Pierce in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Rigsby in Class 1, Pico in M/C, Greenhaw--ATV, draw pole slots for 40th Tecate SCORE Baja 500

Round 3 of five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series
To be held May 29-June 1 in Ensenada, Mexico

LOS ANGELES—Prominent Southern California performance racing seat manufacturer Robbie Pierce, and fellow veteran desert racers Josh Rigsby, Anthony Pico and Jason Greenhaw all drew pole positions in their respective classes during Saturday’s computerized drawing for starting positions in the upcoming 40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
Round 3 of the five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, will feature over 300 entries, competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, will be held May 29-June 1 in Ensenada, Mexico. Traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, over 150,000 spectators are expected to enjoy the world’s best desert racers in action at this year’s 40th anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
With late entries excepted up to race morning, over 300 entries are expected from 24 U.S. States, Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. The green flag will drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday (May 31) for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes three hours after the last ATV at approximately 10 a.m. The final entry field is expected to be among the top 10 largest number of racers in event history.
Between them, the veteran racers who will start first in their respective divisions have an average age of 39.75 years.
Pierce, 48, of Santee, Calif., will drive the No. 35 MasterCraft Motorsports Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck as he continues to compete in his first full season in the marquee SCORE racing division for 800-horsepower, high-tech, unlimited production trucks.
Owner of the popular MasterCraft Company of Santee, Calif. Pierce summed up the feeling off all four racers, who will each be starting first in their different classes for the first time in their careers.
“You’ve got to be kidding, I think I’ll retire a half-mile off the start line and go out on top” said Pierce, currently third in SCORE Trophy-Truck season points, after he heard the news. “It is honestly an unbelievable dream come true. First off the line for the 40th anniversary of the SCORE Baja 500 in a field that includes Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, Scott Steinberger and the rest of the best SCORE Trophy-Truck drivers in the universe. I think I’ll leave tomorrow and start pre-running.”
Rigsby, 37, Santa Fe, New Mexico, will start first in the unlimited Class 1 in the elapsed-time race. He is currently tied for eighth in Class 1 in a Chevy-powered Penhall open-wheel desert race car.
Pico, 38, Whittier, Calif., will lead the motorcycles into the Baja desert on a Honda CRF450X in Class 22 for open bikes. Currently listed as the only rider on his team, Pico has not yet declared if he is riding solo or not and can pick up additional riders between now and race morning.
Greenhaw, 36, Bakersfield, Calif., is leading a three-rider Class 25 ATV team on a Honda TRX450R. Splitting the riding with the eight-year veteran SCORE racer will be teammates Nick Nelson, 28, Tehachapi, Calif., and Nick Destout, 19, Oceanside, Calif.
All three overall winners from last year’s race are all entered and all three have won two consecutive years. Las Vegas’ Brian Collins, Las Vegas, returns seeking a third straight overall 4-Wheel vehicle victory with new teammate Chuck Hovey, Escondido, Calif. Collins, who drives the No. 12 Mopar Collins Motorsports Dodge Ram 1500, won the last two year with Larry Ragland as his teammate.
Returning as the two-time overall motorcycle and Class 22 champs is the team of Robby Bell, Murrieta, Calif./Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif., on the No. 1x Honda CRF450X. Back to defend their overall ATV and Class 25 victory is the team of Danny Prather, Ramona, Calif./Mike Cafro, Carlsbad, Calif., on the new No. 1a Honda TRXX700. Splitting the seat time with Prather and Cafro this year will be Chad Prull, Laveen, Ariz., and Levi Marana, Hemet, Calif.
Collins/Hovey drew the eighth starting spot in SCORE Trophy-Truck while Bell/Norman will be fourth off the line in Class 22 while Prather/Cafro/Prull/Marana will start seventh in Class 25.
As of the Start draw, the Pro 4-Wheel vehicles classes with the most entries are: Class 1 (23), SCORE Trophy-Truck (22), SCORE Lite (15), Class 1-2/1600 (12) and Class 5/1600 (11).
Leading the Motorcycle classes in entries so far are Class 22 (15) and Class 30 (11).
Class 24 leads the ATV classes with nine entries to date.
Among the Sportsman classes, SPT Motorcycles over 250cc has 25 entries and SPT Motorcycles under 250cc has 10.
Drawing the first start in SCORE Lite was Brian Burgess, Riverside, Calif., in a Moulton-VW, while on the pole in Class 1-2/1600 will be twin brothers Arturo and Abel Velazco, Banning, Calif., in a Porter-VW. First off in Class 5/1600 will be the team lead by Gustavo Avina, Ensenada, Mexico, in a 1600cc VW Baja Bug.
Leading Class 30 (motorcycle riders over 30 years old) to the starting line will be the team led by Chad Erl, Huntington Beach, Calif.
First off in Class 24 will be Kyle Needham, Truckee, Calif., on a Yamaha.
Among the other early entries is venerable veteran Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., who has entered the Stock Mini class in a Hummer H3. Hall, 70, is tied for first with 17 class wins in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500. Hall’s son Josh and Chad will driver separate Hummers in the Stock Full class. Josh will drive a Hummer H2SUT and Chad will drive a Hummer H3Alpha.
Several crossover/celebrity racers are already entered in this year’s race, led by NASCAR’s Robby Gordon. A second generation desert racer, Gordon, who has won this race three times, is a NASCAR Team Owner/Driver and is entered in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the No. 77 Chevy CK1500.
Germany’s Armin Schwarz, whose World Rally Championship career saw 119 starts, won Class 1 in this year’s Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 with Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif. and are currently fourth in Class 1 points in a Jimco-BMW. Making his SCORE race debut in Jimco-Chevy in this race will be German Rally ace Armin Kremer.
Two celebrity drivers who are all SCORE regulars are SCORE Trophy-Truck drivers Cameron Steele and Jesse James.
Steele, San Clemente, Calif., is a TV sports announcer for Supercross and X Games and until the IndyCar merger this year was a Champ Car pit reporter. The Steele family and Desert Assassins race team drew three of a kind for this race as three family members each received the second starting position in their respective classes. Cameron will drive the No. 16 GMC Sierra in SCORE Trophy-Truck, while his wife Heidi will drive a Ford Ranger in Class 7SX and his younger brother Grant will ride a Honda CRF450X in Class 22.
James, whose wife is legendary motion picture star Sandra Bullock, lives in Sunset Beach, Calif., owns the world-famous West Cost Choppers company and was the star of the old Monster Garage television series. He will drive the No. 54 Chevy Silverado.
Debuting her new race team in SCORE Lite will be prominent Automotive journalist Barbara Terry, Clover, South Carolina, who will be the driver of record in a Bunderson-VW for this race and the season-ending Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in November.
The 2008 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase for the $20,000 Volkswagen Point Leader Bonus and the run for the 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 of America-official vehicle, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant, 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 Enthusiast Advertising, Kartek Off-Road, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the SCORE Desert Series at http://www.score-international.com/

40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500
May 29-June 1, 2008--Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Total Entries: 227 (as of 4/19/07)
(24 States; Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan)

Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (22)
35 Robbie Pierce
16 Cameron Steele
1 Mark Post
39 Ron Whitton
4 Gus Vildosola
97 B.J. Baldwin
2 Pete Sohren
12 Brian Collins
33 Chad Ragland
8 Roger Norman
28 Alan Pflueger
96 Bobby Baldwin
22 Damen Jefferies
54 Jesse James
38 Garron Cadiente
84 Nick Vanderwey
7 Scott Steinberger
34 Danny Sullivan
77 Robby Gordon
71 Rick D. Johnson
60 Mike Voudouris
50 Jason McNeil
CLASS 1 (23)
101 Josh Rigsby
100 Bill Gasper
103 Enrique Bujanda
104 Paul Keller
105 Jeff Farris
106 Chuck Dempsey
107 Pat Dean
108 Armin Schwarz
109 Luis Ramirez Jr.
110 B.J. Richardson
111 Dale Lenk
112 Ryan Sharman
113 Eric Chase
114 Mike Voyles
115 Robert Ross
116 Rob Bruce
117 Will Higman
118 Lobsam Yee
119 Ron Brant
120 Brian Parkhouse
121 Armin Kremer
122 Rick Ellison
123 Dale Ebberts
CLASS 1-2/1600 (12)
1601 Arturo Velazco
1602 Adam Pfankuch
1600 David Caspino
1604 Roman Pereyra
1605 Edgar Alvarez Jr.
1606 Cory Boyer
1607 Viry Felix
1608 Max Hanberg
1609 Arnoldo Ramirez
1647 Eliseo Garcia
1648 Josue Delgado
1649 Juan Gallo
CLASS 3 (1)
301 Donald Moss
CLASS 5 (3)
501 Kevin Carr
502 George Seeley
519 Carlos Albanez
CLASS 5/1600 (11)
551 Gustavo Avina
552 Ernie Negrete
550 Mario Reynoso
554 Rubern Gutierrez Jr.
555 Tommy Craft
556 Alonso Angulo
575 Javier Morales
576 Saul Garcia
577 Marcos Nunez
578 Omar Nunez
579 Jose Montoya
CLASS 7 (3)
701 Brandon Walsh
700 Dan Chamlee
719 Rick Battey
CLASS 7S (0)
CLASS 7SX (4)
740 Rich Severson
741 Heidi Steele
758 John Holmes
759 Jeff Fuller
CLASS 8 (1)
801 Noah Ostanik
CLASS 9 (0)
CLASS 10 (6)
1001 Mark Hutchins
1002 Mike Lawrence
1003 Brendan Fikes
1004 Alex Crostwaithe
1005 Tito Robles
1006 Will Higman
SCORE LITE (15)
1201 Brian Burgess
1202 Tim Pangborn
1203 Jake Jones
1204 Gary Johnson
1205 Luis Barragan
1206 Perry McNeil
1207 John Padgett
1208 Bill Hernquist
1209 Barbara Terry
1210 Steve Mamer
1211 Aaron Payne
1212 Rick St. John
1213 David Callaway
1214 Ricardo Malo
1215 Lee Banning
CLASS 11 (5)
1101 Eric Solorzano
1102 Ernesto Martinez Jr.
1103 Neri Sanchez
1148 Carlos Villa
1149 John Ledyard
STOCK FULL (5)
861 Josh Hall
862 Chad Hall
863 Pedro Vargas
864 Kent Kroeker
879 Clyde Stacy
STOCK MINI (2)
760 Rod Hall
779 Gavin Skilton
PROTRUCK (4)
250 Gary Magness
203 Dave Creagan
234 Rob Reinertson
240 Rob Kittleson

PRO MOTORCYCLES
CLASS 22 (15)
2x Anthony Pico
3x Grant Steele
4x Jimmy Roberts
1x Robby Bell
6x Cory Brewer
7x Jesse Sharpe
8x Ryan Penhall
9x Cory Evenson
10x Michael Gordon
11x Nick Blais
12x Nick Saia
13x Caleb Goselear
14x Keith Webster
15x Terence Montelongo
49x Daniel Allford
CLASS 20 (3)
151x Chad Black
152x Larry Perkins
179x Anna Cody
CLASS 21 (4)
101x Robert Gustine
102x Jonah Street
103x Edy Garcia
104x Bernard Bohner
CLASS 30 (11)
301x Chad Erl
302x Chris Parker
303x Scott Myers
304x Dennis Green
305x Ricardo De La Pena
300x Jim O’Neal
307x Matt Reynolds
308x Joey Mayortena
309x Javier Hernandez
310x Mike Johnson
311x Jamey Kabish
CLASS 40 (4)
400x Brett Helm
401x Stuart Goggins
402x Kevin Newton
449x Todd Winslow
CLASS 50 (6)
501x Jaime De La Torre
502x Eizaburo Karasawa
500x Jim O’Neal
504x Charles Marshall
505x Kenny Hayden
506x Lyman Scherer
CLASS 60 (1)
600x Don Lewis

PRO ATVs
CLASS 25 (8)
2a Jason Greenhaw
3a Wayne Matlock
4a Javier Robles
5a Reid Rutherford
6a Max Hernandez
7a Stefano Caputo
1a Danny Prather
9a Travis Dillon
CLASS 24 (9)
101a Kyle Needham
102a Craig Christy
103a Benjamin Lopez Jr.
104a Ray Fay III
105a Javier Beltran
106a Francisco Servin
107a Carl Penny
108a Rodrigo Gonzalez Jr.
149a Luis Berumen

SPORTSMAN
SPT CAR (2)
1401 Wendell Mortensen
1400 Peter Lang
SPT TRUCK (1)
1501 Bob Land
SPT UTV (3)
1800 Thomas Graves
1801 Mark Page
1819 Mark Lindsay
SPT M/C< (10)
201x Tony Gurule
202x Glen McGuire
203x Anthony Arballo
204x Nemrod Bracamontes
205x Todd Goetze
206x Fred Sobke
207x Matt Ladendorf
208x Trisha West
209x Marco Bernaldez
210x Scott Anderson
SPT M/C> (25)
251x Hiroshi Hirakawa
252x Chad Thornton
253x Thomas Cushman
254x Andy Padulo
255x Adam Neuwirth
256x Carlos Becerril
257x Masaaki Senoo
258x Andrew Hursh
259x John Crowley
260x David Rentfro
261x Pat Moore
262x Gary Sparks
263x Thierry Mas
264x Bryce Wright
265x Craig Anstine
266x Kazuhiro Nakamur
267x Jason Scherer
268x Jorge Rivas
269x Brent Deaton
270x Jeb Avery
271x Bill Gilbert
272x Andrew Gutierrez
273x Randy Roy
274x Bryan Slaughter
299x Jeff Leonard
SPT ATV (8)
51a Luciano Felix
52a Daniel Montana
53a Julio Gomez
54a Flavio Perez Jr.
55a Charles Barfield
56a Ken Lehmann
57a Derek Christina
58a Alan Wahlstrom