LDC SCORE Trophy-Truck to qualify for start positions

Jan. 24-27 in Laughlin, Nev.SCORE Trophy-Truck to qualify for start positions while Harley LetnerDraws first Class 1 start for 14th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge31 SCORE Trophy-Trucks entered in four-day event that starts with $16,000 SCORE Laughlin Leap on Jan. 24 LOS ANGELES—Harley Letner, a third-generation desert racer from Orange, Calif., received the first starting position in the unlimited Class 1 in Wednesday’s computerized draw for starting positions, by class, for this month’s 14th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. SCORE also announced that the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division, which had 31 vehicles in the drawing, will qualify for starting positions for the first time in SCORE history. The drawing was held at SCORE’s Los Angeles offices. For the 14th straight year, motorsports fans and racers from across the United States, Mexico, and Germany will descend on Laughlin, Nev., the desert resort town near the shores of the Colorado River for the vastly popular SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. The first major race of the year will be held Jan. 24-27, launching the six-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series, the world’s foremost desert racing series. When late registration is complete, over 150 expected starters will compete for over $300,000 in prize money and contingency postings during the four day SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. A total of 17 different Pro and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks will be split into seven groups in Laughlin, each running as part of one of separate multiple-lap races over the much-abbreviated 6-mile loop each day. Racing action runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day (Jan. 26-27). Final official results for the race will once again be based on the combined two-day results. The marquee racing division is SCORE Trophy-Truck, featuring high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks along with the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars. Those two classes will run the final two races each day with SCORE Trophy-Truck followed by Class 1. Letner, 24, will drive No. 101 Letner Racing Chevy-powered Alpha open-wheel desert race car to lead Class 1. The Class 1 field has 26 entries to date. A total of 31 vehicles have entered to date in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division, including the defending SCORE Trophy-Truck season point champion team of Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas in the No. 1 Riviera Racing Ford F-150 and two-time defending race winner B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, in the No. 97 Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado. Among the other SCORE Trophy-Truck entries to date are Las Vegas brothers Tim and Ed Herbst, the winningest team in class history with 11 career race wins and four SCORE Trophy-Truck season point titles in the No. 19 Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150, Las Vegas’ Brian Collins and Chuck Hovey, Escondido, Calif., in the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Chevy Silverado, NASCAR team owner/driver Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., in the No. 71 Chevy CK1500, Mexico’s son and father team of Gus Vildosola Jr. and Gus Vildosola in the No. 4 Vildosola Racing Ford F-150, TV sports announcer Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif., in the No. 16 Desert Assassins Cadillac Escalade, and TV personality Jesse James, Sunset Beach, Calif., in the No. 54 Chevy C1500. Garron Cadiente, Mesa, Ariz., the 2006 SCORE Rookie of the Year, will also be in the SCORE Trophy-Truck field in his No. 38 G&R Racing Ford F-150 along with his father-in-law and teammate Ron Whitton, Maricopa, Ariz., in his No. 39 G&R Racing Ford F-150. In the drawing for the qualifying order for SCORE Trophy-Truck, Las Vegas’s Kory Scheeler (No. 51, Chevy Silverado) will be first followed by Mexico’s Luis Wallace (No. 55, Ford F-150) and Travis Coyne, El Centro, Calif. (No. 5, Ford F-150). Daily general admission tickets for the primary infield stadium grandstand seating, are $20 each for each day (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), children five and under are free. Daily VIP tickets are $40 each for each of the three days, good for admission to the Laughlin Hospitality Chalet, including food beverage and special seating. The stadium seating area will include the immensely popular SCOREvision large-screen LCD display, showing live footage from nearly 95 percent of the race course. Tickets will also be available at the gate for the only other spectator area for the event, the popular ‘SCORE Hill’, which overlooks the infield, start/finish area and the main pits. The SCORE Hill will have grandstands and standing room areas along with vendors, concessions and other public safety services available. General Admission tickets will be $5 per person. Event organizers at the Laughlin Tourism Committee have been able to secure an additional spectator area--the Cougar Corral--on the backstretch of the race course. Adjacent to Laughlin High School, off of State Highway 95, at the Cougar Corral, spectators will be able to pull their vehicle alongside the course with clear site of over one mile of race action. Daytime parking will be allowed for $10 per vehicle with no additional charge for occupants. These vehicle passes will be sold each day, as space is available, at the entrance to the ‘Cougar Corral’ off of Cougar Drive. One of the event's most popular features, the SCORE Laughlin Leap, revs up the fun and gets the weekend off to a roaring start at 6 p.m. on Thursday (Jan. 24). Drivers and pit crews will share the spotlight at the Laughlin Events Park, competing for a $16,000 purse and the honor of being the 2008 champions. The SCORE Laughlin Leap, a dirt ramp built into the middle of the stadium infield, challenges the most daring of drivers. This year’s competitors will be looking to break the SCORE Laughlin Leap record set in 2004 by Mark Post in the No. 1 Riviera Racing Ford F-150 (160’ 6”). The Events Park with grandstand seating, vendor’s village and food court is just minutes from the destination's nine resorts and includes a lenghty infield that includes jumps and whoops as well as the Laughlin Leap. For the first time, the popular pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency row will be held on Bruce Woodbury Way and Casino Drive, adjacent to the heart of the Laughlin resort area. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25. The 14th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is sponsored by the Laughlin Tourism Committee, the Laughlin Visitors Bureau, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in association with Las Vegas Events. The race is sanctioned and produced by SCORE International of Los Angeles.
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, 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, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, Micron, NAPA Chassis, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics. More event information is available at www.visitlaughlin.com. Advance tickets for the event are on sale at 800.308.2253.
For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2008 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.