SCORE Journal

2016 SCORE Champions Are Crowned Sponsors, Racers, Volunteers and Manufacturers Are Recognized At SCORE’s 2016 Awards Banquet The 2016 SCORE Awards Night officially ended the 2016 racing season, but not without recognizing those people that have achieved championship status, and those whose contributions helped make the 2016 season successful. The night began with the evening’s emcees Rat Sult, who is the SCORE Live announcer, Trophy Truck racer and CBS Sports Commentator Cameron Steele, guiding the more than 400 attendees that packed the SCORE Tech facility in El Cajon, California. The evening began with a salute to the individuals that helped make an exciting 2016 season, followed by SCORE’s CEO and president Roger Norman who thanked many of the people, who volunteer and support SCORE International off-road racing. “We want to sincerely acknowledge the support, assistance, and sacrifices made by family members, friends, and sponsors,” said Norman. “Without their support, the accomplishments of our racers in the series would not have been possible. Becoming a SCORE overall or class point champion, winning a coveted SCORE Off-Roadsman Award, SCORE Milestone Award or the SCORE Triple Crown of Baja is an achievement of the highest degree in our beloved sport.” SCORE Class Points Champions Crowned Those racers who earned the maximum points in their class after finishing every SCORE race in the 2016 season, were each awarded class championships. Leading the field with the most points overall, was Class 10 racer Rafael Navarro IV, who also won the points championship in his class. In the SCORE Trophy Truck division, Carlos “Apdaly” Lopez won the SCORE Overall Truck and SCORE Trophy Truck championship. Colton Udall won the SCORE Overall motorcycle and Pro Moto Unlimited championship, while Alonzo Lopez won the SCORE Overall UTV and PRO UTV championship. SCORE Person Of The Year It’s not every season that SCORE honors an individual as SCORE Person of the Year. Nonetheless SCORE International thought it would honor legendary motorsports executive Frank De Angelo as its 2016 recipient. DeAngelo is the Executive Director of Motorsports and Client Relations for Jackson Motorsports Group, located in Greenville, South Carolina, and has spent 38 years working with racers, teams, and BFGoodrich tires. This is the second time De Angelo is honored with the SCORE Person of the Year, the first time was in 1985 after he was the catalyst behind the combining of HDRA and SCORE. SCORE 2016 Off-Roadsman Award Winners The SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year award is presented to individuals and volunteers who help make the race season successful. These individuals were chosen by SCORE members and fans who voted online among a list of nominees. The list of 2016 Off-Roadsman winners include; SCORE Mechanic of the Year - Jeff Geiser, Geiser Brothers SCORE Team Manager of the Year - Rick Geiser, RPM Racing SCORE Contingency Company of the Year - BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Pit Support Team of the Year - BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Journalist of the Year - Armando Castaneda, El Mexicano Periodico SCORE Photographer of the Year - GetSome Photo (Art Eugenio) SCORE Videographer of the Year - BCII TV SCORE Rookie of the Year - Chad Broughton, Trophy Truck Spec SCORE Person of the Year - Frank DeAngelo, Jackson Motorsports Group /BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer of the Year - Alumi Craft (John Cooley) SCORE Engine Builder of the Year - Dougans Racing Engines (Ray Field) SCORE Original Truck Chassis Manufacturer of the Year - Geiser Brothers SCORE Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year - Honda Motorcycles SCORE UTV Manufacturer of the Year - Polaris Industries Triple Crown Of Baja For the first time, SCORE International honored nine of the all-time winners of the SCORE Triple Crown of Baja. These are individuals who have won the overall titles at all three of SCORE’s Legacy races that include the SCORE San Felipe 250, SCORE Baja 500, and SCORE Baja 1000. While not all nine individuals could attend, the awards were given to Gustavo “Tavo” Vildosola Jr, who’s father Gus Vildosola Sr. accepted the award on his behalf. Ivan Stewart and Dave Ashley also accepted their awards that night. Other award recipients included Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, Andy McMillin, Scott McMillin, Dan Smith, and Larry Ragland. Manufacturer Champions Recognized Manufacturers who participate in SCORE racing events, are often overlooked but are just as vital for any racer and team to win. Product development and improvements have come from manufacturers participating in Baja races and for 2016, manufacturers such as Alumi Craft won SCORE’s Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer points championship. For his efforts in building reliable and powerful racing engines, Ray Field of Dougans Racing Engines was awarded the 2016 Engine Builder of the Year. This is the second time Field has earned this award building engines for many Trophy Truck and Class 1 racing teams. For the third year, Honda won the SCORE Motorcycle Manufacturer of the year with an undefeated season by Colton Udall and other teams utilizing Honda motorcycles and ATVs. In the UTV category, Polaris took the SCORE UTV Manufacturer of the Year for the second time while the Geiser Brothers won the SCORE Original Truck Chassis Manufacturer points title for their second time. SCORE Rookie Honored For A Great Season SCORE also enjoys celebrating new drivers into the series and selects a Rookie of the Year to encourage and acknowledge the skills of new drivers. This year, Chad Broughton was selected for the 2016 Rookie of the Year award. Broughton had a great 2016 season winning the SCORE Trophy Truck Spec points championship in his first season. Within the TT Spec class, Broughton finished in the top three positions at each of the SCORE races. Broughton has previously competed in Class 20, winning the point championship in 2012 and 2013. He’s also competed in Class 3000. Looking Forward To 2017 With as much excitement as the SCORE 2016 season brought to off-road racing, many are anxious for the start of the 2017 racing season and the celebration of the 50th SCORE Baja 1000. Adding to the celebration of the 50th, BFGoodrich Tires director of motorsports Chris Baker, announced that the company will offer a special contingency prize of $50,000 to the racer with the fastest overall time during the 50th SCORE Baja 1000 in November. In addition, SCORE International will also have more announcements regarding the 2017 season and special events celebrating the 50th SCORE Baja 1000. As the 2016 season is put to rest, SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman looked back at this year’s accomplishments. “The year of 2016 was another memorable year in the history of SCORE International,” said Norman. “We witnessed a total of nearly 2,100 different drivers/co-drivers and riders/co-riders from 39 U.S. States and nearly 25 countries that participated in our four spectacular races in SCORE World Desert Championship. For my wife Elise and I, this was our fourth year as the caretakers of this amazing international treasure we all know as SCORE International. We are even more committed to working with our racers to expand the reach of SCORE even further than it has achieved so far.” SJ

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