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Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 features
21 former race champs in record field
February 22, 2007
Nearly 375 entries expected
Record starting grid for 21st Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250
Includes 13 4-wheel and 8 former 2-wheel Overall champs
SCORE Trophy-Truck features race-record 36 entries, unlimited
Class 1 has 39, Class 1-2/1600 has 28 heading to Mexico
LOS ANGELES—As entries continue to surpass record levels, next
month’s 21st Annual Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 will undoubtedly
feature a battle of former overall champions, including 13
former winners in the 4-wheel divisions and eight former
motorcycle champs. Round 2 of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert
Series will be held March 10 in the quaint and picturesque
fishing village of San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.
With a race-record of nearly 375 entries expected to compete in
27 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes, the green flag will drop at 6
a.m. on Saturday, March 10, for the motorcycle and ATV classes,
followed by the car and truck classes three hours later at
approximately 10 a.m. The start and finish line area for the
201.3-mile loop course will once again be the landmark San
Felipe arches on Highway 5 on the outskirts of San Felipe. All
vehicles will have a 9-hour time limit in the elapsed time race
and vehicles will start in 30-second intervals.
Following January’s season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert
Challenge, America’s Foremost Desert Racing Series will visit
Mexico for the first of three times in 2007.
To date, 358 official entries have been received, led by the
unlimited Class 1 with 39. The featured SCORE Trophy-Truck is
next with a race-record 36 followed by Class 1-2/1600 with 28,
SCORE Lite with 24, Class 10 with 20, Class 22 with 16 and Class
30 with 14. Late registration will be accepted up until race
morning.
The race will be webcast live with video and audio on the SCORE
International website at www.score-international.com, with
production provided by Digital 1 Unlimited in association with
SCORE Television partner Aura360.
“This is an extremely challenging race course, and that’s part
of the lure it has had during the first 20 races,” said Sal
Fish, SCORE President/CEO. “This particular race course hasn’t
been used since 2001 and is also a course with incomparable
beauty, featuring both Baja ruggedness and diversity, truly a
majestic representation of the entire Baja California peninsula.
It runs through four storybook Mexican washes—Huatamote, Chanate,
Azufre and the magnificent Matomi. I honestly believe that many
of the competitors are drawn to this race because of the
incredible beauty of the course.”
Leading the group of former overall 4-wheel vehicle champions
are Las Vegas brothers Ed and Tim Herbst and Scott McMillin, of
Poway, Calif., who have earned three titles each during the
first 19 of these ‘Spring Break’ desert racing classics.
The Herbst brothers, driving the No. 19 Terrible Herbst
Motorsports Ford F-150 in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck
division for hi-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production
trucks, won three consecutive years in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Scott McMillin, racing in the unlimited Class 1, won in 1983 and
1984 in a Porsche-powered Chenowth open-wheel desert race car,
with his late father Corky McMillin, the family patriarch of
SCORE’s first three-generation McMillin Racing team. In 2005,
Scott won in Class 1 as co-driver for his son Andy McMillin in a
Jimco-Chevy. This year, Andy McMillin will be the driver of
record in the No. 31 McMillin Racing Chevy C1500 in SCORE
Trophy-Truck with his father Scott McMillin as the second
driver.
On the motorcycle side of the popular race, American Honda
superstar Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif., who has a total
of six Overall two-wheel vehicle victories. Campbell’s triumphs
came in two three-year spurts winning in 1998 and 2000 with Tim
Staab, and 1999 with Cole Marshall, before winning in 2002, 2003
and 2004 with Steve Hengeveld.
Hengeveld, a regular for Team Honda, will sit this year’s race
out while recovering from a broken arm he suffered recently.
Campbell is currently listed as a third rider for last year’s
winning motorcycle duo of Robby Bell, Murrieta, Calif., and
Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif., on a Honda CRF450X.
Also back to defend their victories last year are the overall
4-wheel champion and the overall ATV winner. Garron Cadiente,
Mesa, Ariz., returns in SCORE-Trophy in the No. 38 G&R Racing
Ford F-150 while Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif., and Chad Prull,
Laveen, Ariz., return as the 2006 ATV winners on a Honda
TRX450R.
A pair of two-time Overall 4-wheel vehicle champs in this year’s
lineup are Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (1998 and
2004) and Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz. (1991 and 1995).
This year, both veteran drivers will compete in SCORE
Trophy-Truck and both are teamed with former Overall Tecate
SCORE San Felipe 250 race winners. Post will have 2003 winner
Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren splitting driving time in the No. 3
Riviera Racing Ford F-150 while Ragland will be the driver of
record for Las Vegas’ Brian Collins, who won in 1990, in the No.
12 Collins Motorsports Chevy Silverado. Ragland and Collins will
split the driving, just like Post and MacCachren.
Giving the field eight of the last nine Overall 4-wheel
champions will be 2003 winner Gus Vildosola, Mexicali, Mexico,
who won with MacCachren, in the No. 4 Vildosola Racing Ford
F-150.
Two-time Overall Motorcycle champion Larry Roeseler, 49, of
Hesperia, Calif. (1991, 1992) has moved to 4-wheel vehicles and
is the driver of record this year for Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst,
40, who won Class 1 and finished second overall to his older
brothers in 2000. Herbst, the youngest of the three racing
brothers, is still rehabilitating a severely torn Achilles
tendon.
Las Vegas’ Tim Herbst and Southern California’s Chris Blais
received the pole positions for four-wheel and two-wheel
vehicles in the computerized drawing for starting positions held
Feb. 9. Herbst races in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division
while Blais competes in Class 22.
Drawing the first starting slot for the unlimited Class 1
open-wheel desert race cars was Brian Parkhouse, of Bell
Gardens, Calif. Riding the first ATV off the line will be San
Diego’s Jovany Pimentel.
Herbst, 43, who will drive solo while his older brother Ed
continues his rehabilitation from neck surgery he had last
November, has four class wins including three overalls in San
Felipe in the No. 19 Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150
SCORE Trophy-Truck.
With a race-record 36 entries so far in the class for 800
horsepower, unlimited production trucks, Herbst will lead a
strong field in SCORE Trophy-Truck that features many of the
world’s top desert racers.
Blais, 26, who led the overall motorcycle championship team in
San Felipe in 2005, will split riding time this year with David
Pearson, 23, of Las Vegas, on the 2x Red Bull KTM 525XC. Blais
became the first American to finish on the podium in January
when he finished third on a KTM in the challenging Dakar Rally.
Parkhouse, 47, will split driving time with another SCORE
veteran, Tom Ridings, 52, Long Beach, Calif., in the No. 101
Parkhouse Motorsports Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race
car in Class 1.
Helping Pimental, 22, lead the ATV entries off the line in a
Yamaha YFZ450 will be riding mates Christian Vargas, 18, San
Diego, Roberto Ulloa, 26, Chula Vista, Calif., and Rafael
Guzman, 24, National City, Calif.
Besides Herbst, who with his brother Ed won the overall and
SCORE Trophy-Truck titles in San Felipe in 1999, 2000 and 2001,
the record SCORE Trophy-Truck field includes last year’s overall
and SCORE Trophy-Truck winner Garron Cadiente, 31, of Mesa,
Ariz., in the No. 38 G&R Racing Ford F-150. The 2004 SCORE
Trophy-Truck race and overall San Felipe winner Mark Post, 49,
San Juan Capistrano returns in his No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford
F-150 with new teammate, Rob MacCachren, 41, of Las Vegas, who
won this race in 2003 with Gus Vildosola. Vildosola, Mexicali,
Mexico, will split driving time this year with his son Gus
Vildosola Jr., in the No. 4 Vildosola Racing Ford F-150.
Cameron Steele, 38, an ESPN action-sports announcer from San
Clemente, Calif., has entered in three classes for San Felipe.
Steele drives the Desert Assassins No. 16 Ford F-150 in SCORE
Trophy-Truck.
Steele, whose wife Heidi Steele is a SCORE regular in Class 7SX
in a Ford Ranger, will ride a Suzuki DRZ450 in Class 22 and a
Desert Assassin-VW in SCORE Lite.
Among the other racers to draw first starting position in their
respective classes were: Steven Eugenio, El Centro, Calif.
(Class 1-2/1600, Lothringer-VW), Ricardo Malo, Mexicali, Mexico.
(SCORE Lite, Curry/BRP-VW) and the Las Vegas husband and wife
team of Adam and Bekki Wik (Class 10, Jimco-Honda).
Pre-race festivities at the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 will
include the colorful SCORE Midway and tech inspection on the
Malecon beachfront in downtown alongside the azure waters of the
Sea of Cortez from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday (March 9).
At 9 p.m. on Saturday (March 10), the awards celebration will be
held in front of The Beachcomber Night Club on the Malecon.
The 2007 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase for the
$75,000 Kartek Off-Road contingency bonus to be awarded to
several 2007 SCORE Class point champions along with the run for
the $12,000 Toyota True Grit and Toyota Milestone Awards.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich
Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant Petroleum-official
fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto
Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, American Racing ATX
Series-official wheel, Slime-official tire sealant, Airstar
America-official space lighting provider and Red Bull,--official
energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of
Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C
Communications, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite, Prestone,
Bendix, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios,
McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
Associate sponsors for the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 are the
Tourism and Convention Bureau of Mexicali/San Felipe, Cotuco and
the El Cortez Hotel.
The race annually provides a greater economic impact to San
Felipe than the entire month-long ‘Spring Break’.
For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles
headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the
2007 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
TECATE SCORE SAN FELIPE 250
All-Time Overall Champions
Cars & Trucks
Year--Driver(s), Vehicle (Class)
1982--Dan Cornwell, Chenowth-VW (Class 1)
1983--Corky McMillin/Scott McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche (Class 2)
1984--Scott McMillin/Corky McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche (Class 2)
1990--Brian Collins/Jack Johnson, Chenowth-VW (Class 1)
1991--Larry Ragland, Chevy C1500 (Class 8)
1992--Bob Richey/Boyd Cox, Raceco-Porsche (Class 1)
1993--Scott Douglas, Ford Ranger (Class 7)
1994--Ivan Stewart, Toyota SR5 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1995--Larry Ragland, Chevy C1500 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1996--Robby Gordon, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1997--Curt LeDuc, Jeep Grand Cherokee (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1998--Mark Post/Jerry Whelchel, Riviera-Chevy (Class 1)
1999--Ed Herbst/Tim Herbst, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2000--Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2001--Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2002--Dan Smith/David Ashley, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2003--Gus Vildosola/Rob MacCachren, Ford F-150 (SCORE
Trophy-Truck)
2004--Mark Post/Jerry Whelchel, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2005--Andy McMillin/Scott McMillin, Jimco-Chevy (Class 1)
2006-Garron Cadiente, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
Motorcycles
Year--Rider(s), Vehicle
1982--Bob Balentine, Honda XR500 (Class 22)
1983--Jack Johnson, Honda XR500 (Class 22)
1984--Dan Smith/Dan Ashcraft, Husqvarna CR500 (Class 22)
1990--Dan Smith/Danny Hamel, KTM (Class 22)
1991--Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicut Jr, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1992--Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicut Jr, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1993--Danny Hamel, Kawasaki KX500(Class 22)
1994--Danny Hamel, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1995--Danny Hamel, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1996--Paul Krause, Kawasaki KX500 (Class 22)
1997--Tim Staab, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
1998--Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
1999--Johnny Campbell/Cole Marshall, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
2000--Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab, Honda XR650 (Class 22)
2001--Steve Hengeveld/Jonah Street, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2002--Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2003--Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2004--Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda XR650R (Class 22)
2005--Chris Blais/Andy Grider/Quinn Cody, KTM MXC525 (Class 22)
2006-Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda CRF450X (Class 22)
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