San Felipe start draw preview

Over 225 entries expected
Computerized Start draw for 23rd Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 to be held this Saturday at SCORE headquarters in Los Angeles

Top 10 SCORE Trophy-Trucks & Class 1 from 2008 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 to have special draw

LOS ANGELES--Many of the world's top desert racers are expected to be entered in time for Saturday's computerized start draw for next month's 23rd Annual Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 desert race. With the drawing being held at the SCORE International headquarters in Los Angeles, the race itself will be held March 13-15 along the Sea of Cortez in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.

With over 225 entries expected to compete in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes in the 232.4-mile race, the green flag will drop at 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 14, for the motorcycle and ATV classes, followed three hours later by the car and truck classes at approximately 10 a.m. The start line for the race will once again be the landmark San Felipe Arches on Highway 5 on the outskirts of San Felipe. The race will finish just south of the Arches, directly behind the Tecate building. One vehicle will start every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race, with a 10-hour time limit to become an official finisher.

Following January's season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series will visit Mexico for the first of three races in 2009.

A unique part of Saturday's drawing will be the special drawing for the top 10 finishers from the nearest previous SCORE Baja race entered in the current race in both SCORE Trophy-Truck and the unlimited Class 1. For this race it will be the top 10 finishers in each class from last November's 41st Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

The top 10 finishers in SCORE Trophy-Truck from the 2008 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 were: Roger Norman/Larry Roeseler, B.J. Baldwin, Chad Ragland/Larry Ragland, Mark Post/Rob MacCachren, Dan Friedkin/Danny Sullivan/Steve Hengeveld, Justin Lofton/Bob Lofton, Robbie Pierce, Ron Whitton/Garron Cadiente, Bobby Baldwin/Larry Job and Damen Jefferies.

In the unlimited Class 1, the top 10 finishers from the 2008 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 were: Chuck Dempsey, Harley Letner, Ron Brant, Rob Bruce, Brian Robinson, Luis Ramirez Jr., Josh Rigsby, Brian Parkhouse, B.J. Richardson and Armin Schwarz.

The start draw for Round 2 of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series, will determine the starting order within each of the various classes in the race.

Last year's top overall finishers are expected back this year even if with different teams. Leading the group will be four-wheel vehicle overall winner Brian Collins, Las Vegas, in the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Dodge Ram1500. Last year's overall motorcycle champion was the JCR Honda team of Robby Bell, Murrieta, Calif./Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif. on a Honda CRF450X and the Overall ATV winners were the team of Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif./Harold Goodman Jr., Brownstown, Mich./Marc Spaeth, Warner, Calif., on a Honda TRX450R.

Bell moved to another team this year and has entered,and JCR has entered two Honda teams in this year's race. Norman and Colton Udall are the two riders of record while Campbell, the team owner/manager, is listed as a third rider on both.

Matlock has entered with Goodman Jr. and a new third rider for this year.

Among the other 2008 class winners already entered is the unlimited Class 1 winning All German Motorsports team of Armin Schwarz of Germany and Martin Christensen, of Denmark, but who lives in Escondido, Calif. in their BMW-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car.

Also back to defend their class wins among those on the early entry list are Sportsman Car winner Peter Lang and SPT M/C overall winner Bill Gilbert.

This year's race will use the same 232-mile race course as 2008, running in a counter clockwise direction out of San Felipe up to and then along Highway 3 and back down through three of the most picturesque and challenging washes in all of Baja. Pre-running will officially open for participants in the event on Saturday, Feb. 28.

After the start at the landmark San Felipe Arches, the race will proceed north towards Zoo Road. The area approaching the Zoo Road crossing was bladed last year, which makes it a safer approach to the popular spectator area. That area will again be fenced and patrolled so that spectators can watch the action but not put themselves in way of the action. The course will run again this year in a counterclockwise direction.

This will be one of the few times that SCORE will run through the majestic Matomi Wash in the early part of the race instead of near the end. After Matomi, the challenging course will run through two more of the infamous Baja washes--Azufre and Huatomote before heading back Northwest for the final 19.6 miles to the finish line.

The pre-race Manufacturer's Midway and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday, March 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the picturesque Malecon, flanked by the Sea of Cortez on one side and the popular restaurants and night clubs of San Felipe on the other.

Following his dominating season-opening victory at the 15th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, NASCAR Cup owner/driver Robby Gordon finds himself at the top of a very crowded Overall leaderboard in the 2009 SCORE Desert Series point standings. With 54 points, Gordon, who returned to his desert racing roots, also leads the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck class for high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks in his No. 77 Team Gordon Chevy CK1500.

With just 14 points separating the top 21 in 2009 SCORE Overall points, SCORE racers are now preparing for the popular San Felipe race.

International Rally Consultants, which provides the tracking devices and internet tracking at SCORE races, will be on-site in San Felipe and will continue to provide internet tracking for those vehicles that elect to rent the IRC units at www.racetheworld.net. The devices are optional for this race, but will again be required for both June's Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and November's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

In addition to season point class point championships, drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also racing to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season. Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 24th consecutive year, a total of 52 drivers remain eligible after Round 1 of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull--official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast Advertising, Off-Road, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

-credit: score