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Record 200 entries expected on Sept. 10
Race-record 29 SCORE Trophy-Trucks,
39 Class 1 vehicles
Primed for overall win at 10th SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300
Eight of nine previous overall winners entered as SCORE Trophy-Trucks
Have
5-4 edge in Overalls against unlimited Class 1
LOS ANGELES, CA (August 22, 2005) -- With eight of nine Overall champions
entered, including six of nine SCORE Trophy-Truck winners and all nine unlimited
Class 1 winners,
competition in next month's 10th Annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 desert
race has quickly turned into a 'Challenge of Champions'. Round
5 of the six-race 2005 SCORE Desert Series will be held Sept. 9-11 in Primm,
Nevada.
As important as Class wins are in a desert race are, for the marquee racing
divisions, the Overall victory is equally as significant. SCORE Trophy-Truck
has won five Overalls and the unlimited Class 1 has captured four in the first
nine years of the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 and both classes are bringing the
world's best desert racers to Southern Nevada to compete for the 2005
crown. And both have race-record entries.
Celebrating its 32nd season this year as the World's Foremost Desert
Racing Series, the SCORE Desert Series is returning to Southern Nevada for
the last of its three annual races in the U.S.
The 10th Annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 will feature 17 Pro and 2 Sportsman
classes for cars and trucks in Primm, located 35 miles south of Las Vegas at
the California border. With a race-record 200 entries expected, there were
a record 170 vehicles entered in time for the start draw (Aug. 13) and the
entry list has already climbed to 178. Late entries will be accepted right
up to race morning.
For the fourth consecutive year, the race has been split into two groups
with the open wheel and VW baja bug classes starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday
(Sept. 10). The truck classes, including the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division
along with the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel class, will start at 1 p.m. One
vehicle will start every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race, with an eight-hour
time limit. The start/finish line area will be located northeast of the rear
of Buffalo Bill's Resort in Primm. The faster classes will run five laps
each over the approximately 60-mile course, while the slower classes will once
again race for either three or four laps.
A total of 29 SCORE Trophy-Trucks, a record for a U.S. race, are entered
to date, and the 800-horsepower unlimited production trucks will lead the afternoon
group into the Southern Nevada desert.
In Class 1, for unlimited open-wheel desert race cars, a race-record 39 vehicles
are currently entered.
Honolulu's Alan Pflueger is back to defend his overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck
titles in his No. 28 Pflueger Racing Chevy Silverado. Pflueger won last year's
rain-soaked race by 24 minutes, 50 seconds over the Class 10 Jimco-BMW of Martin
Christensen, Escondido, CA, who has switched to Class 1 this year.
Pflueger will start 16th in SCORE Trophy-Truck this year after winning from
the pole position last year.
Following up his first-ever SCORE class win and a second in the next race,
defending SCORE Trophy-Truck season champ Jason Baldwin, Laguna Beach, CA,
maintains a 12-point lead over his brother Josh Baldwin, Newport Beach, CA,
in the featured SCORE racing division for high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited
production trucks. The Baldwins, both drive Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Trucks.
Jason Baldwin is sixth on the SCORE Overall point leaderboard. Jason Baldwin
will start ninth in Primm in the No. 1 SCORE Trophy-Truck while Josh will start
23rd in the No. 86 SCORE Trophy-Truck.
In a sport where there is no qualifying or open pre-running (in the U.S.),
the drawing for start positions has added significance and the No. 4 Vildosola
Racing Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck, driven by Mexico's Gus Vildosola
and Las Vegas' Rob MacCachren, was selected randomly to receive the pole
position in the Aug. 13 computerized drawing at the SCORE Int'l headquarters
in Los Angeles.
A veteran desert-racing champion, MacCachren and his third-generation
protégé Bryan
Freeman, both of Las Vegas, are on top of the Overall and Class 1-2/1600 point
standings after three rounds of the 2005 SCORE Desert Series. MacCachren, who
has won seven SCORE class point championships in four different classes, was
the 2001 SCORE Overall point champion. Freeman, 25, is in his first full SCORE
season.
Vildosola, of Mexicali, Mexico, and MacCachren won SCORE Trophy-Truck in
the 2003 Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 for their only win in the featured SCORE
racing division together. MacCachren, the 1994 SCORE Trophy-Truck class point
champion, has four career SCORE Trophy-Truck wins.
MacCachren has three Class wins in Primm (two in Class 1-2/1600 and one in
SCORE Lite), but has yet to win in SCORE Trophy-Truck. Vildosola and MacCachren
were second in SCORE Trophy-Truck in Primm last year to Pflueger, and 10th
overall.
Besides Pflueger, leading the group of former SCORE Trophy-Truck winners
in the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 are Las Vegas brothers Tim and Ed Herbst,
who have won their class three times, including two overall wins, in their
No. 19 Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150. Their wins in 1998 and 2003
also earned the overall crown while in 2002 they won SCORE Trophy-Truck and
lost the overall title by two seconds to the team of Mike Julson, Santee, CA/Bob
Lofton, Westmorland, CA, who will drive the No. 106 Jimco-Chevy this year.
The Herbst brothers will start 11th in their class while Julson/Lofton will
be sixth off the line in theirs.
The Julson/Lofton tandem also won Class 1 in this race in 1997.
Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, CA, who won SCORE Trophy-Truck in 2000
and Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, CA, who won the overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck
in 1997, have teamed up this year. They will be driving the No. 3 Riviera Racing
Ford F-150 and will start eighth in SCORE Trophy-Truck.
Four drivers making their SCORE Trophy-Truck debut in Primm will be Chris
Robinson, Matt Scaroni, Wayne Lugo and Garron Cadiente. Robinson, Riverside,
CA, will drive the No. 26 Chevy Silverado while Scaroni, Hemet, CA,
will drive the No. 27 Ford F-150, Lugo, Chino, CA, will pilot the No. 36
Chevy Silverado and Cadiente, Mesa, CA, will be behind the wheel of the
No. 38 Ford F-150.
Drawing the first starting spot in Class 1 is John Gould, Anaheim, CA,
in the No. 101 Playtech-Chevy. Scheduled to drive the first three laps will
be Mexico's Gerardo Iribe, a two-time class winner in this race, before
Gould, who has never won a SCORE race, takes over for the last two.
Besides Julson/Lofton, the only other driver with double wins in Class 1
in this race is Las Vegas' Troy Herbst, the youngest of the three Herbst
brothers. Troy Herbst won Class 1 and the overall crown in this race in both
1999 and 2001 in his No. 120 Terrible Herbst Motorsports Smithbuilt-Ford.
Completing the field of returning Class 1 race winners are:
Ron Brant, Torrance CA. (1997, Raceco-Porsche); Dale Ebberts, Canyon Lake,
CA. (1998, Jimco-VW);
Steve Sourapas, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (2000, Jimco-Chevy); Chuck Hovey, Escondido,
CA. (2003, Jimco-Chevy) and Damen Jefferies, Oak Hills, CA. (2004, Porter-Chevy).
This year Brant will team with Richard Boyle, Ridgecrest, CA, in the
No. 105 RPS-Chevy while Ebberts will team with Ernie Castro Jr., Newport Beach,
CA, in the No. 115 Jimco-Toyota and Sourapas will team with Brian Ickler,
Poway, CA, in the No. 116 Jimco-Chevy. Hovey will again drive solo in the
No. 123 Jimco-Chevy while Jefferies will again drive solo in the No. 135 Porter-Chevy.
The first vehicle to leave the start line in the morning portion of the event
will be Class 10 racer Tom Ridings, 51, of Long Beach, CA, in the No. 1001
Jimco-Honda.
Eleven of last year's 17 class winners have entered, including seven
of last year's top 10 overall finishers.
George Seeley, Glendale, CA, and Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, have
the most class wins in the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300. Both have won their respective
classes in six of the first nine years of this race. Seeley drives the No.
500 unlimited VW Baja Bug in Class 5 while Solorzano drives the No. 1100 VW
Sedan in Class 11.
Behind Class 1 (39 entries), the classes with the most entries in time for
the drawing were: SCORE Trophy-Truck (29), Class 1-2/1600 (24), SCORE Lite
(19) and Class 10 (19).
With the chase for the $50,000 Kartek Off-Road bonus also awaiting the top
three 2005 SCORE Overall point leaders, a total of just 63 points separate
the top 11 overall point leaders after the first three rounds of 2005. SCORE
points are determined both on final finishing position and number of vehicles
that started the race within each class.
Pre-race festivities on Friday, Sept. 9, for the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300,
including tech and contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer's Midway, will
be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. behind Buffalo Bill's Resort. The mandatory
pre-race driver's meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 9)
at the Star of the Desert Arena at Buffalo Bill's. The post-race awards
celebration will be held at the Star of the Desert Arena on Sunday (Sept. 11)
at 9 a.m.
SCORE official sponsors for 2005 are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, C.L.
Bryant-VP Racing Fuels-official fuel supplier. Associate sponsors are: Tecate
Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Las Vegas Events,
Herbst Gaming, Kartek Off-Road, Centrix Financial, Fram, Autolite, Prestone,
Bilstein, Signpros, Cotuco, Fideicomiso Publico para la Promocion Turistica
de Ensenada, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products, and
Advanced Color Graphics.
Co-title sponsors for the 10th SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 are Las Vegas Events
and Primm Valley Resorts.
For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official 2005 SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com
SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300
SCORE Trophy-Truck & Class 1 Winners
SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK
1996--Robby Gordon, Orange, CA, Ford F-150
1997--Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley,
CA, Jeep
1998--Ed Herbst/Tim Herbst, Las Vegas,
Ford F-150
1999--Larry Roeseler, Hesperia,
CA, Chevrolet K1500
2000--Mark Post, San Juan
Capistrano, CA/Jerry Whelchel, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, Ford F-150
2001--David Ashley/Dan Smith, Riverside, CA, Ford
F-150
2002--Tim Herbst/Ed
Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150
2003--Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst,
Las Vegas, Ford F-150
2004--Alan Pflueger, Honolulu,
Chevy Silverado
CLASS 1
1996--Ron Brant, Torrance, CA, Raceco-Porsche
1997--Mike Julson, El Cajon,
CA, Jimco-Toyota
1998--Dale Ebberts, Canyon Lake,
CA, Jimco-VW
1999--Troy Herbst, Las Vegas,
Smithbuilt-Ford
2000--Steve Sourapas, Rancho
Santa Fe, CA, Jimco-Chevy
2001--Troy Herbst, Las
Vegas, Smithbuilt-Ford
2002--Mike Julson, Santee/Bob
Lofton, Westmorland, Jimco-Chevy
2003--Chuck
Hovey, Escondido, CA, Jimco-Chevy
2004--Damen Jefferies, Oak Hills,
CA, Porter-Chevy
SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300
All-Time Overall Winners
1996--Robby Gordon, Orange, CA, Ford F-150 (SCORE
Trophy-Truck)
1997--Curt
LeDuc, Cherry Valley, CA, Jeep Grand Cherokee (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1998--Ed
& Tim Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1999--Troy
Herbst, Las Vegas, Smithbuilt-Ford (Class 1)
2000--Steve Sourapas,
Rancho Santa Fe, CA, Jimco-Chevy (Class 1)
2001--Troy
Herbst, Las Vegas, Smithbuilt-Ford (Class 1)
2002--Mike Julson,
Santee, CA/Bob Lofton, Westmorland, CA, Jimco-Chevy (Class 1)
2003--Tim & Ed Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150 (SCORE
Trophy-Truck)
2004--Alan
Pflueger, Honolulu, Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2005 SCORE Desert Series Point Leaders
SCORE Trophy-Truck & Class 1
(With Class wins in parenthesis)
SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK
1. Jason Baldwin, Laguna Beach, CA, Ford F-150 (1), 179
2. Josh Baldwin, Newport
Beach, CA, Ford F-150, 167
3. Bob Shepard, Phoenix,
Chevy Silverado, 161
4. Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano,
CA/Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, CA, Ford F-150, 160
5. (tie) Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 155
5. (tie) Marty Coyne/Travis
Coyne, El Centro, CA, Ford F-150 (1), 155
7. Michael
Jacobson, Somis, CA/Todd Sanderson, Leucadia, CA, Chevy Silverado, 145
8. Brian Collins, Las Vegas/Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz.,
Chevy Silverado, 135
9. Nick Baldwin, Laguna Hills, CA, Ford F-150, 129
10. Scott Steinberger, Cypress,
CA/Jesse Jones, Litchfield Park, Ariz., Ford F-150, 124
11. Gus Vildosola, Mexicali, Mexico/Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas,
Ford F-150, 107
12. Cameron Steele, San Clemente, CA/Clyde Stout, Irvine, CA, Ford
F-150, 100
13. (tie) Robby Gordon, Mooresville, N.C., Chevy CK1500 (1), 94
13. (tie) Pete
Sohren, Glendale, Ariz., Ford F-150, 94
ALSO:
17. Bobby Baldwin, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado, 85
25. Dale Dondel, Hemet, CA,
Chevy Silverado (1), 48
CLASS 1
1. Andy McMillin/Scott McMillin, Poway, CA, Jimco-Chevy (2), 209
2. (tie) Gary
Weyhrich, Troutdale, Ore., Jimco-Chevy, 168
2. (tie) Josh Rigsby,
Santa Fe, N.M., Penhall-Chevy, 168
4. Damen Jefferies,
Oak Hills, CA, Porter-Chevy, 163
5. Mark McMillin, El Cajon,
CA/Brian Ewalt, Chula Vista, CA, Jimco-Chevy, 160
6. Corky McMillin, Bonita, CA, Chenowth-Chevy, 158
7. Troy Herbst, Las Vegas,
Smithbuilt-Ford, 147
8. (tie) B.J. Richardson/John
Gaughan, Las Vegas, Bunderson-Chevy, 139
8. (tie)
Michael James, Alpine, CA/David Mills, Oceanside, CA, Jimco-Chevy, 139
10. Ronny Wilson, Long Beach, CA, Jimco-Chevy, 136
11. Dale Ebberts, Canyon
Lake, CA/Ernie Castro Jr., Newport Beach, CA, Jimco-Toyota (1), 129
For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official 2005 SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com
For
Sponsorship Information, contact:
Mark Handley
(760) 750-1905
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