SCORE Primm 300 Big Changes

August 24, 2007

Sept. 7-8 in Primm, Nev.

New name, return to original start/finish area, first indoor

Contingency all part of 12th SCORE Terrible's Primm 300

Over 175 entries in18 Pro & 2 Sportsman classes for cars and trucks

Expected for Round 5 of six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series

LOS ANGELES—New ownership of the Primm Valley Resorts in Southern Nevada by Las Vegas-based Herbst Gaming has brought a new name, a return to the original start/finish line area and the sport’s first indoor pre-race contingency for next month’s newly named 12^th Annual SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 desert race. SCORE officials announced the changes today for Round 5 of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series, to be held Sept. 7-8 in Primm, Nev., located 45 miles South of Las Vegas at the Nevada/California border.

Celebrating its 34th 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 12th Annual SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 will feature 18 Pro and 2 Sportsman classes for cars and trucks. With 168 official entries to date, this year’s starting grid is expected to reach over 175 vehicles.

For the sixth consecutive year, the race will be split into two groups with the open wheel, VW baja bug and slower truck classes starting at 6 a.m. The remaining truck classes, including the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division along with the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars, will start at 1 p.m. One vehicle will start every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race with a seven-hour time limit to become official finishers.

“We have had great relationships with the two previous owners of the Primm resort area, but the Herbst family is part of our SCORE racing family and their new ownership has had an immediate impact on this event and will take it to an entirely new level even before the green flag drops,” said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO and President. “We sincerely thank the Herbst family for once again assisting our sport in such a magnanimous way.”

Besides adding the prominent Terrible’s name to the title of the race, the Herbst family, working with Reliant Energy, and the Bureau of Land Management have together finalized an agreement that will allow the start/finish line area to return to the desert adjacent to the parking lot on the backside of the Buffalo Bill’s Resort. Because of land closures in the Primm area, SCORE was forced to move its start/finish line area onto a dry lake bed on the east side of the railroad tracks in the middle of the desert for the last two years. The land used for the first nine years of the event included the only access tunnel under the railroad tracks to the majority of the open desert used for the race course. That land is now being developed by the Clark County Department of Aviation for the new Ivanpah regional airport and is closed to off-highway vehicle use.

To enable the race to start and finish in a more fan and racer-friendly area like it did for its first nine years, the race vehicles will be able to head out into the open desert by crossing the railroad tracks by using the Reliant Energy private paved bridge. The bridge is located adjacent to the East side of the property, between Buffalo Bill’s and the Primm Valley Resort.

The Herbst family is also allowing SCORE to have the majority of the pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency to be held on the floor of the spacious Star of the Desert Arena at Buffalo Bill’s. This will mark the first time in desert racing history that this popular pre-race activity will be held indoors. The midway will start just outside of the back entrance to the arena with the 18-wheeler displays, extending inside the arena for the balance of the more than 50 race-related companies who will be participating.

“This will create a unique and different environment for our pre-race activities, with music and multi-media opportunities to make the experience even more enjoyable and fan-friendly,” added Fish. “The Herbst family will also be adding their own special brand of ‘Terrible’s’ hospitality to the entire event, including a fiesta-type atmosphere at both the start/finish line area and our post-race awards celebration. The awards are being moved back to Saturday night at 10 p.m. in the Star of the Desert Arena after the last several years of it being held on Sunday morning.”

Good fortune smiled down on veteran racer and TV sportscaster Cameron Steele, who drew the first starting position in both the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck and the SCORE Lite divisions in the computerized drawing for starting positions on Aug. 8.

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 Steele’s No. 16 Desert Assassins Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck and No. 1201 VW-powered Desert Assassins open-wheel desert race car were selected randomly in the computerized drawing at the SCORE Int’l headquarters in Los Angeles.

A total of 28 SCORE Trophy-Trucks are entered to date, and the high-tech, 800-horsepower unlimited production trucks will lead the afternoon group into the Southern Nevada desert.

The first vehicle to leave the start line in the morning portion of the event will be Class 10 husband and wife racers Adam and Bekki Wik of Las Vegas, in a Honda-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car.

Ten of last year’s 17 Pro class winners have entered so far, including four of last year’s top five overall finishers. Also entered are 9 of the first 11 overall winners of the race.

With one race win this season, Steele is leading the SCORE Lite point standings, but he has struggled in SCORE Trophy-Truck where he is currently 22^nd in points.

Starting behind the 28 SCORE Trophy-Trucks will be the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars. In the first 11 years of the SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300, SCORE Trophy-Trucks have seven Overall race wins while Class 1 has four.

Drawing the first starting spot in Class 1 was Todd Cuffaro. Coronado, Calif., in a Chevy-powered Porter open-wheel desert race car.

Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, and George Seeley, Glendale, Calif., have the most class wins in the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300. Solorzano has won Class 11 in seven of the first 11 years of this race in a VW Sedan while Seeley has five victories in Class 5 in his unlimited VW Baja Bug.

Bob Shepard, Phoenix, returns as the defending overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck winner in the No. 82 Arciero-Miller Racing Chevy CK1500 but he has a new racing partner this year in Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif., who is actually the team’s driver of record this year.

Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, Calif., and Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst, who finished second overall last year (4 minutes, 15 seconds behind Shepard) and won Class 1 last year return in the No. 100 Terrible Herbst Motorsports Smithbuilt-Ford.

Behind Class 1 (36 entries), the classes with the most entries to date are: SCORE Trophy-Truck (28), Class 1-2/1600 (24), SCORE Lite (16) and Class 10 (13).

The highly-competitive SCORE Desert Series has 21 racers separated by just 54 points in the Overall standings after four rounds of the 2007 season.

Pre-race festivities on Friday (Sept. 7) for the SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300, including tech and contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway, will be held from Noon to 6 p.m. in 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 at 10 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 8).

The 2007 SCORE Desert Series 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, Volkswagen-official vehicle, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, American Racing ATX Series-official wheel, Slime-official tire sealant, Airstar America-official space lighting provider, Red Bull--official energy drink and Bosch Power Tools-official power tool. 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, NAPA Chassis, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Co-title sponsors for the 12^th SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 are Las Vegas Events and Terrible Herbst Inc.

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.