Laughlin: Riviera Racing final summary

Riviera Racing Claims 4th on Laughlin Battlefield

Laguna Hills, CALIFORNIA -- The 2007 desert racing season kicked off this past weekend with the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge and Riviera Racing wasted no time establishing a top five position in the elite Trophy Truck field. Racing through what has been regarded as the most difficult 6-miles of desert landscape in Nevada, drivers Mark Post and Rob MacCachren set the #3 Trophy Truck apart from the rest of the field.

This one-of-a-kind race was staged over two days and featured the natural desert landscape that was molded by SCORE officials and later observed by many of the nation's top racers, as one of the toughest courses in recent history.

Riviera Racing's Rob MacCachren set the tone for a spectacular weekend of racing between a large field of 30 Trophy Trucks. MacCachren drew first blood of the season as he drove to victory in the first truck race of the year. MacCachren ran six laps of the approximate 6-mile desert race course in 44:37, averaging 48.12 mph.

Rob said afterward, "The #3 Riviera truck worked the chewed up race course really well. The course developed some big rollers and the corners presented some of the biggest ruts that I've seen in many years. But the race course is what it is and the team put together a great run. This truck is awesome. Jim Blackmore and the crew did an excellent job at preparing the truck and the #3 took everything I gave it."

After a complete day of racing on Saturday, 226 race teams prepared for Sunday's final chance for victory at the opening race of the season. With the large number of race teams entered in this race, the course took a turn for the worse by Sunday afternoon's Trophy Truck race.

By the time Sunday's Trophy Truck race was to begin, Mark Post faced increasingly challenging course conditions that had changed from Friday's prerun and Saturday's eight rounds of racing. Hoping to attain more gearing in the soft conditions, Post opted for running the BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR in a 37-inch size, instead of the 39-inch size.

Commenting after the race, "We ran the shorter tires and it was really deep out there today and we were nosing through the big stuff. We would have been better off with the taller tire, but I have to give my competitors credit, a lot of them ran really fast today.

We're happy to get out of here with a top four finish and go onto the San Felipe 250, where we traditionally do very well."

The Riviera Racing duo had a combined time of 1:35:24, averaging 45.283 mph. Finishing in the top five at the first SCORE Desert Series race of the season, sets in motion the momentum for many exciting races for Riviera Racing in 2007.

Rob MacCachren is regarded as one of the most versatile desert racers in the sport and that proved to be true as he drove to yet another victory in the highly competitive 1/2 1600 class. MacCachren, a seven-time SCORE season class point champion, faced a large field of 33 racers and claimed first place on both Saturday and Sunday. Afterwards, Rob commented, "These cars are so much slower than the Trophy Trucks and it is amazing how rough it is out there. The racing is great and I'm glad to come away with a victory at this course."

Riviera Racing thanks all of their sponsors including Monarch Grand Vacations, BFGoodrich Tires, TORCO Race Fuels, Ultra Wheels, Javier's Cantina & Grill, Anaheim Hills Auto Body, Patton Racing Engines, Donahoe Racing, DirtBagz, Ron Davis Radiator and Sunset Signs.

Riviera Racing will next race the #3 Trophy Truck at the BITD Silver States Series "Parker 425," held on the shores of the Colorado River in Parker, Arizona, on February 2-4, 2007. Mark Post and Rob MacCachren will race both series, SCORE and BITD, in 2007.

-credit: rockonmotorsports