SCORE Primm Final Advance

September 7, 2009

6 of top 10 finishers return Saturday
Top 3--Norman/Roeseler, Collins, Schwarz/Christensen return this week;
R. Gordon to miss NASCAR race for 14th SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300

S/F line area and race-mile 47 are spectator areas Saturday;
Limited vehicles start at 6 a.m., SCORE Trophy-Truck and Class 1 at 1 p.m.
Live vehicle track at www.racetheworld.net, live race updates at www.dirtnewz.com

PRIMM, Nev.—In a race that is usually decided by the tightest of margins, the top three finishers, six of the top 10 overall finishers from last year return and an unexpected NASCAR team owner/driver will all be in the field for this weekend’s 14th Annual SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 desert race. Using its now traditional two-part racing format, Round 4 of the five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series will be held this weekend in Primm, Nev., 45 miles south of Las Vegas at the California border.
For the eighth consecutive year, the race will be split into two groups with the open wheel, limited truck and VW baja bug classes starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday. The featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division, which has 25 official entries, 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.
Roger Norman, Reno, Nev./Larry Roeseler, Alpine, Calif., return as the defending overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck champions in the No. 8 Norman Motorsports Ford F-150 and they drew the 19th starting position in the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850 horsepower unlimited production trucks for Saturday’s race.
Second overall last year and in SCORE Trophy-Truck, Las Vegas’ Brian Collins (the 2005 overall winner) returns in his No. 12 Collins Motorsports Dodge Ram 1500 while returning after winning the unlimited Class 1 last year and finishing third overall is the All-German Motorsports team of Armin Schwarz, Germany and Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif. (originally from Denmark) in a BWM-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car. Collins will start 22nd in SCORE Trophy-Truck and Schwarz/Christensen will drive the eighth vehicle off the starting line in Class 1.
Although he originally entered the race when he thought his class would race in the morning, NASCAR team owner/driver Robby Gordon was not expected to make it to the starting line in his No. 77 Team Gordon Chevy CK1500 because of the NASCAR Cup race Saturday in Richmond, Va.
In an unprecedented move for a cross-over driver, Gordon officially announced yesterday during a video interview on DirtNewz.com that David Gililand will drive his NASCAR Toyota in Richmond while he attempts to pad his SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck point leads heading into the season finale at November’s 42nd Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 as Gordon is both the current SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck point leader. He currently leads Collins by 29 points and Gordon, who has eight career SCORE Trophy-Truck wins including the 1996 Primm race, was the 1996 SCORE Trophy-Truck season points champion.
Gordon, who won January’s SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge and finished second in the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in March, will start seventh on Saturday.
“It’s always great to come back to a race and have the bullseye on your back, but I think we are ready for the challenge,” quipped the veteran Roeseler, 52, who has four class wins in three different classes in this race. “Roger has made the commitment to build a great race team. Last year’s SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 was our second race together and first win and we have been building on that momentum ever since. This course is treacherous and running counterclockwise this year as well as no course recon will add dramatically to how rough it will be out there in the Southern Nevada desert.”
In last year’s race, the three were separated by a total of just over eight minutes, 30 seconds at the finish on corrected time.
The main pits and start/finish area for the 69.0-mile loop course will be located behind Buffalo Bills Resort on the North side of the property. The course will run in a counter-clockwise direction this year. The faster classes will run four laps around the course while the limited will be required to run either three or two laps within the seven-hour time limit to become official finishers.
The 14th Annual SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 will feature 18 Pro and 2 Sportsman classes for cars and trucks from 14 U.S. States, Canada, Denmark, Germany and Mexico. This year’s starting grid is expected to reach nearly 120 vehicles. Late entries will be accepted up until race morning.
New this year, the course will actually start, finish and include racing action inside the off-road short-course race track in Primm. Free grandstand seating will be available for spectators at the short-course track.
Also new, the Bureau of Land Management has authorized and will be overseeing an additional free spectator area this year, located at race-mile 47. Access will be marked by signage on Las Vegas Boulevard South, two miles north of the Jean exit off of Interstate-15.
Pre-race festivities on Friday, for the SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300, including tech and contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. behind Buffalo Bill’s Resort. The post-race awards celebration will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday in the conference center at Terrible’s Primm Valley Resort.
Seven of last year’s class winners have entered so far, including six of last year’s top 10 overall finishers.
The first vehicle to leave the start line in the morning portion of the event will be a Class 10 vehicle driven by Corey Keysar, Colorado Springs, Colo. Keysar drives a Jimco-Honda.
Ever-improving desert racer Ed Stout, Irvine, Calif., who drives the Stout’s No. 13 Stout Industries Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck, drew the first start in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division in the computerized drawing for starting positions for the race.
Among the other entries is Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, who has the most class wins in the SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300. Solorzano has won Class 11 in eight of the first 13 years of this race in a stock VW Sedan. Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif., is third on the all-time list with six Class 3 wins in a Ford Bronco, including the last five straight years.
Besides Norman/Roeseler, Schwarz/Christensen and Moss, the other returning class winners from last year entered for this year’s race are: Bekki Wik/Adam Wik, Las Vegas (Class 10, Bunderson-Honda), Kevin Carr, San Diego (Class 5, VW Baja Bug), John Holmes, Olivenhain, Calif. (Class 7SX, Ford Ranger) and Gavin Skilton, Orange, Calif. (Stock Mini, Honda Ridgeline).
The field this year includes two female drivers of record. In addition to Class 10 defending champion Bekki Wik and her husband Adam Wik, racing a Ford Ranger in Class 7SX is current class point leader Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif., whose husband Cameron Steele drives the No. 16 Desert Assassins GMC Sierra SCORE Trophy-Truck and is listed as a second driver in the morning portion of the race for Justin Smith in Class 1-2/1600.
In the solid field of 25 entries in SCORE Trophy-Truck, four veteran SCORE desert racers expected to make their first official start in the featured SCORE racing division are Mark McMillin, Steve Sourapas, brothers Mark Weyhrich/Gary Weyhrich and brothers Jesse/Adam Ashcraft.
McMillin, El Cajon, Calif., will drive the No. 23 Ford F-150, while Sourapas, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., is scheduled to debut his No. 6 Ford F-150, the Weyhrichs, Troutdale, Ore., in their No. 9 Ford F-150 and the Ashcrafts, Vista, Calif., in their No. 78 Ford F-150.
Because of environmental concerns, racers will not be allowed to have their normal, one-lap, controlled speed course reconnaissance on Friday, adding another degree of difficulty to the already significant challenge.
The only required stop on the 69.0-mile course will be at the start/finish line, although visual monitors will be at various locations around the loop.
All vehicles will be required to utilize the real-time satellite tracking devices provided through International Racing Consultants. Live tracking will be displayed during the race at www.racetheworld.net.
Besides Norman/Roeseler, Collins and R. Gordon, the two other former overall winners who are in this year’s starting grid both won the race in Class 1 and both will be racing in SCORE Trophy-Truck this year. Steve Sourapas was the 2000 winner while 2002 champion Mike Julson is scheduled to pilot the No. 20 MasterCraft Racing Chevy Silverado. Julson is also listed as the second driver with Robbie Pierce in the No. 30 MasterCraft Racing Chevy Silverado.
In the first 13 years of the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300, SCORE Trophy-Trucks have nine Overall race wins while Class 1 has four. SCORE Trophy-Trucks have won six straight overall titles.
Starting first in Class 1 will be the veteran Southern California team of Richard Boyle, Ridgecrest, and Tom Kirkmeyer, Apple Valley, in the No. 101 Chevy-powered Jefferies open-wheel desert race car. The Boyle/Kirkmeyer team is currently tied for eighth place in Class 1 season points.
The highly-competitive 2009 SCORE Desert Series has 20 racers separated by just 39 points in the Overall standings after the 15th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, 23rd Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 and 41st Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert races.
For this race, the Laughlin Tourism Commission has made a special contingency posting with a value of over $5,000, pushing the overall cash purse and contingency postings to over $200,000. The 16th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge will be held Jan. 14-17, 2010.
The top contingency posting from the Laughlin Tourism Commission, for the seventh overall finisher in the Primm race, will be a fully-paid entry fee for the driver of record into the 2010 SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge including four rooms for four nights each in Laughlin during the event.
The 2009 SCORE Desert Series also includes the quest for the Toyota Milestone Awards for car and truck racers who complete every required mile of the season. A total of 22 drivers still remain eligible after the first three races of the season.
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, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
Co-title sponsors for the 14th SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 are Las Vegas Events, Primm Valley Resorts and Terrible Herbst Inc.
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.