Round 5 of 2003 SCORE Desert Series next
SCORE News Notes
SCORE's 30th anniversary year continues Sept. 12-13,
with 8th SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 in Southern Nevada
September 1, 2003

+SCORE Time Change in Primm- SCORE officials have decided to push up the start time for second-half of the upcoming 8th Annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 desert race, to be held Sept. 13 in Primm, NV, 35 miles south of Las Vegas at the California border. Group B, with the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division and the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert racecars, will get the green flag at 1 p.m. Group A will still start at 6 a.m. The start/finish line area, located in the special events compound behind Buffalo Bill's Resort, will include free grandstand seating for spectators in front of a nearly one-half mile infield area that will include a four-foot jump. The start/finish line area is adjacent to the main pit area for the nearly 150 expected race vehicles.

+Baldwin Motorsports Enters Pair in Primm- In his first SCORE race as driver of record, MGM/Mirage executive Bobby Baldwin, 53, will drive the No. 127 Chevy-Bunderson in the unlimited Class 1 at the upcoming SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300.

His son B.J., 23, also of Las Vegas, will move from Class 1 to the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck in the No. 97 Ford F-150. Baldwin Motorsports, whose vehicles are prepped and whose pit crew is provided by Las Vegas' Collins Motorsports, recently purchased the SCORE Trophy-Truck originally built by Porter Race Cars of Orange, CA, and successfully driven as the No. 10 of Damen Jefferies.

+Kyle Attempting Double in Primm- Taking a scientific approach to the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300, Texan Mark Kyle figures he can double his fun by racing in two classes. In the morning, Kyle, 46 of Austin, will be the driver of record in his regular class, driving the No. 1213 VW-Mirage in SCORE Lite, where he is sixth in points. After finishing the first 315 miles, he will jump behind the wheel of the Herzog Racing No. 213 Ford F-150 in the Protruck class for the final 315 miles.

A former Oregon State linebacker, he will stay in shape by riding some laps when his racing partner and co-driver, Larry Nash-35 of San Luis Obispo, CA-drives. Raised in the surf around Hermosa Beach, CA, Kyle, who owns Paragon Scientific pharmaceutical company in Austin, says he always had heard about the SCORE Baja 1000, but never raced until he and Nash did the once-in-a-lifetime Tecate SCORE Baja 2000 in 2000 on a lark. They were smitten, and now addicted, to SCORE desert racing. As for number 13, he says he has finished every race his vehicle has had that number on it.

+ESPN's Steele Racing at Primm- ESPN X-Games commentator Cameron Steele, 35, of San Clemente, CA, will be the driver of record at the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 in Class 1-2/1600 in the No. 1646 VW-Prep by Jake racecar. Steele, a second-generation SCORE desert racer who works both the Winter and Summer X-Games for ESPN along with Supercross and the outdoor championships, had raced as a co-driver last year and earlier this year with No. 1649 David Hendrickson, Murrieta, CA Steele is known for being the helmet-cam guy who gives viewers the up close and personal look at the race course.

+SCORE Awards Tribute Night Set- SCORE CEO/President Sal Fish was pleased to announce recently that Michael Gaughan's Gold Coast Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas will be the site of this year's extra-special SCORE Awards Night, a tribute to 30 championship seasons of SCORE International desert racing. The legacy of the world's foremost desert racing organization will be honored as SCORE recognizes the past with SCORE lifetime achievement awards and the present with championship recognition for the 2003 SCORE Desert Series.

Individual ticket orders as well as reservations for tables of 10 are being taken through the SCORE offices at 818.225.8402.

+SCORE Replica Toys Popular- Toy Zone Inc., which recently moved its U.S. headquarters in Southern California from Bell to Azusa, reports that the retail sales of its three licensed SCORE desert racing replica toys are selling way beyond original projections. The three scale replicas sold through major retail outlets around the world are a SCORE Trophy-Truck, a Lothringer unlimited Class 1 desert racecar and a SCORE Class 22 open motorcycle. Marketed under the Race Image Collectibles product line, the SCORE replicas are the brainchild of SCORE desert racer Jeff Cepielik, who is COO/Vice-President of Toy Zone. Cepielik, who plans to race in Class 9 in this year's 36th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in November, says that Toy Zone is now developing it's third generation of SCORE replicas and has entered into a licensing agreement with long-time SCORE sponsor BFGoodrich Tires. SCORE Baja 1000 collectibles are available in all 50 U.S. States, Europe, Australia, South America, South Africa and Mexico.

Cepielik said his company is amazed at how much recognition there is worldwide for the name SCORE and in particular the SCORE Baja 1000.

+SCORE in the Movies- The Filmmakers responsible for On Any Sunday, Malcolm, Motocross, The Endless Summer, The Endless Summer II, and the recently-completed project- Step Into Liquid -have signed an agreement with SCORE International.

As specific pre-production details are finalized, SCORE CEO/President Sal Fish has announced that a full-length 90-minute documentary feature will be filmed at this year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. The film, with a targeted international release date for the spring or summer of 2004, will chronicle the 30-year history of SCORE desert racing through the stage of the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. The project will be produced by Bruce Brown and directed by his son Dana Brown. To properly develop this film, 10 ground units will be used as well as two air units and cameras will include Hi-Definition, 16mm, 35mm, night scope and in-car cameras. Included on the crew will be veteran motorcycle racer/stunt coordinator Mike "Mouse" McCoy, who will ride solo on a motorcycle and SCORE motorcycle class champion Kevin Ward, who will be the director of photography. Ward has spent 33 years in film, with over 300 commercials, two full length feature films, four shorts, and an award winning documentary as a cinematographer. He has also been a stuntman primarily for TV shows.

+SCORE Baja 1000 Drawing LIVE- A live drawing for starting positions for the 36th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will be held on Wednesday, October 15, in conjunction with the monthly meeting of F.A.I.R. pit support group. Tom Sobray, president of the First Association of Independent Racers, has offered this opportunity to SCORE. The drawing will be held at 8 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Fullerton, CA The address is 222 West Houston and the hotel is located at the Harbor exit of the 91 (Newport) Freeway. The race date itself was pushed back a week about a month ago, at the request of the government of Baja California, to Nov. 20-23 in Ensenada. Nov. 20 is a major holiday in Mexico, which will be tech and contingency day for the race. When the race was moved a week forward last year, it also fell on the holiday week, which helped swell the crowds at tech and contingency to nearly 75,000.

+SCORE Baja 1000 Promotions- Both Tecate and Coca-Cola of Mexico are finalizing plans for major promotions to salute November's 36th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. The granddaddy of all desert races, to be held Nov. 20-23 in Ensenada, will mark the 30th year the legendary event has been sanctioned and produced by SCORE International. In addition to extensive commemorative advertising and special bar promotions, Tecate will also be providing all visitors to Baja California with discount coupons for their visit. In addition to targeted advertising support, Coca-Cola of Mexico is producing 5.5 million 12 oz. cans of regular Coke, saluting SCORE for 30 years of championship desert racing in Mexico.

+SCORE Medical Adds Eighth Ambulance-Las Vegas- based Motorsports Medical Services, the non-profit organization which provides the high-qualified medical crew for all SCORE races, is adding an eighth fully-equipped ambulance to its fleet of race support vehicles. Dr. Dale Carrison is the SCORE Medical Director and Rod and Wendy Gamble, both EMTs, are the co-directors of the SCORE Rescue team.

+DARPA Grand Challenge Update- An incredible 51 official team applications have been received as of Sept. 1, 2003, for the $1 Million DARPA Grand Challenge, the event for autonomous robotic ground vehicles to be held March 12-13, 2004, starting in Barstow, CA and finishing in the Las Vegas area.

The unique event is being produced by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the research arm of the Department of Defense, in association with Sal Fish's SCORE International desert racing organization. Fish, who has helped spearhead the route development of the proposed routes for the event, recently completed the last major course survey with the talented DARPA survey team.

The major upcoming calendar dates for the DARPA Grand Challenge:
October 14, 2003: Application Period Closes, Technical Papers Due
October 28, 2003: Technical Paper Review Complete, Field Announced
November 6-7, 2003: Second Competitor's Conference (Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas)
March 10, 2004: DARPA-Tech Ceremonial Start (Anaheim (CA) Convention Center)
March 12, 2004: Qualification, Inspection and Demonstration Event (California Speedway, Los Angeles)
March 13, 2004: DARPA Grand Challenge Main Event (Barstow, CA to near Las Vegas)
March 14, 2004: Recognition Ceremony (Orleans Arena, Las Vegas)

For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official Optima SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com