Over 300 Entries Expected
Herbst in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Blais in M/C, draw first start
Positions for next month's 38th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
Entries from 30 States, 10 countries entered in legendary granddaddy of all desert races-Nov. 17-20 in Ensenada, Mexico

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 15, 2005 ) -- If Saturday's 'live' drawing for starting positions is any indication, next month's 38th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race should be another classic. Tim and Ed Herbst in SCORE Trophy-Truck and Chris Blais in Class 22 for open motorcycles drew the first starting positions for the legendary granddaddy of all desert races. This year's 709-mile odyssey will be a large loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada, Mexico. It will be held Nov. 17-20.

An impressive total of 290 vehicles officially entered in time for Saturday's live drawing for starting positions, by class, held during the SCORE Fiesta at the Lake Elsinore (CA) Casino and presented by the Desert Assassins race team.

This year's memorable adventure will cover 709 miles of the rugged and tortuous Baja California peninsula, starting on the Pacific Ocean side and stretching across and down the Sea of Cortez side of the majestic peninsula past San Felipe before winding its way back up to Ensenada.

Over 300 entries from over 30 U.S. States and 10 countries, competing in 27 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs will be part of this year's tribute to the sport of desert racing.

With massive crowds reaching nearly 300,000 anticipated to again be spread out along the single loop course, the race will start in front of the Riviera del Pacific Convention Center in Ensenada and will finish for just the second time inside the the Deportivo Antonio Palacio baseball stadium in Ensenada.

The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey at 6:30 a.m. (Friday, Nov. 18) with the car and truck classes starting at approximately 9 a.m., or two hours after the last ATV leaves the line. Vehicles will leave in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race and while the fastest finishers are expected to complete the 709-mile course in approximately 14 hours, all vehicles will have a 30-hour time limit to become official finishers.

The Herbst brothers, of Las Vegas, are the all-time SCORE Trophy-Truck team win leader with 11 race victories in the 12-year history of the class in their Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150, but they are still looking for their first win in this race in SCORE's featured racing division.

"I'm a little bit shocked, but we are in the gaming industry so it shouldn't surprise us too much," said Tim, whose younger brother Troy Herbst (and Larry Roeseler) won Class 1 and were the overall winners in this race last year. "To start first is a great advantage, especially on such a brutally-tough course like this one. It's an advantage, but it's never over 'til its over and with the huge and talented SCORE Trophy-Truck field, anything can happen. But, I wouldn't trade first for last start with anybody."

The race will also culminate the chase for both the $50,000 Kartek Off-Road bonus and the $12,000 Toyota True-Grit and Toyota Milestone Awards. The Kartek Off-Road bonus will be split among the top 2005 three SCORE Overall point leaders.

Chris Blais, Apple Valley, CA, won Class 22 and rode the fastest overall two-wheel vehicle in this year's Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250. Blais will again ride the lead factory KTM 620LC4 motorcycle.

Drawing the first start in the ATV classes was the championship team of Doug Eichner, El Cajon, Calif./John Gregory, Chula Vista, Calif./Marc Spaeth, Warner Springs, CA, who will ride a Bombardier Outlander 800 in Class 25.

NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner/driver Robby Gordon, whose roots are in SCORE desert racing, drew the 24th starting position in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the Team Gordon No. 83 Red Bull Chevy CK1500. Gordon, who was the overall winner of June's Tecate SCORE Baja 500, will again pull double-duty, driving the the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 before flying to Homestead, Fla., to race in the NASCAR Nextel Cup season finale.

Among the other cross-over racers who are entered so far include NASCAR's Boris Said and Michel Jordain Jr., Champ Car point leader Sebastian Bourdais and Indy Racing League star Buddy Rice.

Promising to provide an ultimate test of man and machine like it has for nearly four decades, the official course map for next month's 38th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 was released recently by SCORE International, sanctioning body and producer of the legendary event.

Official pre-running, or practice on the official race course, will begin for all registered entries, on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Pre-race festivities on Thursday, Nov. 17, for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, including tech and contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer's Midway will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. across from the San Nicolas Hotel. The pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing will be held Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Riviera del Pacifico Convention Center. Racer registration will be held at the Riviera CC from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16 and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17.

While entries will be accepted up to race morning (Nov. 18), late entries will be assigned the next available number and starting position within each class.

The post-race Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Survivor's Celebration will be held on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m., at the Riviera CC.

Besides the Herbst brothers and Gordon, other entries in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division include Dan Smith/David Ashley, Riverside, CA (8-Ford F-150), Mexico's Gus Vildosola/Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas (4-Ford F-150), Honolulu's Alan Pflueger (28-Chevy Silverado), Brian Collins, Las Vegas/Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz. (12-Chevy Silverado), Jason Baldwin, Laguna Beach, CA (1-Ford F-150), Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, CA/Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, CA (3-Ford F-150), Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif./ Mark Miller, Phoenix, (81-Chevy Silverado), Chad Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz. (80-Chevy Silverado), , Scott Steinberger, Cypress, CA, Jesse Jones, Phoenix (76-Ford F-150), Japan's Ikuo Hanawa (14-Toyota Tundra), Marty Coyne, El Centro, CA (5-Ford F-150), Josh Baldwin, Newport Beach, CA (86-Ford F-150), Cameron Steele, San Clemente, CA (16-Ford F-150), Bobby Baldwin/B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas (96-Ford F-150) and Darren Skilton, Long Beach, CA (9-Kia Sorento).
In just his second SCORE race, TV personality Jesse James, of Monster Garage fame, will debut his new No. 54 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck.

The classes with the most entries to date are SCORE Trophy-Truck (32), Class 1 (29), Class 1-2/1600 (24), SCORE Lite (22), Class 10, Class 5/1600 and Protruck, with 12 entries each.

Leading the six Sportsman classes in the race is Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc which had 23 entries in the drawing.

Drawing first start in Class 1 was Martin Christensen, Escondido, CA, in a Jimco-BMW, while first off in Class 1-2/1600 will be L.J. Kennedy, Orange, CA, in a Porter-VW.

Among the other early entries is legendary Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., the only two individual who has raced in all 37 previous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races in a car or truck class.

Hall is driver of record in a new AM General H-3 Hummer in the Stock Mini class.

Among the cross-over entries is X-Games Freestyle legend Travis Pastrana, who has entered three classes-Protruck, Class 22 (open motorcycles) and Class 25 (open ATVs).

Among the festivities Saturday at the SCORE Fiesta, Jake Batulis, who races in the SCORE Lite class, won the Pit Challenge, defeating SCORE Trophy-Truck driver Curt LeDuc in the final match-up with the driver and co-driver getting out of a SCORE Trophy-Truck and changing one tire.

This year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC Sports special for the second consecutive year on Dec. 10 on the NBC Network.

It's the oldest and most well known of all desert races, and it remains as the single most appealing accomplishment to a racer. Since 1967, the mother of all desert races has been run over the majestic Baja California peninsula every year except 1974 when the international fuel crisis forced a cancellation.

Celebrating its 32nd anniversary this year as the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series, the SCORE Desert Series is returning to Mexico for the last of three races held annually in Baja California.

SCORE official sponsors for 2005 are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, C.L. Bryant-VP Racing Fuels-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Kartek Off-Road, Centrix Financial, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Suzuki, SignPros, Cotuco, Fideicomiso Publico para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada, McGraw Insurance Services, Lucas Oil Products, 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 2005 SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com

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

For Finance Information, contact:
Mark Handley (760) 750-1905
www.SolarFunding.com

For Sponsorship Information, contact:
Mark Handley (760) 750-1905