SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1202355
1st Annual Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 The inaugural race gives Ryan Arciero His first season win By Dan Sanchez Photos by Get Some Photo All the talk of the Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 was the victory by Ryan Arciero. Always finishing in the top five over the previous two races, Arciero was in the right position, and kept Andy McMillin at bay to win the race overall. McMillin finished second and was frustrated with the lack of areas to pass, but accepted the outcome. He had also introduced a new Mason AWD SCORE Trophy Truck which performed flawlessly in the race, meaning he would be pushing even harder at the 52nd BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts the following November. The Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 also had Clyde Stacy in the SCORE Trophy Truck Legends class take his second win of the season and would move to the lead towards a 2019 class championship. In Class 1, Cody Parkhouse recovered after a DNF at the SCORE Baja 500 to win the class, beating out Brad Wilson who finished in second place. Jorge Sampietro decided to enter into his first race of the season into the SCORE Trophy Truck Spec class and surprised everyone by finishing first, beating out Sara Price who finished second, and Charles Dorrance who finished third in class. In Class 10 Chase Warren managed to stay ahead of class points leader Hiram Duran to win the class. The Pro UTV racers gathered at the Lucerna SCORE Baja 500 in force, which made for some tough competition again for the 2018 champion Wayne Matlock. With starting positions key to the outcome of this race in most classes, Wes Miller found himself in a winning position and carried that across the finish line to finish first in class. His two biggest contenders, Marc Burnett and Wayne Matlock had problems on the course. Burnett managed to finish in second while Matlock finished fifth behind fourth-place Brandon Schueler. The race would leave Burnett and Matlock extremely close in points towards a championship, which would be a do-or-die at the 52nd BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Unfortunately for Kristen Matlock, she had vehicle problems that forced a DNF, but it allowed Kaden Wells to take his second Pro UTV N/A class win of the season. To earn a championship, Wells would have to finish first or second at the 52nd BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts, which added pressure to both racers for the next race. The small battle within the 7sx class continued at the Lucerna SCORE Baja 400. This time Mike Leslie won the class with Novelo posting a DNF from the tough course that took a toll on the vehicle. Justin Morgan and the 1x team continued on their winning streak, finishing first in the Pro Moto Unlimited Class, while Santiago Creel’s 66x team finished second. Creel’s continuing battle with Marco Pena in Pro Moto Limited ended up with Pena’s 120x team finishing first ahead of Creel’s 100x team who ended up second. Pro Moto Ironman Mike “Viking” Skurkis had finished every race this season, but wanted a win. Finishing second in San Felipe, third at the SCORE Baja 500 and a great first-place finish here, his season turned around with the most points towards a championship, heading into the 52nd BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Within the Pro Quad Class, the tide had turned for Adolfo Arellano, who finished first ahead of 2018 class champion Said Sanchez who finished in second place. Only six points were separating the two for the class championship and everything would depend on the outcome of their performance during the final race of the season.