Series Rookie of the Year award sponsor named

Three-year deal
SCORE announces MasterCraft Safety as new sponsor Of MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year Award

Previous winners include J. Johnson, R. Johnson, R. Gordon, Ickler, Pflueger, A. McMillin, Freeman-Wik

LOS ANGELES--On the eve of this weekend's computerized start draw for next month's 24th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, SCORE International has announced that prominent Southern California manufacturing company MasterCraft Safety has signed a three-year contract to be the sponsor of the prestigious SCORE Rookie of the Year award.

With the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series having launched its 37th season in January at the 16th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in Laughlin, Nev., SCORE CEO/President Sal Fish in association with MasterCraft Safety owner and SCORE racer Robbie Pierce made a joint announcement regarding one of the most significant of SCORE's annual Off-Roadsman of the Year awards.

"SCORE is extremely enthusiastic regarding this extension of our strategic alliance with Robbie Pierce and his MasterCraft Safety organization," said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO/President of SCORE International since soon after it was founded in 1973. "Robbie and MasterCraft Safety are becoming increasingly pro-active in the desert racing community and SCORE is honored to have them bring additional support of this stature to our annual SCORE Rookie of the Year award."

Among the prominent previous winners of the SCORE Rookie of the Year award are Jimmie Johnson (1995), Ricky Johnson (1993), Robby Gordon (1987), Brian Ickler (2003), Alan Pflueger (2002), Andy McMillin (2004) and one of only two female winners in SCORE history--Bekki Freeman-Wik (1998).

Recent winners of the SCORE Rookie of the Year award, who are entered in this year's MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 field are: Eric Chase (2007, Class 1), Lee Banning (2008, SCORE Lite) and Brian Wilson (2009, Class 1-2/1600).

"Even though I've been around the sport for a while now, I can appreciate both as a racer and as a manufacturer the commitment and courage it takes to be a rookie in our sport and MasterCraft Safety is grateful to SCORE for allowing us to be a part of the SCORE Rookie of the Year award program," said Robbie Pierce, CEO of MasterCraft Safety and driver of the No. 30 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck. "Rookies are the future of our sport in so many ways and MasterCraft Safety is honored to be able to help recognize their accomplishments. And, there is no other series in the world where it means more to be the rookie of the year than the SCORE Desert Series."

Under terms of this agreement, the SCORE Rookie of the Year will receive a $2,000 cash bonus as well as a fully-embroidered MasterCraft Safety signature custom race suit which will include a special logo honoring their award. A unique perpetual trophy is being developed for the award which will be on display at the MasterCraft Safety headquarters and the winner will receive a replica of that trophy.

The MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 is SCORE's annual 'spring break' desert race, the first of three SCORE Baja races held annually, and is once again expected to feature nearly 250 entries competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.

The computerized drawing for starting positions, by class, for the 232-mile race is Saturday at the SCORE headquarters in Los Angeles. The popular event will be held March 12-14 in San Felipe, the picturesque fishing village located along the Sea of Cortez on the Northeastern side of Mexico's majestic Baja California peninsula.

Based near San Diego in Santee, Calif., MasterCraft Safety is the leading manufacturer of performance off-road suspension seating, five-point restraints, window nets, and limit straps. In addition to its three-year agreement as co-title sponsor for the San Felipe race with SCORE International, MasterCraft Safety will also be providing an added $10,000 cash contingency purse to the event.

At the 24th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, MasterCraft Racing has entered not only Pierce's No. 30 SCORE Trophy-Truck, but also the No. 20 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck to be driven by eight-time SCORE season class point champion Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas and the No. 42 Chevy Silverado driven by Will Staats, Valencia, Calif. All three trucks were built by prominent chassis builder Mike Julson's Jimco Racing Products of Santee, Calif. Julson is listed as a co-driver for both Pierce and MacCachren for this race, if needed.

The MasterCraft racers will not be eligible to win any part of the special $10,000 MasterCraft Safety cash contingency bonus purse MasterCraft Safety has offered for this year's San Felipe race.

In San Felipe, the green flag will drop at 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 13, 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.

The pre-race Manufacturer's Midway and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday, March 12 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.

MasterCraft Safety's full-line of performance seating offers both comfort and protection in high "G" load situations and provides an 84% reduction of energy in a 50 G load impact. Featuring nine different seat designs and a variety of material options, MasterCraft Safety offers a suspension seat to fit any off-roader's lifestyle. Whether it is the deep-sided, race-proven design of the 3G or the Jeep enthusiasts favorite, the fully-reclining Baja RS model, MasterCraft Safety has the ideal seat perfectly suited for any off-road conditions or terrain.

MasterCraft Safety has also recently expanded the product offering to include a full-line of performance driving suits, fuel and pit crew fire suits, neck braces, helmet skirts, and elbow and knee pads for pit crew safety. Available in SFI 3.2A/1 and SFI 3.2A/5, the performance driving suits meet and exceed all stated fire protection requirements while providing a comfortable fit and design. Optional hidden-pockets and sewn-in elbow and knee pads make this the first racesuit specifically tailored to the unique environmental conditions of desert racing.

More information on MasterCraft Safety's full-line of products can be found by visiting www.mastercraftsafety.com.

Following his dominating season-opening victory at the 16th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, third-generation desert racer Andy McMillin, who was recently honored as the 2009 Dirt Sports Magazine Driver of the Year, finds himself at the top of a very crowded Overall leaderboard in the 2010 SCORE Desert Series point standings. With 63 points, McMillin, who will split driving the rest of the season with his father Scott McMillin, also leads the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck class for high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks in his No. 31 McMillin Realty Ford F-150.

With just 22 points separating the top 21 in 2010 SCORE Overall points after Laughlin's season-opener, SCORE racers are now preparing to begin official pre-running which opens on Saturday, Feb. 27. A new attraction this year during the pre-running window will be the San Felipe Tequila Festival March 5-7.

In addition to season class point championships, drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also racing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings as well as earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season. Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 25th consecutive year, a total of 59 drivers remain eligible after Round 1 of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series. Racers are also competing for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award.

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, MasterCraft Safety, Blue C Advertising, Off-Road, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Associate sponsors for the MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 are the Tourism and Convention Bureau of Mexicali/San Felipe and Cotuco.

Additional sponsors in Baja are the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California and ProTurismo de Ensenada.

The race annually provides a greater economic impact to San Felipe than the popular month-long 'Spring Break'.

-source: score