SCORE Journal

score-journal-FEB-2020

SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing

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2010-2019 Decade of Excellence expands SCORE World Desert Championship progress deep into 21st century By Dominic Clark, SCORE Media Operations Director As SCORE enters a new decade, it has seen many milestones and successes. “SCORE is the standard for the sport of desert racing world-wide and this past decade saw SCORE increase its reach and impact significantly,” said Jim Ryan, SCORE Marketing and Sales Director. “SCORE has initiated and implemented several expanded safety resources and education which are both key elements for the growth of our sport and series. The SCORE World Desert Championship continues to attract the world’s best racers, not only from desert racing, but also Formula 1, NASCAR, Indy Car, Sports Car racing and Dakar Rally racing. In these past 10 years we have made tremendous progress in developing our live streaming capabilities, technology for the race vehicles and introducing an expansive digital media presence led by the award-winning SCORE Journal online monthly digital magazine.” A Look At Memorable Moments During SCORE’s Last Decade THE NORMANS In 2013, SCORE Trophy Truck champion racer Roger Norman and his multi-talented wife Elise Norman have overseen SCORE International. Business entrepreneurs based in Reno, NV, their tremendous efforts have helped SCORE achieve the highest standards for safety, media presentation and technology, while their staff continues to produce the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series. As a racer, Norman won the SCORE Baja 1000 in SCORE Trophy Truck in 2008 with Larry Roeseler and then started the last decade in 2010 by finishing third in a peninsula run while driving solo in that year’s SCORE Baja 1000. SAL FISH RETIREMENT After 38 years at the helm of SCORE International, Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Sal Fish retired after selling SCORE International on December 20, 2012. Fish brought many innovations to the sport and developed the rule book that has been the standard template in the sport for over four decades. The crown jewel of his career was creating the featured SCORE Trophy Truck racing division for high-tech, 950-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks in 1994. He was also the mastermind behind the SCORE World Championships short-course events that were held for over 20 years at Riverside International Raceway, and he was one of the key catalysts in putting together the combined HDRA/SCORE Desert Series that successfully ran for seven years from 1985-1991. DUST 2 GLORY RELEASE Nearly 18 months in the making, Dana Brown’s long-awaited ‘Dust 2 Glory,’ the follow-up motorsports documentary to highly-acclaimed ‘Dust to Glory,’ launched in 2005, had a successful special nationwide premiere event in U.S. Cinemas on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. ‘Dust 2 Glory’ was produced by BCII in association with SCORE International and Dana Brown Films. BCII’s Bud Brutsman was the executive producer. Following in the trail of ‘Dust to Glory,’ the ‘Dust 2 Glory’ movie chronicled each of the four races in the 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship as well as the 2015 SCORE Baja 1000. Brown’s original ‘Dusty to Glory’ became an iconic classic showcasing the legendary SCORE Baja 1000. SCORE DESERT CHALLENGE After 18 years in Laughlin, NV, including 2010, 2011 and two rounds in 2012, the unique-format two-day SCORE Desert Challenge was also held four more times in the last decade. In 2014 it was held in Plaster City, Calif. where it was won by Steven Eugenio who is from nearby El Centro, Calif. After a one-year hiatus, the SCORE Desert Challenge was then held in Mexico for the first time in three years. In 2016 in Rosarito Beach, Juan C. Lopez was the winner followed by two years in Tijuana (2017 won by Josh Daniel and 2018 won by Cameron Steele). SCORE TT LEGEND CLASS Always on the cutting edge of innovation, SCORE introduced the SCORE TT Legend class in 2017 for SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old that choose to race in this new class. Clyde Stacy, Bristol, VA won both the first season class point title in 2017 with WRC racer Armin Schwarz of Germany. Stacy drives the No. 5L Chevy Rally Truck and he won two races in 2019. TWO 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS This past decade also saw SCORE celebrate anniversaries of two of the top motorsports events in the world. The BFGoodrich Tires 50th SCORE Baja 1000 was held in 2017 and the BFGoodrich Tires 50th SCORE Baja 500 was held in 2018. Mexico’s Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez (22 in 2017) teamed with his veteran father Juan C. Lopez (43 in 2017) to etch their name indelibly as the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck winners at the 50th annual BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Nov. 16-18, 2017 on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula. The world’s most iconic, prestigious and longest continuously held desert race was held over a 1,134.40-mile rugged race course down Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting in Ensenada, Baja California Norte and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur. There were 404 total starters and 237 official finishers (58.66 percent) racing in Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. Racers came from 44 U.S. States, the District of Columbia, two U.S. Territories and 28 countries. Las Vegas’ iconic Hall of Fame desert racer Rob MacCachren (53 in 2018), won the golden anniversary celebration of the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 by starting first, never losing the physical lead. The race was held June 2-3 in Mexico’s Baja California, starting and finishing in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego. The course distance was 542.12 miles. With the 321 official starters and the 187 finishers, the 50-year history of the SCORE Baja 500 entries came from 32 U.S. States, two U.S. Territories and 14 total countries in the 2018 race. HALLmarks For the first eight years of the decade (2010-2017), the late great Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Rod Hall competed in the final eight of his unmatchable streak of racing in the first 50 SCORE Baja 1000 races. He capped his career in 2017 by capturing his race-record 25th class victory in the Granddaddy of all Desert Races. Hall passed away after a lengthy illness at home in Reno, Nev. in June of 2019. BAJA BOOKS In conjunction with both 50th anniversary celebrations, SCORE produced special commemorative books for each race. Edited by SCORE Marketing and Sales Director Jim Ryan with art direction by Jack Wright and numerous contributors both editorially and pictorially, the colorful books are massive, full of engaging feature stories, thousands of pictures and historical data for the two premier races in the desert racing world. Both hard-bound collector’s items, the 2017 SCORE Baja 1000 book is 416 pages and the 2018 SCORE Baja 500 edition is 432 colorful pages. Each phenomenal book includes extensive coverage in print and image of the 50th anniversary race of each respective event, but complete historical records of each race as recorded and developed by long-time SCORE Media Operations Director Dominic Clark along with dramatic images from SCORE Official Photographer Art Eugenio. Both books are still available individually or as a special two-book set through the SCORE store on the SCORE website at www.score-international.com. SCORE SAFETY PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE The significant SCORE safety initiatives were at their highest level at the 2017 BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000. That race utilized the new STELLA tracking system and there were 25 rescue vehicles and ambulances stretched along the race course provided by Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross). There were also three dedicated rescue vehicles with full complement of extrication tools, medical supplies and professional Fire-Rescue crews monitoring and advancing along with the race. Two medical Air Ambulances staffed with a critical care nurse and paramedic, and the SCORE Medical/Rescue Helicopter was staffed with two advanced life support rescue paramedics and supplies. “Weatherman” race communications was at three locations with one fixed on Mount Diablo and two in separate airplanes following the race course for constant communications and safety for the participants. Over 50 satellite radios/phones were utilized for direct safety communications along the course. There was also full internet capability throughout the command centers and Rescue units monitoring live updates, locations, communications and any race-related emergencies that may arise. The event’s experienced staff of medical and rescue/safety professionals also standard VHF radio communications as well as cell phone communications. SCORE continues to adhere to the ‘safety-first’ philosophy and continually contributes significant resources to this vitally important aspect of its massive events. SCORE JOURNAL The SCORE Journal, launched in 2015, is published as 12 monthly online digital magazines, which includes four print editions that are available as the SCORE race programs at the four events that comprise the SCORE World Desert Championship along with another print edition for the annual SCORE Awards Night. While the magazine has many contributors, the publisher is Jim Ryan and the editor is Dan Sanchez. The SCORE Journal sees an average of nearly 2 million unique viewers each month of its English edition and over 200,000 per month unique viewers each month of its Spanish version. SCORE NEWS IN LA CRONICA & FRONTERA Starting in 2017 and written by SCORE General Manager Juan Tintos Funcke, SCORE News has been a colorful bi-weekly column in the La Cronica and Frontera newspapers in Baja California, Mexico. The columns have been a great communication tool for SCORE with its hundreds of thousands of fans in Mexico. SCORE TROPHY TRUCK 25th Anniversary Started in 1994 by then SCORE owner Sal Fish, SCORE Trophy Truck, the marquee desert racing division for high-tech, 950-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks, culminated its 26th season in 2019. SCORE Trophy Trucks were the SCORE Overall point champions in eight years of the last decade. Running its first four seasons (1994-97) as its own race series (The Tecate SCORE Trophy Truck Series), SCORE has produced 135 races in 25 years that have featured SCORE Trophy Truck. The Monsters of the Desert are driven by many of the top desert racers in the world. The high-powered vehicles themselves are serious investments, ranging in cost from $500,000 to over $1 million each. There have been 16 drivers who have combined to win the 26 SCORE Trophy Truck season point championships. Eight of those racers have won the season title more than once. On the All-Time SCORE Trophy Truck multiple season point champions list are Las Vegas’ four-time champs Ed Herbst/Tim Herbst (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003) in the No. 19 Monster Energy Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150 and Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin (2006, 2008, 2012, 2013) in the No. 97 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Toyota Tundra. Mexico’s three-time season champ is Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez (2015, 2016, 2017) in the No. 5 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck and the other three-time season champion is Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas (1994, 2007, 2018), in the No. 11 Rockstar MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150. Former NASCAR team owner/driver and IndyCar racer Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C. (1996, 2009) has two season point crowns in the No. 77 Speed Energy Gordon Motorsports Chevy Silverado. Retired racers David Ashley/Dan Smith (1998, 2001) also won the SCORE Trophy Truck season point title twice driving a Ford truck. Racers with one SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship are Ivan Stewart (1995), Curt LeDuc (1997), Jason Baldwin (2004-deceased), Bob Shepard (2005), Mark Post (2007 with MacCachren), Jesse Jones (2010), Bryce Menzies (2011), Steven Eugenio (2014) and Andy McMillin (2019). OFF-ROAD EXPO For the entire decade, SCORE provided a major display at the spectacular Off-Road Expo trade show at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona, Calif. Filling upwards of half of an exhibit hall at the Fairplex at the SCORE Baja 1000 exhibit with SCOREvision, vehicle displays, apparel, autograph sessions with the legends of Baja, SCORE also unveiled the official course map for that year’s SCORE Baja 1000 at the popular public show. SCORE BAJA TRIPLE CROWN Honored for the first time at the 2016 SCORE Awards Night were the nine all-time winners of the SCORE Triple Crown of Baja, presented by BFGoodrich Tires. The award honors the individuals who have won the overall title at the three traditional SCORE Baja races—the SCORE San Felipe 250, the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 1000. Winning the 2016 SCORE Baja 500 to complete his overall trifecta was Mexico’s Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr of Mexicali. Vildosola Jr has joined the others in the elite group of overall SCORE Baja race winners—Dave Ashley, Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, Andy McMillin, Scott McMillin, Larry Ragland, Dan Smith and Ivan Stewart. SEMA SHOW/LVMS QUALIFYING For five years in the last decade (2014-2018) SCORE participated in the largest industry trade show in the world as well as presented a special qualifying event for the SCORE Baja 1000. SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying, presented by BFGoodrich Tires, was part of the massive celebratory SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience, also presented by BFGoodrich Tires, that for five straight years was a major spotlight attraction during the popular annual SEMA Show trade gathering being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The qualifying was held for five years in front of capacity crowds each year of over 3,000 fans at the off-road track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While there were other classes some years, SCORE Trophy Trucks were featured all five years. With a second-driver often running the trucks for qualifying, the previous fastest SCORE Trophy Truck qualifiers in the five years of this special Las Vegas qualifying event at LVMS were Robby Gordon, Mooresville, N.C. in 2014 and 2017, Ricky Johnson, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (Driver of Record-Justin Matney, Bristol, Tenn.) in 2015 and again in 2018 (DOR-Larry Connor, Miamisburg, Ohio) and Kyle LeDuc, Temecula, Calif. (DOR-Mark Post, Las Vegas) in 2016. RECORD SCORE MILESTONE AWARDS After rough-riding their way through 2,025.43 dusty, crusty, challenging, grueling and unforgiving SCORE Baja desert racing miles, 47 of the world’s best desert racers survived the challenge of the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship and emerged to earn coveted 2019 Rod Hall SCORE Milestone Awards, presented by VP Racing Fuels. The 47 racers, competing in 18 different classes in the series for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, earned their prestigious honors by finishing every required mile in the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series. SCORE is presenting these prestigious awards to the world’s toughest desert racers for the 34th consecutive year. The SCORE Milestone awards will be presented to the car, truck, UTV drivers and motorcycle, quad riders who finish every required mile in the 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship. SCORE BAJA 400 DEBUTS SCORE introduced a new race in 2019, the Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 in September. SCORE second-generation veteran racer Ryan Arciero was the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck winner in his No. 32 Ford F-150. The race that saw 189 total starters and 146 total finishers. It also marked the first year that SCORE would have three races in Ensenada, the ‘Off-Road Capital of the World’. STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH MEXICO In early November 2019 in Mexico City, SCORE signed an unprecedented Strategic Tourism Alliance with the Mexican Federal Government. Marking the first time a special initiative like this has been finalized by the Mexican government with an international racing organization, Baja California State Senator and SCORE Baja racer Gerardo Novelo, of Ensenada, was a key catalyst in developing this expanded relationship with the Federal Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR) and SCORE. The historic agreement was officially announced during a special media conference at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada, Mexico on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019 on the eve of the BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Among those joining Senator Novelo in Ensenada for the announcement conference at the Riviera were Baja California Governor Jaime Bonilla, Federal Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR) Representative Nicolas Cano, Ensenada Mayor Armando Ayala, Baja California Under Secretary of Tourism Ivete Casillas, ProTurismo de Ensenada President Nico Saad as well several local business representatives. The actual signing of the unprecedented alliance agreement took place on Nov. 6, 2019 in Mexico City. The agreement is between SCORE and the Mexican Government through the Federal Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR).

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