Over 300 entries expected
Class ‘rookies’ McNeil, Patten, Thompson each draw pole
Positions for 37th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race
264 already entered in June 3-5 race in Ensenada, Mexico,
Round 3 of six-race 2005 SCORE Desert Series

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 2, 2005) -- New to their respective classes, desert racers Chad McNeil, Lee Patten and Steve Thompson received the pole positions in the top three divisions at Saturday’s ‘live’ drawing for starting positions for June’s 37th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500. The drawing for starting positions was held at Southern California’s Irwindale Speedway in front of a live audience that included racers, crews and fans.

McNeil, El Cajon, CA, is a second-generation racer, will lead the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division in his new McNeil Off-Road Chevy SCORE Trophy-Truck while Patten, Bellflower, CA, drew the first start in the unlimited Class 1 and Thompson, Long Beach, CA, will be at the front of the motorcycle classes.

Hosted by the prominent F.A.I.R. pit support group, the special SCORE drawing included vehicle displays and a small vendor’s village and was held at the dragstrip of the popular Southern California motorsports complex.

“F.A.I.R. organized a very good backdrop for our live drawing, and to have such a huge field already is just amazing. F.A.I.R. organized a very good backdrop for our live drawing, and to have such a huge field already is just amazing.” said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO/President. “I’m sure that part of the reason is the increased interest generated in SCORE racing during April with the U.S. release of ‘Dust to Glory, the dramatic feature documentary on the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. We have identified a very typical Baja course”

Traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, over 100,000 spectators are expected to enjoy the world’s best desert racers in action at this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 500, to be held June 3-5 in Ensenada, Mexico.

With over 300 entries expected from 15 U.S. States, Mexico, Canada and Japan, the green flag will drop at 6 a.m. on Saturday (June 4) for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes two hours later at approximately 8:30 a.m. A total of 262 vehicles entered in time for Saturday’s drawing. By comparison, last year’s race had 204 entries in the drawing and 300 vehicles left the start line.

McNeil, 25, has been building his new Chevy SCORE Trophy-Truck at his company in El Cajon for nearly two years. It features a special two-wheel drive McNeil Off-Road bolt-on suspension system along with a Chevy 383 engine McNeil built himself for racing and weighs in at a relatively light 4,000 pounds. This will be his first race in the marquee SCORE racing division. He has raced five times in this race in Class 7 and won this class in a Ford Ranger in the 1999 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

“This truck was built to race the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 1000, and to receive the first starting position kind of blew me away,” said McNeil, who father Rex McNeil is a former SCORE Class 1 racer. “We have built this truck, and two more are being built just like it, to prove the capability and durability of the McNeil Off-Road bolt-on suspension system. We’re going to pre-run this course about 10 times. I can’t tell you how excited I am. I was born on November 7, 1979 when my dad was down racing in the SCORE Baja 1000 and I’ve been called ‘Baja Boy’ ever since.”

The starting line area will once again be adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Convention Center in downtown Ensenada, Mexico. The finish line will be inside the Deportivo Antonio Palacios baseball stadium at 9th Street and Guadalupe Avenue in Ensenada. It is located approximately 1.5 miles east of the start line area. The admission will be free to this special SCORE finish line celebration. Vehicles will start in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time, 419.0-mile race.

The world’s foremost desert racing series will showcase 25 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs in Ensenada, which is located 65 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego on the Pacific Ocean side of the majestic peninsula.

As of today, the classes with the most entries are: Class 1 and Class 1-2/1600 (33 each), SCORE Trophy-Truck (26), SCORE Lite (19) along with Class 5/1600 and Class 10 (17 each).

Drawing the first start in Class 1-2/1600 was Jeff Quade, Temecula, CA, in a Fisher-VW, while on the pole in SCORE Lite is Mike Halliday, Riverside, CA, in a Jimco-VW. At the front of Class 5/1600 will be Feliciano Cervantes, Montebello, CA, in a VW Baja Bug and up front in Class 10 will be Jim Anderson, Claremont, CA, in a Dunrite-VW.

For the first time in several years, the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will be televised nationally on a delayed basis. Aura 360, the Maine production and marketing company that has this year’s SCORE television rights, expects to announce within a week which national cable outlet will carry the race.

A total of 18 class winners from last year are entered, led by overall winners Alan Pflueger (4-wheel vehicles, SCORE Trophy-Truck), Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell (Motorcycles, Class 22) and Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler (unlimited Class 1). Pflueger picked up his second class win in the race last year and his first in SCORE Trophy-Truck in his No. 28 Pflueger Racing Chevy Silverado. Hengeveld has five consecutive Class 22 and overall motorcycle wins in this race, including the last three with Campbell, who has five career overall wins as well on the No. 1X American Honda XR650R.

Herbst and Roeseler have won Class 1 the last three years together, including the overall win in 2002 and 2003. In their careers, Herbst has six class wins in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 with two overalls and Roeseler has 15 class wins, including 11 overalls (nine on a motorcycle). They will again drive a Smithbuilt-Ford open-wheel desert race car.

Nick Vanderwey (Class 8) and Jim O’Neal (Class 40) have won their respective classes four straight years in this summer classic and Donald Moss (Class 3) has earned three consecutive class wins.

Another of the early entries is NASCAR Nextel Cup owner/driver Robby Gordon, who will return to his racing roots for the first time this season. Gordon, a three-time SCORE class point champion, will once again attempt to pull double-duty, racing the same weekend in the NASCAR race in Dover, Delaware.

Pre-race festivities for the 37th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will center around the Riviera del Pacifico convention center in downtown Ensenada on Friday (June 3). Traditionally drawing thousands of spectators, the pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and display off all the race vehicles will be held adjacent to the San Nicolas Hotel, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday (June 3). The post-race awards celebration will be held at the Riviera del Pacifico on Sunday (June 5) at 10 a.m.

Leading the SCORE overall and Class 1-2/1600 point standings, Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren has put himself at the top of the list in the chase for the $50,000 Kartek Off-Road bonus purse. The top three overall point leaders in the 2005 SCORE Desert Series will receive bonus money of $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000 from the Southern California aftermarket company. MacCachren, who also races in the SCORE Trophy-Truck division with Gus Vildosola in the No. 4 Vildosola Racing Ford F-150, runs a Fraley-VW with Las Vegas’ Bryan Freeman in Class 1-2/1600.

The race also features the hunt for the 2005 SCORE Toyota Awards--the Toyota Milestone Awards and the $12,000 Toyota True Grit bonus purse. Milestone awards are presented to every racer who completes every required race mile for the season and the bonus purse will be split among the point champions in four non-factory backed classes (1-2/1600, 5, Class 10 and SCORE Lite).

SCORE official sponsors for 2005 are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, C.L. Bryant-VP Racing Fuels-official fuel supplier. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Las Vegas Events, Herbst Gaming, Kartek Off-Road, Centrix Financial, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bilstein, Signpros, Cotuco, Fideicomiso Publico para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada, Cotuco, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products, and Advanced Color Graphics.

For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official 2005 SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com

For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official 2005 SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com