SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1493467
54 desert racers earn 2022 Rod Hall SCORE Milestone Awards Presented by Toyota Escondido By Dominic Clark, SCORE Media Ops Director Completing the entire four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship, 54 of the toughest racers in the world have earned 2022 Rod Hall SCORE Milestone Awards, presented by Toyota Escondido. Representing 22 different classes, the winners covered every required mile in the four races, all held in Baja California, Mexico—the SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, the SCORE Baja 500 in June, the SCORE Baja 400 in September and the SCORE Baja 1000 in November.. SCORE MILESTONE AWARDS SCORE is presenting these prestigious awards to the world’s toughest desert racers for the 37th consecutive year. The SCORE Milestone Awards, presented by Toyota Escondido, are being presented to the car, truck, UTV drivers and motorcycle, quad riders who finished every required mile as official finishers in the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship. Racers were required to cover 1926.19 miles during the four-race 2022 season. TOP CLASSES Leading the way in the chase for 2022 Rod Hall SCORE Milestone Awards, presented by Toyota Escondido were six superlative stallions in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 1000-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks, two in the SCORE TT Legend class, two in the unlimited Class 1, six in Trophy Truck Spec, five in Class 10, four in Pro UTV FI (Forced Injection), three in Pro UTV Open, four in Pro Moto Unlimited along with three in Pro Moto Limited. SCORE COMMENTS “SCORE is privileged to honor the world’s best desert racing drivers and riders,” said Jim Ryan, SCORE Vice-President of Sales and Marketing. “For nearly four decades, SCORE has been very humbled to honor racers with the Rod Hall SCORE Milestone Awards, presented by Toyota Escondido. SCORE racers are the toughest, most rugged racers on the planet. This most prestigious award has become iconic in our sport. It is also a distinct privilege for us to continue to honor the memory of one of the greatest desert racers of all-time in having Rod Hall’s name on this unique and wonderful award.” MULTI-TIME WINNERS While 29 of the 2022 SCORE Milestone Award winners have earned this prestigious award for the first time, 25 of this year’s winners have earned two or more and 11 of those have captured this award three or more times. Leading this year’s multiple winners group is Dan Chamlee, Montecito, Calif., who has now earned this accolade nine times (all in Class 7) in his illustrious career. His Milestones have come in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 and the last five consecutive years (2018-22). Second among this year’s winners is Peru’s Jano Montoya, who lives in Winter Park, Fla., who has earned six SCORE Milestones (three each in Pro Moto 30 and Pro Moto 40). His awards have been earned in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, six of the last seven years. With five career SCORE Milestone Awards each are San Diego’s Luke McMillin in SCORE Trophy Truck (2010, 2011, 2019, 2020, 2022) and Kaden Wells, Hurricane, Utah, in Pro UTV NA (consecutively from 2018 through 2022). Four racers tied with four each of these distinguished awards are Mikey Lawrence, Banning, Calif., in SCORE Trophy Truck (2009, 2012, 2019, 2022), Damen Jefferies, Apple Valley, Calif., in Class 1 (1997, 1999, 2008, 2022) and Fernando Beltran, Ensenada, Mexico, in Pro Moto Limited (2017, 2020, 2021, 2022) and Ryan Liebelt, Reedley, Calif., in Pro Moto 40 (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022). Tied with three SCORE Milestone Awards each are four additional racers: Kristen Matlock, Alpine, Calif., in Pro UTV Open the last three consecutive years (2020-2022), Miguel Cortez, San Diego, in SCORE Lites (2016, 2020, 2022), Edward Muncey, San Diego, in Baja Challenge three straight years (2020, 2021, 2022) and Bolivia’s Juan Carlos Salvatierra in Pro Moto Unlimited (2020, 2021, 2022). SPECIAL WILSON NOTE Of the first-time winners, Kyle Quinn, Lakewood, Calif., is of note. He is a long-time second driver in Class 1 for Wilson Motorsports who was the driver-of-record for the first time in 2022. The prominent three-generation Wilson Motorsports team of Long Beach, Calif., has included family patriarch Norm Wilson, second-gen brothers Rick Wilson, Randy Wilson and Ronny Wilson and third-gen cousins Brian Wilson and Brad Wilson. As a team, Wilson Motorsports has now earned 13 SCORE Milestone Awards as a team. For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.