Alan Pflueger Baja 500 preview

Pflueger Ready to Add Another Baja 500 Win to Resume

Murrieta, Calif. (May 10, 2006) - Alan Pflueger is rolling into this month's Baja 500 with a chip on his shoulder. The driver of the No. 28 Monster Energy/Pflueger Racing Team Chevrolet Silverado has racked up two wins in the five Baja 500 races he has competed in, including an overall and Trophy Truck win in 2004, his rookie season (the other class win came in 2003). But with a solid seventh and 14th-place finish in the season's first two races, the native Hawaiian knows that a Baja 500 win will put him and his team in a position to capture its first Trophy Truck championship.

"We feel like we have something to prove," Pflueger said matter-of-factly. "Although we are having a good year, we want to win races. There is no substitute for winning."

The 38th Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the third event of the six-race 2006 SCORE Desert Series, will be held Saturday, June 3 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. The 424.29-mile adventure will be run over the desert course with a 17-hour time limit to complete the race. More than 400 racers from seven countries and 25 states are scheduled to compete, including a record 40 in the elite Trophy Truck division.

"This is a tough race, but we know what it takes to win," Pflueger said. "We won this event in 2003 in a Protruck and we won overall and the Trophy Truck class in 2004. The course is a true Baja-type course. It is technical, rough and fast, but this team is pumped and ready to race."

Through two races, Pflueger currently sits in 6th place in the points standings with 91, only 35 points behind leader B.J. Baldwin.

"We have our work cut out for us," Pflueger said. "But we have a lot of points available to us these next three races. We are going to make a run for the championship."

Pflueger is one of the rising stars of SCORE International Off-Road Racing. During his first year of racing in 2002, Pflueger won the Primm 300 and the famous Baja 1000 on the Protruck series, finishing second in points and earning Rookie of the Year honors. He followed up his first year in racing by winning the Protruck Championship in 2003 with wins at the San Felipe 250, the Baja 500 and the Primm 300.

Pflueger moved to the elite Trophy Class in 2004, winning the Baja 500 and the Primm 300, and finishing the 2004 season just shy of the championship. He finished 4th in the 2005 Primm 300 and was runner-up in last year's Baja 1000.

-pr