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Next Weekend in Laughlin, Nevada
Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst hoping to starting New Year like last year
Among record 219 entries in 11th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
Four-day event includes $25,000 Jason Hunter Memorial Class 10 Race;
$26,000 SCORE Laughlin Leap & SCORE Pit Crew Showdown
LOS
ANGELES, CA (January 6, 2005) -- Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst,
the winningest desert racer on the planet during the last eight years, is hoping
to  start
2005 off they way he started and finished 2004, claiming yet another unlimited
Class 1 victory in the SCORE Desert Series. For the 11th straight year, motorsports
fans and racers will flock to Laughlin, Nev., the desert resort town near the
shores of the Colorado River for the vastly popular SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.
As a new year filled
with hope and promise begins, the first major race of the year will be held
next Thursday through Sunday, launching the five-race 2005 SCORE Desert Series,
the world’s foremost desert racing series.
Herbst will lead
a race-record field of over 230 cars and trucks into next week’s 11th
Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge knowing he has an amazing 16 class wins
since 1997, six Class 1 SCORE season point championships, three SCORE Overall
season point crowns and he is the defending Class 1 champion in Laughlin in
the Terrible Herbst Motorsports Smithbuilt-Ford open-wheel desert race car.
When late registration
is complete, over 230 expected entries from 12 States, Mexico, Australia, Canada
and Japan will compete for nearly $400,000 in prize money and contingency postings
during the four day SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.
A total of 16 Pro
and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks are split into seven groups in
Laughlin, each running as part of one of seven races of two to five laps each
over the much-abbreviated 11-mile loop each day. Racing action runs from 7 a.m.
to 5 p.m. each day (Jan. 15-16). The  marquee
racing division is SCORE Trophy-Truck, featuring high-tech, 750-horsepower,
unlimited production trucks along with the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel
desert race cars. SCORE Trophy-Truck will be the 3:35 p.m. finale each day,
with Class 1 running just before at 2:20 p.m.
Gary Dircks (SCORE
Trophy-Truck) and Herbst (Class 1) are the defending Laughlin race winners.
Herbst is coming
off the biggest win in the history of Terrible Herbst Motorsports which is really
saying a lot when you consider how successful this team has been.
The youngest of
the three racing Herbst brothers, Troy Herbst, 38, placed a major exclamation
point on his already phenomenal career as he won the overall 4-wheel vehicle
title at the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in November. Herbst was helped
by Baja legend Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, CA, who drove part of the 1,013.57-mile
race down’s Mexico’s infamous Baja California peninsula from Ensenada
to La Paz.
Starting with family
patriarch Jerry Herbst, Terrible Herbst Motorsports has competed in the granddaddy
of all desert races 34 years and while they have had class wins, and many close
seconds, Troy Herbst’s victory was the first overall win for the team
in the legendary race.
 “I
can’t even begin to put in words what it was like at the finish line in
La Paz when I realized that we had accomplished something my family has been
attempting to do for over three decades,” said Troy Herbst, who won six
consecutive SCORE Class 1 season point crowns from 1997 through 2002. “We
are such a close family, it truly was a victory for my dad and my brothers as
much as it was for Larry and I. Now, we get to start the New Year focused and
ready to rock ‘n’ roll on the river. The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
is a special race for Terrible Herbst Motorsports because of the format and
the hospitality there it is a great opportunity for family, friends and customers
to see ‘Los Terribles’ in action up close and personal.”
Hawaii’s
Alan Pflueger and Southern California’s Wayne Lugo received the No. 1
starting positions in the top two classes in the computerized draw for starting
positions, by class, held on Dec. 28.
Pflueger, who won
two races in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division during the 2004 SCORE
Desert Series, drives solo in the No. 28 Pflueger  Racing
Chevy Silverado. The 2002 SCORE Rookie of the Year, Pflueger won the 2003 Protruck
class championship before moving up to SCORE Trophy-Truck. Pflueger won his
Protruck class in five races over two seasons before making the move to SCORE
Trophy-Truck.
An event-record
26 vehicles have entered to date in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division,
including defending SCORE Desert Series Champion Jason Baldwin, Laguna Beach,
CA, in the No. 1 Baldwin Racing Ford F-150.
Among the other
SCORE Trophy-Truck entries are Las Vegas brothers Tim and Ed Herbst, the winningest
team in class history with 11 career race wins in the No. 19 Terrible Herbst
Motorsports Ford F-150 and NASCAR Nextel Cup regular Robby Gordon, Mooresville,
N.C., who will return from competing in the Dakar Rally to race in Laughlin.
Lugo, a SCORE regular
from Chino, CA, is still looking for his first victory in the unlimited
SCORE Class 1 for unlimited open-wheel desert race cars. Lugo delighted a sellout
crowd during last year’s pre-race SCORE Laughlin Leap competition by flying
over the jump to a cascade of fireworks spraying out the back of his race car.
Class 1-2/1600
leads the way with a race-record 44 entries to date, followed by Class 1 and
Class 10 with 33 each, SCORE Trophy-Truck with 26 and SCORE Lite with 17.
Drawing the first
starting positions in those high-entry classes were: Tony Murray (Class 1-2/1600),
Lugo (Class 1), Bekki Wik (Class 10), Pflueger (SCORE Trophy-Truck) and Jake
Batulis (SCORE Lite).
Because of the
race format, several racers will compete in more than one class. Leading the
way will be Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren, a six-time SCORE season point champion,
who is officially entered in three classes this year for the second straight
year and is negotiating to race in a fourth as well.
 Last
year, MacCachren set a race-record by winning both Class 1-2/1600 and SCORE
Lite while driving solo and finished second in SCORE Trophy-Truck, driving one
day for driver of record Gus Vildosola of Mexico.
A very special
addition this year will be the $25,000 Jason Hunter Memorial Class 10 race,
with the $25,000 bonus purse posted by Hunter Motorsports to honor the memory
of the 2001 SCORE Rookie of the Year who was killed in an automobile accident
on Jan. 4, 2004. Starting with $10,000 for first, the purse will pay down to
seventh.
The race will also
begin the chase for the $50,000 Kartek Off-Road bonus to be awarded to the top
three 2005 SCORE Overall point leaders.
Daily general admission
tickets, good for grandstand seating, are $15 for each Thursday, Saturday and
Sunday, children five and under are free.
Daily VIP tickets
are $35 each for three days, good for admission to the Laughlin Hospitality
Chalet, including food beverage and special seating.
The stadium seating
area will include the immensely popular SCOREvision large-screen LCD display,
showing live footage from various locations around the race course.
Advance
tickets for the Laughlin Events Park are on sale at 800.308.2253.
Tickets
will also be available for two other designated spectator areas around the course
at the event.
At a cost of $10
per vehicle, there is one area off of Nevada State Highway 163 adjacent to the
racecourse as well as the popular ‘SCORE Hill’, which overlooks
the infield, start/finish area and the main pits. Admission to these areas is
on a first-come, first-served basis. Overnight camping is permitted at the 163
area with event pass, but no overnight camping is permitted on ‘SCORE
Hill’. These areas will both have and public safety services available.
One of the event's
most popular features, the SCORE Laughlin Leap, revs up the fun and gets the
weekend off to a roaring start at 6 p.m. next  Thursday.
Drivers and pit crews will share the spotlight at the Laughlin Events Park,
competing for a $16,000 purse and the honor of being the 2005 champions. The
SCORE Laughlin Leap, a dirt ramp built into the middle of the stadium, challenges
the most daring of drivers. This year’s competitors will be looking to
break the event record set last year by Mark Post in the SCORE Laughlin Leap
(160’6”).
Next Friday at
4:30 p.m. at the Laughlin Events Park, the SCORE Pit Crew Showdown focuses attention
on the entire racing team to compete for a $10,000 purse. Like other pit crew
events, the vehicle must pull into the pit, have all four tires replaced, and
then race out of the pit before the clock stops. But there's a twist. This competition
doesn't take place on a level slab of concrete, and the unusual shocks required
to compete in desert racing require that the vehicle be lifted several feet
into the air. Challengers in this event will be hoping to break the standard
set last year by Rob MacCachren’s crew in the SCORE Pit Crew Showdown
(40.60 seconds).
The Events Park
with grandstand seating, vendor’s village and food court is just minutes
from the destination's nine resorts and includes an infield packed with switchbacks,
woop-t-doos, minijumps and the Laughlin Leap.
The 11th annual
SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is sponsored by the Laughlin Tourism Committee,
the Laughlin Visitors Bureau, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
in association with Las Vegas Events. The race is sanctioned and produced by
SCORE International of Los Angeles.
Current SCORE official
annual sponsors are BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Centrix Financial, CL Bryant
Racing Fuel-official fuel. Associate sponsors are: Herbst Gaming, Kartek Off-Road,
Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Fram, Autolite,
Prestone, Bilstein, Signpros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance
Products, and Advanced Color Graphics.
For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official Optima SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com
11th SCORE LAUGHLIN DESERT CHALLENGE
Round 1, 2005 SCORE DESERT SERIES
Schedule
of Events
Thursday, January 13, 2005
11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Media Center Open River Palms Hotel/Casino Convention
Center
11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Driver Registration River Palms Hotel/Casino Convention
Center
6 p.m. $16,000 Laughlin Leap Laughlin Events Park (Start/Finish Line)
Friday,
January 14, 2004
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Driver Registration River Palms Hotel/Casino Convention
Center
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Media Registration River Palms Hotel/Casino Convention
Center
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Contingency & Technical Inspection Laughlin Events
Park
1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Course Orientation (Racers Only) Official Race Course-Laughlin
Events Park
4:30 p.m. $10,000 SCORE Pit Crew Showdown Start/Finish Line-Laughlin Events
Park
7:30 p.m. Mandatory Driver’s Meeting Harrah’s-Laughlin Hotel/Casino-Showroom
Saturday,
January 15, 2005
6 a.m. Late Registration & Tech Inspection Start/Finish Line area-Laughlin
Events Park
6:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. Media Center Open Start/Finish Line area-Laughlin Events
Park
Sunday,
January 16, 2005
6 a.m. Late Registration & Tech Inspection Start/Finish Line area-Laughlin
Events Park
6:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. Media Center Open Start/Finish Line area-Laughlin Events
Park
8 p.m. Awards Celebration Edgewater Hotel/Casino-Rio Vista Room
DAILY RACING
SCHEDULE
7 a.m. RACING STARTS (7 Races each day) Start/Finish Line-Laughlin Events Park
7 a.m. Group 1 Classes 5 (4 laps), 5/1600 (4), 9 (4), 11 (2), SPT Car--80-minute
time limit (65 minutes for Class 11)
8:30 a.m. Group 2 SCORE Lite (4 laps)—80-minute time limit
10 a.m. Group 3 Protruck (4 laps), Classes 8 (4 laps), 7 (4), 7S, Stock Full,
Stock Mini, 3, SPT Truck (ALL 3 laps)—75-minute time limit
11:25 a.m. Group 4 Class 10 (4 laps)—75-minute time limit
12:50 p.m. Group 5 Class 1-2/1600 (4 laps)--80-minute time limit
2:20 p.m. Group 6 Class 1 (4 laps)—65-minute time limit
3:35 p.m. Group 6 SCORE Trophy-Truck (4 laps)--65-minute time limit
The
Start/Finish Line area is located at the Laughlin Events Park
At the corner of Thomas Edison Drive and Bruce Woodbury Way
For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official Optima SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com
For
Sponsorship Information, contact:
Mark Handley
(760) 750-1905
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