LOS ANGELES—After 1,920.19 dusty and rugged desert racing miles, 16 of the world’s best desert racers have survived the challenge of the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series to earn coveted 2012 SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards. The 16 drivers, competing in 10 different classes, earned their prestigious honors by finishing every required mile in the World’s foremost Desert Racing Series. The 2012 SCORE Desert Series ended recently with the 45th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

All 16 drivers will receive their special awards Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, Calif., during the annual SCORE Awards Night celebration of 39 years of SCORE desert racing honoring the 2012 SCORE Desert Series point champions and the winners of the 2012 SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards.

Leading the way are five racers in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division, two in Class 1 for unlimited open-wheelers and two in Class 1/2-1600 for single or two-seat open wheelers powered by 1600cc VW engines. The total of 16 winners is tied for seventh-most in the 27-year history of the iconic award.

The five SCORE Trophy Truck drivers who completed all 1,920.19 required race miles of the 2012 season are: Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas (No. 20 Ford F-150), Juan C. Lopez, Tecate, Mexico (No. 18 Chevy Silverado), Steven Strobel, Clarks, Neb. (No. 94 Ford F-150), Tim Herbst, Las Vegas (No. 19 Ford F-150) and Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif. (No. 49 Ford F-150). Tim Herbst and Arciero, who races with Tim Herbst’s younger brother Troy, are part of the Las Vegas-based Terrible Herbst Motorsports team.

Toyota is presenting these prestigious awards to the world’s toughest desert racers for the 27th consecutive year. The Toyota Milestone awards will go to those pro car and truck drivers who finish every required mile in the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series.

“Toyota is proud to honor the world’s best desert racing drivers,” said Les Unger, national motorsports manager at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “For over a quarter of a century, Toyota has had the privilege of presenting the SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards to the toughest racers on the planet. We salute Sal Fish and SCORE International for producing these dynamic desert races for nearly 40 years for the most rugged drivers in any form of motorsport.”

For the veteran MacCachren, a six-time member of the AARWBA All-America motorsports team, this is a record sixth SCORE Toyota Milestone (1992, 1993, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2012) while it is the fourth for Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif. (Class 3, Ford Bronco—2004, 2006, 2008, 2012), third for both Tim Herbst (2000, 2003, 2012) and David Carr, San Diego (Class 5, VW Baja Bug—2008, 2011, 2012). It is also second each for Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif. (Class 10, Chenowth-Chevy—2009, 2012) and Elias Hanna, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 7SX, Ford Ranger—2009, 2012).

Monica Greenhill, Crowley, Texas (Class 1, Jimco-Chevy) becomes just the fourth female along with three-time winners Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif. (2008, 2010, 2011) and Bekki Freeman-Wik, Las Vegas (1998, 1999, 2000) and single-time winner Jessica McMillin, San Diego (2011) to earn a prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Award.

RPM Racing of Bristol, Tenn., who earned a SCORE-record 20 class wins among their eight entries in the 2012 SCORE Desert Series, saw two of their drivers win SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards as well this season. Juan C. Lopez, Tecate, Mexico, finished third in the SCORE Trophy Truck points while Rodolfo Iribe, Tijuana, Mexico, won the 2012 SCORE Class 8 season point championship.

The remainder of this year’s honorees will be receiving SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards for the first time.

The challenging 2012 season began with the first two rounds at the 18th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in January and ended with the 45th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Nov. 14-17. The season-ending granddaddy of all desert races started in Ensenada and finished in La Paz, Mexico featuring a season-high 298 starters competing in 34 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.

2012 SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards
(16 Racers completed every required mile in the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series)

SCORE Trophy Truck
Juan C. Lopez, Tecate, Mexico
Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas
Steven Strobel, Clarks, Neb.
Tim Herbst, Las Vegas
Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif.
Class 1
Cody Parkhouse, Long Beach, Calif.
Monica Greenhill, Crowley, Texas
Class 1/2-1600
Cody Robinson, El Centro, Calif.
George Peters, Newbury Park, Calif.
Class 3
Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif.
Class 5
Kevin Carr, San Diego
Class 7SX
Elias Hanna, Ensenada, Mexico
Class 8
Rodolfo Iribe, Tijuana, Mexico
Class 10
Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif.
SCORE Lites
Otoniel Huerta, San Luis, Ariz.
Class 7-2
Billy Wilson, Corpus Christi, Texas