian Wilson.
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK LEADERS
Earning his first SCORE race victory in just his first race in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 850-horsepower, unlimited production trucks in San Felipe and an eighth-place class finish in Ensenada, leading his class standings after two races is Billy Wilson, 30, of Corpus Christi, Texas in the No. 15 Bevly Wilson Racing Chevy Silverado. B. Wilson is also sixth in SCORE overall points with 164 after moving up following several years of driving in other SCORE truck classes. B. Wilson, no relation to the Wilson family of racers, drives a new race truck built by Jimco Racing Products.
Second SCORE Trophy Truck points midway through the season is Mexico’s reigning SCORE overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, 21, of Tecate, Mexico in the No. 1 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck and seventh in SCORE Overall points with 162.
Third in SCORE Trophy Truck points is Gary Magness, Denver, in the No. 45 Mango Racing Chevy Silverado. Fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck points with 131 is Mexico’s Gus ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, of Mexicali, who had a rare did-not-finish in San Felipe before winning the SCORE Baja 500 in the No. 21 Mexicana Logistics Vildosola Racing Ford Raptor.
Fifth in SCORE Trophy Truck points is Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin with 110 points in the No. 97 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Toyota Tundra.
SCORE BAJA TRIPLE CROWN
With his first overall race win in the SCORE Baja 500, Vildosola Jr became one of just nine racers in SCORE history in the SCORE Baja Triple Crown group that has won the overall title in all three traditional SCORE Baja races—the SCORE San Felipe 250, the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 1000.
Other members of the elite group of legendary SCORE desert racers besides Vildosola Jr are Dave Ashley, Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, Andy McMillin, Scott McMillin, Larry Ragland, Dan Smith and Ivan Stewart.
TEN CLASS LEADERS IN TOP 25 OVERALL
In addition to overall point co-leaders Ronny Wilson and Navarro IV along with Billy Wilson in seventh, nine other classes have at least one racer in the top 25 SCORE Overall point standings after two races in 2016. The classes in the top 25 are the unlimited Class 1 (five racers), Class 10 (five), SCORE Trophy Truck (three), Trophy Truck Spec (three), Class 1/2-1600 (three), Pro UTV (two) along with additional class point leaders in Class 8, Class 5, Pro UTV FI and Class 11.
Among the other class leaders also in the top 25 in SCORE Overall points midway through the season include Chad Broughton, Scotts Valley, Calif., tied for fourth in SCORE Overall points and leading Trophy Truck Spec with 165 points in the No. 202 BajaLite-Chevy and Noe Gutierrez, Ensenada, Mexico, ninth overall and leading Class 11 with 152 points in the No. 1103 stock VW Sedan.
Tied for 12th in SCORE overall points with 150 each, leading their respective classes are Victor Cesana, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in Class 5 in the No. 500 unlimited VW Baja Bug, Aaron Ampudia, Ensenada, Mexico in Class 8 in the No. 836 Ford F-150 and Alonzo Lopez, Murrieta, Calif. who is leading Pro UTV in the No. 1949 Polaris RZR XP1000.
Other class leaders in the top 25 are Jorge Sampietro, Ensenada, Mexico who is 16th overall and leads Class 1/2-1600 with 149 points in the No. 1697 Romo-VW and leading Pro UTV FI and tied for 24th overall with 145 points is Marc Burnett, Lakeside, Calif. in the No. 2905 Polaris RZR XP1000Turbo.
MORE TOP 25 OVERALL
Also in the top 25 SCORE overall points from Class 1 are Scott Reuschenberg, Phoenix, eighth overall with 162 points and second in class in the No. 125 Tatum-Chevy, Brad Wilson, Lakewood, Calif., tied for 12th overall with 150 points and third in class in the No. 153 Jimco-Chevy, Derek Fletcher, Abingdon, Va., tied for 19th overall with 147 points and third in class in the No. 106 Tatum-Chevy and Al Torres, El Centro, Calif., tied for 21st overall with 146 points and fifth in class in the No. 114 Jimco-Chevy.
The other Class 10 racers currently in the top 25 overall point standings are Todd Winslow and his son Matt, both of Clovis, Calif., third in SCORE Overall points and second in Class 10 with 173 points in the No. 1081 Alumi Craft-Chevy, Luis Salgado, Mexicali, Mexico, tied for fourth overall and third in Class 10 in the No. 1088 Jimco-Honda (165), Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif., tied for 10th overall and fourth in Class 10 in the No. 1058 LMS-Chevy (151) and Armando Boehme, Royce City, Texas, tied for 17th overall and fifth in Class 10 in the No. 1060 Jimco-Chevy (148).
In Trophy Truck Spec the other two racers in the top 25 in overall points are Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif., tied for 10th in overall points with 151 and second in class in the No. 220 Brenthel-Chevy and Elias Hanna, Ensenada, Mexico, tied for 17th in overall points with 148 and third in class in the No. 274 Chevy Silverado.
Other drivers in the top 25 in Class 1/2-1600 are Ruben Sanudo, San Felipe, Mexico, tied for 21st with 146 points and second in class in the No. 1606 Romo-VW and Ramon Bio, Spring Valley, Calif., tied for 24th overall with 145 points and third in class in the No. 1616 Tubular Design-VW.
The other driver in the top 25 after the SCORE Baja 500 is Pro UTV racer David Nance, Costa Mesa, Calif., tied for 21st overall and second in Pro UTV with 146 points in the No. 1992 Polaris RZR XP4.
PRO MOTORCYCLE LEADER
The 2016 SCORE Overall Motorcycle and Pro Moto Unlimited point leader duo of Colton Udall, Yucca Valley, Calif./Mark Samuels, Yucca Valley, Calif. with 154 points and two race wins in 2016.
PRO MOTO UNLIMITED
Winning the SCORE San Felipe 250 for the fifth time in the last six years, Colton Udall, Yucca Valley, Calif. (No. 1x Honda CRF450X) has 66 points. Udall’s splits the riding with teammate Mark Samuels, Yucca Valley, Calif.
OVERALL UTV LEADER
With two wins so far in 2016, Alonso Lopez, Murrieta, Calif., is the overall SCORE UTV point leader and Pro UTV FI point leader with 149 points after winning both races in the No. 2905 Polaris RZR XP1000Turbo.
PRO QUAD LEADER
The 2016 Overall Quad point leader after winning both of the first two races in 2016 is the team led by Javier Robles Jr, Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico (Pro Quad, Honda TRX450R). His co-riders include Josh Row, El Cajon, Calif. and Felipe Velez, San Felipe, Mexico.
SEVEN STRAIGHT
After sitting out this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, Larry Connor, Miamisburg, Ohio has now won seven straight SCORE races he has entered in the Trophy Truck Spec class. Waiting to debut his new SCORE Trophy Truck, Connor was the second driver for Steven Eugenio for the SCORE Baja 500 winning the Trophy Truck Spec class as well as finishing 14th overall in the No. 207 Mason-Chevy.
DOUBLE TIME
After leading teams to victory in both Pro Moto Limited and Pro Moto 50 at the SCORE Baja 500, Make Winkelman, Cedar Hill, Texas, now leads both class point standings. Winkelman and his team race a Husqvarna 350 in the Pro Moto Limited Class and a Honda CRF50X in Pro Moto 50.
MORE PRO CLASS POINT LEADERS
Among the other 2016 SCORE class point leaders after the SCORE Baja 500 are: Dan Chamlee, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Rodolfo Martinez, Ensenada, Mexico (Classs 5/1600, VW Baja Bug and Eric Palacios, Las Vegas (SCORE Lites, Chenowth-VW). Tied for first in Pro Moto 40 are the tandems led by Jano Montoya, Winter Garden, Fla. (KTM 450XCW) and Mike Johnson, El Paso, Texas (Honda CRF450X).
SPORTSMAN
The 2016 Sportsman motorcycle point leader is Kristopher Harvey, Yuma, Ariz. with 141 points on the No. 230x Honda CRF450X. Leading the Sportsman Quad division with 142 points is Eddie Bareno, Mexicali, Mexico on the No. 123a Honda TRX450R.
KING SHOCK ZONE
King Shocks, SCORE’s Official Shock Absorber, is offering a special contingency cash prize this year. For the recent SCORE Baja 500, the fastest vehicle through Check Point 2 (race mile 202.3) to Check Point 3 (rm329.87) on corrected elapsed time earned the choice of either a $4,000 cash prize or $5,000 in credit for King Shocks parts or service.
Winning the first King Shock Zone award at this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 was Mexico’s Gus Vildosola Jr, driver of the No. 21 Mexicana Logistics Ford Raptor in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division. Vildosola Jr backed it up by winning the award again at the SCORE Baja 500.
Qualified vehicles are equipped exclusively with King Race Shocks and contingency decals are placed on the vehicles as required.
CBS SPORTS NETWORK COVERAGE
All races in the four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship, along with the special SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and qualifying for the SCORE Baja 1000 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway are once again airing in the USA and Canada on the CBS Sports Network. The spectacular shows feature not only SCORE Trophy Truck coverage, but also 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 continue as part of each race event broadcast.
Capping off the 2016 broadcast season, the SCORE Baja 1000 broadcast on CBS Sports Network will air as a full two-hour special for the second straight year.
ON THE AIR
2016 CBS Sports Network Original Broadcast Schedule (subject to change, check local listings)
· SCORE San Felipe 250 (first telecast-Sunday, April 17, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Baja 500 (two hour special) (first telecast-Sunday, July 24, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Desert Challenge presented by Rosarito Beach (first telecast-Sunday, Nov. 13, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying @SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience (first telecast-Sunday, Dec.18, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Baja 1000 (two-hour special) (first telecast-Sunday, December 25, 9 p.m. ET)
CBS SPORTS NETWORK
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.