SCORE INTERNATIONAL

SCORE Journal Issue 9 - 2015

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

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T he Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250 may seem like a simple three-lap race that was held on an 96.2 mile race course, but the 110-degree heat and difficult terrain brought some unexpected outcomes for this fourth race of the 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship season. In the SCORE Trophy Truck division, the race was exciting to watch, as several teams traded positions back and forth from the start of the race, all the way until the last lap in which Gus Vildosola Jr. was in the perfect spot to take home the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck win. One of the favorites to win the race was Apdaly Lopez, in the number 5 RPM Off- Road Chevrolet. Leading up to the race, Lopez was the SCORE Trophy Truck points leader and had a great start at the Imperial Valley 250. While navigating through a deep silt bed, however, Lopez ended up rolling the vehicle which took him out of the race entirely. This left the competition open to the other teams that were also close in the overall championship points race, but who also needed a win here as well. The fight for first place position on the track for Steven Eugenio and Gus Vildosola Jr. began when they were paired off at the starting line. Once the green flags were dropped, Vildosola jumped into first place, but it didn't take long for Eugenio to power by him and remain in the lead position, almost the entire rest of the race. Unfortunately, engine trouble prevented Eugenio from finishing the race, which ended his day five to six miles from the finish line, leaving the door open for Vildosola to take the win. Up until that point, Vildosola had been trying to hold onto the second place position, battling with Andy McMillin, who was driving for Rob MacCachren in the number 11 Ford F-150. "During our pit at the end of the second lap Andy went by us and when we got on the road he was stopped so we went by him and then we got a flat," said Vildosola. "I thought he would go by us again, but he never did so we cruised it in and passed Steven Eugenio who was broken down about five miles from the finish." Although he didn't expect to win the overall race and the SCORE Trophy Truck division, Vildosola emerged with a victory that would put him and his team closer to a championship CURRENT POINTS LEADER APDALY LOPEZ EXPERIENCED A ROLL-OVER DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE RACE THAT TOOK HIM OUT OF THE COMPETITION 015 SCORE JOURNAL

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