Norman/Roeseler roar to Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck victory

September 6, 2008

Defeats field of 124 starters
Norman/Roeseler roar to Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck victory;
Schwarz/Christensen top Class 1 at 13th SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300

Hawley/Freeman, Adam & Bekki Wik, Moss, Nunez also class winners
At Round 4 of the five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series

PRIMM, Nev.—Roger Norman drove the last lap to victory after teammate Larry Roeseler had spotted him a 10-minute lead driving the first three of four laps in the No. 8 Norman Motorsports Ford F-150 race truck, capturing the overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck victory Saturday at the 13th Annual SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 desert race. With Norman earning his first career SCORE Trophy-Truck race win and Roeseler his second, the duo covered the rugged 288-mile race in four hours, 50 minutes and 20 seconds, averaging a ground-pounding 59.52 miles per hour while covering the four laps over the rugged 72-mile desert race course in Primm, Nev., 45 miles south of Las Vegas.
Roeseler, Irvine, Calif., started seventh in the star-studded field of 20 starters in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the elapsed-time race, was second after the first lap, moved ahead on lap 2 and extended it to just over 10 minutes on lap three before turning the wheel over to Norman, the Reno, Nev., businessman who owns the Crystal Bay Casino for the final lap. The victory almost slipped away on the final lap when the brakes went out forcing Norman to drive nearly 50 miles of uncertainty before winning the race by one minute, 48 seconds. Roeseler run consistent laps of 1:09:23, 1:10:19 and 1:11:10 before Norman’s last lap struggle turned into a lap of 1:19:18.
Las Vegas Brian Collins not only closed the gap during the final lap, but actually took the lead by nearly a minute on corrected time before two flats in the final 10 miles put him back into second place at the checkered flag in the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Mopar Dodge Ram1500. Collins finished in4:52:08, averaging 59.15 mph.
Keeping SCORE Trophy-Trucks from sweeping the podium was the All German Motorsports unlimited Class 1 BMW-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car driven by Germany’s Armin Schwarz and Martin Christensen of Escondido, Calif. With Schwarz starting and driving the first half of the race and Christensen bringing their car across the finish line in 4:58:54, averaging 57.81mph.
It was the second Class 1 win of the year for Schwarz, a former World Rally Championship series star, and Christensen, a veteran SCORE desert racer.
SCORE’s 35th anniversary season continued with 86 survivors out of 124 starters, competing in 17 Pro and 2 Sportsman classes for cars and trucks finishing within the seven-hour time limit in the elapsed-time race.
Round 4 of the five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series, the world’s foremost desert racing series, featured racers from 13 States and four countries racing on a typically rugged Southern Nevada race course under brilliantly sunny skies with a light northerly wind and temperatures in the high 90s.
Fourth overall and third in SCORE Trophy-Truck was the team of Ron Whitton, Mesa, Ariz./Todd LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif., who finished in 5:04:24 in the No. 39 GNR Racing Ford F-150.
Completing the top five was Las Vegas’ B.J. Richardson, who was second in Class 1 in the Las Vegas Dissemination Company Bunderson-VW with a time of 5:06:10.
“Not bad for having no brakes,” a very happy Norman said at the finish line. “I can’t thank the crew enough. We had no GPS, no brakes and I couldn’t talk with Larry (Roeseler) for the last 50 or 60 miles. I’ve raced in the Pro Stock class, Class 8, Class 10, Class 1, a lot of other things, but not SCORE Trophy-Truck very much. This is only my third race in a fast SCORE Trophy-Truck. I raced in a slow one for a while and this is a lot nicer. This race is at the very top of the list for me. We never did get the brake issue worked out and so I was downshifting quite a bit. It doesn’t really help a lot to lose your brakes. I don’t know how we pulled through it, but we did. There were a couple of turns where we were going like 30 miles an hour, but then you’re not trying to go too slow because the race was so tight. It’s probably the toughest thing I’ve ever done because that was a lot of pressure. I can’t believe it. After all of that, I can’t believe it. We lost the brakes about six or seven miles before Pit B on the last lap.”
SCORE Trophy-Trucks, the marquee SCORE racing division captured seven of the top 10 finishing positions with Class 1 claiming the other three. SCORE Trophy-Trucks have now won nine overall titles in this race, including the last six straight. Class 1 has won the other four overalls.
“It’s real simple,” said Roeseler, who won Class 1 in this race last year with Troy Herbst. “Before the race, we’ve got Rob MacCachren in front of us, we’ve got B.J. (Baldwin) and then Brian (Collins) behind us and those were the three Trucks we looked after all day. We pulled out a little bit, but then we had brake problems and then Roger had a flat and I thought, ‘OK, here comes Brian.’ He actually had us by about a minute and right at the end we saw him stopped. It was just neck and neck all day.”
The sixth through 10th place overall finishers in Primm were: Damen Jefferies, Apple Valley, Calif. (fourth in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Chevy Silverado), Bill McBeath, Las Vegas (fifth in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Chevy Silverado), Nick Vanderwey, Phoenix (sixth in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Chevy Silverado), Mark Post, Laguna Beach, Calif./Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas (seventh in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Ford F-150) and Dale Lenk, Costa Mesa, Calif./Randy Perry, Santa Anna, Calif., (third in Class 1, Penhall-Chevy).
For the seventh consecutive year, the race was split into two groups with the slower classes running in the morning. The faster classes, including the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division along with the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel class, raced in the afternoon.
Las Vegas’ Bekki Wik and her husband Adam Wik’s Honda-powered Bunderson was the fastest during the morning section of the race, winning Class 10 in 5:18:15, and they also finished 11th overall in the race. Bekki Wik, a two-time SCORE Class 1-2/1600 season point champion and one of only two female drivers of record in the race, started second physically and led by over 10 minutes after the first lap of 1:17:05 which was the fastest lap of the day in their class. She led at the halfway point when she turned over the driving to her husband, who kept the team in front to the finish.
Winning the Primm race for the sixth time in seven years, including five straight, were brothers Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif., and Ken Moss, Marysville, Calif., in their sturdy Ford Bronco. The victory was also the 30th class win of their desert racing career, and they remained undefeated this season with their fourth victory of the season.
Las Vegas’ Aaron Hawley and Bryan Freeman split the driving and defeated a 14-car field in a Seagrove-VW in Class 1-2/1600.
In the 14-car SCORE Lite class, Perry McNeal, San Diego, won in a Lothringer-VW.
John Holmes, Olivenhain, Calif., won Class 7SX in a Ford Ranger for the second time in this race. It was also his second win of the 2008 SCORE Desert Series.
Kevin Carr, San Diego drove his VW Baja Bug to the Class 5 win for the second straight year while picking up his third win in four SCORE races this year.
Other class winners included Marcos Nunez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 5/1600, VW Baja Bug), Chris Taylor, El Centro, Calif./Josh Quintero, Imperial, Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Kent Kroeker, Valley Center, Calif.(Stock Full, Dodge2500), Gavin Skilton, Orange, Calif., (Stock Mini, Honda Ridgeline) and Ramon Fernandez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 11, VW Sedan).
The stage is now set for the season-ending 41st anniversary of the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race to be held November 19-22 in Baja California, Mexico. The world’s most popular desert race will start and finish in Ensenada.
The 2008 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase for the $20,000 Volkswagen of America Point Leader Bonus and the run for the Toyota Milestone Awards for car and truck racers who complete every required mile of the season. To date, 16 drivers are still eligible for the Toyota Milestone Awards.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels -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.
Co-title sponsors for the 13th SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 were 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.

13th SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300
Round 4 of five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series
Saturday, September 6, 2008 Primm, Nevada
Total Distance – 288 miles (4 laps, 72-mile course)

TOP OVERALL FINISHERS
1. Roger Norman, Reno, Nev./Larry Roeseler, Irvine, Calif., Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 4 hours, 50 minutes, 20 seconds (59.517 miles per hour)
2. Brian Collins, Las Vegas/Chuck Hovey, Escondido, Calif., Dodge Ram 1500 (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 4:52:08 (59.151 mph)
3. Armin Schwarz, Germany/Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif., Jimco-BMW (Class 1) 4:58:54 (57.81 mph)
4. Ron Whitton, Mesa, Ariz.,/Todd LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif., Ford F-150, (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 5:04:24 (56.767 mph)
5. B.J. Richardson, Las Vegas, Bunderson-Chevy (Class 1) 5:06:10 (56.439 mph)
6. Damen Jefferies, Apple Valley, Calif., Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 5:07:29 (56.198 mph)
7. Bill McBeath, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 5:10:39 (55.625 mph)
8. Nick Vanderwey, Phoenix/Larry Vanderwey, Litchfield Park, Ariz./Michael Vanderwey, Phoenix, Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 5:11:11 (55.529 mph)
9. Mark Post, Laguna Beach, Calif./Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 5:12:50 (55.237 mph)
10. Dale Lenk, Costa Mesa, Calif./Randy Perry, Santa Ana, Calif./Grant Lenk, Costa Mesa, Calif., Penhall-Chevy (Class 1) 5:18:00 (54.339 mph)
11. Bekki Wik/Adam Wik, Las Vegas, Bunderson-Honda (Class 10) 5:18:15 (54.30 mph)
12. Adam Ashcraft, Vista, Calif., AlumiCraft-VW (Class 10) 5:19:47 (54.036 mph)
13. Robbie Pierce, Santee, Calif./Brent Gustin, Seal Beach, Calif., Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 5:22:12 (53.631 mph)
14. Brian Parkhouse, Bell Gardens, Calif./Tom Ridings, Los Alamitos, Calif. Jimco-Chevy (Class 1) 5:26:06 (52.989 mph)
15. Tim McDonnell, Yorba Linda, Calif./Brian McDonnell, La Habra, Calif., Penhall-Chevy (Class 1) 5:29:10 (52.496 mph)
16. Randy Wilson, Lakewood, Calif./Charlie Gioffredi, Long Beach, Calif., Jimco-Chevy (Class 1) 5:30:27 (52.292 mph)
17. Daniel Wingerning, Redondo Beach, Calif./Bill Wingerning, Rolling Hills, Calif., Jimco-Chevy (Class 1) 5:31:46 (52.084 mph)
18. Guy Peterson, Arcadia, Calif./Mike Nex, Temecula, Calif., Penhall-Chevy (Class 1) 5:43:13 (50.347 mph)
19. Perry McNeal/Alfie Bueno, San Diego, Lothringer-VW (SCORE Lite) 5:43:54 (50.25 mph)
20. Steve Sourapas, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., RPS-Chevy (Class 1) 5:44:36 (50.145 mph)
21. Brian Burgess, Riverside, Calif./Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif., Moulton-VW (SCORE Lite) 5:45:46 (49.975 mph)
22. Tom Watson, El Centro, Calif./Tim Noe/David Scaroni, San Diego, Prill-VW (SCORE Lite) 5:47:43 (49.695 mph)
23. Adam Householder, Orange, Calif., Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck) 5:48:14 (49.621 mph)
24. Aaron Hawley, Las Vegas/Bryan Freeman, Henderson, Nev., Seagrove (Class 1-2/1600) 5:51:40 (49.14 mph)
25. Mike Sandoval, Escondido, Calif., Meco-VW (SCORE Lite) 5:55:30 (48.607 mph)

SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300
ALL-TIME OVERALL WINNERS
1996--Robby Gordon, Orange, Calif., Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1997--Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif., Jeep Grand Cherokee (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1998--Ed and Tim Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
1999--Troy Herbst, Las Vegas, Smithbuilt-Ford (Class 1)
2000--Steve Sourapas, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Jimco-Chevy (Class 1)
2001--Troy Herbst, Las Vegas, Smithbuilt-Ford (Class 1)
2002--Mike Julson, Santee, Calif./Bob Lofton, Westmorland, Calif., Jimco-Chevy (Class 1)
2003--Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2004--Alan Pflueger, Honolulu, Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2005--Brian Collins, Las Vegas/Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz., Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2006—Bob Shepard, Phoenix, Chevy Silverado (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2007—Garron Cadiente, Mesa, Ariz., Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)
2008—Roger Norman, Reno, Nev./Larry Roeseler, Irvine, Calif., Ford F-150 (SCORE Trophy-Truck)