2008 Awards Night summary

BFG Tires, Honda, VW of America, MacCachren, Banning
Big Winners at 2008 SCORE Desert Series Awards

Banning Motorsports earned both Suzuki SCORE Rookie of the Year and SCORE Mechanic of the Year awards

PRIMM, Nev.--BFGoodrich Tires, a staple of desert racers world-wide, captured two major honors Saturday as SCORE International officially concluded the fvie-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series with the annual SCORE Awards Night at Terrible's Resort in Primm, Nev. Among the others earning SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards were American Honda motorcycles, Volkswagen of America and drivers Rob MacCachren and Lee Banning.

The evening was also a celebration of 35 years of SCORE championship desert racing. SCORE President/CEO Sal Fish also announced that race fees will not increase for 2009 and the 2009 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will be a loop race, starting and finishing in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.

BFG Tires, the official tire of SCORE for 33 years was honored as both the 2008 SCORE Entry Sponsor and the 2008 SCORE Pit Support Team of the year.

The SCORE Off-Roadsman awards are determined by the vote of more than 2,500 members of Los Angeles-based SCORE International. Among the other honorees were the top point leaders from the 2008 SCORE Desert Series, the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series.

It was the ninth time BFG Tires has been voted the top Entry Sponsor and 22nd time it has been honored as the premier Pit Support team.

Las Vegas' Rob MacCachren, the versatile driver who has eight career SCORE class point titles and was recently selected for the fourth time to the AARWBA All-America motorsports team, was honored as the 2008 SCORE Person of the Year. He is currently splits driving with Mark Post on Post's Riviera Racing team in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division.

"Rob MacCachren embodies the true spirit and talent of SCORE desert racers and this selection by his peers reflects all that he has meant for so many years to our sport," said Fish, "Rob is not only a great desert racer he is one of the most media and sponsor-friendly drivers we have in our sport. It is significant that his contributions can be recognized in this way."

American Honda was voted SCORE Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year for the 20th time and the 12th consecutive year.

Volkswagen of America was selected the SCORE Contingency Company of the Year for the first time, testimony to the massive $100,000 contingency posting the company had during the 2008 SCORE Desert Series.

During the SCORE Awards, 2008 Class 1-2/1600 point champion Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, Calif., received the $20,000 VW bonus as driver of the VW-powered vehicle that finished the highest in the SCORE Overall Point standings. Pfankuch finished third in the SCORE Overall points for the 2008 season.

Among the special awards presented by SCORE and Sal Fish was a special appreciation recognition to the government of Baja California for all of its assistance to helping SCORE produce three highly successful races in Baja California, Mexico, in 2008. Receiving the award was Oscar Escobedo, the Secretary of Tourism for Baja California.

Las Vegas' B.J. Richardson was honored as both the 2008 SCORE Overall point champion and unlimited Class 1 titlist. His consistency, which included three seconds, one 10th and one ninth, earned him his first SCORE Overall point championship. He races in a Chevy-powered Bunderson open-wheel desert race car for John Gaughan's Las Vegas Dissemination team.

Banning Motorsports, Laveen, Ariz., picked up two prestigious awards in front of nearly 500 SCORE desert

racers, crews and families at the SCORE Awards Night. Lee Banning, who was driver of record for the second-place team in SCORE Lite, was voted the 2008 Suzuki SCORE Rookie of the Year and Andy McGaw was selected as the 2008 SCORE Mechanic of the Year. Banning received his choice of a Suzuki ATV or Suzuki Motorcycle as a special prize for his recognition.

"BFGoodrich Tires has been supported all of desert racing, especially SCORE, for 33 years," said Fish, "To win the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 once is a major feat, but to capture the world's most prestigious desert race 20 straight years (1986-2005) is unbelievable. BFG Tires are the most dominant desert racing tires in the world and we are privileged to to be able honor them. Their grassroots support of desert racers is unparalleled. SCORE is deeply honored to have the relationship with BFG Tires that we have for three decades. No motorsport has a more involved and committed sponsor than we have in BFG Tires."

Mike Julson, of Santee, Calif., who is a SCORE regular co-driver in SCORE Trophy-Truck, saw his Jimco open-wheel desert race cars win the 2008 SCORE Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer point championship for the 15th time and 14th straight.

Ken Major and his Major Performance company captured the 2008 Engine Builder point championship for the fifth time.

A rugged group of 14 SCORE racers were also honored as 2008 SCORE Toyota Milestone Award winners after finishing all 1,692.50 race miles during the season.

John Calvin, the well known publisher of Dusty Times Magazine, was honored for the first time as Judy Smith SCORE Journalist of the Year, while Durka Durka Photo earned SCORE Photographer of the Year honors for the first time. Calvin's late wife Jean Calvin earned the SCORE journalist award 11 times.

The six 2008 SCORE Sportsman class winners each also received an exclusive Wahoo's Fish Taco "Vestal" Co-Branded Motorhead Men's Watch, courtesy of Wahoo's co-founder Wing Lam.

SCORE opens its six-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series Jan. 22-25 in Southern Nevada with the 15th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.

SCORE International, founded in 1973 by the late Mickey Thompson and headed by Sal Fish since 1974, continues today as the premier sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. SCORE races feature 17 Pro and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks in the U.S. with seven additional Pro and three more Sportsman classes for motorcycles and ATVs competing in the races in Mexico. SCORE races in the U.S. average 200 entries while the average in Mexico, with motorcycle and ATV classes running as well as the cars and trucks is over 300.

SCORE official 2007 sponsors were: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuel-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insuranc and Red Bull North America-official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Additional associate sponsors for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are Fideicomiso Publio para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada and the State Tourism Department of Baja California.

-credit: www.score-international.com.