IMPERIAL, CA — Hometown hero Jeff Dickerson set a record Thursday night by flying his Chevy-powered Alumi Craft open-wheel desert race car 173 feet to win the Imperial Big Air Shootout in front of a standing-room-only record crowd at the California Midwinter Fairgrounds in Imperial, CA.
The Imperial Big Air Shootout, presented by the City of Imperial and sponsored by Rogers & Rogers Automotive group, helped launch the festivities of this week’s three-day 19th annual Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge.
With a purse of nearly $9,000 sponsored by Rogers & Rogers automotive group, the Imperial Big Air Shootout, presented by the City of Imperial, was patterned after its popular predecessor the Laughlin Leap, this jump competition had the various classes divided into different groups with the long jump having cash payouts in all five groups. In Group 1 (SCORE Trophy Truck, Trophy Truck Spec) had a prize of $2,000 for the longest jump and a top prize of $1,500 for Group 2 (Class 1, Class 10).
NEW RECORD
Dickerson, 39 of nearby Brawley, CA, will race in the unlimited Class 1 this weekend. On Thursday night his successful jump to win Group 2 broke the overall leap record of 161 feet, six inches. The previous mark was set by legendary SCORE desert racer Larry Roeseler in 2009 driving a Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Truck owned by SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman. For his efforts, Dickerson won a prize of $1,500.
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK WINNER
Steven Eugenio of El Centro, CA, won the Group 1 with a jump of 153 feet in his No. 7 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy Truck.
RACE STARTS TODAY
With racing starting Friday night and continuing through Sunday afternoon, pre-race festivities will be held near or on Imperial Ave. in downtown Imperial, approximately 115 miles east of San Diego.
Round 4 of the 2014 five-race SCORE World Desert Championship will have the event split into multiple days with classes divided into groups as is typical with a SCORE Desert Challenge. Each class will run two, eight-lap segments over a 7.85-mile course at the Coyne Powersports Motorplex near Plaster City, CA in Imperial Valley. The race festivities will be held starting Thursday with racing on Friday night, all day and into Saturday evening and Sunday morning and afternoon. The race venue is located approximately 100 miles east of San Diego just north of Plaster City, CA
IMPERIAL STREET FAIR TODAY
Pre-race festivities will be held in downtown Imperial, CA. started Thursday, and continue today wih the Imperial Off-Road Showcase and Street Fair. The Imperial Street Fair includes live music, food and beverage vendors, merchandise vendors, interactive games, vehicle displays and autograph sessions with many of the world’s top desert racers.
SCORE CONTINGENCY ROW TODAY
The colorful SCORE Contingency Row and Manufacturer’s Midway is also being held today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., joining the Imperial Off-Road Showcase and Street Fair on Imperial Avenue in downtown Imperial. All race entries are pushed through contingency row and tech inspection offering fans up close views of the exotic desert racing machines along with their drivers and riders.
VERY FAN-FRIENDLY
SCORE has developed plans with the staff of Coyne Powersports Motorplex to create fan-friendly spectator areas around the entire perimeter of the racecourse as well as the start/finish line area off of Wheeler Road north of Plaster City.
Surrounding the entire Coyne Powersports Motorplex is Southern California’s massive Superstition Mountain/Plaster City OHV use area. This OHV recreational area will provide event spectators the opportunity to enjoy the entire race weekend with overnight camping and off-road vehicle use (allowed under normal BLM restrictions in the OHV recreation use area.)
SCORE DirtLive HD ON-SITE
The Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge, presented by the city of Imperial, CA. will include live internet coverage for three days on SCORE DirtLive HD platform from the Imperial Big Air Shootout as well as internet coverage from the start/finish line area at the Coyne Powersports Motorplex. Coverage can be viewed on the SCORE website.
COYNE POWERSPORTS MOTORPLEX
The Motorplex is owned by El Centro, CA, businessman Marty Coyne, a former SCORE Trophy Truck racer who won the SCORE Las Vegas Terrible’s Cup. The one-square mile land area is inside of the massive 41,000-acre Superstition Mountain/Plaster City OHV area.
Coyne’s private land has an eight-mile course already developed that was part of the 82-mile loop used by SCORE on April 26, for which racers were required to cover three laps, for the Inaugural SCORE Imperial Valley 250 desert race.
SCORE DESERT CHALLENGE
Held from 1995 through 2012 in Laughlin, Nev., the Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge, presented by the City of Imperial, CA will be held for the first time in the Imperial Valley with the same format as the original SCORE Desert Challenge events from past years. The SCORE World Desert Championship, the world’s foremost desert racing organization, features competition in 25 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and ATVs.
For more information, visit www.score-international.com.