BajaNomad - Baja 1000 ....Record Entries to La Paz

Baja 1000 ....Record Entries to La Paz

LaTijereta - 10-1-2006 at 02:04 PM

October 1, 2006

Race-record 400 entries expected
B.J. Baldwin in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Cardone in M/C draw
Pole positions for 39th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race

Racers from 32 States, 10 countries entered to date in nationally-televised Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
Peninsula run Nov. 15-18 in Mexico from Ensenada, Baja California to La Paz, Baja California Sur

LOS ANGELES—If Saturday's ‘live’ drawing for starting positions is any indication, November's 39th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race should be one for the ages. B.J. Baldwin in SCORE Trophy-Truck and Damon Cardone in Class 22 for open motorcycles drew the pole positions for the legendary granddaddy of all desert races. This year’s odyssey of over 1,000 miles will be a grueling adventure down Mexico’s mysterious Baja California peninsula starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California, Sur. It will be held Nov. 15-18.
An amazing race-record total of 343 vehicles officially entered in time for Saturday’s live drawing for starting positions, by class, held during the RACEfest at the Lake Elsinore (Calif.) Hotel/Casino and presented by the Desert Assassins race team.
This year’s memorable adventure will cover approximately 1,052 miles of the rugged and tortuous Baja California peninsula, starting on the Pacific Ocean side and stretching across and down the majestic peninsula to the Sea of Cortez side, back to the Pacific before winding back again to the Sea of Cortez and the finish line.
Nearly 400 entries from nearly 35 U.S. States and 10 countries, competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs will be part of this year’s tribute to the sport of desert racing. The granddaddy of all desert races is the season-finale of the six-race 2006 SCORE Desert Series, the world’s foremost desert racing series.
“The Lake Elsinore Hotel/Casino and the Desert Assassins race team hosted a great event to honor our drawing for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000,” said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO and President. “The place was packed and there was still plenty of food and refreshments to go around. It was a tremendous start for what promises to be another memorable chapter in the history of the world’s greatest desert race.”
With massive crowds reaching over 300,000 anticipated to again be spread out along the point-to-point race course, the race will start for the 32nd time in Ensenada and will finish for the 17th time in La Paz.
The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey at 6:30 a.m. (Thursday, Nov. 16) with the car and truck classes starting at approximately 10:30 a.m., or three 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 course in approximately 16 hours.
B.J. Baldwin, 27, of Las Vegas, is the current SCORE Trophy-Truck point leader and won this year’s season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in January in his No. 97 Chevy Silverado. The drawing featured a race-record 36 entries in the SCORE Trophy-Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks.
Damon Cardone, 40, Castaic, Calif., and his team, will lead a race-record 23 entries to date in Class 22 for open motorcycles on a Honda XR650R.
Drawing the first start in the ATV classes was the championship team led by Josh Frederick, 28, of Moapa, Nev., who will ride a Bombardier Outlander 800 in Class 25.
NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner/driver Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., whose roots are in SCORE desert racing, drew the 31st starting position in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the Team Gordon No. 83 Red Bull Chevy CK1500. Gordon, , 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. Driver of record for the team this season is Andy McMillin, Poway, Calif.
Among the other cross-over racers who are entered so far include NASCAR’s Boris Said and World Rally champion Armin Schwarz, Indy Racing League star Buddy Rice and actor/racer Patrick Dempsey, star of the ABC TV hit show ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’
Pre-race festivities on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 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. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. Racer registration will be held at the San Nicolas from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14 and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
While entries will be accepted up to race morning (Nov. 16), 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 during the SCORE Fiesta on the Malecon beachwalk in La Paz, which starts at noon on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Besides the B.J. Baldwin and Gordon, other entries in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division include Las Vegas’ Ed and Tim Herbst (No. 19-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), Josh Baldwin, Newport Beach, Calif. (86-Ford F-150), Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif. (3-Ford F-150), Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif./ Mark Miller, Phoenix, (81-Chevy Silverado), Pete Sohren, Glendale, Ariz. (2-Ford F-150), Chad Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz. (80-Chevy Silverado), Bob Shepard, Phoenix (1-Chevy CK1500), Garron Cadiente, Phoenix (38-Ford F-150), Scott Steinberger, Cypress, Calif., Jesse Jones, Phoenix (76-Ford F-150), Japan's Ikuo Hanawa (14-Toyota Tundra), Marty Coyne, El Centro, Calif. (5-Ford F-150), Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif./EdStout, Irvine, Calif. (16-Ford F-150), Bobby Baldwin, Las Vegas (96-Chevy Silverado), Mike Julson, Descanso, Calif. (20-Chevy Silverdo) and brothers David and Matt Scaroni, Heber, Calif. (27-Ford F-150).
In just his fourth 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 (36), Class 1 (25), Class 1-2/1600 (22), Protruck (18), SCORE Lite (16), Class 5/1600 (14) and Class 10 (11).
Leading the six Sportsman classes in the race is Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc which had a race-record 34 entries in the drawing.
Drawing first start in Class 1 was Germany’s Armin Schwarz, who lives in Austria, in a Jimco-Chevy, while first off in Class 1-2/1600 will be Trevor Streetch, San Clemente, Calif., in a Prime-VW, while first start in Protruck went to brothers Eric and Jared Hardin, Anaheim, Calif., in a GMC Sierra.
Also among the Class 1 entries is the team of Troy Herbst, Las Vegas/Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, Calif., who will be going for a record third consecutive Overall victory in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in a Smithbuilt-Ford. They drew the 21st starting position in their class.
Among the other early entries are Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., and Ron Bishop, Escondido, the only two individuals who have raced in all 38 previous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races.
The legendary Hall, 67, of Reno, Nev., has a race-record 18 career class wins in this race and is the only driver to have competed every year in a car or truck class. Hall returns this year as the defending class champion in a Hummer H3 in the Stock Mini class.
Bishop, 63, who will be a co-rider this year in Class 22, is the only racer who has competed every year on a motorcycle. He will be racing on a BMW HP2 motorcycle on the team led by rider of record Beau Hayden.
Among the cross-over entries is X-Games Freestyle legend Travis Pastrana, who won three gold Medals at this year’s X-Games, who will be racing in Class 1 with SCORE veteran Damen Jefferies, Oak Hills, Calif., in a HMS-Chevy.
The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 race course from Ojos Negros to San Ignacio will be marked and open for pre-running on Saturday, October 14th. From San Ignacio to La Paz, SCORE is diligently working with the government of Baja California Sur to repair sections of the course damaged by Hurricane John. SCORE is making every effort to have the lower half marked and ready for pre-running on October 14th, but as of today only the top half of the course is scheduled to be open for sure.
It’s the oldest and most well known of all desert races, and it remains as the single most appealing accomplishment to a driver. Since 1967, the mother of all desert races has been run over the mysterious Baja California peninsula.
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 third consecutive year, airing at 2:30 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Dec. 10 on the NBC Television Network. It will also air on a delayed basis outside of the U.S. on ESPN International.
In addition to the ‘live’ SCORE race drawing, other activities in the two-day RACEfest included a Freestyle Motocross Demonstration, a SCORE Pit Crew Challenge, a Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament, Pool Party, the SCORE Lite Challenge, a Silent Auction and live music. Proceeds from the two-day RACEfest are going to the Chris Ackerman Foundation.
In addition to appearances by several of SCORE’s top drivers and riders and their incredible desert-racing machines, the festivities started on Friday night with the No Fear energy drink Freestyle MX show, silent auction, and live music by the 80’s cover band ‘Flock of 80’s. Appearing at the Freestyle show were X Games stars Nate Adams and Brian Deegan along with Deegan’s entire Metal Mulisha team.
Saturday’s activities started with Kettle One Bloody Mary Mixer and Lake Elsinore Casino sponsored brunch and continue with the Blue C Communications/Desert Assassins SCORE Lite Challenge where more than a dozen top SCORE desert racers raced individually, one lap, for times.
During the day-long festivities on Saturday there was an afternoon SCORE Pool Party featuring Ketel One Martini and Red Bull Ice Bar and a Margaritaville Tequila station and during the drawing there was a luncheon for racers and their families catered by Wahoo’s Fish Tacos.
The top driver in the Poker Tournament was Mark Landersman while winning the SCORE Lite Challenge was Adam Pfankuch (22.74 seconds) with Dale Ebberts second (22.84) and Matt Scaroni third (23.51). On the podium in the $5,000 Yokohama SCORE Pit Crew Challenge were the teams led by the winning Jason Batilus (39.92 seconds), runner-up Adam Pfankuch (43.28) and third place Joey Westhoff (43.78).
Many of the activities of the RACEfest were webcast live at www.digital1unlimited.tv.
The event was also covered extensively with same day coverage by off-road.com and dirtnewz.com.
The 2006 SCORE Desert Series includes chase for the $50,000 Kartek Off-Road contingency bonus to be awarded to several qualified 2006 SCORE Class point champions.
The 2006 SCORE Desert Series also involves the hunt for the annual Toyota Milestone and $12,000 Toyota True Grit Awards. The prestigious Toyota Milestone Awards are presented to every racer who completes every required mile of every race in the 2006 SCORE Desert Series. The $12,000 Toyota True Grit purse is split among the SCORE season point champions who are also Toyota Milestone award winners in several non-factory-backed classes.
SCORE official 2006 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-official wheel, Airstar America-official space lighting provider. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Kartek Off-Road, Centrix Financial, NAPA Chassis, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
Additional associate sponsors, for the 2006 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are Micron Technology, Red Bull-North America, Cotuco de Ensenada, Fideicomiso Publio para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada, the government of Baja California Sur, the State Tourism Department of Baja California Sur and the city tourism fund of Loreto.
For more information on the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2006 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

capt. mike - 10-1-2006 at 05:06 PM

This is gonna be soooooooooo much fun, again!!!

David K - 10-1-2006 at 07:29 PM

Hey Mike, as much as you like vino... join us Nov. 4th for some fun before the 1000!

As soon as SCORE posts the map, please alert us... It wasn't up today yet.

capt. mike - 10-2-2006 at 04:13 AM

would love to DK but reality is i am swamped with jobs and so just sneaking off a day or 3 for the 1000, oct Sams clinic/pre running etc is a big deal.

i thot the map was out already??!!!
and then i didn't see it yesterday - didn't TW or someone advise on the map a few weeks ago? hell, i printed it out i am sure!!??

the plan for this year:
meet the pro truck team at Ensenada wed nite. Stare at the Tecate girlz....... :biggrin:

fly driver no. 2 to MMSF thurs a.m. for a switch er roo
fly driver no. 1 to loreto for a change again
go to Lopez Mateo to watch nite action
La Paz fri morning to watch stragglers, then
off to Mulege for the Sat nite party for DP racing!! :coolup:

TMW - 10-2-2006 at 06:53 AM

I haven't even heard any rumors yet as to how they're going down. I'm assuming it will be similar to 2004. Ensenada to San Felipe then the usual route south with the new section near Loreto.

David K - 10-2-2006 at 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TW
I haven't even heard any rumors yet as to how they're going down. I'm assuming it will be similar to 2004. Ensenada to San Felipe then the usual route south with the new section near Loreto.

Hmmm... I thought the Puertecitos/Gonzaga section was taboo as SCORE didn't repair the damage last time and they are working on that road now...

If that's the case I am guessing Ensenada straight to San Quintin or via Mike's Sky Rancho to San Quintin,

then the back way via Rancho Martires to El Arenoso/Hwy. 1,

then to the coast (7 Sisters), up to Punta Prieta then east to L.A. Bay and on south...

OR maybe from the 7 Sisiters coast, zip up to Laguna Chapala, Coco's Corner, then back south vis Calamajue Canyon and L.A. Bay... ???

Score still looking for way around hurricane damage

TecateRay - 10-2-2006 at 03:01 PM

I've heard rumors that SCORE is down south as we speak, looking for ways around the damage caused by Hurricane John. They hope to have the southern half of the route posted by mid Ocotber. I guess they are going to have to live up to their press releases and agreements with Baja California Sur/Loreto to keep the course as close a possible to their planned route.

David K - 10-2-2006 at 03:31 PM

It gets me how they try and find 'good roads' for the race! It is an 'Off Road' race that is supposed to be over roads washed out by hurricanes! They make it too nice for those trophy trucks to drive fast on!

Read The Release..

LaTijereta - 10-2-2006 at 04:33 PM

Race course through Gonzaga..
Southern section under repair, AND could be rerouted

Course map posted Oct 14th, but map can be previewed this weekend at the Offraod Expo at the SCORE booth.

David K - 10-2-2006 at 04:58 PM

Okay, great! Thanks Kris.... I will be there in Pamona!

capt. mike - 10-2-2006 at 05:03 PM

got a call from Elana la Loca this afternoon and she was on the phone sat ph, with Wild Bill as i was yacking with her - Bill is south now looking for course options and hurricane damage. more later as news rolls in. :bounce:

I'm with David

thebajarunner - 10-2-2006 at 05:29 PM

Since when did SCORE seek out "repaired" roads?
In "the good old days" we ran whatever came in our path, not a flat track for Trophy Trucks to look good on the Discovery Channel!

David K - 10-2-2006 at 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LaTijereta
Race course through Gonzaga..
Southern section under repair, AND could be rerouted

Course map posted Oct 14th, but map can be previewed this weekend at the Offraod Expo at the SCORE booth.

Kris, do you have that link... I read the press release and didn't see a word about Gonzaga... ? I probably missed it!

LaTijereta - 10-2-2006 at 06:01 PM

David..
"Proposed" map was displayed this last weekend at drawing in Elsinore.
Red Bull has one of their four "oasis" locations set up at Coco's corner for pre-runners later this month.

TMW - 10-3-2006 at 07:09 AM

["but map can be previewed this weekend at the Offraod Expo at the SCORE booth."]

Wow, I forgot about the Expo being in Oct. I'll be there to see if I can win another new motorcycle at the Checkers booth.

TMW - 10-3-2006 at 07:12 AM

Picking up new bike at Billy Robertson's North Hollywood Honda dealership.

Honda XR250-1.jpg - 33kB

David K - 10-3-2006 at 09:03 AM

Surfer Jim, TW, The Squarecircle, Baja Lou... Are we going to meet up at the Off Road Expo again this weekend, like previous years???

I am thinking Sunday... but either day could work...

http://www.offroadexpo.com

bajalou - 10-3-2006 at 09:06 AM

I'll try for Sunday - same time and place -

David K - 10-3-2006 at 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LaTijereta
David..
"Proposed" map was displayed this last weekend at drawing in Elsinore.
Red Bull has one of their four "oasis" locations set up at Coco's corner for pre-runners later this month.

Okay, thanks again... I wouldn't be surprised if they went through Coco's, but did so by coming up from Chapala then heading south through Calamajue...

TMW - 10-3-2006 at 07:39 PM

Sunday is good for me too, what time?

Baja 1000 Course Mapping

Desertbull - 10-3-2006 at 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K

Quote:

Okay, thanks again... I wouldn't be surprised if they went through Coco's, but did so by coming up from Chapala then heading south through Calamajue...

Dave-This year's course is very similar to the course and destruction you reported in 2004, all the way up to the new section near Loreto, where it will slightly change to include Loreto.

As previously posted in this thread, indeed, the course mapping was available at the Lake Elsinore Casino drawing event and it will go through San Felipe, Gonzaga and on through Calamajue exit at the LA Bay road and head to downtown LA Bay before blasting onward to PSF and El Arco etc...

DB :spingrin:

surfer jim - 10-3-2006 at 10:11 PM

DB...check your pm's.....

David K - 10-3-2006 at 10:15 PM

Destruction? What destruction...?

Anyway, see you guys in Pamona on Sunday... anyone else want to meet up, u2u me for my cell phone number... Otherwise, see you all on Nov. 4th in Tijuana...

Are you going to join us Tim?

capt. mike - 10-4-2006 at 04:51 AM

hey Desert Bull!!
I see Brittany is driving the 5/1600? good for her! best of luck to your team.

BTW - the moto team that had me booked for oct 27th pre running cancelled yesterday so its avail for Brian, i left him a VM yesterday - no answer back - do you have his email? a dive group wants the dates too so time critical, i'll be taking a deposit either way by friday.