Miller/Arciero win SCORE Trophy-Truck
Herbst/Roeseler in 4-wheel; Honda's Hegeveld/Campbell in M/C
Repeat as overall champions at TECATE SCORE BAJA 500
263 starters, over 100,000 spectators
help celebrate 30th anniversary of first SCORE race in Mexico

ENSENADA, Mexico (June 1, 2003)- Las Vegas' Troy Herbst etched some more history and Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, CA, added to his legendary status Saturday, teaming up to come from behind to repeat as the overall four-wheel vehicle champions and Southern California's Steve Hengeveld and Johhny Campbell easily earned the overall motorcycle title at the 35th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race.

Racing in the unlimited Class 1, Herbst, 36, and Roeseler, 42, powered the Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford-powered Smithbuilt open-wheel desert race car to a time of 9 hours, 54 minutes, 46 seconds, averaging 45.69 miles per hour over the rugged 452.93-mile course in the rugged terrain of the northern part of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.

Living up to pre-race hype, the celebratory atmosphere honoring the 30th anniversary of SCORE's first race in Mexico saw the most starters in 15 years in the desert classic with 260 racers competing in 24 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs in front of extremely enthusiastic throngs of spectators estimated at over 100,000 by Mexico tourism officials.

Round 3 of the six-race SCORE Desert Series, the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series, featured racers from 15 States, Canada, France, Japan and Mexico, including Mexico's overall ATV champions Gilberto Santana/Ruben Martin/Arturo Salas and Arnoldo Ramirez.

In winning Class 22 for open motorcycles in their American Honda XR650R, Hengeveld/Campbell raced in conditions that ranged from fog and 50-degree temperatures on the Baja coast to scorching sun and heat near the century mark inland. Winning their sixth consecutive SCORE race, the talented pair covered the course in 9:33:48, averaging 47.36mph. Testament to the ruggedness of the course, both the overall four-wheel and motorcycle tandems normally average over 60mph.

In the ATV race, Tijuana's Santana, Martin and Salas, teamed with Ensenada's Ramirez to complete the race in 11:19:09, averaging 40.01mph on a Honda TRX400EX.

In addition to joining retired legend Ivan Stewart as the only drivers to win back-to-back overall 4-wheel vehicle titles, Herbst earned his fifth class win in this race while Roeseler tied Stewart with his 11th overall victory, which was also his 13th class crown-second only to Stewart's 17. In the motorcycle competition, Campbell, 32, earned his fourth overall crown and Hengeveld, 27, became the first rider to capture four consecutive overall motorcycle championships. With five career class wins, Hengeveld, who won in 1999 and 2000 with Jonah Street before winning the last two years with Campbell, was tied at three straight overall motorcycle wins with Roeseler (1975, 1976 and 1977) and Paul Krause (1994, 1995, 1996).

In a field which included 67 racers with a combined 177 class wins, Mark Miller, 40, of Carefree, Ariz., won the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division for the second straight year, finishing ninth overall among the four-wheel vehicles, Miller split the driving with Ryan Arciero, 29, of Foothill Rancho CA, in a Chevy Silverado. Racing up front the entire day, Miller's truck lost a fuel pump and after an hour's down time for repairs, it became a mater of survival in the class of high-tech, 750 horsepower, unlimited production trucks.

"To win the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 once is an accomplishment, to win it twice is an honor," said Herbst, who has won the SCORE Class 1 point title for a record six-straight years. "We started slow because of all the traffic and dust ahead of us, but we were able to pick off all 14 Trophy-Trucks and the eight Class 1 cars that started ahead of us, but it definitely wasn't easy.

Pre-running helps, having a great co-driver like Larry helps, a new system in our transmission helps, but we also had some racing breaks that helped."

In the end, Herbster/Roesler defeated Las Vegas' Danny Anderson, who drove a Jimco-Toyota to second overall, by a mere 42 seconds. Third was the team of Dale Ebberts, Canyon Lake, CA/Ernie Castro Jr., Newport Beach, CA, at 9:58:40 in another Jimco-Toyota.

Fourth overall and in Class 1 was brothers Mark and Gary Weyhrich, Troutdale, Ore., at 10:01:21 in a Jimco-Chevy while finishing fifth overall and in Class 1 was the team of Andrew Myers, Newport Beach, CA/Ross Savage, Costa Mesa, CA, in another Jimco-Toyota with a time of 10:01:21.

Finishing a surprising sixth overall and winning Class 10 in a Henry Chassis-Honda was Orange, California's youthful duo of Kory Halopoff, 20, and third-generation desert racer Harley Letner, 19, in 10:14:02.

A surprising second overall in the motorcycle race was the Class 30 (for riders over 30 years old) winning team of Ricardo Malo, Mexicali, Mexico/Greg Bringle, Holtville, CA Picking up their fourth straight class wins in the race on Honda XR650R motorcycles were Richard Jackson and Jim O'Neal. Jackson, 56 of Acton, CA, won Class 50 for riders over 50 years old, tying Roeseler for the most class wins on a motorcycle with 11.

O'Neal's win in Class 40 for riders over 40 was bittersweet as he sustained a serious injury while pre-running Tuesday for the second straight year.

Breaking his right collarbone in addition to other internal injuries, O'Neal, the 56-year-old noted apparel manufacturer from Chatsworth, CA, started the race and rode only a few feet before turning his bike over to one of his three co-riders. SCORE rules require that to receive points for a race, the driver/rider of record must either start or finish the race.

On the other end of the spectrum, San Diego County young guns Eric Allen/Adam Pfankuch and Brian Ickler remained the four-wheel vehicle racers to remain undefeated midway through the season, earning their third victories in as many attempts.

Allen, 20 of San Marcos and Pfankuch, 21 of Carlsbad, won Class 1-2/1600 in their K.I.T. Racing Jimco-VW. Their class had 26 starters, second only to the 27 in Class 5/1600 for 160cc VW Baja Bugs.

Ickler, 17 of Poway, who won the first two races of the year while driving solo in the SCORE Lite class, split the driving Saturday with veteran Brian Ewalt, 43 of Chula Vista, CA Driving another Jimco-VW. Ewalt was scheduled to assist Corky McMillin, the 74-year old veteran from Bonita, CA, in Class 1, but became available after McMillin was hospitalized last week in San Diego and withdrew from the race.

Honolulu's Alan Pflueger won the Protruck class in a Chevy Silverado for the second straight race. The three other racers who won their class for the second straight SCORE Desert Series race were John Griffin, Mission Viejo CA (Stock Full, AM General Hummer), Eddie Zeller, Coronado, CA (Class 21, Yamaha YZ250 motorcycle) and Earl Thigpen, Murrieta, CA (Class 24, Honda TRX250R ATV).

Other class winners included defending season champ Nick Vanderwey, Buckeye, Ariz./Larry Venderwey, Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Class 8, GMC Sierra), Hector Salazar, Chula Vista, CA (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Dan Fresh, Mission Viejo, CA (Class 7SX, Jeep Comanche), Marcos Nunez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 5/1600, VW Baja Bug) and Eric Fisher, Ensenada (Class 9, Garibay-VW).

A total of 147 survivors out of 260 starters made it to finish line within the 18-hour time limit in the elapsed-time race.

SCORE launched its venerable, long-standing tenure in Baja California, Mexico, on July 26, 1974, with an open desert race in Ensenada called the SCORE Baja Internacional. This popular race, now held regularly the first weekend in June, has become the SCORE Baja 500. It was held for the 35th time this year. (It was produced from 1969 through 1974 by the old NORRA racing organization).

Started in 1973, when it was founded by the late Mickey Thompson, SCORE continues today under the direction of Sal Fish as the world's leading sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing and is most famous for its flagship event--the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

In addition to nearly $400,000 in purse and contingency postings, the race was also part of the annual Toyota Milestone Awards and $12,000 Toyota True Grit programs. The prestigious Toyota Milestone Awards are presented to every racer who completes every required mile of every race in the 2003 SCORE Desert Series. The $12,000 Toyota True Grit purse is split among the SCORE season point champions who are also Toyota Milestone award winners in four non-factory-backed classes. This is the 18th consecutive year that Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. has teamed with SCORE to present these prestigious awards.

SCORE official sponsors for 2003 are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Southern California Ford Dealers-official vehicle, 76 Racing Fuel-official fuel and Rental Service Corporation-official equipment supplier. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Bilstein Shocks, Signpros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's, Off-Road Innovations and Advanced Color Graphics.

Additional associate sponsors for both the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and November's 36th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are Cotuco and Fondo Mixto Turistica de Ensenada.

The second half of the 2003 SCORE Desert Series will start with the 2nd Annual SCORE Henderson's Terrible 250 on July 9-12. Pre-race festivities will be held in Henderson, Nev., and the actual race in Boulder City, Nev.

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