LAUGHLIN, Nev. - Dale Ebberts of Canyon Lake, Calif., overcome a one second mid-race deficit to pull away with the overall and Class 1 victory Sunday at the 9th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. Driving a Toyota-powered Jimco open wheel desert race car, Ebberts came back in Sunday's second half to win Round 1 of the six-race SCORE Desert Series, which was held along the banks of the Colorado river adjacent to the growing Southern Nevada resort destination of Laughlin.

Ebberts was second after Saturday's first half of the 93.6-mile race which covered four laps on an abbreviated 11.7-mile desert course. He completed his eight laps in a winning time of one hour, 33 minutes and 31 seconds at a very impressive average speed of 60.05 miles per hour. He defeated a field of 134 vehicles, competing in 16 classes for cars and trucks in the first major motorsports race of the year.

Second overall was the winning SCORE Trophy-Truck team of Mark Post and Jerry Whelchel, 1:49 behind Ebberts in their Ford F-150.

Brothers Mark and Gary Weyhrich, driving a Chevy-powered Jimco, led overall and in Class 1 after Saturday's four laps, but fell slightly off the pace Sunday, finishing third overall and second in Class 1, 2:28 behind Ebberts. Mark Weyhrich drove Saturday and Gary Weyhrich was behind the wheel Sunday. The Weyhrichs are from Troutdale, Ore.

For Ebberts, the 1996 SCORE Class 1 point champion, the victory was his first in a SCORE race since the 2000 Laughlin event, when he won Class 1-2/1600. His last SCORE Class 1 victory was the 1998 SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300.

"This feels really good after my big accident here last year when I had to be taken off the course by ambulance," said Ebberts. "I'm really excited and the crew was awesome. The Toyota engine is the best, it held up perfectly. The course was wiped out so my Fox shocks really held in there. I lapped a few slower cars so there was a little bit of dust for me, but not much. It was so clean for me without all the traffic being ahead of me I was easily able to pick up cleaner lines around the track.

Finishing fourth overall and third in Class 1 was the team of Bob Lofton, Westermorland, Calif./Mike Julson, El Cajon, Calif., in another Chevy-powered Jimco. The pair, with Julson driving Saturday and Lofton Sunday, finished just four seconds behind the Weyhrichs.

"Oh man, I had a bad day today," lamented Gary Weyhrich. "I had a flat tire, I hit the second road crossing and the car died-I hit something. It was definitely a rough course and I should have let my brother drive today. It's a ride and definitely better than a roller coaster."

The next three overall finishers were from the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division for hi-tech 750-horsepower unlimited production trucks.

Fifth overall and second in class was Mexico's Gus Vildosola and Las Vegas' Rob MacCachren in a Ford F-150, 3:07 behind Ebberts and 1:18 behind Post/Welchel. Vildosola is in his first full season in SCORE Trophy-Truck while MacCachren, who just signed to drive for Vildosola's team this week, was the first SCORE Trophy-Truck point champion when the high-profile class debuted in 1994. Vildosola drove Saturday and MacCachren Sunday.

Two more Las Vegas teams finished next, with Brian Collins sixth overall and third in class in a Chevy Silverado and brothers Tim and Ed Herbst seventh and fourth in their Ford F-150. Collins was 4:27 behind Ebberts and 2:38 behind Post.

The Herbsts, the three-time SCORE Trophy-Truck season champs, ended up 5:19 out of first overall and 3:30 behind Post.

Rounding out the top 10 overall finishers were three more Class 1 racers-Scott McMillin, Troy Herbst and Ron Brant.

Placing fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively in their class, McMillin, Poway, Calif., drove a Porter-Chevy while Las Vegas' Herbst drove a Smithbuilt-Ford and Brant, Torrance, Calif., piloted a Jimco-Chevy.

The unique format race was split into seven separate time-limit, multi-lap races, each between 65 and 85 minutes. The start/finish line area, which included the fan-friendly start/finish line area inside the Laughlin Events Park.

Mexico's Eli Yee, in a Jimco-Honda, won Class 10 while finishing 11th overall and just one second behind the 10th place overall finisher.

Among the other class winners were: Jeff Dickerson, Brawley, Calif., Ford F-150 (Protruck), Shawn Wanzek, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Ford Ranger (Class 7); Eric Allen, San Marcos, Calif./Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, Calif., Jimco-VW, (Class 1-2/1600); Robby Fallers, Peoria, Ariz., Chevy Silverado (Class 8); Brian Ickler, Poway, Calif., Jimco (SCORE Lite) and Brent Shermak, Fort Mojave, Ariz., VW Baja Bug (Class 5/1600). All but the Allen/Pfankuch team, were leaders of their respective classes at Saturday's midway point in the race.

Class 10 had the most vehicles with 20, followed by Class 1 with 18, and Class 1-2/1600 with 17.

New this year was SCOREvision-a gigantic 18' X 22' Young Electric Sign Company L.E.D. screen, located in front of the grandstands showing live race action from several locations around the course. Race officials estimated a crowd of over 30,000 for the event.

The 9th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is sponsored by the Laughlin Tourism Committee, the Laughlin Visitors Bureau and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in association with Las Vegas Events. The race is sanctioned and produced annually by Los Angeles-based SCORE International.

Round 2 of the 2003 SCORE Desert Series will be the 17th Annual Tecate
SCORE San Felipe 250, March 14-15, in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.
For more information, contact SCORE International at it's Los Angeles
headquarters, 818.225.8402.