November 2001 -- Mark Post, a 43-year old Southern California businessman, and Johnny Campbell, a 30-year old full-time racer from Southern California, have drawn the first starting positions for four wheel and two-wheel vehicles respectively for the 34th running of the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race, to be held Nov. 8-10 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.

Nearly 220 vehicles from 26 States, Canada, France, Japan and Mexico, are expected to take the green flag in the historic race that features 24 different classes. Motorcycles and ATVs will begin the race at 6:30 a.m. (PDT) on Friday, Nov. 9, with the cars and trucks starting their trek at 8 a.m. (PDT). Vehicles will start one every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race.

Post, of San Juan Capistrano, will drive the first four-wheel vehicle to leave the starting line--the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150 in the featured Trophy-Truck division in final round of the five-race 2001 Duralast SCORE Desert Series.

Campbell, of San Clemente, will ride the No. 1x factory-sponsored Honda XR650R motorcycle in the open Class 22. Both entries were among 168 vehicles entered in time for the 'live' drawing held last Saturday at the Off Road Expo in Pomona, Calif.

Post, who splits driving team with Jerry Whelchel, 41, Laguna Hills, Calif., races the vehicle originally built by NASCAR Winston Cup racer Robby Gordon, in the featured Trophy-Truck division for high-tech, high speed unlimited production trucks.

Splitting time in the seat with Campbell, who has won the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 four straight years, will be San Diego's Tim Staab, 23. The Campbell/Staab team have won this race three times together and are the reigning SCORE Class 22 point champions.

"Here we go again, first of the line, just like we were in 1999 when the race started and finished in Ojos Negros," said Post, an executive with Pacific Monarch Resorts and Monarch Grand Vacations.

"Back then we broke just 15 miles into the race in a vary narrow pass, blocking race traffic for nearly 20 minutes. Don't get me wrong, starting first is great because it's dust-free, but we still have nightmares about what happened in 1999. We got our first SCORE Trophy-Truck win last year (SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300) and we're due to stay ahead of all those fast guys and get another one. The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 is one of the crown jewels of motorsports and to win it would be unbelievable."

Besides Post, among the eight Trophy-Trucks entered in time for the drawing were two-time defending SCORE Trophy-Truck season champions Tim and Ed Herbst of Las Vegas in their No. 1 Terrible Herbst Motorsports' Ford F-150 and Robby Gordon, Orange, Calif., who will drive his No. 5 Ford F-150 in Mexico on the same weekend he will be driving the No. 31 Winston Cup car of Richard Childress Racing in Homestead, Fla. Las Vegas' Brian Collins is also entered in his No. 12 Chevy Silverado while the team of David Ashley/Dan Smith, of Riverside, Calif., are entered in the No. 8 Duralast Ford F-150.

Collins won the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, in January, the Herbst brothers captured the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in Mexico in March and Ashley/Smith have won two straight--the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 in June and last month's SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300.

Class 1, for unlimited open-wheel desert race cars, had a race-high 22 vehicles entered in time for last Saturday's drawing for start positions. Among the entries were Las Vegas' Troy Herbst and Southern California drivers Steve Sourapas, Rancho Santa Fe; Doug Fortin, La Mesa; Jeff Quinn, Irvine; Corky McMillin, Bonita, and his sons Mark McMillin, Chula Vista and Scott, of Poway.

Herbst, the youngest of the three Las Vegas brothers at 35, is the four-time defending SCORE Class 1 point champion, and won this year's SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300. Sourapas won the season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, Fortin won the class at the SCORE San Felipe 250 and Mark McMillin won the Tecate SCORE Baja 500.

Quinn, with a pair of second-place finishes so far this year, is third the Class 1 point standings, trailing Troy Herbst runner-up Sourapas. All three McMillins, including 72-year old family patriarch Corky McMillin, are always in the hunt and Mark has won his class eight times in the granddaddy of all desert races. In 1985, Mark McMillin, 45, won Class 1 while his father Corky and brother Scott, 41, teamed up to capture Class 2.

Cisco Bio, Spring Valley, Calif., Tubular Design (Class 9) is the only racer to have won all four SCORE races this year and is entered along with Las Vegas' Rob MacCachren, who not only leads Class 1-2/1600 in his VW powered Fraley race car, he is also the SCORE overall point leader this season.

In Motorcycles, the tandem of Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif./Jonah Street, Ellensberg, Wash., are undefeated this season in Class 22 with a pair of wins on their American Honda factory Honda XR650R.

Among the other 2001 Duralast SCORE Desert Series point leaders who have entered the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are: Cory Susag, Dana Point, Calif., Chevy S-10 (Class 7S), Jesse Jones, Litchfield Park, Ariz., Chevy C1500 (Class 8), Las Vegas' Danny Anderson, Jimco (Class 10), Dennis Boyle, Ventura, Calif., Mirage (SCORE Lite) and George Seeley Jr., Glendale, Calif., VW Baja Bug (Class 5).

Legendary desert racer Rod Hall, 62, will drive an AM General Hummer in the Stock Full class. Hall, of Reno, Nev., has an all-time high 16 career class wins in this race and he is the only car or truck racer who has competed in all 33 previous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races.

Pre-race festivities will center around the San Nicolas Hotel in Ensenada on Thursday (Nov. 8) and the race will start adjacent to the Riviera Convention Center in downtown Ensenada and finish on the outskirts of town at the end of Avenida Ruiz. Traditionally drawing large crowds, the pre-race Manufacturer's Midway will be held adjacent to the San Nicolas, near downtown Ensenada. The colorful pre-race manufacturer's midway and display of all the race vehicles will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. the day before the race.

For more information, contact SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters (818) 225-8402 or visit the official Duralast SCORE Desert Series website at www.score-international.com.