Jan. 18-21 in Laughlin, Nev.
Josh Baldwin in SCORE Trophy-Truck,
Ashley-Class 1 draw first starts
Among 202 early entries in 13th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge

Race-record final field of nearly 250 expected; Four-day
Event includes $16,000 SCORE Laughlin Leap on Jan. 18

LOS ANGELES—Southern California’s Josh Baldwin and Arizona’s Bryon Ashley received the No. 1 starting positions in the top two classes in Thursday’s computerized draw for starting positions, by class, for next month’s 13th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. Representing the second highest number in the event’s history, a total of 202 vehicles, in 17 Pro and 2 Sportsman classes, officially entered in time for the drawing held at the Los Angeles headquarters of SCORE International. It will be the first time either Baldwin or Ashley will start first in a SCORE race.

For the 13th straight year, motorsports fans and racers from across the United States, Mexico, Canada and Japan will flock to Laughlin, Nev., the desert resort town near the shores of the Colorado River for the vastly popular SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. The first major race of the year will be held Jan. 18-21, launching the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series, the world’s foremost desert racing series.

When late registration is complete, a race-record of nearly 250 expected starters will compete for nearly $400,000 in prize money and contingency postings during the four day SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. In 2006, there were a race-record 233 starters in Laughlin.

A total of 17 different Pro and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks will be split into seven groups in Laughlin, each running as part of one of separate multiple-lap races over the much-abbreviated 7-mile loop each day. Racing action runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day (Jan. 20-21). The marquee racing division is SCORE Trophy-Truck, featuring high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks along with the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars. Those two classes will run the final two races each day with Class 1 followed by SCORE Trophy-Truck.

Las Vegas’ B. J. Baldwin (SCORE Trophy-Truck, Chevy Silverado) and Gary Weyhrich, Troutdale, Ore. (Class 1, Jimco-Chevy) are the defending SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge race winners.

Josh Baldwin, 30, Newport Beach, Calif., a veteran SCORE desert racer whose older brother and 2004 SCORE Trophy-Truck season point champion Jason Baldwin died tragically in a 2005 airplane crash, will pilot the No. 86 Baldwin Motorsports Ford F-150.

A total of 31 vehicles, second-most in the history of the race, have entered to date in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division, including defending SCORE Desert Series Champion B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, in the No. 1 Chevy Silverado.

Among the other SCORE Trophy-Truck entries are Las Vegas brothers Tim and Ed Herbst, the winningest team in class history with 11 career race wins and four SCORE Trophy-Truck season point titles in the No. 19 Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150. Bob Shepard, of Phoenix, the 2005 SCORE Trophy-Truck season point champion, will be the co-driver for new teammate Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif., in the No. 82 Arciero-Miller RacingChevy Silverado.

Also entered in the featured SCORE division is Hawaii’s Alan Pflueger, third in last year’s point standings, in the No. 28 Fearless Motorsports Chevy Silverado, along with Andy McMillin, Poway, Calif., third in the 2005 Class 1 points with his father Scott, and fourth in last year’s SCORE Trophy-Truck points driving for NASCAR team owner/driver Robby Gordon. This year, Andy McMillin, who won last year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 with Gordon, will team again with his father Scott in the No. 31 McMillin Racing Chevy CK1500.

Garron Cadiente, Mesa, Ariz., the 2006 SCORE Rookie of the Year, will also be in the SCORE Trophy-Truck field in his No. 38 G&R Racing Ford F-150 along with his father-in-law and teammate Ron Whitton, Maricopa, Ariz., in his No. 39 G&R Racing Ford F-150. Cadiente, who won last year’s Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, was ninth in season points while Whitton, 62, was fifth in the final 2006 SCORE Trophy-Truck season point standings.

This year, Gordon has announced that Team Gordon’s driver of record in the No. 77 Chevy CK1500 will be Travis Coyne, 27, El Centro, Calif. Gordon’s NASCAR schedule provides him with the opportunity to race in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the SCORE Las Vegas Terrible’s Cup III and the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Coyne’s father Marty Coyne drives the No. 5 Coyne Motorsports Ford F-150.

Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., who was the overall Laughlin winner in 1997 and the SCORE Trophy-Truck winner in 2003, has announced that his new teammate for 2007 is Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren, a three-time AARWBA All-America racer with five class wins in the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. The pair will split driving time this season in Post’s No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150.

TV motorsports and action sports announcer Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif., will be the driver of record in four classes, including the No. 16 Desert Assassins Ford F-150 in SCORE Trophy-Truck. Steele, whose wife Heidi Steele drew the first start in a Ford Ranger in Class 7SX, will also be the primary driver in Class 1, Class 10 and SCORE Lite. Steele will split driving duties in Class 1, Class 10 and SCORE LIte with fellow second-generation desert racers Darren Hardesty in Class 1 and Kash Vessels in Class 10 and SCORE Lite.

Starting second and third in SCORE Trophy-Truck behind Josh Baldwin will be a pair of key executives from MGM Mirage Resorts of Las Vegas. Bill McBeath, President and CEO of the Bellagio Resort, will make his SCORE Trophy-Truck debut, driving the No. 91 Chevy Silverado while Bobby Baldwin, President of MGM Mirage Resorts and father of 2006 SCORE Trophy-Truck season point champ B.J. Baldwin, will drive the No. 96 Chevy Silverado. Both SCORE Trophy-Trucks are prepped by and crew support provided by Las Vegas’ Collins Motorsports.

Besides the three SCORE Trophy-Trucks piloted by Bill McBeath, Bobby Baldwin and B.J. Baldwin, the fourth SCORE Trophy-Truck entry from Collins Motorsports will be the No. 12 Chevy Silverado driven by teammates Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz., and Brian Collins, Las Vegas. Collins has four class wins in this race, the most recent when he won the SCORE Trophy-Truck class in 2001.

Bryon Ashley, 52, of Litchfield Park, Ariz., will drive a Chevy-powered Tatum open-wheel desert race car as first off the line in the unlimited Class 1.

Class 1 leads the way with 44 entries to date, followed by SCORE Trophy-Truck with 31, Class 1-2/1600 with 28, SCORE Lite with 21, and Class 10 with 20

Drawing the first starting positions in those high-entry classes were Ashley (Class 1), Josh Baldwin (SCORE Trophy-Truck), Aaron Hawley, Las Vegas (Class 1-2/1600), Randy Ross, Oak Hills, Calif. (SCORE LIte) and David Reyes, National City, Calif. (Class 10).

Daily general admission tickets, good for grandstand seating, are $20 each for each day (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), children five and under are free. Daily VIP tickets are $40 each for each of the 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, showing live footage from various locations around the race course.

Advance tickets for the Laughlin Events Park are on sale at 800.308.2253.

Tickets are also on sale for the only other spectator area for the event, the popular ‘SCORE Hill’, which overlooks the infield, start/finish area and the main pits. The SCORE Hill will have grandstands and standing room areas along with vendors, concessions and other public safety services available.

One of the event's most popular features, the SCORE Laughlin Leap, revs up the fun and gets the weekend off to a roaring start at 6 p.m. on Thursday (Jan. 18). 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 2007 champions. The SCORE Laughlin Leap, a dirt ramp built into the middle of the stadium infield, challenges the most daring of drivers. This year’s competitors will be looking to break the SCORE Laughlin Leap record set in 2004 by Mark Post in the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150 (160’ 6”).

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, woop-t-doos, minijumps and the Laughlin Leap.

The 13th 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.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant Petroleum-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, American Racing ATX Series-official wheel, Airstar America-official space lighting provider. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Communications, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

13th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
Official Entries-202 (as of Dec. 29)
(By Class Starting Order)

PRO CARS & TRUCKS

SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (31)
86 Josh Baldwin 
91 Bill McBeath
96 Bobby Baldwin 
51 Kory Scheeler
1 B.J. Baldwin 
3 Mark Post 
7 Scott Steinberger 
15 Jim Beaver 
17 Carl Renezeder 
21 Roger Gray
28 Alan Pflueger 
31 Andy McMillin 
39 Ron Whitton 
55 Luis Wallace 
56 Todd Arthur
64 Albert McMullen
82 Ryan Arciero
90 Tony Murray 
5 Marty Coyne 
19 Tim Herbst 
38 Garron Cadiente 
58 Frank Thing
2 Pete Sohren 
85 Todd Wyllie 
29 Richard Boyle
40 Chet Huffman 
22 Damen Jefferies
77 Travis Coyne 
12 Larry Ragland
54 Jesse James
16 Cameron Steele 

CLASS 1 (44) 
101 Byron Ashley
102 Ronny Wilson 
103 Adam Pfankuch
104 Vincent DeJong
105 Cesar Fuentes 
106 Jamie Campbell
107 Mark McMillin 
108 B.J. Richardson 
109 Mark Levrett
110 Mike Bilek
111 Mark Weyhrich 
112 Brian Parkhouse 
113 Gary Weyhrich 
114 Bill Gasper
115 John Herder
116 Dale Ebberts 
117 Harley Letner 
118 Dave Mason
119 Dale Lenk
120 Eddie Gonzalez
121 Pat Dean 
122 Cameron Steele
123 Randy Wilson 
124 Jeff Quinn 
125 Alex Danze
126 Dan Myers 
127 Steve Sourapas 
128 John Harrah
129 Josh Rigsby 
130 Eric Chase
131 Shawn Croll 
132 Steve Sullivan 
133 Chuck Hovey 
134 Damen Jefferies 
135 Enrique Bujanda
136 Robert Ross
137 John Gould 
138 James Scott
139 Cam Thieriot 
140 Mike Julston
141 Brian Kirby 
100 Larry Roeseler
158 Max Thieriot
159 Jennifer Clemison

CLASS 1-2/1600 (28) 
1601 Aaron Hawley 
1602 Leonardo Navarrete
1603 Cody Freeman
1604 Brent Parkhouse 
1605 Tony Green
1606 Adam Pfankuch 
1607 Ryan Chamberlain
1608 Lorenzo Rodriguez 
1609 Dave Caspino 
1610 Andrew Neal 
1611 Curt Geer 
1612 Layton Bowles
1613 Daniel McMillin
1614 Eliseo Garcia
1615 Gerardo Iribe 
1616 Billy Skinner
1617 Arturo Velazco 
1618 L.J. Kennedy
1619 Adam Ashcraft
1620 Trevor Streech
1621 Matt Gumz 
1622 Byron Ziegler 
1623 Hiram Duran 
1624 Rick Boyer
1625 Sammy Ehrenberg 
1626 Ray Files 
1627 Brian Collins Jr.
1628 Bob Mathews

CLASS 3 (3)
301 Salvador Cervantes
302 Chris Raffo 
303 Ken Leavitt 

CLASS 5 (5)
500 George Seeley
501 Chris Bowman
502 Victor Cesena
503 Michelle Bruckmann
519 Luivan Voelker

CLASS 5/1600 (7)
551 Mike Simpson 
552 Scott Pellerin
553 Mario Reynoso
554 Raul Solano
555 Chad Mayernick
556 Brent Shermak
557 Larry Negrete 

CLASS 7 (6)
701 Barry Karakas
702 Chris Taylor
703 Larry Roeseler 
704 A.J. Rodriguez 
700 Dan Chamlee 
706 Shannon Dierkop

CLASS 7S (3)
721 Aaron Gomez
720 Mike Horner 
739 Aaron Dodson

CLASS 7SX (7)
741 Heidi Steele
742 Noe Sierra
743 Jesse Rodriguez 
740 John Holmes 
745 Rich Severon
746 Gerardo Novelo
759 Kurt Youngs

CLASS 8 (4)
800 Nick Vanderwey
801 Greg Adler
802 Todd Wyllie
803 Rodrigo Ampudio 

CLASS 9 (2)
901 Joe Castrey
902 Forest Creasy 

CLASS 10 (20)
1001 David Reyes 
1002 Mark Hutchins 
1000 Darren Hardesty
1004 Will Higman 
1005 Shane Brown 
1006 Shawn Croll
1007 Eli Yee 
1008 Sean Kennedy
1009 Victor Orellana Jr.
1010 Mark Weger 
1011 Cameron Steele
1012 Adam Wik 
1013 Michael Deardoff
1014 Dale Dondel
1015 Kevin Derby
1016 Brian Burgess
1017 Matt Loiodice
1018 Chris Harrold
1019 Lonny Hart
1020 Robert McBeath

SCORE Lite (21)
1201 Randy Ross 
1202 Scott Wisdom
1200 Tim Noe
1204 Kelly Ross
1205 Kevin Derby
1206 Stan Potter 
1207 Cameron Steele
1208 Hector Garcia Jr.
1209 Richard Garavito
1210 Chuck Sacks 
1211 Brent Gustin
1212 Randy Jones
1213 Bill Hernquist
1214 Mike Halliday
1215 Jeff Kawell 
1216 Matt Cullen
1217 Ty Godde
1218 David Callaway
1219 Brian Burgess
1220 Rob Martensen
1221 Gary Johnson

CLASS 11 (1) 
1100 Eric Solorzano 

STOCK FULL (2)
861 Josh Hall
860 Terry Henn 

STOCK MINI (1)
761 Steve Kovach

PROTRUCK (7)
245 Richard Voss
252 Mike Johnson
207 Alan Levinson 
235 Jason Voss
203 Dave Creagan 
202 Wade Kelson
299 Jim Wasson

SPORTSMAN

SPT CAR (4)
1401 Bryan Carr
1402 Dan Myers
1403 Glenn Smith
1449 Richard Boyett

SPT TRUCK (6)
1501 Mike Jenkins
1502 Mark Growe 
1503 Robert Anderson
1504 Marquis Pulido
1505 Andrew Leavitt
1549 Dan Vance