LOS ANGELES, California — Prominent Central California developer, general contractor and rookie desert racer Greg Nunley along with Randy Wilson, Ryan Penhall and Santos Perez all drew pole positions in their respective divisions during Saturday’s computerized drawing for starting positions in the upcoming 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
Round 3 of the five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, will feature over 250 entries, competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, will be held June 4-7 in Ensenada, Mexico. Traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, over 150,000 spectators are expected to enjoy the world’s best desert racers in action at this year’s 41st anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
With late entries excepted up to race morning, over 250 entries are expected from 25 U.S. States, and 10 countries. The green flag will drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday (June 6) for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes three hours after the last ATV at approximately 10 a.m. The elapsed-time race will start and finish in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Boulevard Costero in the heart of Ensenada, leaving and returning into the city through the spectator-laden Arroyo Wash.
Nunley, 37, of Tulare, Calif., will drive the No. 11 Nunley Racing Chevy CK1500 SCORE Trophy-Truck as he continues to compete in his first full season in the marquee SCORE racing division for 800-horsepower, high-tech, unlimited production trucks.
Owner of Great Valley Builders and GV Land Co in Tulare, Nunley summed up the feeling of all four racers, who will each be starting first in their different classes for the first time in their SCORE careers.
“I’m a little nervous and excited at the same time, I’ve never been on a desert course where I’m not eating somebody’s dust” said Nunley, who is also a youth wrestling coach. “This will be only our fourth SCORE desert race and our intentions are the same as when we started at the end of last season—to compete, not crash and finish races. So far, we have been fortunate enough, especially as a team of total rookies, to reach the modest objectives we have right now. Being first off the line for the SCORE Baja 500 is unbelievable. This will be our first time to attempt this magnificent SCORE desert race.”
Nunley, who will use teammate Tom Carr as his second driver for this race, drives the Geiser Brothers-built Chevy CK1500 originally driven by Phoenix’s Bob Shepard and the truck that Shepard won the SCORE Trophy-Truck season point championship in 2005. After driving solo to class finishes of sixth and ninth in the first two races of the year, Nunley is currently fifth in SCORE Trophy-Truck season points.
Randy Wilson, 50, Lakewood, Calif., will start first in the unlimited Class 1. He is currently tied for second in Class 1 points behind his younger brother Ronny Wilson and he drives a Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car. Ronny Wilson will start third in Class in another Jimco-Chevy. Randy Wilson will split the driving with older brother Rick Wilson, 52, as the popular Wilson Motorsports team will field four vehicles in this year’s race. Second generation cousins Brian Wilson and Brad Wilson will both be racing in Class 1-2/1600.
Penhall, 22, Corona, Calif., will lead the motorcycles into the Baja desert on a Honda CRF450X in Class 22 for open bikes. After finishing second last year in this race, Penhall has Mike Childress, 25, Wrightwood, Calif., back as a co-rider and has added six-time SCORE Baja 500 overall champion Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif., as the team’s third rider. Childress also has one overall win in this race.
Perez, 35, is leading a four-rider Class 25 ATV team from Chula Vista, Calif., on a Honda TRX450R. Splitting the riding with Perez will be teammates Juan Sanchez, 35, Raul Cano, 44, and Roberto Villalobos, 20.
While late entries will be accepted up to race morning, as of the Start draw, the Pro 4-Wheel vehicles classes with the most entries are: SCORE Trophy-Truck (24), Class 1 (16) and Class 1-2/1600 (14).
Leading the Motorcycle classes in entries so far are Class 22 (14) and Class 21 and Class 30 (with 10 each).
Class 24 leads the ATV classes with seven entries to date.
Among the Sportsman classes, SPT Motorcycles over 250cc has 17 entries and SPT Motorcycles under 250cc has 14.
In addition to season point class point championships, drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also racing to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season. Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 24th consecutive year, a total of 32 drivers remain eligible after Round 2 of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull--official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast Advertising, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500
June 4-7, 2009--Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Total Entries: 210 (as of 4/26/09)
(23 States; Mexico, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Portugal)
Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (24)
11 Greg Nunley
3 Mark Post
1 B.J. Baldwin
12 Brian Collins
19 Tim Herbst
77 Robby Gordon
24 Adam Householder
35 Robbie Pierce
13 Ed Stout
4 Gus Vildosola Jr.
2 Pete Sohren
84 Nick Vanderwey
8 Roger Norman
39 Ron Whitton
22 Damen Jefferies
38 Garron Cadiente
16 Cameron Steele
71 Rick D. Johnson
96 Bobby Baldwin
28 Alan Pflueger
47 James Bult
53 Jason Voss
51 Kory Scheeler
74 Rob Bruce
CLASS 1 (16)
101 Randy Wilson
102 Armin Schwarz
103 Ronny Wilson
104 Julio Herrera
105 Richard Boyle
106 Troy Herbst
107 Josh Rigsby
108 Dale Lenk
109 Jerry Penhall
110 Armin Kremer
111 Todd Romano
112 Rob Bruce
113 Josh Daniel
114 Harley Letner
115 Brian Parkhouse
116 Mike Voyles
CLASS 1-2/1600 (14)
1601 Samuel Araiza
1602 David Caspino
1603 Hector Sarabia
1604 Mario Gastelum
1605 Arnoldo Ramirez
1606 Cisco Bio
1607 Brian Wilson
1608 Roman Pereyra
1609 Arturo Velazco
1610 Brad Wilson
1611 Luis Martinez
1612 Justin Smith
1613 Hector Garcia
1649 Marco Gallo
CLASS 3 (2)
348 Darren Skilton
349 Gerardo Barragan
CLASS 5 (2)
501 Shaun Dunbar
500 Kevin Carr
CLASS 5/1600 (4)
551 Alonso Angulo
577Sergio Moreno
550 Marcos Nunez
579 Gustavo Avina
CLASS 6 (4)
601 Benjamin Wright
602 Heidi Steele
603 Marc Burnett
604 Robert Pickering
CLASS 7 (5)
701 Einer Gomez
700 Dan Chamlee
703 Bill Kunz
704 Jose Canchola Jr.
705 Heidi Steele
CLASS 7SX (3)
741 Brandt Anderson
758 John Holmes
759 Eduardo Gonzalez
CLASS 8 (4)
801 Rodrigo Ampudia Jr.
802 Ted Hunnicutt Jr.
803 Clyde Stacy
804 Beny Canela
CLASS 9 (2)
901 Luke Babb
900 Daniel Reyes Jr.
CLASS 10 (7)
1001 Scott Gailey
1002 Sergio Salgado
1003 Javier Robles
1004 Jesus Gonzalez
1000 Mike Lawrence
1006 Corey Keysar
1007 Will Higman
SCORE LITE (7)
1201 John Langley
1202 Lee Banning
1203 Ty Godde
1200 Rick St. John
1205 Brent Parkhouse
1206 Aaron Payne
1207 Michelle Bruckmann
CLASS 11 (1)
1101 Eric Solorzano
STOCK FULL (2)
878 Justin Matney
879 Joe Bacal
STOCK MINI (1)
779 Gavin Skilton
PROTRUCK (2)
250 Gary Magness
240 Rob Kittleson
PRO MOTORCYCLES
CLASS 22 (14)
2x Ryan Penhall
3x Chuck Neugebauer
4x Kendall Norman
5x Connor Penhall
6x Steve Hengeveld
7x Terence Montelongo
8x Cameron Corfman
9x Guy Larocque
10x Chris Parker
11x Adam Thissen
12x Adrian Butler
13x Gabriel Williams
14x Tony Navarro
15x Colton Udall
CLASS 21 (10)
101x Baron Pickett
103x Bill Boyer
108x Chad Thornton
104x Dan Troy
105x Elias Novelo
110x Evan Heath
109x Jeremy Purvines
102x Jorge Perez
107x Ronnie Wilson
106x Shane Esposito
CLASS 20 (4)
151x Marco Bernaldez
152x Hector Castillo
153x Manuel Reyes
150x Anna Cody
CLASS 30 (10)
301x Sean Bradley
302x Sol Saltzman
303x Mike Johnson
300x Jim O’Neal
305x Kurt Funk
306x Jean-Paul Cyr
307x Javier Hernandez
308x Miguel Caetano
309x Andy Padulo
310x Marc Haldeman
CLASS 40 (7)
401x Hisahide Ueno
402x Glen McGuire
400x Scott Myers
404x Brian Campbell
405x Mike Prunty
448x Rodolfo Sanchez
449x Julio Abril
CLASS 50 (3)
501x Charlie Marshall
502x Eizaburo Karasawa
500x Jim O’Neal
CLASS 60 (1)
609x Richard Jackson
PRO ATVs
CLASS 25 (5)
2a Santos Perez
3a Adolfo Arellano
1a Wayne Matlock
5a Nick Nelson
6a Felipe Velez
CLASS 24 (7)
101a Benjamin Lopez
102a Victor Lopez
100a Craig Christy
104a Abraham Romero
105a Shawn Robins
106a Jose Juarez
107a Brian Harris
CLASS 26 (2)
201a Reid Rutherford
219a Rob Ransford
SPORTSMAN
SPT CAR (1)
1400 Peter Lang
SPT TRUCK (2)
1501 Miguel Jimenez
1502 Ken Fraizer
SPT UTV (4)
1801 Martin Aguirre
1802 Peter Hajas
1803 Reid Nordin
1804 Thomas Graves
SPT M/C< (14)
201x Miguel Montenegro
202x Tomohiro Murakami
203x Gregg Betz
204x Matt Ladendorf
205x Francisco Teran
206x Akihiro Saito
207x Brody Kunz
208x Walter Lemonovich
209x Fred Sobke
210x Ryan Carville
211x Kenji Oikawa
247x Patrick Williams
248x Louie Montano
249x Greg Willitts
SPT M/C> (17)
251x Eric Anderson
252x Peter Penttinen
253x Mike Murray
254x Mark Adams
255x Jeff Leonard
256x Albert Valenzula
257x Don Wadsworth
258x Cliff Morgan
259x Erik Litzenberg
260x Stephen Legate
261x Ron Tolman
262x Dennis Anderson
263x Craig Anstine
264x Thierry Mas
265x Warner Blom
266x Oscar Fazz
267x Vince Leonis
SPT ATV (9)
50a Joselito Muro
51a Angel Hoyos
52a Luciano Parada
53a Raul Arciniega
54a Adrian Valdez
55a Javier Guerrero
56a Alberto Maya
57a Juan Gonzalez
58a Ray Arriaga
