Point leaders summary after San Felipe

B.J. Baldwin leads SCORE Trophy-Truck
Class 1-2/1600 racers Cory Boyer and Adam Pfankuch tied for 2008 SCORE Desert Series Overall point lead afterr races

Richardson, Dean are top two in unlimited Class 1 points; Start Drawing for 40th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 on April 19

LOS ANGELES--Literally taking it one race at a time, California young gun desert racers Cory Boyer and Adam Pfankuch find themselves locked in a tie for the Overall and Class 1-2/1600 point standings after two rounds of the five-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series. After Boyer, of Bakersfield, won the season-opener in Laughlin, Nev., with Pfankuch, of Carlsbad, placing third, the pair flopped podium positions in San Felipe, Mexico to stand tied with 129 points each.

Round 3 of the 2008 SCORE Desert Series will be the 40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500, to be held May 29-June 1, in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. The computerized drawing, by class, for the race, will be held Saturday, April 19 at the SCORE International headquarters in Los Angeles.

Boyer, 23, is a second-generation desert racer who along with his father Rick and brothers Greg and Chris, have spent much of their lives in the desert. Boyer, who works for Asbury Transportation in Bakersfield, their family-owned trucking business, was planning on running select SCORE races this year and decided just three days before Laughlin to go ahead and race and go from there. The result was he brought the Boyer Racing 1600cc Volkswagen-powered Lothringer open wheel desert race car to the checkered flag in first place in the two-day 14th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.

Pfankuch, 26, who owns Powerbox Transaxles, has a few years head start in SCORE racing on Boyer, including two season point championships. He was the second driver for the title team in Class 1-2/1600 SCORE Point both in 2003 (with Eric Allen) and in 2004 (with Brian Jeffrey). In 2004, the Jeffrey/Pfankuch tandem were also the SCORE Overall Point champions.

In Laughlin, Pfankuch finished third and then drove solo again to win his class in March's 22nd Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in his 2005 Mirage-VW.

While admittedly off to a great start, both Boyer and Pfankuch are continuing to decide on a race-by-race basis if they will be able to push through to November's season-ending 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Obviously being up front in their Class point standings makes it an easier decision and an easier task of finding the sponsors needed to press forward. Both will have a second driver at the SCORE Baja 500, Cory will have has father Rick and Pfankuch will team with veteran Rick St. John, Carlsbad, Calif..

"Especially when you consider the short time we had to get ready for Laughlin, we have really had a great start to the 2008 SCORE Desert Series," said Boyer, whose first SCORE race win was at last year's SCORE Terrible's Primm 300 and who expects to campaign two cars in Class 1-2/1600 next year in the SCORE series with his father as the second driver of record. "Class 1-2/1600 is such a competitive class we feel very fortunate to be where we are right now and look forward to racing against the best our class has to offer at the upcoming 40th SCORE Baja 500."

With SCORE points based both on number of starters and placing position within each class, Class 1-2/1600 had 16 starters in Laughlin and a race-high 28 starters in San Felipe. Class 1 had 27 and 18 starters at the first two races while SCORE Trophy-Truck had 24 and 17 vehicles take the green flag. Class 1-2/1600 has five drivers in the top 10 of the current SCORE Overall points while the unlimited Class 1 has three and the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck and Class 5/1600 have one each.

Following second place finishes in both Laughlin and San Felipe, Las Vegas' veteran desert racer B.J. Richardson is third in the Overall and leads the unlimited Class 1 point standings in the 2008 SCORE Desert Series while his teammate Pat Dean is third in overall points and second in Class 1.

Racing for the Las Vegas Dissemination Company team in near-identical Chevy-powered Bunderson open-wheel desert race cars that are prepped by Valley Performance, Richardson has 128 points while Dean has 122.

Completing the top five in overall points is Class 5/1600 point leader Marcos Nunez, Ensenada, Mexico, in a VW Baja Bug.

Tied for sixth overall with 113 points each are B.J. Baldwin and Dave Caspino. Leading the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck points after finishing second in Laughlin and seventh in San Felipe Baldwin, of Las Vegas, and the 2006 class point champion, leads the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck racing division in his No. 97 Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado. Caspino, Woodland Hills, Calif., is the reigning season point champion in his class and is third in Class 1-2/1600 in his Lothringer-VW.

Eighth overall and fourth in Class 1-2/1600 is Hiram Duran, Chula Vista, Calif., with 111 points in an Amplified-VW with ninth overall and third in Class 1 is the team of Chuck Dempsey, Horizon, Texas/Mark Levrett, Sparks, Nev., with 108 points in a HMS-Chevy.

Completing the top 10 in overall points is Edgar Avalos, Horizon, Texas, who is fifth in Class 1-2/1600 with 107 points.

In a three-way tie for 11th in overall points with 105 are Damen Jefferies, Rod Hall and Donald Moss.

Jefferies, Apple Valley, Calif., was the 1997 SCORE Overall point champion, is second in SCORE Trophy-Truck in a Chevy Silverado while Hall, Reno, Nev., and Moss, Sacramento, Calif., lead their respective classes after each won the first two races of the season.

Hall leads the Stock Mini class in a Hummer H3 while Moss is out front in Class 3 in a Ford Bronco.

Hall's youngest son, Chad, leads the Stock Full class in a Hummer H3Alpha.

With motorcycles and ATVs racing only in the three SCORE Baja races, the team of Robby Bell, Sun City, Calif./Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif., lead the overall motorcycle and open Class 22 standings with 71 points after winning in San Felipe on the factory-supported No. 1x Johnny Campbell Racing Honda CRF450X.

On top of the ATV classes overall is the Class 24 team of Francisco Servin/Isaac Castro/Rocky Merino, of Chula Vista, Calif., with 73 points on a Honda TRX450R after their San Felipe race win.

Fourth in SCORE Trophy-Truck and 14th in the overall standings is Robbie Pierce, Santee, Calif., with 103 points in the No. 35 Mastercraft Seats Chevy Silverado while fifth currently in SCORE Trophy-Truck and tied for 17th in the overall totals is the team of Mark Post, Laguna Beach, Calif./Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, the reigning SCORE Trophy-Truck and SCORE Overall point champions in the No. 1 Riviera Racing Ford F-150.

Female racers lead two SCORE classes so far as Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif., has teamed with Tim Lawrence, Santee, Calif., to lead Class 7SX in a Ford Ranger and Anna Cody, Spring Valley, Calif., leads the all female motorcycle team with co-riders Stacy Doerkson, Apple Valley, Calif./Cathy Duncan, Los Alamos, Calif./Sarah Kritch, Bakersfield, Calif., on a Honda CRF250X.

Among the car and truck classes, other point leaders after two races include: A.J. Rodriguez, Orange Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Kevin Carr, San Diego (Class 5, VW Baja Bug), Rodrigo Ampudia Jr./Rodrigo Ampudia Sr., Ensenada, Mexico (Class 8, Ford F-150), Mike Lawrence, Brea, Calif. (Class 10, Lothringer-VW), Steve Mamer, Holtville, Calif. (SCORE Lite, Raceco-VW) andRamon Fernandez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 11, VW Sedan).

Among the other motorcycle classes, three defending season class champions are in first in their respective classesafter oneof the three SCORE Baja races. After wins in San Felipe, reigning champs leading the class points this year are: Jim O'Neal, Simi Valley, Calif. (Class 30, Honda CRF450X), Carlos Casas, Chula Vista, Calif. (Class 21, KTM 450CXF), Brett Helm, Poway, Calif. (Class 40, Honda XR650R) and Donald Lewis, Marlborough, Conn. (Class 60, Honda CRF450X.

Leading Class 25 for open ATVs following their San Felipe race win is the team of Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif./Harold Goodman Jr., Brownstown, Mich./Marc Spaeth, Warner Springs, Calif., on a Honda TRX450R.

-credit: www.score-international.com.