Series point leaders update 2010-09-27

Duran leads Class 1-2/1600

A. McMillin leads Jones in Overall & SCORE Trophy-Truck, Halopoff top  s
Class 1 Points after Round 4 of five-race 2010 SCORE Desert Serie      s

Car and Truck Class point leaders include Duran, Davis, Caspino, Crosthwaite, Lopez, Carr; Computerized start draw for 43rd Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 on Oct. 9 at SCORE headquarters

LOS ANGELES--Just when you thought it was safe to order your tickets, plan some extra time off work and make your room reservations for the annual SCORE Awards Night, third generation desert racer Andy McMillin has gone from a near 'lock' to a 'considered favorite' as Jesse Jones has closed considerably in the Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck point standings of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series following Jones' second win of the year at the recent 15th SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Primm 300.

While the annual SCORE Awards Night will be held Saturday, Dec. 11 in SoCal at the newly-renovated Atrium Hotel, located adjacent to John Wayne Airport in Irvine, the season finale of the five-race 2010 SCORE Desert Series lurks on the horizon--the 43rd annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the granddaddy of all desert races, to be held Nov. 16-20. This year's renewal of the classic desert race will be a peninsula run, starting in Ensenada, Baja California, and finishing over 1,000 miles later in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

The computerized drawing for starting positions, by class, for the nearly 300 expected entries for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs competing in 28 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes from nearly 40 states and 20 countries in the internationally televised race, will be held Saturday, Oct. 9, at the SCORE headquarters in Los Angeles.

With two wins in the first three races this season, Andy McMillin jumped to a significant lead in the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck point standings in the No. 31 McMillin Realty Ford F-150, but a combination of mechanical problems for McMillin and Jones' second SCORE Trophy-Truck race win of the year at the 15th SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Primm 300 on Sept. 11 and only six points separate the two frontrunners heading into the massive season finale in Mexico.

Starting the 2010 SCORE season off with an impressive victory in Laughlin in January and then winning to the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, McMillin, of National City, Calif., he now has four career race wins in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck class for high-tech, 850-horsepower, unlimited production trucks. After winning in Laughlin driving solo, in Round 2 in San Felipe on March 13, he split the driving with his father Scott McMillin and they survived mechanical issues to finish sixth in class and then split the driving again in Ensenada on June 6 with his father. Mechanical issues pushed him back to an eighth-place finish out of 30 starters in Primm, keeping his SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck point lead with 321 championship points.

Second in overall points and in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck standings is Jones, of Litchfield Park, Ariz., who won the San Felipe and then the Primm race. The owner of an aerospace technology company and the 2001 SCORE Class 8 season point champion, is just six points behind Andy McMillin with 315 points in his No. 76 Ford F-150.

Third in overall points and in SCORE Trophy-Truck following a third in Laughlin and a 16th in San Felipe, a fifth in class at the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and 11th in Primm is Nick Vanderwey, Phoenix with 283 points in his No. 84 Vanderwey Racing Chevy Silverado.

The prominent McMillin Racingfamily actually has four racers among the top 20 point leaders after the first four races of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series.

Mark McMillin, Andy's uncle, who suffered a dnf in Primm, is 17th in SCORE Overall points and eighth in SCORE Trophy-Truck with 237 points in his No. 23 McMillin Racing Ford F-150. Mark's sons Daniel and Luke McMillin are also in the top 20 overall point leaders after solid performances this season.

Daniel McMillin, 22, whose top finishes are a third in the unlimited Class 1 in Laughlin, second in San Felipe and sixth in Ensenada is second in his class points and 20th in overall points with 233 in the McMillin Racing Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car. Luke McMillin, the youngest of the McMillin racers at 17, finished fifth in Laughlin, second in San Felipe and fifth in Ensenada and fifth in Primm in Class 1-2/1600. L. McMillin enters the season-finale one point out of first place in the McMillin Racing AlumiCraft-VW and he is also 12th in the SCORE Overall point standings with 250 points after the first four races.

"This has been a very, very good year for the McMillin Racing family, but there is nothing in concrete and we have a tremendous amount of work to do to prepare for the SCORE Baja 1000 in November," said Andy McMillin, who won last year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 with his father Scott and won the last SCORE Baja 1000 race that finished in La Paz in 2006 with NASCAR's Robby Gordon. "So many things can happen out in the desert, especially in Baja and we all just have to remain calm, do our homework in pre-running and don't drive our vehicles over our head and I think we will end the season with some very good results as a family."

SCORE points are based on starting and finishing as well as the number of starters in each class and placement position in every race.

Fourth in SCORE overall points and in SCORE Trophy-Truck is Robbie Pierce, Santee, Calif., who finished second in Primm and now has 270 points in his No. 30 MasterCraft Racing Chevy Silverado.

Fifth overall and still in front in Class 1 is another third-generation Southern California desert racer. Kory Halopoff, 27 of Orange, who has 269 points in the Letner Racing Tatum-Chevy following his class win in Laughlin, a 10th in San Felipe, a third in Ensenada and an 11th in Primm. After driving solo in Laughlin, he split the seat time in San Felipe, Ensenada and Primm with his normal teammate Harley Letner, 27, who is also of Orange.

The only car or truck racer who has won his class in all four races this season is David Caspino, Woodland Hills, Calif., who leads Class 6 in his Ford Ranger and is sixth in overall points with 267.

Defending SCORE Trophy-Truck and SCORE Overall point champion Robby Gordon, the NASCAR team owner/driver from Charlotte, N.C., is 24th in the overall SCORE point standings and 11th in SCORE Trophy-Truck with 225 points after a rare dnf in the No. 1 Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevy C1500,

Leading SCORE Lite in a Seagrove-VW and currently seventh in overall points is Justin Davis, Chino Hills, Calif., with 266 points.

While Caspino is the only car/truck racer undefeated so far in 2010, five motorcycle and ATV racers are unbeaten after two of their three SCORE Baja races in the SCORE Desert Series. There are also five Mexican nationals leading their respective Pro class point standings.

The Mexican nationals leading the 2010 SCORE point standings as driver/rider of record in their respective classes are: Gustavo Avina, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 5/1600, VW Baja Bug), Elias Hanna, Ensenada, Mexico (Tied in Class 7SX, Ford Ranger), Juan C. Lopez, Tecate, Mexico (Class 8, Ford F-150), Eduardo Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico (Class 9, TRfab-VW), Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico (Class 11, VW Sedan) and Francisco Septien, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 30, Honda CRF450X).

Among the other 2010 SCORE point leaders in car and truck classes after four races are: Alex Crosthwaite, Chula Vista, Calif. (Class 10, Jimco-Honda), Dan Chamlee, Carpenteria, Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Gavin Skilton, Anaheim, Calif. (Stock Mini, Honda Ridgeline) and Reid Rutherford, Montrose, Colo. (Class 7-2, BajaLite-Chevy). Chamlee has won his class in three of four races this year.

With motorcycles and ATVs racing in the three SCORE Baja races, the overall motorcycle and Class 30 (riders over 30 years old) point leaders is the all-Mexican team led by Francisco Septien, Ensenada, Mexico, on a Honda CRF450X with 157 points.

Following their Class 24 ATV class win in San Felipe, and second place in Ensenada, leading the overall ATV points with 167 is the team led by Brandon Brown, Umatilla, Ore. on a Honda TRX450R. Brown's co-riders for this race were Jorie Williams, Longview, Wash., and Mike Kelley III, Edgewood, Wash.

Winning Class 25 open ATV class in San Felipe and Ensenada was the team led by rider of record Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif., to lead the class standings on a Honda TRX700XX with 151 points. His teammates are Josh Caster, El Cajon, Calif. and Wes Miller, Fallbrook, Calif.

Among the other motorcycle class point leaders are the teams led by Adam Neuwirth, Los Angeles (Class 21, Honda CRF250X), Jason Trubey, Henderson, Nev. (Class 20, Honda CRF250X), Jim O'Neal, Simi Valley, Calif. (Class 50, Honda CRF450X), Louie Franco, Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Class 40, Honda CRF450X), and Donald Lewis, Marlborough, Conn. (Class 60, Honda CRF450X).

The Trubey, O'Neal and Franco teams have won both of the SCORE Baja races so far this season.

Recording his first-ever SCORE win in San Felipe and backing it up with another class win in Ensenada, Chicago's Rob Ransford and team lead Class 26 (utility ATVs) on a Can Am 4X4. His teammates are Tim Winiarski, Carson, Calif. and Joe Rice, Lomita, Calif.

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 car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season. Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 25th consecutive year, a total of 17 drivers remain eligible after Round 3 of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series. Racers are also competing for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award.

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, MasterCraft Safety, Blue C Advertising, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Additional sponsors in Baja are the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California and ProTurismo de Ensenada and Secretary of Tourism of Baja California Sur.

-source: www.score-international.com.