SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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SCORE AWARDS NIGHT GALA The Best People, Teams, And Companies Of The 2025 Season By SCORE Journal Staff Photos by Get Some Photo The San Diego Air and Space Museum was the location of the 2025 SCORE Awards Gala, marking the end of the 2025 season which honors the Overall Points and Class Champions, as well as the individuals and companies behind the scenes, who contributed to a successful and safe season. A crowd of nearly 500 people gathered on the evening of January 17th to celebrate the event which was hosted by SCORE Emcee Rat Sult, and industry media entrepreneur Dan McGranahan. The evening started with prayers led by SCORE racer and Racers For Chris representative Dennis Hollenbeck honoring racers, friends, and legends, who passed away this season, and who remain a part of SCORE’s off-road racing legacy. They included Walker Evans, George Antill, Vic Wilson, Mike Walser, Gabriel Sandez, Mike Ley, and Charlie Engelbart. MEXICAN OFFICIALS HONORED SCORE General Manager Juan Tintos Funke recognized several Mexican officials who orchestrated and helped with many of the details which allowed SCORE to hold races in the country and municipalities. Receiving these special awards were, Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda, Governor of the State of Baja California; Alfredo Alvarez Cardenas, Baja California State Secretary General, Claudia Agaton Muniz, Mayor of Ensenada; Ruben Fernandez Aceves, Chief Advisor-Ensenada Mayor. Additional recipients honored were Miriam Cano Nunez, San Quintin Mayor; Jose Luis Dagnino Lopez, San Felipe Mayor; Andres Martinez Bremer, President of Proturismo and Hotel Association of Ensenada; Miguel Angel Badiola Montaño, Baja California State Secretary of Tourism. SCORE PERSON OF THE YEAR RUBEN FERNANDEZ ACEVES Highlighted by his significant contributions last year to SCORE Baja racing, SCORE International honored prominent Ensenada Government Official Ruben Fernandez Aceves as the 2025 SCORE Person of the Year. “Ruben Fernandez Aceves had a tremendous impact in several areas during the 2025 SCORE World Desert Championship,” said Grijalva. “Ruben has demonstrated extreme knowledge, understanding, wisdom, expertise, and solutions. He has the great ability to receive information, process, and develop appropriate plans and necessary actions. His work is appreciated, and in this regard, it will continue to impact SCORE and its continued effort to be the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization.” Fernandez Aceves joins the honorable list of past recipients of the SCORE Person of the Year Award like Walt Lott, Ivan Stewart, Malcolm Smith, Walker Evans, Frank DeAngelo, Michael Gaughan, Cameron Steele, Rob MacCachren, and Nico Saad. SCORE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Weatherman Relay Service SoCal’s Weatherman Relay Service received the coveted SCORE Lifetime Achievement award, and was accepted by Scott Steinberger. “Weatherman Relay has been an extremely integral part of SCORE Baja races for over four decades and SCORE is very happy to recognize all of their efforts with a SCORE Lifetime Achievement Award,” commented Grijalva. “Beyond all that they do up on Mount Diablo, to establish and maintain complete communication around our SCORE race courses, they are also a mobile communications relay from a fixed-wing airplane during our races down the Baja California peninsula.” “Bob and his son Scott, as well as the rest of the Weatherman team have gone way above and beyond during their 40-plus years of service to SCORE. Their contributions have been immeasurable.” The Weatherman Relay Service started in the 1980s by the late Bob Steinberger, who passed away in 2017, and carried on by his son Scott. Set-up at the top of Mount Diablo, the highest accessible point in Baja California at 10,000 feet, the weatherman relay team relays critical race information and coordinates emergencies from before the start of each SCORE Baja race, to well after the finishing time limit. BFGoodrich Tires Receives SCORE Legacy award Nate Hunt, Series and Sales Manager for BFGoodrich Tires Racing, accepted the SCORE Legacy Award given to the company for its commitment to off-road racing and being the official tire of SCORE International for 48 years. “BFGoodrich Tires is most definitely part of the foundation and one of the lasting pillars that have significantly helped SCORE become and maintain its place as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization,” said Jim Ryan, SCORE VP of Marketing. “SCORE is privileged to have BFGoodrich Tires as a sustaining partner and their innovations, race and racer support are unmatched in desert racing and SCORE is grateful to have this industry leader as one of our closest friends. While many of our great racers weren’t born when BFG started with SCORE, BFG Tires are a staple and SCORE welcomes this unique opportunity to present BFG with the SCORE Legacy Award for 2025.” BFGoodrich Tires joins SCORE Legacy Award honorees Jerry Herbst, Rod Hall, Oscar Kawanishi, Dominic Clark, and Sal Fish, and is the only company to receive this honor. OFFICIAL SCORE SPONSORS RECOGNIZED SCORE VP of Marketing and Sales Jim Ryan, recognized all of the 2025 season Official SCORE Sponsors which included BFGoodrich Tires, Sylvania Off-Road, SCI/Polaris, Ford Racing King Shocks,, and Rugged Radios. Ryan also spoke about the increasing visibility of SCORE International racing through its marketing avenues, a growing popularity among mainstream racing enthusiasts, and the racing industry. SJ