RENO, Nev., USA — A proverbial baker’s dozen of the top racers in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division are prepared to lead the field into next Saturday’s internationally-televised Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250, presented by the City of El Centro.  Returning to SoCal for the third time in two years, Round 4 of the five-race 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held just west of El Centro, Calif. and approximately 100 miles east of San Diego.

The field of 13 entries in the class features the entire top five SCORE Trophy Truck point leaders, including three Mexican drivers, another driver who was raised in the El Centro area and one legendary desert racer from Las Vegas are all entered in this three-lap race over a grueling desert course of approximately 96.2-miles for a total race distance of approximately 288.8 miles.

Presented by the City of El Centro, the race will be run near Plaster City, Calif., partially on 41,000 dedicated acres in an off-highway vehicle use area under the jurisdiction of the El Centro field office of the Bureau of Land Management. The area for the race is also located immediately west of the Naval Air Facility El Centro and is approximately 17 miles west of El Centro off of Interstate 8 (I-8).

The start/finish line area, main pits, primary spectator area and vendor’s village will once again be off of Wheeler Road in the Coyne Powersports Motorplex, owned by Imperial Valley businessmen Marty Coyne and his son Travis Coyne, both former SCORE desert racers. Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads will all be racing in the event.

ACES OF THE DESERT
With just 25 points separating the top five SCORE Trophy Truck racers heading into the final two races of the season, three of the top four leaders are Mexican nationals, a first in the storied history of SCORE International.

With each of the three Mexican drivers pulling out an overall race win in the three events this year, Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, just 20 years old, of Tecate, Mexico leads the point standings in the featured racing division for high-tech, 850-horsepower, unlimited production trucks, with 259 points in the No. 5 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck including the overall win in this year’s 47th annual Bud Light SCORE Baja 500. Lopez also has a second and a fourth this season.

Just five points behind Lopez is Gus Vildosola Jr, 33, of Mexicali, who won this year’s 29th annual Bud Light SCORE San Felipe 250 for an unprecedented third straight year in the No. 21 Branix Mexicana Logistics Ford Raptor. Vildosola Jr finished fifth and fourth in his class in the other two races so far this season.

Third in SCORE Trophy Truck season points with 246 is Las Vegas’ six-time All-America motorsports racer Rob MacCachren, 50, who has driven to consistent finishes this season of 10th place, third and second in the No. 11 Rockstar Energy MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150. MacCachren, the all-time winningest SCORE Trophy Truck driver with 12 race wins, captured the SCORE Imperial Valley 250 last April with San Diego’s Andy McMillin pinch-hitting for him behind the wheel of MacCachren’s No. 11, a one-time pre-approved replacement driver under SCORE competition regulations.

Another member of the SCORE Dirty Dozen of young gun drivers and another driver for the powerful RPM Racing team of Bristol, Tenn., Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Laguna, 25, of Mexicali, is fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck points with 238 including his overall race win this season at the Inaugural Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 in April. Laguna was also seventh and 17th in his class in the two other races this year.

Completing the top five SCORE Trophy Truck point leader list is Steven Eugenio, 35, who was raised in the Imperial Valley and was the SCORE Trophy Truck and SCORE Overall point champion in 2014 in the No. 1 Galindo Motorsports Chevy Silverado. This year, he has finishes of 14th, second and eighth with Germany’s former World Rally Championship racer Armin Schwarz, 51, who lives in Austria, splitting the driving duties.

RPM RACING X TWO
Adding to their stable of SCORE Trophy Truck thoroughbreds, RPM Racing’s team owners Justin Matney, 29 of Bristol, Tenn., and Clyde Stacy, 70, of Bristol, Va., will be driving the other two powerful race trucks RPM has entered in SCORE Trophy Truck.

Returning for the first time since he had back surgery in December of 2014 after winning the SCORE unlimited Class 1 point championship last season, Matney will drive the newest stallion in the RPM Racing SCORE Trophy Truck stable. Matney will be behind the wheel of the No. 4 RPM Racing Chevy Rally truck built by Geiser Brothers, the prominent vehicle builders from Phoenix.

Stacy will be the driver of record in the No. 18 RPM Racing Chevy Silverado with Juan C. Lopez, 40, Tecate, Mexico, as the second driver in the SCORE Trophy Truck.

SKED HIGHLIGHTS
A live drawing will be held for starting positions, for all classes, next Thursday, at 8 p.m. PT at the Imperial Valley Mall in El Centro.

Next Friday starting at 9 p.m. at Burgers and Beer, also in the Imperial Valley Mall, the Monster Energy SCORE Imperial Valley 250 kick-off party will be held.

Activities for one of the largest spectator events held in Imperial Valley will begin with two, one-lap, controlled-speed reconnaissance runs for official entries in the event. Not open to the public, one will be held next Wednesday afternoon, and the other next Thursday morning.

Starting next Thursday, pre and post-race activities for the Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250 presented by the City of El Centro will be held in and around the Imperial Valley Mall at 3451 South Dogwood Avenue in El Centro.

The colorful SCORE manufacturer’s midway, contingency and safety inspection of all vehicles in the race will be held in the East parking area of the Imperial Valley Mall from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. next Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. next Friday.

Racer registration will be held inside the Imperial Valley Mall from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. next Thursday and from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. next Friday. Media registration will be held inside the Imperial Valley Mall from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. next Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Friday.

Next Friday evening, the Imperial Valley Mall will be the site of safety meetings for several different groups involved with the race and the mandatory racer’s meeting will be held at 7 p.m.

The post-race awards celebration, also open to the public, will be held next Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Coyne Powersports Motorplex.

COMP FORMAT
The SCORE World Desert Championship series features Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads with the best desert racers in the world competing in elapsed-times races with staggered starts. Nearly 100 entries from 20 U.S. States and five countries are expected for this race. The classes will again be split into two groups for the Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250 presented by the City of El Centro.

The Motorcycle, quad and a few of the slower car/truck/UTV classes will start at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 with the featured SCORE Trophy Truck, unlimited Class 1 and other remaining car and truck classes starting at 3 p.m.

While the fastest vehicles are expected to complete the three laps around the 96.2-mile course (288.6 miles) in around four and one-half hours, the time limit for each vehicle to become an official will be eight hours for the morning group of classes and also eight hours for the afternoon group. While most classes will be required to cover three laps of the race course, several slower classes in the morning group will be required to run just two laps.

COYNE POWERSPORTS MOTORPLEX
Run as a three-lap race over a rugged desert race course of approximately 96.2 miles in length, the colorful course will include a purpose-built eight-mile section off Wheeler Road with specially-built jumps, turns and a table top area in a one square mile area of private land in the center of the race course. This infield area will include the start/finish line, the main pits, the SCORE Operations compound, the primary spectator area with SCOREvision as well as the Monster Energy VIP winner’s circle. There will also be a number of food, beverage and merchandise vendors located in this main spectator area.

TWIN SPECS
While the race course will be closed to spectators because of safety requirements for this massive desert race, a second designated spectator area will be located parallel to a five-mile section of the race course along the south side Evan Hewes Highway (County Hwy S-80). The BLM has again confirmed to SCORE that this section on the south side of Evan Hewes Highway will be open for camping during the race.

This second spectator area will also be adjacent to the secondary pits for the race. Along with the start/finish line area off of Wheeler Road, these are the only two spectator areas and both will be overseen as will the rest of the race course by the BLM and local and county police agencies to help insure the safety of everyone involved.

SAFETY FIRST
At the very top of the priority list for this event has been safety for the racers as well as the spectators and the nearly 200 course workers.  Starting Monday the entire area of the race course will be closed to the public by enforcement of the BLM permit for the event.

Race officials have developed the two primary spectator areas both with tremendous site lines of the race course and with ultimate safety in mind. With the added assistance from the area police agencies, race officials are creating a family-friendly spectator environment as well.

To assist the crowd of several thousand expected to attend the race, the SCORE Race Committee has its own website at www.IV250.com with race fans in mind.

The event website also has a reminder list for spectators of the do’s and don’ts for watching the race.

SCORE LIVE
With viewers in over 100 countries, SCORE will present live internet streaming from the event from pre-green to post-checker on its website. Coverage will include live start and finish line interviews as well as live coverage from the many ancillary events tied to the race.  On race day, live satellite tracking of all vehicles in the race will also be broadcast through the SCORE International website.

CBS SPORTS NETWORK COVERAGE
All races in the 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship series, along with the special SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and qualifying for the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will once again be aired in the USA and Canada on the CBS Sports Network.  New for 2015, in addition to SCORE Trophy Truck coverage, the shows will also feature top action and highlights from many other classes of trucks, buggies, motorcycles, quads and UTVs – making sure that the most exciting footage and most compelling stories are now part of each race event broadcast.

Capping off the 2015 broadcast season, the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 broadcast on CBS Sports Network will be expanded to a full two-hour program – providing the most expansive television coverage of the “Main Event” of all desert races ever, allowing all the major class action to be showcased around the globe to the SCORE International fan base.
2015 CBS Sports Network Original Broadcast Schedule (subject to change, check local listings)
Remaining Shows:
· Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250 presented by the City of El Centro (first telecast-Sunday, November 15, 9 p.m. ET; key repeat broadcast-Sunday, November 29, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying @SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience (first telecast-Sunday, January 10, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 (two-hour special) (first telecast-Sunday, January 17, 9 p.m. ET)
Completed Broadcasts:
· Bud Light SCORE San Felipe 250 (first telecasts-Tuesday, March 17, 7 p.m. ET & 11 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 (first telecast-Sunday, May 31, 9 p.m. ET; key repeat broadcast-Sunday, June 7, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 (first telecast-Sunday, July 26, 9 p.m. ET; key repeat broadcast-Sunday, August 2, 9 p.m. ET)

CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

Rigid Industries SCORE Imperial Valley 250
Presented by the City of El Centro
(Numerical Order-as of 9/16/15)
Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (Unlimited Production Trucks)
1 Steven Eugenio, Carlsbad, Calif./Armin Schwarz, Austria (Germany), Chevy C1500
4 Justin Matney, Bristol, Tenn., Chevy Silverado
5 Carlos Lopez, Tecate, Mexico, Chevy Rally Truck
8 Fidel Galindo, Vista, Calif./Ben Galindo, Vista, Calif., Ford F-150
10 Taylor Mills, Corpus Christi, Texas/Josh Huff, Escondido, Calif., Chevy Silverado
11 Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Ford F-150
17 Eduardo Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico, Chevy Silverado
18 Clyde Stacy, Bristol, Va./Juan C. Lopez, Tecate, Mexico, Chevy Silverado
21 Gus Vildosola Jr, Mexicali, Mexico, Ford Raptor
28 Jonathan Swift, Ventura, Calif./John Swift, Ventura, Calif., Ford F-150
34 Ken Losch, Phoenix, Chevy Silverado
47 James Bult, Monee, Ill., Dodge Ram2500
84 Nick Vanderwey, Phoenix/Kyle LeDuc, Beaumont, Calif., Chevy Silverado