SCORE Laughlin Advance 1.12.09

January 12, 2009

Next week in Laughlin, Nev.
B.J. Baldwin, Ebberts, Dean have won 5 of last 6
Overalls at SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge

Field also includes NASCAR's Robby Gordon, Brendan Gaughan & Justin Lofton,
Rob MacCachren, Brian Collins, Roger Norman, Larry Roeseler, Jesse James,
Pat Dean, Chuck Dempsey, John Herder and Wilson brothers;

Pre-race festivities include $16,000 SCORE Laughlin Leap-Jan. 22,
SCORE Trophy-Truck Qualifying-Jan. 23

LOS ANGELES—Dale Ebberts, B.J. Baldwin and Pat Dean have won the overall title in this race five of the last six years and they will be joined this year by many of the top desert racers in the world at next week’s season-opening 15th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.
For the 15th straight year, motorsports fans and racers from across the United States, Mexico and Germany will gather in Laughlin, Nev., the desert resort town near the shores of the Colorado River, for the popular SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. The first major motorsports event of the year will be held next Thursday through Sunday, launching the five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series, the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series.
With late entries accepted until race morning, among the other desert racing stars entered to date are NASCAR Cup Owner/Driver Robby Gordon, NASCAR Nationwide Series racer Brendan Gaughan, ARCA/Re-Max Series Driver Justin Lofton, six-time Laughlin class winners Rob MacCachren and Donald Moss.
To date, SCORE Trophy-Truck has the most entries with 22, followed by the unlimited Class 1 with 20 and Class 1-2/1600 with 16.
Ebberts was the overall SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge race winner in both 2003 and 2005 in Class 1 as well as winning Class 1-2/1600 in 2000 while B.J. Baldwin won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 in SCORE Trophy-Truck and Dean is the defending Overall and Class 1 race winner from the 2008 event.
B.J. Baldwin, 29 of Las Vegas, has won both the 2006 and 2008 SCORE Trophy-Truck season point titles and he was also second in last year’s Laughlin race in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division as well as finishing fourth overall in the memorable rain-soaked race.
Besides B.J. Baldwin, R. Gordon and Lofton, among the other regulars who are also officially entered in SCORE Trophy-Truck are Brian Collins, Roger Norman, Larry Roeseler, Cameron Steele, Tim Herbst, Gus Vildosola Jr., Damen Jefferies, Bobby Baldwin, Chad Ragland, Robbie Pierce, Pete Sohren, Bill McBeath and Jesse James.
Collins, Tim Herbst, Ed Herbst and Eric Solorzano (Class 11) each have four class wins in this race.
Nearly 150 expected entries will compete in 18 classes for cars and trucks for nearly $400,000 in prize money and contingency postings during the four-day SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.
Besides Dean and Ebberts among the other SCORE regulars who have officially entered in Class 1 are: Troy Herbst, Randy Wilson, Ronny Wilson, Armin Schwarz, Chuck Dempsey, John Herder, John Harrah and Harley Letner.
MacCachren, whose Laughlin wins include SCORE Trophy-Truck in 1996 and both Class 1-2/1600 and SCORE Lite in 2004, drew the first start in Class 1-2/1600.
Defending 2008 SCORE Series point champions who have entered this year’s SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge to date are: B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas (No. 1SCORE Trophy-Truck, Chevy Silverado), Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif. (Class 3, Ford Bronco), Kevin Car, San Diego (Class 5, unlimited VW Baja Bug), Marcos Nunez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 5/1600, 1600cc VW Baja Bug), Dan Chamlee, Carpenteria, Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif. (Class 7SX, Ford Ranger), Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif. (Class 10, Lothringer-VW), Rick St. John, Encinitas, Calif. (SCORE Lite, Duvel-VW) and Peter Lang, Santa Rosa, Calif. (Sportsman Car, Homebuilt-Chevy).
While Southern California’s Ed Stout received the first qualifying spot for the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division, New Mexico desert racer Josh Rigsby got his New Year’s wish as he received the first starting spot in the unlimited Class 1 in the Jan. 3 computerized drawing for starting positions. The drawing was held at SCORE’s Los Angeles headquarters.
With 18 classes of cars and trucks divided into five groups, the single race is divided into multi-lap segments split over two days. Starting at 7 a.m. on both next Saturday and Sunday, the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division will run 8 laps at 1 p.m. each day on the spectator-friendly much-abbreviated 6.25-mile course followed by the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars who will run their 8 laps at 3 p.m. each day. The combined elapsed time and number of laps completed from both days will determine the final finishing position for each vehicle. Two vehicles will leave the start line every 15 seconds.
Daily general admission tickets, good for grandstand seating, are $20 each per day for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, children five and under are free. Daily VIP tickets are $40 each per day for 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 virtually the entire race course.
Tickets, priced at $5 each, will also be available each race day for '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 the other public safety services available.
The newest spectator area, opened last year adjacent to Laughlin High School off of Cougar drive, allows entry at $10 per vehicle, as space allows, to the backside of the course with a view of much of the 6.25-mile loop. Tickets for the Laughlin High spectator area will be available only on each day of racing (Jan. 24-25).
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. next Thursday. Drivers will enjoy the spotlight at the Laughlin Events Park, competing for a $16,000 purse and the honor of being the 2009 champions. The SCORE Laughlin Leap, a dirt ramp built into the middle of the stadium portion of the race course, challenges the most daring of drivers. This year's competitors will be attempting to break the event record in the SCORE Laughlin Leap of 160' 6" set in 2004 by Mark Post in the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150.
Advance tickets for the Laughlin Events Park are now on sale at www.visitlaughlin.com or by calling 800.308.2233.
For the second straight year, qualifying for starting positions for the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division will be held the next Friday before the two-day race. With free admission to the grandstand seating area, SCORE Trophy-Truck qualifying will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and each truck will be timed over one solo lap of the 6.25-mile course to determine the start order in that class for Saturday’s first half of the race.
Since its debut in 1995, the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge has helped establish Laughlin as a viable host for special events. Thousands of spectators join nearly 150 racers and their crews in converging on the city each year to watch the best of the best desert racers compete in a unique-format, two-day race that includes a temporary stadium surrounding the start/finish line area and the main pits.
Friday's pre-race activities will also include the SCORE Manufacturer's Midway and vendors village from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. SCORE Contingency, which includes each vehicle being pushed down the street in front of the displays, will be held for the second straight year on Bruce Woodbury Way at Casino Drive.
A total of 18 different classes for cars and trucks are split into five groups, each running as part of multiple-lap races over the much-abbreviated 6.25-mile loop each day. Racing action runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The marquee racing division is SCORE Trophy-Truck, featuring high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks along with unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars. The other classes with the largest entry fields will be Class 10, Class 1-2/1600 and SCORE Lite.
The Laughlin Events Park, with grandstand seating, vendor's village and food court is just minutes from
the destinations nine resorts and includes an infield with switchbacks, woop-t-doos, minijumps and the famous SCORE Laughlin Leap.
The 15th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is sponsored by the Laughlin Tourism Commitee, the Laughlin visits 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, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull--official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast Advertising, Off-Road, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
More event information is available at www.visitlaughlin.com.
For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

15th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
Round 1, 2009 SCORE Desert Series

OFFICIAL ENTRIES-84
(from 7 States, Germany & Mexico as of 1/12/08)
(By Class Starting Order)

SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK
(Unlimited Production Trucks)
(Starting order for SCORE Trophy-Truck to be determined by pre-race qualifying)
1 B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado
2 Pete Sohren, Glendale, Ariz., Ford F-150
4 Gus Vildosola Jr./Gus Vildosola Sr., Ford F-150
5 Travis Coyne, El Centro, Calif., Ford F-150
8 Roger Norman, Reno, Nev., Ford F-150
12 Brian Collins, Las Vegas, Dodge Ram1500
13 Ed Stout, Santa Ana, Calif., Ford F-150
16 Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif., Cadillac Escalade
19 Tim Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150
20 Justin Lofton, Westmorland, Calif., Chevy Silverado
22 Damen Jefferies, Apple Valley, Calif./Luis Ramirez Jr., Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Chevy Silverado
24 Adam Householder, Orange, Calif., Chevy Silverado
33 Chad Ragland, Vista, Calif., Toyota Tundra
35 Robbie Pierce/Mike Julson, Santee, Calif., Chevy Silverado
44 Robert Ross, Chula Vista, Calif., Ford F-150
51 Kory Sheeler, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado
54 Jesse James, Sunset Beach, Calif., Chevy C1500
77 Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., Chevy CK1500
88 Larry Roeseler, Huntington Beach, Calif., Ford F-150
89 Rusty Stevens/Chad Quarrells, Pampa, Texas, Ford F-150
91 Bill McBeath, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado
96 Bobby Baldwin, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado
CLASS 1
(Unlimited single or two-seaters)
101 Josh Rigby, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Penhall-Chevy
102 Randy Wilson, Lakewood, Calif./Rick Wilson, Long Beach, Calif., Jimco-Chevy
103 John Harrah, Reno, Nev., Jimco-Viper
104 Armin Schwarz, Germany/Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif., Jimco-BMW
105 Robert Ross, Chula Vista, Calif., Jimco-Chevy
106 John Herder, Tucson, Ariz., Jimco-Chevy
107 Brian Parkhouse, Bell Gardens, Calif., Jimco-Chevy
108 Richard Boyle, Ridgecrest, Calif./Ron Brant, Oak Hills, Calif., Jimco-Chevy
109 Pat Dean/Danny Anderson, Las Vegas, Bunderson-Chevy
110 Brendan Gaughan, Las Vegas, Kreger-Chevy
111 Troy Herbst/Tim Herbst/Ed Herbst, Las Vegas, Smithbuilt-Ford
112 Chuck Dempsey, Oak Hills, Calif., Jimco-Chevy
113 Enrique Bujanda, El Paso, Texas, Porter-Chevy
114 Dale Ebberts, Wilton, Calif., Porter-Chevy
115 Kory Halopoff, Orange, Calif., Tatum-Chevy
116 Dale Lenk/Brett Lenk/Grant Lenk, Costa Mesa, Calif., Penhall-Chevy
117 James Scott, Hemet, Calif., RPS-Chevy
118 Harley Letner, Orange, Calif., Alpha-Chevy
119 Byron Ashley, Litchfield Park, Ariz., Tatum-Chevy
120 Ronny Wilson/Rick Wilson, Long Beach, Calif., Jimco-Chevy