LOS ANGELES—As it has for nearly 40 years as the preeminent desert racing organization in the world, SCORE International is adding to its legacy of innovation and pioneering technology development with the announcement this week by SCORE CEO/President Sal Fish of the new manufacturer-friendly SCORE Super 8 Truck class.

The new class, open to all manufacturers of unlimited trucks and sport utility vehicles with engines limited to stock, sealed V-8s, will make its debut at November’s 45th anniversary of the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race, the season-finale of the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series.

“SCORE has always listened to the racers and when we are in agreement with the need and our ability to effectively develop and oversee the rules and regulations, we are very open to introducing new classes into SCORE desert racing,” said Fish, CEO/President of Los Angeles-based SCORE International since soon after it was founded in 1973. “Following on-going discussions with numerous racers and diligent research and preparation of class regulations by Bill Savage and SCORE Tech, we are very enthusiastically announcing the debut of this special truck class which will be open to every truck and SUV manufacturer.”

Rules of this new class can be seen on SCORE’s website here: http://www.score-international.com/technotes.aspx

Some 300 entries from nearly 40 U.S. States and as many as 20 countries, competing in 37 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs are expected in this year’s 45th anniversary of the granddaddy of all desert races. To help celebrate the storied history of this great event, the race will be a peninsula run down Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, covering over 1,000 rugged miles from the start in Ensenada to the finish in La Paz.

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A live drawing for starting positions in the elapsed-time race that starts in Baja California and finishes in Baja California Sur will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6 at the massive SCOREville display at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo Powered by General Tire at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif.

“Our goal was to respond to the racer’s requests for an affordable truck class with regulations designed with stock, sealed V-8 engines that will give a fairly level playing field for what will be an exciting class to watch and race in,” commented Bill Savage, SCORE’s long-time Tech Director. “We purposely designed the class to allow multiple manufacturers to be able to showcase their stock engines in unlimited 4-wheel trucks and SUVs. We also wanted to develop a reasonably-affordable truck class that we expect several entries in from the very first race in November.”

The detailed class description as well as rules and regulations for the new SCORE Super 8 Truck class are available on the SCORE website at http://www.score-international.com/technotes.aspx. For further information regarding the class, contact the SCORE Tech office in Vista, Calif. at 760.599.1013.

In addition to season class point championships, the racers also compete for part of the over $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race. Drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also attempting to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck Pro class drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season.  Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 27th consecutive year, a total of 24 drivers are still in the hunt for the awards for the 2012 SCORE Desert Series after the first four rounds in the five-race series.

Racers also compete for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award. All categories, except Engine Builder and Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer, are determined by public on-line voting while Engine and Buggy awards are determined by season points.

Tecate Beer is the title sponsor of the three SCORE Baja races.

MasterCraft Safety is co-title sponsor of the 26th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250.

Official Sponsors of the SCORE Desert Series are:
-BFGoodrich Tires, Official Tire
-Volkswagen of America, Official Vehicle
-Sunoco Race Fuels, Official Race Fuel
-Slime, Official Tire Sealant
-Symons Ambulance Company, Official Ambulance
-Bilstein, Official Shock Absorber
-Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Official Mexican Auto Insurance

Official Sponsors of the SCORE Baja 1000 are:
-Coca-Cola, Official Soft Drink
-Volaris Airlines, Official Airline
-Lightforce Performance Lighting, Official Driving Light

Additional SCORE Sponsors are – Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Las Vegas Events, Blue C Advertising, SignPros, PCI Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2012 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.