ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico — Two legends in their respective sports, SCORE’s Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart and Mexican-American champion Pro Wrestler/Television star Rey Mysterio Jr have agreed to be the Grand Marshals of the upcoming 49th annual SCORE Baja 500 desert race.
The dynamic duo will preside over the festivities that are part of Round 2 of the 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship, to be held May 31-June 4 in Mexico’s Baja California Norte, starting and finishing in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.
As entries from around the globe continue to register in classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, there are 196 official entries currently. As many as 100 late entries are expected to enter the popular race and so far they have come from 28 U.S. States and 13 countries for the internationally-televised SCORE Baja 500.
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Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s 49th anniversary of the SCORE Baja 500, the original desert race produced by SCORE on July 26, 1974.
IRONMAN
Iconic in the sport of off-road racing, both in SCORE and the old Mickey Thompson Stadium Series, Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart earned his moniker the hard way through over 40 years driving race vehicles, mostly trucks. Stewart earned 10 driver championships and had 84 career victories including an amazing 17 overall wins in the SCORE Baja 500 and three overall victories in the SCORE Baja 1000.
One of the only a very few desert racers to ever have a video game named after him, Stewart continues today as an ambassador for Toyota Racing Development (TRD) for whom he drove nearly 30 years as a factory driver from much of his storied career.
Turning 72 on Sunday, June 4, Stewart drove solo for most of his career to earn his ultimate ‘Ironman’ title as a tribute to his racing prowess. He was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006.
EL REY
International wrestling superstar Rey Mysterio, Jr. is a 25-year ring veteran and decorated champion in multiple North American wrestling organizations, Mysterio’s lightning-fast offense brought lucha libre to mainstream American audiences for one of the first times ever.
Around the world, fans and luchadors alike consider Mysterio their idol.
Considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, the Mexican-American professional wrestler has joined Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network for this upcoming second season.
A three-time world champion, having held the World Heavyweight Championship twice and the WWE Championship once, Mysterio made his professional debut at the age of 14.
He is also a AAA Hall of Famer and most recently captured the Lucha Libre World Cup in May 2015, leading his trios tag team to victory in a tournament against other three-man tag teams, representing wrestling talent and organizations from around the world.
GOLDEN SCORE 2017
The 2017 season also marks the golden 50th anniversary celebration of the legendary season-ending SCORE Baja 1000, the iconic Granddaddy of all Desert Races to be held November 14-18. The SCORE Baja 1000 is the oldest, longest and most prestigious continuously held desert race in the world.
ONLINE RACER REGISTRATION
Online registration, by class, for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, is ongoing through the SCORE website for the SCORE Baja 500. For more info, visit http://score-international.com/raceinfo/2017-baja-500/.
Online entries will be accepted until 10 p.m. (PDT) on Thursday, May 25. Late entries after that date and all on-site late entries will be assessed a $100 late fee to enter the race.