Baja events air dates announced

LOS ANGELES--Beginning two weekends of national television exposure on NBC TV for the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series, the 2006 Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will air this Saturday followed by another one hour NBC Sports special next Sunday (Dec. 10) on the 2006 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. This Saturday's telecast of the 38th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will run from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (EST) while next Sunday's broadcast of the recent 39th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will air from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST).

Produced by Aura360, SCORE's television and video partner, in association with NBC Sports and SCORE International, the programs will focus on the top overall finishers while spotlighting many of the top competitors in the 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes SCORE races in Mexico have for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.

In addition to airing on NBC (the third consecutive year for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 and first for the Tecate SCORE Baja 500), the shows will also be distributed throughout the world through ESPN International's networks in Latin American, the Caribbean Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Africa, Middle East and Israel as well as being syndicated world-wide beginning in January of 2007.

"These TV deals secured by Aura360 are unprecedented in our sport and will project SCORE desert racing to an even higher level of recognition than ever before in our 33-year history," said Sal Fish, SCORE President/CEO. "We are extremely happy for our racers and sponsors to be able to receive this type of added exposure and for our fans around the world to be able to get a closer look at SCORE desert racing. And, on top of all these significant benefits, we are extremely excited about the prospects of all the new fans these telecasts will help develop for SCORE."

These shows will showcase the overall 4-wheel and motorcycles winners of each race.

In the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, held the first weekend of June and had a race-record 438 starters and 221 finishers, the team of Brian Collins, Las Vegas/Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz., were the overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck winners in a Chevy Silverado while the American Honda team of Robby Bell, Murrieta, Calif./Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif., were the fastest motorcycle team on a Honda CRF450X.

November's legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, which had a race-record 431 starters and a race-record 234 finishers from 38 U.S. States and 12 countries, saw the team of Andy McMillin, Poway, Calif./Robby Gordon, Mooresville, N.C., capture the overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck victory in a Chevy Silverado while the top motorcycle team was another American Honda team of Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif./Mike Childress, Wrightwood, Calif./Quinn Cody, Santa Barbara, Calif.

In both races, the team of Troy Herbst, Las Vegas/Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, Calif., won the unlimited Class 1 title, finishing fourth overall in June and second overall in November.

The fastest ATV team in both races was the team of Danny Prather, Ramona, Calif./Mike Cafro, Carlsbad, Calif., on a Honda TRX450R.

The 2006 SCORE Desert Series officially wraps up next Saturday, Dec. 9, with the annual SCORE Awards Night at the Primm Valley Resort in Primm, Nev. For more information, visit www.score-international.com.

The six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series will begin Jan. 18-21 with the increasingly popular 13th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge along the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nev.

-credit: score