World’s Foremost Desert Racing organization will present its first Southern California event
in Imperial Valley, April 24-27, as El Centro area provides tremendous community support
SCORE International celebrating its 41st season;
Imperial Valley Mall in El Centro hosting several race activities
RENO, Nev.—Las Vegas SCORE Trophy Truck desert racing superstars B.J. Baldwin and Rob MacCachren are among the 100 vehicles from 17 U.S. States, Guam and five countries who are entered to date in the inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley 250 desert race. Round 2 of the five-race 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held April 24-27 just west of El Centro, Calif and approximately 100 miles east of San Diego.
With over 150 entries competing in 35 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles, UTVs and ATVs expected at the start line on Saturday, April 26, entries to date have come from 17 U.S. States, the U.S. Territory of Guam along with Austria, Denmark, Germany and Mexico. With late entries accepted up to 5 p.m. Friday (April 25), the field to date includes nearly a dozen racers from the Imperial Valley area including El Centro, Imperial and Holtville.
Baldwin and MacCachren both race in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 850-horsepower unlimited production trucks. With 17 SCORE Trophy Truck wins and five SCORE Trophy Truck season point championships between them, Baldwin drives the No. 1 Monster Energy Baldwin Racing Chevy Silverado while MacCachren drives the No. 11 Rockstar MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150. To date, 12 SCORE Trophy Trucks have entered the newest race on the SCORE schedule.
ON CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR
The race will be televised on a delayed basis in the USA and Canada as a one-hour special on the CBS Sports Network with the telecast presented by BFGoodrich Tires. The show, being produced by SoCal’s acclaimed BCII TV, will air twice on the CBS Sports Spectacular show with the initial airing at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 15, 2014. Following the CBS Sports Network telecasts, the SCORE Imperial Valley 250 show will air worldwide in over 100 countries through international distribution. Here is the link for the trailer for the telecast of the first round of the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship from San Felipe, Mexico which will air at 6 p.m. (PT) on Sunday, April 20– http://youtu.be/ES6YJ2Y7xUA.
IV RACERS
Among the entries so far with Imperial Valley roots are: Steven Eugenio (SCORE Trophy Truck), Brady Turner (Class 1), Cody Robinson (Class 10), Jonathan Burnworth (Class 1/2-1600), Quentin Tucker (Class 1/2-1600), Chris Taylor (Class 7), Earl Roberts (Class 50), Gabriel Rascon (Pro ATV) and Oscar Ruiz (Sportsman ATV).
START DRAW
Tuesday’s start draw to determine the start order within each class was held at the SCORE Tech Shop in El Cajon, Calif. and 97 vehicles entered in time for the drawing. The car and truck classes who have the most entries to date are Class 10 (16), SCORE Trophy Truck (12), Class 1/2-1600 (12) and Class 19 (10). For SCORE Trophy Truck and the unlimited Class 1 (seven entries) the drawing determined the qualifying order as those two classes will have a qualifying session on Thursday of race week to finalize the starting order for each class.
DILIGENCE
Following nearly two years of extensive planning with assistance from numerous individuals, multiple businesses and several government agencies from across the entire Imperial Valley and presented by the City of El Centro, SCORE’s first race in this portion of Southern California and first SCORE race in California since a 1998 race in Barstow will be held near Plaster City primarily on 41,000 dedicated acres in an off-highway vehicle use area under the jurisdiction of the El Centro field office of the Bureau of Land Management.
The area for the race is also located immediately west of the Naval Air Facility El Centro and is approximately 17 miles west of El Centro off of Interstate 8 (I-8).
COMP FORMAT
The SCORE World Desert Championship series features 35 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs with the best desert racers in the world competing in elapsed-times races with staggered starts. Nearly 150 entries from 20 U.S. States and five countries are expected for this race. The classes will be split into two groups for the SCORE Imperial Valley 250.
The Motorcycle, ATV and a few of the slower car/truck classes will start at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 26 with the featured SCORE Trophy Truck, unlimited Class 1 and other remaining car and truck classes starting at approximately 1 p.m.
While the fastest vehicles are expected to complete the course in just under four hours, the time limit for each vehicle to become an official will be seven hours in the morning portion of the race and eight hours in the afternoon portion. Many of the limited classes will be required to run two laps while the fastest classes will all be required to cover three laps.
IMPERIAL INFIELD
Run as a three-lap race over a rugged desert race course of approximately 82 miles in length, the colorful course will include a purpose-built eight-mile section off Wheeler Road with specially-built jumps, turns and a table top area in a one square mile area of private land in the center of the race course. This infield area will include the start/finish line, the main pits, the SCORE Operations compound, the primary spectator area with SCOREvision as well as the Monster Energy VIP winner’s circle. There will also be a number of food, beverage and merchandise vendors located in this main spectator area.
SPEC AREA2
While the race course will be closed to spectators because of safety requirements for this massive desert race, a second designated spectator area will be located parallel to a five-mile section of the race course along the south side Evan Hewes Highway (County Hwy S-80). The BLM has advised SCORE that this section on the south side of Evan Hewes Highway will be open for camping as well during the race.
This second spectator area will also be adjacent to the secondary pits for the race. Along with the start/finish line area off of Wheeler Road, these are the only two designated spectator areas and both will be overseen as will the rest of the race course by the BLM and local and county police agencies to help insure the safety of everyone involved.
SAFETY FIRST
At the very top of the priority list for this event has been safety for the racers as well as the spectators and the nearly 200 course workers. Starting Tuesday (April 22) the entire area of the race course will be closed to the public by enforcement of the BLM permit for the event.
Race officials have developed the two primary spectator areas both with tremendous site lines of the race course and with ultimate safety in mind. With the added assistance from the area police agencies, race officials are creating a family-friendly spectator environment as well.
To assist the crowd of several thousand expected to attend the race, the SCORE Race Committee has launched its own website at www.IVSCORE250.com with race fans in mind.
The event website also has a reminder list for spectators of the do’s and don’ts for watching the race.
SKED HIGHS…
…START DRAW, RECON LAP, QUALIFYING
As a prelude to the inaugural event, a live drawing will be held for starting positions, by class, on Tuesday for SCORE Trophy Truck and Class 1, the two classes that will have qualifying to determine starting positions, the drawing will identify the qualifying order for each entry.
Not open to the public, activities for what is expected to be one of the largest spectator events in Imperial Valley history will begin with two, one-lap, controlled-speed reconnaissance runs for official entries in the event, one on Wednesday afternoon, April 23 and the other Thursday morning, April 24.
On Thursday afternoon, April 24, starting at 1:30 p.m. PT qualifying will be held for the two top competition classes in the race, SCORE Trophy Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850-horsepower unlimited production trucks, and SCORE Class 1 for unlimited, open-wheel desert race cars.
…FAN FARE
Starting Thursday, pre and post-race activities for the inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley 250 will be held in and around the Imperial Valley Mall at 3451 South Dogwood Avenue in El Centro.
Public activities will start with a special SCORE procession of race vehicles on Thursday evening, April 24 starting at 6 p.m. at the Imperial Valley Mall.
…GOING GREEN PARTY
Start at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday evening, April 24, the Monster Energy SCORE ‘Imperial Valley Goes Green’ part featuring the SCORE Pit Crew Challenge, racer autograph session, vehicle display and first night of pre-race contingency. Open to the public at no charge, the party will include the humongous SCOREvision super-size LED screen debuting the exclusive first showing of the Cactus Films Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 video and the CBS Sports Network replay of the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 that will air nationally at 6 p.m. PST on Sunday, April 20.
…MANUFACTURER’S MIDWAY
The colorful SCORE manufacturer’s midway, contingency and safety inspection of all vehicles in the race will be held in the parking area of the Imperial Valley Mall from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday, April 25. Racer and media registration will be held inside the IV Mall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 25.
…..FREESTYLEMX
Throughout the day on Friday, April 25 at the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will be performances of the Monster Energy FreestyleMX motorcycle team.
…AWARDS CELEBRATION
The post-race awards celebration, also open to the public, will be held on Sunday, April 27 at 10 in the Imperial Valley Mall.
‘FRIENDS OF SCORE’
The ever-growing group that has become ‘friends of SCORE’ from the area of the race include the BLM-El Centro Field Office, the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department, El Centro Police Department, Naval Air Facility El Centro, Emergency Medical Services, De Anza Rescue Unit, Imperial Valley Mall, El Centro Chamber of Commerce, Imperial Irrigation District, the city of El Centro and Imperial County departments of Planning and Public Works, board of supervisors and the county executive officer.
The event is expected to generate an economic impact for the Imperial Valley of nearly $10 million.
‘FRIENDS OF SCORE 2’
Primary local sponsors for the inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley 250 are: the City of El Centro, Imperial County, IID, REACH-Air Medical Services, Alford Distributing, Burgers & Beer, PMC and the Imperial Valley Cycle Center.
Supporting local sponsors include: Imperial Valley Mall, Spectrum Advertising, McMillin Homes, Los Cuates Fruteria, Sun Community, Rabobank, First Foundation Bank, AT&T, Rogers & Rogers, El Centro Motors Supercenter, Desert Auto Plaza, Duggins Construction, IFS, Gold Cross Ambulance Service, LiUNA, Alkaline Water Company and Hutchinson-Bloodgood.
SCORE RACE DIRECTORS
Former SCORE champion open-wheel racer Ryan Thomas will be the race-director for this event and will be assisted by Robert Gross and Greg Garber.
‘THE IV CREW’
Inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley Race Committee Members: Jeff Sturdevant –Co-Chair, El Centro Chamber of Commerce/JCS Construction; Marty Coyne – Co-Chair, Imperial Valley Cycle Center; Jeff Alford – Marketing, Alford’s Distributing; Jaime Honald – El Centro Chamber of Commerce/Burgers & Beer, Marketing/Awards Ceremony; Brandon Adams – Marketing, Alford’s Distributing; Darletta Willis – El Centro Chamber Of Commerce, Sponsors; Travis Coyne – Hotels and Equipment, Imperial Valley Cycle Center; Gary Wyatt – County of Imperial – Permits; Charla Teeters – United Desert Gateway, Imperial Valley Film Commission, permits; Steven Gutierrez – Imperial County Sherriff Department, Law enforcement/Safety; Gordon Johnson – Imperial County Sherriff Department, Law enforcement/Safety; Jim McGenley – Chief of El Centro Police Department, Law enforcement/Safety; Bob Ham – Checkers off Road Racing Team; Kirk Hester – District 38/Torrence’s Farm Implements, course design; Tony Rouhotus – Chief of Imperial County Fire, Safety; Art Eugenio – Get Some Photography; Randy Taylor – Rabo-Bank; Carlos Coral – SCORE International.
ON THE SCOREscope
In its 41st year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization in 2014, the five-race 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship series, with three special events held in Baja California, Mexico, and two in the United States, started with the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 on March 1. Starting and finishing in Ensenada, the 46th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will be held June 5-8 and the third SCORE Baja race, starting in Ensenada and finishing in La Paz, the 47th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will be held Nov. 12-16.
The two U.S. races on 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship calendar are the inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley 250 in Plaster City, Calif. (April 25-27) and the two-day, single-race Inaugural SCORE Desert Challenge, location TBA (Sept. 25-28).
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. CBS Sports Network will run a one-hour special on all five 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship races as well as a sixth show on the special qualifying for select classes for the 2014 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 that will be held Nov. 1-4 in Las Vegas during the annual SEMA automotive industry trade show. All shows are scheduled to air in the next month following the event.
WEEKLY SCORE DIRT LIVEHD
SCORE Dirt LiveHD, SCORE’s weekly Tuesday night internet studio show from El Cajon, Calif., also goes on-site live with expanded event coverage during SCORE events. Live event coverage in 2014 will include week-long live coverage of the entire five-race 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship series of two races in the United States and three in Baja California, Mexico. The first USA event of the inaugural SCORE World Desert Championship series will be the inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley 250.
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official Sponsors: Tecate Beer-Official Beer/Official Race Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Amber Racing Services-Official Race Fuels, Rigid Industries-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: Graham Watchmakers, SatellitePhoneStore.com, 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 SCORE World Desert Championship series at www.score-international.com.
Inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley 250
April 24-27, 2014—Plaster City, Calif.
Total Entries: 100 (as of 4/9/14)
(from 17 U.S. States & Guam; Austria, Denmark, Germany, Mexico)
(By entry order within class)
Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (12)
(by qualifying order)
1 B.J. Baldwin
6 Steve Sourapas
72 Robert Acer
7 Steven Eugenio
73 James Lin
5 Clyde Stacy
8 Fidel Galindo
18 Juan C. Lopez
11 Rob MacCachren
78 Jesse Ashcaft
15 Armin Schwarz
82 Jessica McMillin
CLASS 1 (7)
(by qualifying order)
189 Jon Walker
168 Shelby Reid
101 Justin Matney
166 Brady Turner
100 Cody Parkhouse
163 Paul Keller
169 Nick Mills-RS
CLASS 1/2-1600 (12)
1636 Christian Celaya
1688 Rodrigo Elorduy
1615 Jesus Velez
1610 Kevin Price
1664 Jonathan Burnworth
1666 Lucas Knecht
1607 Mario Gastelum
1677 Quentin Tucker
160? Rob Archibald
1679 Derek Eugenio
1630 Kevin Smith-RS
1600 Ernesto Arambula-1st RS
CLASS 3 (1)
303 Chris Wilson-1st RS
CLASS 5 (1)
509 Arnoldo Gutierrez
CLASS 5-1600 (1)
567 Joel Benveniste
CLASS 7 (2)
700 Dan Chamlee
721 Chris Taylor
CLASS 7SX (4)
741 James Burman
747 Justin Park
749 Eduardo Gonzalez
742 Todd Richards-1st RS
CLASS 8 (2)
807 Noah Ostanik
824 Mike Meeks
CLASS 10 (16)
1016 Cody Robinson
1068 Cody Reid
1002 Mark Lawrence
1029 Mark Bjorstrom
100? Dan Cornwell
1098 Shane Scully
1081 Todd Winslow
1080 Peter Hajas
1005 Cory Brewer
1045 Patrick Dailey
1009 Rafael Navarro IV
1056 Johnny Buss
1088 Luis Salgado
1006 Mike Lawrence
1031 Mike Johnson
1089 Arnoldo Gutierrez Jr
CLASS 3000 (2)
3053 Ryan Frisby
3003 Reid Rutherford
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (4)
871 Larry Connor
872 Jonathan Brenthel
841 Taylor Mills
846 Joe Gomez
HEAVY METAL (2)
8048 DanUnsicker
8036 Carlos Fonseca
CLASS 19 (10)
1944 Scott Estes
1921 Jaime Kirkpatrick
1905 Marc Burnett
1904 Cory Sappington
1949 Alonso Lopez
1930 Sean Cook
1932 Matt Parks
1948 Jose Juarez
1915 Thomas Graves
1917 Derek Murray
Pro Motorcycles
OPEN M/C (3)
1x Colton Udall
?x Ray Dal Soglio
4x Ricky Brabec
LIMITED M/C (1)
113x Rick de la Pena
CLASS 30 (5)
306x Fred Sobke
300x Mike Johnson
329x Brad Baker
309x Todd York
310x Mark Winkelman-1st RS
CLASS 40 (2)
410x Giovanni Spinali
403x Oscar Fazz
CLASS 50 (2)
500x Marc Princ
510x Earl Roberts
Pro ATVs
Pro ATV (4)
1a Adolfo Arellano
25a Danny Prather
14a Gabriel Rascon
15a Gabriel Zendejas-1st RS
Sportsman
SPT BUGGY (2)
1577 Martin Hoffman
1515 Derek Fletcher-1st RS
SPT UNLTD TRUCK (2)
1453 Charlie Landstrom
1444 Jim Bunn-1st RS
SPT M/C (1)
298x Gerardo Suarez
SPT ATV (2)
140a Don Higbee
112a Oscar Ruiz