Price, Ampudia, Polvoorde, top qualifiers

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Gabriel Garcia, Gabriel@SCORE-international.com OR SCORE HISTORIAN: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com

ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – Launching its sixth decade as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization this year, the top three Method Race Wheels qualifiers Thursday among over 260 racers expected to start Saturday’s BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500 were Toby Price, Alan Ampudia, and Christopher Polvoorde.
Held over a 5.24-mile course near Ojos Negros, Mexico,
Multi-time motorcycle Dakar Rally winner Toby Price, 37, to the fastest qualifying time of 6:34.301 in the No. 46 all-wheel drive Mason-built Chevy SCORE Trophy Truck.
He was fastest of the 34 SCORE Trophy Trucks out of 38 entries in the class that attempted to qualify.
Ensenada’ Ampudia, 33, who won in San Felipe this year, finished with the second-fastest qualifying time this year, driving his No. 10 AWD Ford Raptor to a time of 6:36.094.
Young gun Christopher Polvooorde, 23, powered his way in a time of 6:37.760 to finish third in qualifying in the No. 94 all-wheel drive Mason-built Ford SCORE Trophy Truck.
Fastest in the SCORE TT Legend class for SCORE Trophy Truck racers over 50 years old was Ricky Johnson, 59, El Cajon, Calif. (Driver of Record--Gustavo Vildosola Sr, 70, Mexicali, Mexico), in a time of 6:48.152 in the Vildosola Racing No. 1L Mason-built AWD Ford Raptor.
Top qualifier out of 29 entries in the Trophy Truck Spec class was Apdaly Lopez, 30, Tecate, Mexico (Driver of Record-- Jonathan Brenthel, 37, Temecula, California), in a time of 6:57.994 in the Brenthel Industries No. 273 Brenthel-built Chevy Silverado.
SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend, and Trophy Truck Spec were the only three classes required to participate in the Method Race Wheels Qualifying sessions for starting positions as the other start positions in the various classes were determined by a drawing.
 
WHAT’S UP
The colorfully challenging 483.06-mile race course will start and finish and pre-race contingency will be held on Boulevard Costero, adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center.
Entering Friday’s final days of late, on-site race week registration, 249 official entries to date represent 26 U.S. States, and 12 countries. In addition to the USA, and host country Mexico, racers so far have also come from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, France, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, and Peru.
With double figure entries so far are SCORE Trophy Truck (33), Trophy Truck Spec (33), Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 20, Class 10 with 16, Pro UTV Open (23) and Pro UTV Stock (17).
Ensenada is 80 miles south of the U.S. Border at San Diego on the Western side of the Baja peninsula along the Pacific Ocean.
All four 2022 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the ninth consecutive year.
SCORE, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, is celebrating its 51st season in 2024.
 
SCORE LIVE
During Method Race Wheels Qualifying on Thursday, contingency on Friday and the race on Saturday until the course closes on Sunday early morning, SCORE Live streaming will be broadcasting race activities and start and finish line interviews as well as live action from Drones, ground cameras and in-car cameras from around the race course. There will also be live Zoom interviews for individuals around the race course as part of SCORE Live for this race.
Popular Rat Sult, who is starting his ninth season as the voice of SCORE, will once again serve as host and lead ramp announcer of the expansive SCORE Live streaming. Assisting Sult will be Eva Hernandez.
Sult and Hernandez will be announcing from the SCORE start/finish ramp while the show will also include SCORE studio announcers in El Cajon, Calif., providing live info and updates throughout the race. Host announce in the SCORE Studio will again be Brandon Johnson while co-hosts during the race will be Wes Miller and Heidi Steele.
SCORE live is being produced again by SCORE Media House, Bud Brutsman, producer, Alberto Luna, on-site director.
SCORE live may be launched from the home page of the SCORE website or from the SCORE App.
 
GREEN FLAG SATURDAY
The BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500, will be an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday, June 1 will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 2:30 a.m. (PT) and 6:15 a.m. (PT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around nine and one-half hours, all vehicles will have a 20-hour time limit in the 483.06-mile race to become official finishers in the iconic race.
 
ON-SITE RACER REGISTRATION
Being held in Salon Rojo at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada, the final day of regular on-site and late racer registration will be held on Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT. No new entries will be accepted after 3 p.m. PT on Friday and the final entry list and final starting order will be posted after 6 p.m. PT on Friday.
 

BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500
Round 2 of four-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship
May 29-June 2, 2024—483.06 miles – Ensenada, Baja California

Current Total Entries: 250 (as of 5/30/24)
(from 26 U.S. States, host Mexico, Argentina Australia,
Canada, Chile, Ecuador, France, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Peru)
Method Race Wheels Qualifying Results
(May 30, 5.24-mile desert course)
(determined start order for qualifying classes)

 
(Pos., Number, driver/rider of record/additional drivers and/or Navigators, vehicle, engine)
  SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (Unlimited CustomTrucks including Builder)--
TOP QUALIFIER: 1. 46 Toby Price, 36, Australia/Paul Weel, 44, Australia, Chevy Silverado (Mason), six minutes, 34.301 seconds
2. 10 Alan Ampudia, 33, Ensenada, Mexico/Aaron Ampudia, 31, Ensenada, Mexico, Ford Raptor (Mason), 6:36:094
3. 94 Christopher Poolvoorde, 23, Hemet, Calif., Ford Raptor (Mason), 6:37:760
4. 1 Bryce Menzies, 36, Las Vegas, Ford Raptor (Mason), 6:39:29
5. 21 Gustavo Vildosola Jr, 42, Mexicali, Mexico, Ford Raptor (Vildosola Racing), 6:43:689
6. 83 Luke McMillin, 31, San Diego, Chevy 1500 (Mason), 6:45:242
7. 41 Justin Lofton, 38, Lockney, Texas (Brawley, Calif.), Chevy 1500 (Mason), 6:46:344
8. 70 Kevin Thompson, 50, New Braunfels, Texas/Harley Letner, 40, Corona, Calif., Ford Raptor (Mason), 6:57:312
9. 63 Ruben Torres, 26, San Luis Potosi, Mexico/Enrique Avalos, 33, Ensenada, Mexico, Nissan Titan (Mason), 7:00.444
10. 11 Rob MacCachren, 59, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado (Jimco), 7:01.597
11. 89 Mike Walser, 57, Comfort, Texas/Rod Walser, 45, Canadian, Texas/Ray Griffith, 35, Downey, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Mason), 7:03.170
12. 16 Cameron Steele, 55, San Clemente, Calif./Josh Daniel, 48, Bonsall, Calif., Ford Raptor (Geiser), 7:05.105
13. 78 Tracy Poole, 53, Bozeman, Mont./RJ Stidham, 21, Bozeman, Mont., Chevy Silverado (Geiser), 7:05.147
14. 23 Dan McMillin, 36, San Diego/Andy McMillin, 36, San Diego, Chevy 1500 (Mason), 7:06.236
15. 82 Sam Baldi, 59, Beaumont, Calif./Jake Johnson, 46, Yucaipa, Calif./Michael Baldi, 33, Yucaipa, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Baldi), 7:11.737
16. 85 Mikey Lawrence, 36, Banning, Calif., Ford Raptor (1 Nine Industries), 7:12:717
17. 58 Tracy Graf, 60, Canada/Justin B. Smith, 38, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado (Racer), 7:25.271
18. 33 Roberto Romo Jr, 18, Mexicali, Mexico, Ford Raptor (Racer), 7:27.678
19. 87 Dallas Lutrell, 42, Las Vegas/Billy Goerke, 49, Las Vegas, Dodge Ram, 7:33.536
20. DNF 19 Tim Herbst, 61, Las Vegas/James Dean, 28, Las Vegas, Ford Raptor (1 Nine Industries)
DID NOT QUALIFY
9 Ethan Ebert, 18, Marana, Ariz./Richard Glasczak, 48, Oceanside, Calif., Honda Ridgeline (TSCO)
27 Jonathan Brenthel, 44, La Cresta, Calif./Jordan Brenthel, 37, Temecula, Calif./Paul Nauleau, San Francisco (France), Chevy Silverado (Brenthel)
28 Ryan Daniel, 40, Huntington Beach, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Jimco)
45 Gary Magness, 70, Denver/Jeff Blackwell, Oklahoma City/Armando Bravo, 57, Indio, Calif., Ford F-150 (1 Nine Industries)
72 Aaron Celiceo, 51, San Diego/Seven Celiceo, 18, San Diego, Toyota Tundra (Racing 905)
SCORE TT LEGEND (Unlimited Custom Trucks, including builder, Drivers over 50 years old)--
TOP QUALIFIER: 1. 1L Ricky Johnson, 59, El Cajon, Calif. (DOR-Gustavo Vildosola Sr, 70, Mexicali, Mexico/, Ford Raptor (Mason), 6:48:152
2. 37L Rolf Helland, 64, Morris, Ill./Rick D. Johnson, 56, Barstow, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Mason), 7:01:198
3. 61L David Payne, 63, St. Luis, Mo./Damon Bradshaw, 51, McCall, Idaho/Cam McQueen, 45, Canada, Chevy Silverado (Brenthel), 7:13:842
4. 85L Clay Lawrence, 62, Banning, Calif./Larry Roeseler, 66, Boulevard, Calif./Steve Lawler, 65, Upland, Calif., Ford Raptor (1 Nine Industries), 7:19:308
5. 65L Greg Adler, 55, Manhattan Beach, Calif./Thomas Fichter, 57, Spring, Texas, Ford Raptor (TSCO), 7:48.319
DID NOT QUALIFY—25L Mark Winkelman, 65, Cedar Hill, Texas/Rudy Iribe, 53, San Diego/Flipper Manchester, 53, Lake Tahoe, Nev./Ted Moncure, 50, Long Beach, Calif., Ford Raptor (XSR1)
DNQ—99L Shawn Runyon, 58, Hilliard, Ohio/Brian Hartman, 32, Highland, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Brenthel)
DNQ—67L Paul Kraus, 52, Chatsworth, Calif./Jason Farrell, 41, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado (Brenthel)
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (unlimited Truck/SUV, stock, sealed engines)--
TOP QUALIFIER: 1. 273 Jordan Brenthel, 37, Temecula, Calif./Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, 30, Tecate, Mexico, Brenthel-Chevy, 6:57.994
2. 285 Justin Davis, 31, Chino Hills, Calif./Tyler Peterson, 38, Canyon Lake, Calif., TSCO-Chevy, 7:04.068
3. 297 Jorge Sampietro, 33, Ensenada, Mexico/Elias Hanna, 41, Ensenada/Miguel Castelan, 32, Ensenada, Mexico, Mason-Chevy, 7:05.008
4. 263 EJ Herbst, 23, Las Vegas/Ryan Millen, 38, Huntington Beach, Calif. (New Zealand), 1 Nine
Industries-Chevy, 7:06.525
5. 258 Mavrick Gaunt, 29, Torrance, Calif./Chasen Gaunt, 27, Torrance, Calif., Geiser-Chevy, 7:12:46
6. 219 Thor Herbst, 24, Las Vegas/Pierce Herbst, 21, Las Vegas, 1 Nine Industries-Chevy, 7:15:041
7. 242 Connor McNeil, 16, El Cajon, Calif. (DOR-Bryce Swaim, 36, El Cajon, Calif.)/Garrett Stone, 29, El
Cajon, Calif./Ronnie Swaim, 36, Lakeside, Calif., TSCO-Ford, 7.15.955
8. 282 Brent Fox, 56, Highland, Utah/Brook Beckstrom, 52, Salem, Utah/Trevor Rasmussen, 41, Highland, Utah, 1 Nine Industries-Chevy, 7:16.462
9. 277 Travis Williams, 47, Avondale, Ariz./Bryan Hanson, 47, San Felipe, Mexico, Geiser-Chevy, 7:18.167
10. 260 Santiago Creel, 37, Mexico City/Oliver Flemate, 46, Ensenada, Mexico/Cristian Castelan, Ensenada, Mexico, TSCO-Chevy, 7:20.028
11. 245 Ethan Hagle, 31, Somis, Calif./Ben Hagle, 33, Somis, Calif., Alumi Craft-Chevy, 7:20.979
12. 259 Matt Winslow, 31, Clovis, Calif./Todd Winslow, 59, Clovis, Calif., Mason-Chevy, 7:22.794
13. 241 Stephen Beal, 53, Dallas/Sean Geiser, 33, Phoenix, Geiser-Chevy, 7:26.331
14. 209 J. David Ruvalcaba, 51, Ensenada, Mexico/Esteban Cruz, 51, Ensenada, Mexico, TSCO-Chevy, 7:28.408
15. 294 Vincent Munoz, 37, Yucaipa, Calif./Daniele Munoz, 36, Yucaipa, Calif., Full Potential-Chevy, 7:28.930
16. 236 Michael Marsal, 36, Millbrook, N.Y./Troy Grabowski, 22, Upland, Calif., Brenthel-Chevy, 7:32.021
17. 205 Joe Delucie, 45, Las Vegas/Neal Drickey, 45, Omaha, Neb./Andrew Delucie, 18, Las Vegas/Matt Ongman, 42, Las Vegas, SLR-Chevy, 7:34.342
18. 299 Charles Dorrance, 49, Austin, Texas/Dejay Dumas, TSCO-Chevy, 7:34.428
19. 228 Ryan Hancock, 48, Yuma, Ariz./Jordan Poole, 35, Yuma, Ariz., TSCO-Chevy, 7:38.382
20. 266 David Ziegler, 49, Reno, Nev./Paul Ziegler, 53, Reno, Nev./Wyatt Ziegler, 23, Reno, Nev., Brenthel-Chevy, 7:40.138
21. 238 Elijah Kiger, 24, Kirby, Pa./Christopher King, 29, Kirby, Pa./Sean Bogdan, 31, Kirby, Pa., TSCO-Chevy, 7:40.268
22. 289 Tanner Rust, 33, El Cajon, Calif./Kody Kruger, 35, El Cajon, Calif., Geiser-Chevy, 7:40.537
23. 207 Mason Cullen, 24, Long Beach, Calif./Matt Cullen, 54, Long Beach, Calif., Geiser-Chevy, 7:43.163
24. 213 Josh Beyer, 46, Las Cruces, N.M./Karl Ebdrup, 52, Canada, Brenthel-Chevy, 7:52.342
25. 203 Mitch McNeil, 33, Mesa, Ariz./Scott McNeil, 32, Mesa, Ariz., Geiser-Ford, 7:56.639
26. 224 Miles Wyatt, 39, Brawley, Calif., Geiser-Chevy, 8:00.391
27. 290 Isidro Ochoa, 46, Spring Valley, Calif./David Herrera/Enrique Avila, D&E-Chevy, 8:30.349
28. DNF 261 Mick Magher, 50, Australia/Ray Farrell, Australia, TSCO-Chevy
29. 200 Jason McNeil, 46, El Cajon, Calif./Eric Clay, St. George, Utah/Connor McNeil, 16, El Cajon, Calif.,
TSCO-Chevy
DNQ—232 Chelsea Magness, 36, Denver/Matt Robinson, Denver, 1 Nine Industries-Ford
DNQ—237 Adam Castaneda, 25, Yuma, Ariz./Jose Bustamante, 23, Yuma, Ariz., Brenthel-Chevy
DNQ—262 Linc Day, 58, Light House Point, Fla./Joe Napoleon, 60, Magnolia, Texas/Jason Smith, 43,
Las Vegas, Brenthel-Chevy
DNQ—274 Shane Lewis, 56, Jupiter, Fla./Earl Desiderio, 55, Henderson, Nev./Drew Tausch, 34, San
Antonio, Texas, Brenthel-Chevy
 

BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500
Qualification Quotes, May 30, 2024
(As interviewed by Paul Hanson, Isaac Flores,
transcribed by Guilherme Torres)

 
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (Unlimited Custom Trucks)
TOBY PRICE, No. 46 (Qualified first) – We had a pretty good run, just made a couple of minor mistakes. All in all, the truck did really well and I think we’ll be in a good position to start the race, which should help us get a dust-free run. The truck looks good, we did a good job prepping it and we’re ready to move to race day now. Hopefully we’ll have a fast, nice, clean run.
 
ALAN AMPUDIA, No. 10 (Qualified second) – We were just going and trying to be in the top five and I’m pretty sure we did it. We run smoothly until the end and, except for a little mistake I made in a turn that cost us a couple of seconds, we had a pretty uneventful lap. Driving this truck in qualifier is super fun. We’re stoked to have a clean truck for Saturday and we’ll see where it takes us.
 
CHRISTOPHER POLVOORDE, No. 94 (Qualified third) – I was just trying to keep the truck on the road and I think we did well, with no big mistakes. SCORE threw a really wild, technical course at us this time. It was a very risk-reward type or course and we had to play with that the entire time. But the truck did really well, it continues to amaze me. I’m still trying to learn it and trying to keep up with these Baja legends.
 
BRYCE MENZIES, No. 1 (Qualified fourth) – Right when we started, there was a chase truck pulling Rob MacCachren off backwards, so we had to check up quite a bit. SCORE said we could do another lap, but we were confident with the one we did and I think we’ll be OK. It was a good qualifier and now we’ll do some more pre-running and get ready for race day.
 
GUSTAVO VILDOSOLA JR, No. 21 (Qualified fifth) – I made a couple of mistakes here, which is normal in such a tough qualifier course. It was really tight and I blew a corner there. All in all, we did what we could and are hoping for a top seven start. It will be fun.
 
LUKE McMILLIN, No. 83 (Qualified sixth) – We kept it super smooth, with no mistakes. I didn’t want to be in the top three, the goal today was to get somewhere from fourth to sixth and I think that’s exactly where we landed. We were just comfortable and in control and I’m super happy with that. The green flag drops on Saturday and everyone starts at zero. I’m excited and happy that we accomplished exactly what we came out to do.
 
JUSTIN LOFTON, No. 41 (Qualified seventh) – It was a good lap. We had a lot of fun and Derrick did a great job calling the corners and all that. We feel good for Saturday. Unfortunately, I broke my pre-runner a couple of days ago and won’t be able to put on as many miles as I wanted, but hopefully I can get a ride tomorrow so I can take a look at some sections. But it’s a great course, hats off to everyone at SCORE who laid it out. I think it’s a very fun course and I’m really excited about it. The truck is the best it’s ever been and I feel that we have a fighting chance for a podium.
 
ROB MACCACHREN, No. 11 (Qualified tenth) – We had some issues with the truck in the practice lap and we didn’t get to complete it. We got it fixed, but only knew about the 10% of the course we got to run during the practice lap, so after that I didn’t know where we were going for sure. But ultimately, we did a lot of testing with the truck ahead of the race. Our team is putting their heart and soul in it and trying to get it dialed in. In these SCORE races you need to have an all-wheel drive to compete and this year I’m in one. I’m super excited about that.
 
CAMERON STEELE, No. 16 (Qualified 12th) – The truck did great. The new tires were ripping, it’s so awesome. We came to this race with one plan, which is having fun. We were third on time at the SCORE San Felipe 250 and here we just want to make a fun, smart race and hopefully finish in the top five. There’s a lot of bumps to smash and the truck is ready for it. I’ll solo the SCORE Baja 500 for the first time in a while, but I feel good. I’ve been training hard and getting ready for it and we’re fired up and ready to go.
 
DAN McMILLIN, No. 23 (Qualified 14th) – It went really well, much better than that the last qualifier I had. It was a little bit of a longer qualifier course and there were a lot of rocks in the corners. I don’t think we had the fastest lap out there, but it was a smooth, safe lap, which should put us in a good spot for race day. We had no problems. The car is good and we’re ready for Saturday.
 
MIKEY LAWRENCE, No. 85 (Qualified 16th) – I just tried to go as fast as I could without messing up the truck. Hopefully we get to start in the middle of the pack. It’s going to be a long day and the navigator and I are going to do the entire race, so we’re trying to set ourselves up for a good day. We got a decent amount of pre-running in and the car looks good, so I’m confident for the race.
 
SCORE TT LEGENDS (SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old)
GUSTAVO VILDOSOLA SR, No. 1L (Qualified first) CO-DRIVER Ricky Johnson said: It went fantastic. Our navigator did a great job calling everything off and truck was awesome. I’m still shaking, but the course was really good – it was it was much better than last year’s. We were able to race it more aggressively and not have bigger problems. I’m happy with our qualifying and the goal is now to be up there with these guys all-day long on Saturday and just race it.
 
DAVID PAYNE, No. 61L (Qualified third) CO-DRIVER DAMON BRADSHAW said: It wasn’t perfect, but not too bad either. The truck is in one piece and we should be ready to go racing on Saturday. It’s a gnarly course, with a lot of blind spots. It’s the first time they laid the course out this way, so it’s a big change. We had a lot of good pre-running and it’s rough, but that’s how it is in Baja. The team worked really hard to get the truck ready and it’s still kind of new, so we’re still adjusting to it a little bit.
 
CLAY LAWRENCE, No. 85L (Qualified fourth) CO-DRIVER LARRY ROESELER said: It was a really good qualifying course. We’ve run this same route in the past and it’s a good test and a lot of fun. I don’t know where we’ll land, but I thought we went through it pretty clean. The truck feels amazing and we’re excited about the race course. It’s super challenging and regardless of what we get in the qualifier, race day is what really is going to matter and we want to get it to the finish line.

Cameron Steele and Yokohama Join Forces

Yokohama Tire announced today that Cameron Steele and his Desert Assassins team are rejoining Team Yokohama. The Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer and action sports commentator began his career as a kid in the mid-’80s competing on Yokohama and last ran on the brand in 2015. Steele will drive his  #16 SCORE Trophy Truck outfitted with Yokohama’s GEOLANDAR® MT-R 40X13.50R18 tires, in premier desert racing series events in Baja, Mexico, and North America.

“It’s so rad to rejoin the Yokohama family,” Steele said. “We’ve had great success with Yokohama in the past, but now it’s time for the Desert Assassins and Yokohama to write the next chapter in off-road racing – no messing around!” 

“Cameron Steele is a leader in the off-road community,” said Andrew Briggs, Yokohama’s VP of marketing and product management. “He’s an accomplished driver and Baja champion of course, but he’s far more than a racer: he’s an ambassador to the sport and to the community at large. We’re excited to have him and the entire Desert Assassins back on the team competing on Yokohama GEOLANDAR tires once again.

The partnership between Steele and Yokohama goes beyond the race course, as Briggs added that Steele and the Desert Assassins team will also be collaborating on various GEOLANDAR marketing campaigns and experiences. “Light Truck tires have become such an immense and important portion of our business and Cameron has positioned himself as a voice for the off-road culture. It’s a natural fit and he’ll be an integral part of showcasing and communicating the durability and performance of our GEOLANDAR line of tires.”