SAN DIEGO—Following Wednesday’s live drawing for starting positions leading the start of a new era in SCORE International desert racing history during its 40th anniversary season will be veteran racers Mark Weyhrich of Troutdale, Ore., and Robby Bell of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who received the pole positions for four-wheel and two-wheel vehicles during the live Dirt Live webcast Wednesday for the upcoming 27th Annual MasterCraft SafetyTecate SCORE San Felipe 250. Weyhrich races in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division while Bell competes in Class 22 for open motorcycles.

The season opener of the 2013 SCORE Desert Series will be held March 8-10 in Mexico’s picturesque fishing village of San Felipe, located 120 miles south of the U.S. border on the East side of the Baja California peninsula along the azure waters of the tranquil Sea of Cortez. The race will herald the new chapter in SCORE history, starting the tenure of Roger Norman as the owner of the world’s foremost desert racing organization.

With entries accepted up to race morning, over 225 entries are expected to enter the race. Entered in time for the drawing, entries have come from 21 US States and nine countries as competition will be held in 40 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes in the popular race.

The start draw for the 2013 SCORE Desert Series opener determined the starting order within each of the various classes in the elapsed-time race.

Drawing the first starting slot for the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars was Justin Matney of Bristol, Va. Riding the first ATV off the line will be Class 25 team led by hometown racer Felipe Veliz of San Felipe.

With 35 entries so far in the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850 horsepower, unlimited production trucks, Weyhrich, 43, whose brother Gary Weyhrich drew the 25th starting position, drives the No. 9 TSCO Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Truck.

A unique part of Saturday’s drawing was the special drawing for the top 12 finishers from the nearest previous SCORE Baja race entered in the current race in both SCORE Trophy Truck and the unlimited Class 1. Ten of the top 12 SCORE Trophy Trucks from last November’s 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 entered the race in time for the drawing along with four racers from the unlimited Class 1.

Bell, 26, will ride a Kawasaki KX450 motorcycle in Class 22 and drew the first starting position for the second straight year in San Felipe. Bell and his co-riders Steve Hengeveld and David Pearson teamed up to win the overall motorcycle title in last year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 500.

Last year’s overall 4-wheel and 2-wheel champions are also part of the field. Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren was last year’s overall 4-wheel champion and the returning 2-wheel champion is the Bonzana Plumbing/KTM factory team of Kurt Caselli, Murrieta, Calif./Ivan Ramirez, Ensenada, Mexico on a KTM 450SX-F.

In Wednesday’s computerized drawing, SCORE Trophy Truck had the most entries with 35, followed by the unlimited Class 1 with 15 and Class 10 with 14. While 157 entries were received in time for the start draw, late registration will be accepted up until race morning and as many as 80 additional entries are expected.

Among the Pro motorcycle classes, the open Class 22 had the most vehicles entered in the drawing with eight.

Leading the Sportsman classes was SPT M/C 450> with eight entries in time for the drawing.

Besides MacCachren and Caselli, a total of the 11 defending Pro class winners entered so far this year: Luke McMillin, El Cajon, Calif. (Class 1), Cody Robinson, El Centro, Calif. (Class 1/2-1600), Donald Moss, Sacremento, Calif. (Class 3), Eduardo Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico (Class 6), Rudolfo Iribe, Tijuana, Mexico (Class 8), Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif. (Class 10), Reid Rutherford, Montrose, (Class 7-2) and Marc Prince, Malibu, Calif. (Class 50).

Robinson (Class 10), Laguna (Class 1) and Rutherford (Class 3000) are all in new classes this year while Iribe is listed as a co-driver for RMP Racing entries in Class 1 and Trophy Truck Spec.

Traveling all the way from Bristol, Tenn. and Bristol, Va., Matney’s RPM Racing, which had a SCORE record 20 total class wins in 2012 and the team has seven entries in this year’s MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250.

PRE-RACE SKED…
The pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday (March 8) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the picturesque Malecon, flanked by the Sea of Cortez on one side and the popular restaurants and night clubs of San Felipe on the other. Racer registration will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday (March 8) at the Hacienda Don Jesus Hotel.
COURSE MAP, etc…

This year’s course map, gps files, course notes will be announced on Friday, Feb. 22and pre-running will be allowed on the actual race course starting Friday, Feb. 22 through Friday, March 8.

The green flag will drop at 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 9, for the motorcycle and ATV classes, followed three hours after the last Sportsman ATV later by the car and truck classes at approximately 10 a.m. The start line and finish line for the race is scheduled to once again be the landmark San Felipe Arches on Highway 5 on the outskirts of San Felipe.

NORMAN NOTES…
Norman, 49, a Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 overall winner himself, acquired ownership of the world-renown SCORE International on Dec. 20, 2012 from Sal Fish, 73, the iconic godfather of desert racing who ran SCORE for 39 years.

As a hotel/casino owner in northern Nevada, business developer and a champion racer, Norman re-started the High Desert Racing Association, (HDRA) in 2011. HDRA was highly regarded when it was active originally in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Norman is a Dirt Live regular with his ‘Pit Stop with Roger’ segment.

SCORE RACER REGISTRATION
Starting with the upcoming 2013 SCORE Desert Series season opener, all advance SCORE racer registration is being process online through the SCORE website at www.score-internaitonal.com. Elise Norman is overseeing SCORE racer registration and she is being assisted by Jessica Armstrong, a new member of the SCORE staff. For questions, racers may contact Mrs. Norman at 775.690.2306 and Armstrong is available at 760.608.3919.

NOW IT’S PERMANENT
SCORE officials have announced that permanent numbers for all classes—cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, will be available for the first time in SCORE history.  This ground-breaking process is being implemented through racer registration for the 2013 season opener.

HISTORYonics…
The season-opener of the 2013 SCORE Desert Series, the MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, annually provides a greater economic impact to San Felipe than the popular six-week-long ‘Spring Break.’

The race began in 1982 and was not held between 1985 and 1989, the first five years of the seven-year combined High Desert Racing Association-HDRA/SCORE Desert Series of US and Baja races. It has been held consecutively each year since 1990.

In its first 26 years, the race has been held in San Felipe all but 2007 when political issues forced a last minute move by SCORE, starting it in Ensenada and finishing it in Santo Tomas. Ironically, 2007 saw a race-record 394 starters and a race-record 288 finishers even though the race was moved and the course changed just 10 days before the event.  The records when the race actually started and finished in San Felipe are 341 for starters in 2006 and 220 for finishers, also in 2006.

ON THE BAJAscope
In its 40th year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization in 2013, the three-race 2013 SCORE Desert Series, with all three massive special events held in Baja California, Mexico, starts with the 27th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250. Both starting and finishing in Ensenada, the other two events will be the 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 (May 31-June 2) and the 46th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 (Nov. 14-17).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF DESERT RACING
The 2013 SCORE Desert Series will also be part of the quickly-evolving World Championship of Desert Racing, which will combine points accumulated in the three SCORE Baja races along with points earned from three of the four-race 2013 HDRA Series, all held in the United States. Both the SCORE and HDRA series will crown their own individual class and overall point champions as well with a bonus purse for those racers who qualify for the World Championship of Desert Racing points bonus purse program to earn a desert racing World Champion title.

With a growing total, for the inaugural World Championship of Desert Racing bonus purse, an official total of $45,000 has been posted to date from new SCORE sponsors Amber Racing Services ($25,000), King Shocks ($10,000) and Rigid Industries ($10,000). For classes with at least five starters in each qualifying race in 2013, the World Champion titles will be decided on combined points from the three SCORE races and the three HDRA races with the bonus purse paid using the same formula based on total purse and number of starters in each class as is used currently for each SCORE race.

MORE AWARDS…
In addition to season class point championships and World Championship titles, the racers are also competing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race. There are also annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year Awards including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Award that also receives a $2,000 cash bonus and custom-made driver’s race suit.

SCORE SPONSORS…
Official Sponsors of the SCORE Desert Series are: Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, Tecate Beer-Official Beer/Official Race Sponsor, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Amber Racing Services-Official Race Fuels, Rigid Industries-Official Lights, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Coca-Cola-Official Soft Drink, Wide Open Excursions-Official Tour Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino, Volaris Airlines-Official Airline, MasterCraft Safety-Official Safety Seats, Fox Car Rental-Official Rent-A-Car, Graham Watchmakers-Official Timekeeper, SatellitePhoneStore.com-Official Satellite Phone Rental Company, Slime-Official Tire Sealant, Symons Ambulance Company-Official Ambulance, Azunia Tequila-Official Tequila, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-Official Mexican Auto Insurance.

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

For more information, visit the official website of the new SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

27th Annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250
March 8-10, 2013—San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico
Total Entries: 157 (as of 2/14/12)
(from 21 States, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Norway)
Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (35)
9 Mark Weyhrich
23 Dan McMillin
1 B.J. Baldwin
70 Bryce Menzies
18 Juan C. Lopez
2 Pete Sohren
84 Nick Vanderwey
49 Troy Herbst
88 Sergio Salgado
21 Gus Vildosola
48 Jimmy Nuckles
3 Steven Eugenio
11 Rob MacCachren
86 Gregg Hempel
57 Mike Palmer
78 Jesse Ashcraft
85 Justin Davis
55 Mark Workentine
35 Jason Voss
19 Tim Herbst
76 Jesse Jones
36 Glen Greer
28 Alan Pflueger
50 Zak Langley
98 Gary Weyhrich
15 Armin Schwarz
10 Greg Nunley
59 Craig Potts
16 Cameron Steele
54 Jesse James
33 Todd Romano
34 Ken Losch
30 Robbie Pierce
4 Valerio Gonzalez
52 Gonzalo Pirron-1st RS
CLASS 1 (15)
101 Justin Matney
108 Luke McMillin
153 Ronny Wilson
127 Cody Parkhouse
138 Brian Wilson
117 Eduardo Laguna
120 George Peters
182 Brady Turner
121 Damen Jefferies
111 John Langley
119 Erik Harp
107 Rene Zule
110 Josh Rigsby
102 Otoniel Huerta-2nd RS
179 Ron Gibbs-1st RS
CLASS 1/2-1600 (6)
1679 Derek Eugenio
1602 Ernesto Arambula
1647 Wes McKenzie
1620 Matt Ferrato
1615 Jesus Velez
1636 Christian Celaya
CLASS 3 (1)
300 Donald Moss
CLASS 5-1600 (2)
560 Ernie Negrete
555 Clyde Stacy-1st RS
CLASS 7a (7)
7248 Josh Quintero
7267 Travis Bozzano
7238 Kyle Kovach
7207 Steve Kovach
7206 Joe Ramirez
7201 Jim Bunn-2nd RS
7277 Peter Lang-1st RS
CLASS 7b (3)
700 Dan Chamlee
707 Scott Brady
701 Brandon Walsh
CLASS 7SX (2)
749 Eduardo Gonzalez-2nd RS
759 Justin Fisher-1st RS
CLASS 8 (3)
809 Arturo Benavides
800 Derek Fletcher
801 Jose Leon
CLASS 10 (14)
1000 Mike Lawrence
1066 Mike Shaffer
1021 Chris Boyer
1010 Clyde Stacy
1003 Matt Cullen
1016 Cody Robinson
1053 Brad Wilson
1062 J.J. Schnarr
1031 Mike Johnson
1001 Andrew Myers
1080 Peter Hajas
1030 Jim Anderson
1023 Lee Banning
1077 Rick Sanchez
SCORE LITES (3)
1249 Roberto Anda
1202 Moises Torres
1299 Leonardo Rayos-1st RS
CLASS 11 (2)
1101 Rene Rodriguez
1100 Eric Solorzano-1st RS
CLASS 3000 (1)
3003 Reid Rutherford
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (1)
844 Carlos Lopez
HEAVY METAL (2)
8036 Carlos Fonseca
8014 Andrew Leavitt
CLASS 19 (6)
1904 Cory Sappington
1901 Paul Broughton
1917 Jason Murray
1932 Matt Parks
1933 Hans Waage
1905 Marc Burnett-1st RS
Pro Motorcycles
CLASS 22 (8)
4x Robby Bell
2x Kurt Caselli
46x Kendall Norman
5x Cory Evenson
3x Mike Brown
1x Timmy Weigand
9x A.J. Stewart
8x Mark Samuels
CLASS 20 (1)
169x Mark Bradford-1st RS
CLASS 21 (3)
102x Adam Neuwirth
127x Jim O’Neal
101x Ulises Fierro
CLASS 30 (6)
301x Cliff Cook
329x Brad Baker
305x Octavio Valle
302x Javier Hernandez
303x Ryan Gutile
308x Xavier Ortega
CLASS 40 (3)
402x Mike Prunty
404x Craig Williams
401x Rob Huggins
CLASS 50 (2)
555 Robert Smith
500x Marc Prince
CLASS 60 (2)
601x Robert Oborne
609x Donald Lewis-1st RS
Pro ATVs
CLASS 25 (3)
2a Felipe Velez
11a Ryan Lea
13a Merlin Puettman
CLASS 24 (4)
102a Shawn Robins
101a Thomas Wright
106a Max Hernandez
149a Gabriel Valencia-1st RS
CLASS 26 (1)
201a Rob Ransford
Sportsman
SPT BUGGY (2)
1501 Brian Siler
1502 Buddy Crisp
SPT UTV UNLIMITED (3)
1863 David Neuber
1833 Chris Koch
1893 Chad Casey-1st RS
SPT M/C< (5)
215x Kurt Vanderpool
202x Aki Polvikoski
222x Chris Scranton
201x Daniel O’Leary
249x Mark Winkelman-1st RS
SPT M/C> (8)
294x Todd Powell
253x Roger Judd
254x Daryl Judd
255x John Nolting
251x Eric Anderson
263x Mike Short
261x Brent Downing
252x Adrian Ruiz
SPT ATV (3)
77a Fidel Gonzalez
51a Richard Epperson
42a Mike Zelenka