SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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SCORE Off-Road World Championships At Riverside Raceway 1973-1988 By Dan Sanchez Photos by Trackside Photo There was a time when 30 or more off-road race vehicles were lined up side-by-side at the starting line before they accelerated and dove into the first turn on a dirt course filled with jumps, banked curves, moguls, and more. These spectacular scenes of off-road chaos and excitement played in front of thousands of fans as a part of SCORE’s Off-Road World Championship races held at Riverside Raceway in Southern California. Held over a 15-year period, the SCORE races at Riverside are an iconic part of SCORE-International’s history, one that also helped launch the careers of legendary racers and introduced huge numbers of racing fans into the world of off-road and Baja racing. The idea behind the SCORE races at Riverside had its origins in the desert. After experiencing and participating in the Mexican 1000 race in 1969, Mickey Thompson wanted to bring the excitement of Baja racing to the United States. In 1973, when the Mexican government asked Thompson to take over the Mexican 1000 race for the following year, it presented the opportunity Thompson needed to start his off-road racing organization which he called SCORE. Thompson knew people would come to see this exciting Baja style of racing if it was recreated on a closed course. “Mickey had always said only the snakes and jackrabbits see the Baja races,” said SCORE Former Owner Sal Fish. “Before I started with SCORE, Mickey had talked to people he knew at Riverside International Raceway, and that same year (October of 1973) he had organized a closed course off-road event, the AC Delco RV Spectacular. It was the race he invited me to witness first-hand, and it was a huge spectacle to witness. That, combined with SCORE taking over the Baja races, was enough to convince me to leave my magazine publishing career and take his offer for me to be president of the company.” A WILD RACECOURSE The first Riverside event had one of the wealthiest purses at the time, a total of $200K. The track was seven miles in length and was built by famous motocross champion Rolf Tibblin. Later races were built by various contractors including Walker Evans, but were shortened to an average 3.5 miles in length. The excitement of each SCORE race in Riverside began with the start. Fish called it the Oklahoma Land Rush. “We lined up the vehicles, sometimes 33 cars wide at the start. They would all rush to make it to what was Riverside Raceway’s turn-six, and then it was narrow enough for about six vehicles to get through at a time.” The courses also had plenty of obstacles, including jumps, whoops, mud, S-sections, sand pits, and the famous Thompson Ridge, designed by Evans. “Thompson Ridge was a turn that was off-camber like in Daytona,” said Fish. “I remember you had to be traveling at least 50 mph to make it through this turn and most of the buggies and trucks were going through this much faster.” SCORE racing legend Roger Mears had the most wins in the SCORE races at Riverside (20 overall) and recalls what the courses were like. “Mickey was good at making the tracks spectacular and he had a lot of fun with them,” said Mears. “The track was famous for the Thompson Ridge which was a slope that had an off-camber bank. It was wild to drive over. It was the best combination of good, hard, off-road racing and putting on a show at the same time.” Mears and his brother Rick drove everything from Chenowth, Hi-Jumpers, Parnelli Jones’ Chevy Blazer, Jeep Honchos, and Nissan pickups. “There were times when my brother and I would run several different classes during the entire weekend of those SCORE Riverside races,” he said. “We would run one class in a buggy, then change the engine to a larger size and run another class. That’s how I collected so many wins.” Running in various heats throughout the weekend, SCORE Riverside races had classes for a wide range of off-road vehicles of the time. These included 4WD stock production and modified, 2WD vehicles, mini-pickups, production 2WD Utility, and motorcycle classes from under 250cc, to 1000cc. In 1975 the SCORE Off-Road World Championships in Riverside introduced Class 11 VW Bugs. “The idea was to allow all racers from pros to sportsmen the ability to participate,” said Fish. “It worked well and SCORE has had a Class 11 ever since.” Along with VW Bugs, many of the types of vehicles changed throughout the years and included everything from Jeeps, dune buggies, full-size and mini-pickups, Chenowth, Funco buggies, and more. KEEPING SPECTATORS ENTERTAINED Despite SCORE’s Riverside events being popular with racers, the SCORE events at Riverside were all about keeping fans entertained. From the beginning Thompson allowed spectators to bring their RVs and camp through the weekend on top of Thompson Ridge, overlooking the course. Most of the obstacles were purposely placed in front of the grandstands. This allowed spectators to clearly see racers in their vehicles, and witness some spectacular battles for position, as well as crashes. The events also had special low-speed obstacle courses for RVs allowing owners to test their handling and maneuvering skills. To keep spectators further entertained, the events hosted dances, bands, and had a fireworks show in the evenings. “It was truly a time when people still liked the ideas of Woodstock and big gatherings,” said Fish. “Even the fuel crisis of the time didn’t deter spectators and racers from enjoying the entire weekend in Riverside Raceway.” Celebrity race events also took place with sponsors like American Motors who supplied Jeeps for a wide range of celebrities to race in. “We would get television show actors like Eric Estrada, Grizzly Adams, Patrick Duffy, and numerous others. We also had singers like Vikki Carr and Tanya Tucker, and even sports celebrities like professional boxer Ken Norton. People would line up days before the race to get tickets and be a part of this amazing event and show.” Memorable Moments From the first race in 1973 to the last one held there in 1988, there were numerous memorable moments for both racers and spectators. The one that the race track is famous for is the crash that had legendary racer and ORMHOF Inductee, Bobby Ferro land on the I-60 Freeway. During the 1973 AC Delco RV Spectacular, Ferro in his SS1 Funco Sandmaster took a hard kit and was knocked unconscious. “My helmet hit against the roll cage and it knocked me out,” said Ferro. “The next thing I recall is waking up with a California Highway Patrol officer looking down on me, and I could see my car being towed away. What I didn’t know at the time was that the throttle on the engine had stuck wide open and the car proceeded to plow through the fence and landed on the Pigeon Pass off-ramp for the I-60-Freeway.” Another ORMHOF Inductee and legendary SCORE racer who had fond memories of SCORE Riverside races is Curt LeDuc. In 1983 he made his first trip out to California, traveling more than two thousand miles to compete in a 4WD straight axle race car with a Ford Ranger body. From his racing achievements, he made great business relationships at Riverside and eventually moved to California in 1985. He also has many memories but recalls watching the new Stadium Trucks, another Mickey Thompson idea, compete there around the mid to late 1980s. “The stadium trucks were a big thing and they also had a class at SCORE Riverside races,” says LeDuc. “I saw Mickey’s son Danny come around turn six in one, and approach the moguls section at full speed. He hit the first one at wide-open-throttle and launched the truck high and fast enough, that it skipped across the tops of each mogul. I watched in awe at what he had just done. The second time he came around, he hit one of the moguls and cartwheeled the truck, end over end in a spectacular crash.” When it comes to memorable moments, ORMHOF Inductee Roger Mears has many from winning the most races at these events. One of Mears’ most memorable, however, was when he lost a race to his brother Rick while driving Parnelli Jones’ Chevy Blazer. “The first time I was able to beat Parnelli was huge for me,” said Mears, “We later became friends and at one race, I was driving his Chevy Blazer for him and it was faster than hell! I caught my brother who was leading, and I passed him. The checkered flag was about 50 feet ahead and the car suddenly quit. The carburetor had problems and it just fell apart. My brother passed me and won the race. He never let me forget it.” Glenn Harris, who raced his Class 9 car at Riverside, who raced with Roger Mears, worked with Walker Evans, and eventually operated the Mazda Truck team to win a Championship, began experiencing the Riverside races as a spectator. “ Watching the Riverside races was like the ultimate circus,” said Harris. “When I raced there as a teenager, I lined up side-by-side with the other racers for the Class 9 start, waiting for the previous class to finish their heat. I had installed a set of small Radio Shack speakers in my helmet to listen to music while I waited.” I remember the 1978 race when I was ahead of Roger Mears and I led the whole race. Roger was following me when a yellow flag came out, but the checkered flag was just ahead. I slowed down but Roger jumped the start before the finish and won the race. I finished second, but it caught the attention of Roger and the Mears team.” “Afterwards, Roger asked me to drive with him that September at the Parker 400 race that same year, and I drove the California side. It was like being in a movie with Roger next to me. We won the race and that’s when I was introduced to my future wife. If I hadn’t lost that Riverside race to Roger, I would have never met her.” SOCIETY CHANGING The property Riverside Raceway had become more valuable, and it was scheduled to be sold to developers. The last SCORE Off-Road World Championships were held in 1988 and crowds were down from previous years. “Next to NASCAR, the SCORE Races had the longest run in the race track’s 31-year history,” said Fish. “By the time it ended in 1988, the times and society had changed. People weren’t spending three days in one place like they did at Woodstock and other events. Furthermore, at this time there were so many other events and attractions competing for people’s time and money. So we thought once the track closes, we were ending the SCORE World Championship races.” During the last several races held at Riverside, however, Robby Gordon, the son of ORMHOF Inductee and SCORE Champion Bob Gordon, had made a name for himself winning in Baja. The 19-year-old Gordon consistently won several Riverside races in both Heavy Metal (Class 8) and Dune Buggy classes, lapping the competition at one race to the amazement of fans and race teams. During the last SCORE Riverside race, Gordon won in these same two classes, catapulting him and the sport to new levels. SIDENOTE A cry for reviving the SCORE Off-Road Championships by racers had Fish negotiating with Phoenix International Raceway, in 1990. “The racers convinced me that we had to put another stadium race like this and from the beginning, it was not a good deal overall. The track didn’t have enough room and the only openings they had on their schedule put the race right when the Phoenix Suns basketball team had made it to the Western Conference Finals.” The race had an attendance of 5K fans, but Robby Gordon again won Class 8 and the Dune Buggy Class. “It wasn’t the right time anymore for these kinds of races,” added Fish. “Mickey also had his Stadium Series going on as well. I can say, however, that the Riverside races did a lot for SCORE and it gave us and our racers a solid foundation for them to compete in Baja, which was my original intent, and it worked out well.” SJ