Las Vegas draw summary

Las Vegan Bill McBeath draws pole in SCORE Trophy-Truck to lead field into July's SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup III
Also racing are: Herbst bros., R. Gordon, M. Coyne, Pflueger, Sohren, B.J. Baldwin, James, A. McMillin, Steele, Richardson

LAS VEGAS--Bill McBeath, SCORE's newest rookie driver in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division, received the coveted pole position during Friday's computerized drawing for start positions for next month's SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup III. A championship point's race for the first time, Round 4 of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series will be held July 19-21 on the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Leading a race-record 77 official entries (to date) from six states and Mexico in the six competing car and truck classes, McBeath, a native Las Vegan and UNLV graduate who is President/COO of the famed Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, will lead a race-record 22 of the high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks in the SCORE Trophy-Truck division to the world-renown LVMS facility. He drives the No. 91 Ford F-150.

SCORE has announced that the six classes competing in the unique short-course, stadium-style event will be part of this year's championship point races in the 2007 SCORE Desert Series for the first time and the event will again be held under the lights on a Friday and Saturday night at the world-class Dirt Track at LVMS. With entries excepted until the morning for the race, over 80 of the best racers from the SCORE Desert Series are expected to be in the starting grid for this exciting racing extravaganza.

Racing will begin at 7 p.m. each night at LVMS and both nights will conclude with crowd-pleasing Terrible's Fireworks Shows. A popular pre-race fan favorite is the meet the racers party down on the track where racers and their vehicles are available for an hour of photos and autographs.

Nearly 90-percent of the specially-made 'chunk of Baja' 1.5 mile course will be viewable from the grandstands in the 8,026-seat facility. Competing in their own races will be the marquee SCORE Trophy-Trucks, the unlimited SCORE Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars along with open-wheelers in Class 1-2/1600, Class 10 and SCORE Lite and the competitive mini-trucks of Class 7.

"Last year I rode with Bobby Baldwin and I quickly re-established my intense enthusiasm for desert racing," said McBeath, who is also chairman of the Board of Directors of Las Vegas Events, the co-sponsors of all three of the SCORE races held annually in Southern Nevada. "In my first three SCORE races this year, I have learned to get out of the way in a hurry and we have finished two of them so we are reasonably pleased with our progress. The SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup is unlike the long-distance open desert races we have for the majority of the series. This event is more of a fanfest with the event downtown, the autograph sessions and the race track that is nearly all viewable from the comfortable grandstands at LVMS."

As a prelude to the two days of racing, the SCORE Las Vegas Pit Stop at Fremont Street Experience will be held on Thursday, July 19. At the SCORE Pit Stop, starting at 6 p.m., there will be a vehicle display and the $10,000 Terrible's Pit Crew Challenge for SCORE Trophy-Trucks, meet the SCORE racers party for all competing SCORE racers under the multi-million dollar canopy on Fremont Street. The first two SCORE Trophy-Truck race winners in the SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup, Marty Coyne of El Centro, Calif., and NASCAR's Robby Gordon of Charlotte, N.C., are both back to add some additional fireworks to the star-studded field.

The other class winners from last year who have entered are: Las Vegas' Pat Dean (Class 1), Bryan Freeman, Henderson, Nev. (Class 1-2/1600), Broc Ross, Dear Island, Ore. (Class 7), and Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif. (SCORE Lite). Ironically, Dean and Steele both drew the first starts in their classes while Freeman will start the first heat race in the fifth spot and Ross will start third in his class.

Each class will race twice each night as full fields, while the SCORE Trophy-Trucks will be split into two heats with a full-field semi-main event on Friday and a main event on Saturday.

Fans can order single-day reserved or general admission tickets or special two-day SCORE Combo packages online starting today at the event website at www.scorelasvegas.com or by calling UNLVtickets.com at 866.388.FANS, locally at 739.FANS. SCORE Pit Passes are also now on sale.

For the Blue reserved section, individual tickets are $25 Friday, $30 Saturday and $50 for the discounted two-day SCORE Combo package. For the White and Red General Admission sections, individual tickets are $15/$20 and $30 for the discounted two-day SCORE Combo. Permanent seating at the facility is 8,026, although event officials are prepared to add an additional 2,000 temporary seats if needed.

SCORE Pit Passes are available for $10 per day or $15 for the discounted two-day SCORE Pit Combo.

Among the SCORE desert racing superstars to be showcased under the glistening lights of Las Vegas will be the Terrible Herbst Motorsports Team featuring the three Herbst brothers of Las Vegas along with Larry Roeseler of Hesperia, Calif.

Ed and Tim Herbst are the winningest SCORE Trophy-Truck team in history with 11 career race wins and four season point titles in the No. 19 Terrible Herbst Motorsport Ford F-150.

With Larry Roeseler as the driver of record and Troy Herbst as the second driver this season, the pair will be racing in the legendary No. 100 Ford-powered Smithbuilt open-wheel desert race car in the unlimited Class 1. Since it's debut in 1997, Troy Herbst has led the 'Landshark' to an unprecedented 22 race wins, seven Class 1 season point crowns and four SCORE Overall season point championships.

Besides the R. Gordon, M. Coyne, and the Herbst brothers, leading the contingent of SCORE Trophy-Truck superstars to Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be this year's top 5 season point leaders, three of which have drivers from Las Vegas.

Leading the season point race in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the No. 1 Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Sivlerado is Las Vegan B.J. Baldwin with 245 points. Second is the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150 of Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas with 242 points.

Currently third in SCORE Trophy-Truck after three rounds of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series in the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Chevy Silverado of Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz./Brian Collins, Las Vegas with 233 points.

B.J. Baldwin won this year's season opener, the 13th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, in Laughlin in January while the Post/MacCachren team won the 21st Tecate SCORE Baja 250 in March and Ragland/Collins won the recent Tecate SCORE Baja 500. Badlwin and Ragland/Collins repeated as champions in their respective race wins.

Flyin' Hawaiian Alan Pflueger is fourth in SCORE Trophy-Truck points with 232 in the No. 28 Pflueger Racing Chevy Silverado and Garron Cadiente, the 2006 SCORE Rookie of the Year from Mesa, Ariz., is fifth with 225 points in the No. 38 G&R Racing Ford F-150.

In addition to the previous group, also entered in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division is Las Vegan Bobby Baldwin, who drives the No. 96 Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado.

Baldwin, the President of the MGM Mirage Resorts in Las Vegas, is the father of B.J. Baldwin and the immediate supervisor of McBeath. The colorful Bobby Baldwin was also the world champion of the 1978 World Series of Poker.

Celebrity racer Jesse James, Sunset Beach, Calif., star of the old Monster Garage TV series, will drive for the first time in this event, drivinghis No. 54 West Coast Choppers Racing Chevy Silverado

Action sports television announcer Cameron Steele, another celebrity SCORE regular, has entered two classes. The popularwill drive his No. 16 Dessert Assassin Cadillac Escalade in SCORE Trophy-Truck and the No. 1201 Desert Assassin-VW in SCORE Lite. The popular Steele, who leads the point standings in SCORE Lite and will spend his free time at the event as one of the event Public Address announcers, will be computing between San Jose and Las Vegas during the race. He will be a pit reporter for the TV broadcast of the Champ Car open-wheel race in the Bay Area.

Besides Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler and defending race champion Pat Dean in Class 1, the leading contender coming into the race is Dean's Las Vegas Dissemination Company teammate B.J. Richardson. Richardson, also of Las Vegas, is the SCORE Overall and Class 1 point leader with 261 points in a Bunderson-Chevy.

The talented field includes 13 entries from Southern Nevada to date.

With co-title sponsorship from Las Vegas Events and Terrible's Convenience Stores, the SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup III will again feature two nights of racing on the LVMS Dirt Track. Racing will be on a purpose-built race track with limited pavement and man-made dirt simulations of the rugged desert terrain.

-credit: www.score-international.com.