Jan. 15-18
Top SCORE Desert Racers preparing to start 2004 season
At popular 10th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge

LOS ANGELES (December 12, 2003) -- For the 10th straight year, motorsports fans and racers from across the United States, Mexico and Japan will flock to Laughlin, NV, the desert resort town near the shores of the Colorado River for the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. The first major race of the year will be held Jan. 15-18, launching the six-race 2004 SCORE Desert Series, the world's foremost desert racing series.

Drivers and pit crews will compete for more than $300,000 in prize money and contingency postings during the four day SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.

Daily general admission tickets, good for grandstand seating, are $15 for each Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, children five and under are free. Daily VIP tickets are $35 each for three days, good for admission to the Laughlin Hospitality Chalet, including food beverage and special seating.

The stadium seating area will include the immensely popular SCOREvision large-screen LCD display that debuted last year, showing live footage from various locations around the race course.

Tickets will also be available for the three other designated spectator areas around the course.

At a cost of $10 per vehicle, there are two areas off of Nevada State Highway 163 adjacent to the racecourse as well as the popular 'SCORE Hill', which overlooks the infield, start/finish area and the main pits. Admission to these areas is on a first-come, first-served basis and no camping is permitted.

These areas will have limited refreshment and public safety services.

Tickets for the Laughlin Events Park are now on sale at 800.227.5245.

One of the event's most popular features, the Laughlin Leap, revs up the fun and gets the weekend off to a roaring start at 6 p.m. on Thursday (Jan. 16). Drivers and pit crews will share the spotlight at the Laughlin Events Park, competing for a $16,000 purse and the honor of being the 2004 champion. The Laughlin Leap, a dirt ramp built into the middle of the arena, challenges the most daring of drivers, and the top car or truck traditionally goes airborne for more than 110 feet.

On Friday (Jan. 16) at 4:30 p.m. at the Laughlin Events Park, the Pit Crew Showdown focuses attention on the entire racing team to compete for a $10,000 purse. Like other pit crew events, the vehicle must pull into the pit, have all four tires replaced, and then race out of the pit before the clock stops.

But there's a twist. This competition doesn't take place on a level slab of concrete, and the unusual shocks required to compete in desert racing require that the vehicle be lifted several feet into the air.

Since its debut in 1995, the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge has helped establish Laughlin as a viable host for special events. Thousands of spectators join over 130 racers and their crews in converging on the city each year to watch the best of the best desert racers compete in a unique-format, two-day race that includes a temporary stadium surrounding the start/finish line area and the main pits.

A total of 16 different classes for cars and trucks are split into seven groups in Laughlin, each running as part of one of seven races of two to five laps each over the much-abbreviated 11-mile loop each day. Racing action runs from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

"We're always excited to welcome SCORE's desert racing fans to Laughlin," said Meg McDaniel of the Laughlin Visitors Bureau. "For years, fans have relished our town's untamed surroundings by day and enjoyed the amenities of Laughlin's nine resorts at night."

The Events Park with grandstand seating, vendor's village and food court is just minutes from the destination's nine resorts and includes an infield packed with switchbacks, wooptydoos, minijumps and the Laughlin Leap.

The 10th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is sponsored by the Laughlin Tourism Committee, the Laughlin Visitors Bureau, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in association with Las Vegas Events. The race is sanctioned and produced by SCORE International of Los Angeles.

The upcoming 2004 race will be the first of a new three-year contract extension between Laughlin, the LVCVA, LVE and SCORE International, confirming the event's significant economic and promotional impact.

Located 90 miles south of Las Vegas, Laughlin offers visitors a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. This city by the river has grown to include nine resorts with affordable first-class accommodations, 24-hour casino gaming, gourmet dining and outlet shopping. Laughlin, a unique resort destination that welcomes nearly 5 million visitors annually, has also become one of the leading special event destinations in the Southwest. From world-class bull riding action to daring desert racing to powerboat racing on the Colorado River, Laughlin has plenty to offer the adventurous spectator.

SCORE International, founded in 1973 by the late Mickey Thompson and headed by Sal Fish since 1974, continues today as the premier sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. SCORE races feature 16 Pro and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks in the U.S. with seven additional Pro and three more Sportsman classes for motorcycles and ATVs competing in the races in Mexico.

SCORE races in the U.S. average 130 entries while the average in Mexico, with motorcycle and ATV classes running as well as the cars and trucks is 250.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors 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, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bilstein, Signpros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's, and Advanced Color Graphics.

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