36th Annual TECATE SCORE BAJA 500
June 4-6, 2004
Race Quotes

The 300 starters is the largest field in this race since 1988. The racers came from 16 U.S. States, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Sweden.

1st Place Class 22
1x Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell
Hengeveld: I went as fast as I could go and hung it out there a little bit. But that's what you have to do sometimes when you're behind. It got really close, but here I am.

2nd Place Class 22
5x Chris Blais/Kendall Norman/Quinn Cody
Blais: We started at 6am and got done really fast. I had a good race. Made it back in one piece. Ensenada loves the races and we love it here. It was the roughest Baja 500 but we pulled it off and had a good day. No problems. The older we get the smarter. First is the best but second is fine.

1st Place TrophyTruck
28-Alan Pflueger
Pflueger: It was not that fast. We thought we'd finish earlier. It was just a thinking race. We ran smart. Early in the race we went back and forth with Ragland. I owe a lot to Larry for my experience in Baja. Ragland set a great pace. Winning this race is humbling. It was very challenging but it happened to be my day today. No mechanical problems. I look forward to winning more. Can't wait for the Baja 1000. With this team and crew we will win any day.

John Hoffman (crew chief): Thanks to all the crew. We wouldn't be here in the winner's circle if it wasn't for you. Mike Emerson was awesome. He kept Alan in control. Awesome motor and the BFG tires had no flats. We just had to change the ones that Alan wore out.

Mike Emerson (co-rider): Pflueger racing puts so much work in at the shop.

1st Place Class 1
118-Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler
We are very, very happy to be here since we started in the back. So much dust, it was tough. 1st in class three years in a row to dominate Baja 500. You can't be a good team without the chemistry.

2nd Place Trophy Truck
3-Mark Post/Jerry Whelchel
Whelchel: The race went well--near perfect. Mark gave me all the rough stuff. Still first in points and that's what matters.

1st Place Class 30
305x Gerardo Rojas/SergioVega/Manuel Santana
Vega: Only problem is a lot of cars -- traffic and people. Very hard but ok.

2nd Place Class 30
310x Fred Willert/Mike Barnhill/Fransico Real
Real:It was warm out there but a fun ride. I stopped for 5min. but got back on and it was ok. We were going back and forth with other bikes but it worked out. We will probably race more together. I've raced with Mike since 2000 and it's been good.

1st Place Class 10
1003 Mark Hutchins/C.J. Hutchins
Mark: I want to thank SCORE for this unbelievable challenging course. I had two flats, one in Tres Hermanos and one at mile 235. We had an incident with a spectator's vehicle but everything was ok. However, we ripped out our shocks. Thanks to Myers Racing, who gave us new shocks, we wouldn't have finished the race. I've been racing for 5 years and this was the most challenging course. So much silt, it was crazy. You just have to obey the rules and be safe.

CJ: They only scare I had was with the spectator vehicle but other than that, it was great. So challenging, my sections were tight in a Buggy. We've been second place at this race twice so I'm excited about winning. We are looking forward to Primm.

1st Place Class 40
400x Jim O'Neal/Tim Withers/Jeff Kaplan/Jim Holly/Lou Franco
Franco: Tired-- but was great. The bike was beautiful and didn't give up. I did have a bad crash and had a concussion. Rested and then got back on. I feel good now but I hope no one else gets hurt.

3rd Place Class 1
117-Dan Myers
Wow it was freaking crazy out there. We had a head on with a Ford Explorer on the beach section because we were going the wrong direction. No problems, ran good, no flats and I did it solo!

1st Place Class1-2 1600
1615 Rob MacCachren/Danny Anderson
MacCachren: I just got in at the end. Danny did almost all of it. It was flawless. Good course for a 1600 car. This is the first time I won at a Baja 500 in this class. I've gotten second many times.

1st Place Sportsman Motorcycle >
262x Corey Keysar/Rick Sparks/Jason Morgan/Dave Schute
Keysar: No problems--no flats. The bike ran good and had no traffic. This is my 1st win so this is very exciting. So we plan to race the Baja1000 together.

1st Place Class 50
500x Richard Jackson/BobWadlow
Wadlow: Problem free race! Good course but a ton of traffic and very hot!

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