Eli Yee tops latest entries for SCORE San Felipe 250

Blurton, Burroughs, Janesky, Hagle Brothers, E. Yee, SwansonX2, Moto Baja-e, newest entries

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, [email protected]

ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – Launching its sixth decade this year as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, the latest new entries for the this month’s season-opening King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250, include Phil Blurton, Matt Burroughs, Lawrence Janesky, Ben Hagle, his brother Ethan Hagle, Eli Yee, Dustin Swanson, his son Chase Swanson, and Christian Klein.

     Round 1 of the four-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held March 20-24 in the quaint, peaceful village of San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. The race course is 285.59 miles long.

     Pre-race Contingency, Tech Inspection and the start/finish line compound will be located on the picturesque El Malecon in San Felipe along the inspiring azure waters of the Sea of Cortez.

     San Felipe is 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif. on the eastern side of the Baja peninsula along the azure waters of the Sea of Cortez. All four 2024 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the ninth consecutive year.

EARLY ENTRIES

     With over 250 entries anticipated at the start line to launch the 51st season of SCORE desert racing, 203 total early entries have been received so far for the popular ‘Spring Break’ event, with racers representing 24 U.S. States, and six countries. The countries with at least one racer so far are United States, host country Mexico, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, France, New Zealand, and Peru.

DOUBLE DIGITS

     With double-digit entries to date are the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck (high-tech, unlimited, 1000-horsepower, custom trucks) with 35, Trophy Truck Spec, (SCORE Trophy Trucks with spec engines) with 44, Pro UTV Open with 18, Pro UTV FI with 13, and Pro Moto Ironman (solo riders) with 14.

LATEST ENTRIES

     Among the latest entries for this year’s race are SCORE stars Phil Blurton, Auburn, Calif. (Pro UTV FI), Matt Burroughs, Norco, Calif. (Pro UTV FI), Lawrence Janesky, Middlebury, Connecticut (Pro Moto 50), Ben Hagle, Somis, Calif. (Trophy Truck Spec), Ben’s brother Ethan Hagle, Somis, Calif. (Trophy Truck Spec), Eli Yee, Tijuana, Mexico (Class 5), Dustin Swanson, Honolulu, Hawaii (Alaska) (Trophy Truck Spec), Dustin’s son Chase Swanson, Honolulu, Hawaii (Trophy Truck Spec), and Christian Klein, Austin, Texas (Pro Moto Baja-e).

THREE DECADES-PLUS

     Celebrating the 37th anniversary of the youngest of the three legendary SCORE Baja races, sometimes referred to as the SCORE ‘Baby Baja’, entries are being accepted on the SCORE website under Race Info at https://score-raceinfo.com/37th-san-felipe-250-march-20-24-2024/ for Pro and Sportsman entries for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads.

BLURTON BACK

     Four-time UTV World Champion and 2021 SCORE Overall point champion Phil Blurton has returned for this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250.

     After his stunning 2021 season, Blurton ran just two SCORE races in 2022 and two more in 2023. In 2023, he won his Pro UTV FI class in the SCORE Baja 500 and finished third in the season-ending SCORE Baja 1000.

   Climbing the ladder race-by-race, noted Northern California racer Phil Blurton enjoyed his first season competing full-time in SCORE by winning the SCORE Overall, SCORE UTV overall and Pro UTV FI class point championships in the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship.

     Starting cautiously with a fourth place in class in the 2021 season opener, Burton, of Auburn, Calif. and his driving teammate Beau Judge, Rockland, Calif., finished in second place in each of the next two races and culminated their championship campaign by winning their class in the season-ending legendary SCORE Baja 1000 to earn their season crowns.

          Blurton, 37, may have been a SCORE rookie in 2020, but he had been honing his UTV driving skills competitively for over four years before their big splash in the 2021 SCORE series.

     Finishing his rookie season in SCORE racing, four-time UTV World Champion Blurton, a second-generation SCORE desert racer, was the driver of record in winning his first SCORE Baja 1000 title and his first overall UTV race win over 62 starters in four UTV classes while winning the Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class.

     He drives the No. 2944 Can-Am Maverick R and his second driver is Beau Judge, 45, Rockland, Calif.

MATT BURROUGHS

     Another of the top honorees of the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship was Matt Burroughs. With three fourth-place finishes and one ninth-place, consistency provided big dividends for Burroughs as he won the 2022 Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class championship, but also the SCORE Overall UTV point championship as well with his 485 season points.

     All the numbers added up and his point total placed him fifth in the 2022 SCORE Overall point standings as well.

     Burroughs, 55, Norco, Calif., a Can-Am Factory driver, drove his No. 2948 Can-Am Maverick R to his second season championship in three years in 2022. In 2020 he was also the SCORE Overall point champion.

     During the 2023 season, Burroughs finished fifth in Pro UTV FI points. He was sixth out of a SCORE-record 30 starters in his class in the SCORE San Felipe 250, finished third in the SCORE Baja 500, suffered a DNF in the SCORE Baja 400 and ended the season with a solid second-place podium finish in the epic SCORE Baja 1000.

     For this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, his additional drivers will again be his son Zachary Burroughs, 25, Norco, Calif., and Bradley Howe, 37, Leona Valley, Calif.

JANESKY SWITCHES

     Lawrence Janesky is a successful businessman from Middlebury, Connecticut, who started riding dirt bikes late at age 32 with his brother. When his son Tanner Lawrence turned five, Lawrence got him on a dirt bike and the two have been riding regularly ever since.

     Years later, after touring in Utah, South Africa, and Columbia, the two decided to tour with Chris Haines Baja Motorcycle Adventure Tours where they first learned about the SCORE Baja 1000. The two later teamed up with the Hall of Famer Haines as their team manager and raced their first SCORE Baja 1000 in 2015, winning the Sportsman Motorcycle Class.

     From that humble start, Lawrence and his son Tanner quickly morphed into racing several times in the Pro Moto Ironman class for solo riders, especially attempting to finish the iconic SCORE Baja 1000.

     What evolved from their inspirational efforts were four separate memorable You Tube documentaries: Into the Dust, Into the Dust2, Into the Dust3 and Into the Dust4 which have had over four million views.

     For this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, Lawrence Janesky, 59, has entered the Pro Moto 50 class for riders over 50 years old on his No. 514 Honda CRF450X. He has announced that he will be riding solo in this year.

     In the 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship, Janesky was the driver of record in the Pro UTV NA (Naturally Aspirated) class in the No. 1914 Honda Talon. He finished second in the season points in that class, finished fourth in the SCORE San Felipe 250, second in the SCORE Baja 500, fourth in the SCORE Baja 400, and capped the year off with a second-place finish in the spectacular SCORE Baja 1000 peninsula run.

BROTHERS HAGLE

     The Hagle brothers have entered two new trucks in the Trophy Truck Spec class. The 2021 Class 10 SCORE Season Point Champions racing together, moved up to the even more competitive Trophy Truck Spec Class last year with one truck. The brothers had finishes of 13th, 11th, and 15th in the massive class and did not race in the SCORE Baja 1000.

     From Somis, Calif., Ben Hagle, 34, will be the Driver of Record in the Hagle Lumber Company No. 246 Custom-Chevy and his younger brother Ethan Hagle, 31, will be the DOR in the Hagle Lumber Company No. 245 Alumi Craft-Chevy.

     In the 2023 season, with Ethan Hagle as the DOR, the Hagle brothers finished 16th in Trophy Truck Spec final points out of 60 total racers in the popular SCORE racing class.

     Together, the Hagle brothers won Class 10 in 2021, winning the last two races of the year to win their class and finish 10th in the 2021 SCORE Overall point standings. The Hagle brothers also won the 2021 SCORE Open Wheel Overall season point title.

ELI’S COMING

     Another of the prominent and veteran Mexican racers in the SCORE World Desert Championship, Eli Yee, 50, of Tijuana has won numerous races and the 2020 class point title in Class 1/2-1600 and the 2023 season class point title in Class 5 for unlimited Baja Bugs.

    Yee has raced with SCORE for nearly 30 years and among his recent class wins are in the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 1000 in both 2020 and 2021.

     In 2022, after an unsettling DNF in the San Felipe, Yee marched back with three consecutive class wins at the SCORE Baja 500, the SCORE Baja 400 and the SCORE Baja 1000 in his class to finish second in the Class 1/2-1600 season point standings.

     Yee has switched classes last year and is racing in Class 5 in his No. 500 Chevy-powered Jake’s Baja Bug. He won his class in last year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 400 with Angel Barajas as his second driver in the SCORE Baja 400. Yee endured a DNF in the SCORE Baja 1000, but still recorded enough points to win another SCORE season point championship.

     In the SCORE San Felipe 250, Yee has four career class wins (Class 10 in 2002, 2003, 2004 and Class 5 in 2023).

SWANSON FATHER & SON

     Racing in separate trucks in the behemoth Trophy Truck Spec class in this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 are a very talented father and son. Dustin Swanson, 45, Honolulu, and his son Chase Swanson, 25, Honolulu (Alaska), will be racing in this class in separate trucks for the first time.

     Dustin Swanson raced as the Driver of Record in the first three races last season in the SCORE World Desert Championship, with finishes of 19, 13, and 22 in the class with the most entries in SCORE races.

     Chase Swanson raced in the Trophy Lite class for the first three races of 2023, winning his class in both the SCORE San Felipe 250 and the SCORE Baja 500 and then had an equipment failure and a DNF in the SCORE Baja 400.

     In honor of their two home states, Chase Swanson will drive the No. 249 and Dustin Swanson behind the wheel of the No. 250. Both Swansons will drive with numbers 49 and 50 in honor of their home state’s acceptance into state hood in the USA (Alaska 49 and Hawaii 50). The sponsor of their No. 249 and 250 TSCO-Chevy trucks is 49/50 Industries of Hawaii.

     Dustin Swanson is President of Swanson Steel Erectors, Inc., which has been active in Honolulu for over 15 years.

1ST MOTO BAJA-e

     Marking the first time an electric motorcycle has competed in the SCORE World Desert Championship, Christian Klein, 42, Austin, Texas, has entered the SCORE Moto Baja-e class in this year’s SCORE San Felipe 350.

     Klein will be riding his No. E499 Zero FX all-electric Motorcycle, built by Pilot Upfit and Supply in Austin. His Co-riders on this landmark event will be Branson Fustus and Eric Rauser, both from Austin, capital of the Great State of Texas.

     A graduate of Louisiana State University with a master’s degree in architecture, Klein owns Drophouse Design in Austin. He is also a custom motorcycle craftsman.

ENTRY DEADLINES

     The deadline to enter online and in time to be included in the SCORE San Felipe 250 Race Day program and the race program is 5 p.m. PT on Friday March 8.

     Starting positions for the classes that aren’t qualifying will be determined by a random drawing after the close of online racer registration. Results of the start draw will be posted on the SCORE website by 6 p.m. PT on Friday, March 15.

     Late entries may register in person at the SCORE Ensenada office will have until 5 p.m. PT on Thursday, March 14. Those late entries, however, will not be included in the start draw.

     Late, on-site entries will receive the next starting position within the class entered.

     Questions should be directed to Shannon Lund, SCORE Registration and Membership Director at 775.852.8907 or [email protected].

METHOD RACE WHEELS QUALIFYING

     For just the fifth time in the history of this popular ‘Spring Break’ race, SCORE will hold the Method Race Wheels SCORE San Felipe 250 Qualifying starting at 7 a.m. PT on Thursday, March 21 to determine the starting positions within each class for the SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend and Trophy Truck Spec classes. The starting order for qualifying in each class will be the order in which they entered the race.

    Entries received in the qualifying classes after Friday, March 8 will be given then next available starting slot within their respective classes.

     Start order for qualifying will be determined by the date and time that they are received.

     The first-time qualifying was held for this race was in 2017 when Rob MacCachren, Cameron Steele and Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez were the top three qualifiers in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 1000-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks.

    In 2021, Bryce Menzies was the fastest qualifier followed by Andy McMillin and his cousin Luke McMillin. At the finish of the race Menzies was the winner, L. McMillin was second and A. McMillin finished in third place.

     In 2022, Menzies was the fastest qualifier again followed by Justin Lofton and L. McMillin. At the finish, L. McMillin was the winner, Menzies was second at the team of Mike Walser/Jax Redline finished in third place.

     In 2023, Australia’s Toby Price was fastest qualifier followed by Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, and Menzies. At the finish, Luke McMillin was the winner, Mexico’s Alan Ampudia was second, and Las Vegas’ Menzies finished in third place.

     Qualifying is not open to the public and will be held on a five-mile course that is not part of the official race course.

POST—GRAND MARSHAL

     Grand Marshal for this year’s King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 is SCORE champion racer Mark Post, a prominent businessman in Southern California and Las Vegas.

     Post, 65, of Las Vegas and Laguna Beach, Calif., has been an active desert racer for nearly 30 years, recorded his most impressive season in 2007 when he won the SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship. In 2007, with the iconic Rob MacCachren as his second driver, Post won the 40th anniversary SCORE Baja 1000, a race of 1296.39 miles from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in his spectacular No. 3 Black Diamond Riviera Racing Ford F-150.

     Post, MacCachren, and third driver Carl Renezeder, covered the distance in 25 hours, 21 minutes, and 25 seconds, averaging 53.43 miles per hour to be the fastest overall four-wheel vehicle finisher in the race.

    In his remarkable 2007 SCORE season Post finished fourth in the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, first in the SCORE San Felipe 250, fourth in the SCORE Baja 500, second in the SCORE Terrible’s Las Vegas Primm 300, capped by his massive victory in the season-ending 40th SCORE Baja 1000 from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas.

     Also in 2007, Riviera Racing won the SCORE Las Vegas Terrible’s Cup short-course event on the dirt track at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Rob MacCachren driving.

   In the SCORE San Felipe 250, Post has three career class wins, two with Jerry Whelchel before winning in 2007 in SCORE Trophy Truck with MacCachren. Post and Whelchel won Class 1 in this race in 1998 and again in 2004 in SCORE Trophy Truck.

     Post also earned a prestigious SCORE Milestone Award in 2007.

     In his illustrious SCORE racing career, Post has seven career SCORE Trophy Truck race victories, (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and his three in 2007.

SCOREscope

2024 SCORE SCHEDULE

    Here are the dates for the four-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship which will be held in Baja California, Mexico for the ninth consecutive year:

·       King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250—

March 20-24, San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico

·       BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500—

May 29-June 2, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

·       5th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—

September 11-15, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

·       BFGoodrich Tires 57th SCORE Baja 1000—

November 11-17, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

SCORE SPONSORS…

     Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and Race Title Sponsor, Ford-Official Truck and SUV, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber and Race Title Sponsor, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel and race presenting sponsor, Optima Batteries-Official Battery, Rugged Radios-Official Radio Communication, Sylvania-Official Light, Method Race Wheels-Official Wheel and Qualifying sponsor, Lasernut-Official Custom Metal Fabricator, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.

   SCORE Official Partners: The Satellite Phone Store, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance.

  Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Baja California Secretary of Tourism, MEXICO Secretary of Tourism, San Felipe Foundational Municipal Council, Ensenada Municipal Government, San Felipe Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Hotel and Motel Association, Proturismo Ensenada, and Cruz Roja Mexicana.

    For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.

King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250

Round 1 of 4-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship

March 20-24 - San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico – 285.69-miles

Total Entries: 204 (as of 3/05/24)

(from 24 U.S. States, host Mexico, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, France, New Zealand, Peru)

Pro Cars/Trucks/UTVs

(Numerical order, by class)

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (36*)

1 Bryce Menzies

*1L Gustavo Vildosola Sr

2 Chad Broughton

6 Dan Myers

10 Alan Ampudia

16 Cameron Steele

19 Tim Herbst

21 Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr

23 Dan McMillin

24 Adam Householder

25 Craig Christy

26 Dave Taylor

27 Jonathan Brenthel

34 Broc Dickerson

*37L Rolf Helland

41 Justin Lofton

45 Gary Magness

46 Toby Price

51 Steve Olliges

*53L Wade Porter

58 Tracy Graf

*61L David Payne

63 Ruben Torres

*65L Greg Adler

66 Chris Hertsch

69 Andrew Myers

70 Kevin Thompson

80 Josh Daniel

82 Sam Baldi

83 Luke McMillin

85 Mikey Lawrence

*85L Clay Lawrence

87 Dallas Lutrell

89 Mike Walser

94 Christopher Polvoorde

97 Gabriel Torres

*SCORE TT LEGEND

CLASS 1 (5)

127 Cody Parkhouse

138 Kyle Quinn

153 Brad Wilson

162 Brendan Gaughan

168 Cody Reid

TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (44)

200 Jason McNeil

201 Mitch McNeil

204 Cade Garcia

205 Joe Delucie

207 Mason Cullen

209 J. David Ruvalcaba

211 Tim Wilson

213 Josh Beyer

219 Thor Herbst

224 Miles Wyatt

227 Jack Olliges

228 Ryan Hancock

236 Michael Marsal

238 Elijah Kiger

240 Chris Miller

241 Stephen Beal

242 Bryce Swaim

245 Ethan Hagle

246 Ben Hagle

247 Scott Shields

248 Kevin Price

249 Chase Swanson

250 Dustin Swanson

258 Mavrick Gaunt

259 Matt Winslow

260 Santiago Creel

262 Mick Magher

263 EJ Herbst

264 Arnoldo Gutierrez

266 David Ziegler

267 Jose L. Leon

269 Troy Stone

270 Jimmy Diaz

273 Jordan Brenthel

274 Jason Babcock

277 Travis Williams

282 Brent Fox

284 Jose Contreras

285 Justin Davis

289 Tanner Rust

290 Isidro Ochoa

294 Vincent Munoz

297 Jorge Sampietro

299 Charles Dorrance

CLASS 10 (8)

1000 Francisco Vera

1002 Matias Arjona IV

1006 Stan Potter (DOR-Freddie Willert)

1012 Jake Woodruff

1023 Tamara Myers

1044 Jason Shipman

1060 Ted Baker

1077 Dale Ebberts

PRO UTV OPEN (18)

1821 Cayden MacCachren

1824 Oscar Alvarez

1825 Vito Ranuio

1831 Craig Scanlon

1841 Max Eddy Jr

1842 Gilberto Rodriguez

1850 Paul Barnhart Jr

1854 Kristen Matlock

1867 Mike Pratt

1868 Bernie Gomez

1869 Justin Lambert

1871 Wayne Matlock

1872 Justin Smith

1880 Gabe Matthews

1885 Trent Backus

1886 Branden Sims

1891 Samuel Huesco

1896 Brock Heger

PRO UTV FI (13)

29XX Jorge Cano

2906 Zach Selby

2908 Valeria Lozano

2914 Esteban Ceja Sr

2915 Rickey Arslanian

2921 John Myerly

2925 Bernardo Perez

2928 Carlos Quezada

2944 Phil Blurton

2948 Matt Burroughs

2955 Miguel Cortez

2973 Jorge Vela

2987 Edgar Garcia

CLASS 7 (4)

700 Daniel Chamlee

703 Scott Brady

711 Richard Fant

720 Randy Bluth

SCORE LITES (2)

1201 David Caspino

1238 Robert Illian

PRO UTV NA (2)

1919 Eva Malabanan

1974 Ethan Groom

CLASS 5 (4)

500 Eli Yee

510 Gerardo Ibarra

525 Martin Anguiano

538 Brandon Homme

PRO UTV STOCK (9)

3907 Jeremy Davis

3916 Jeff Embree

3919 Anibal Lopez

3924 Ricardo Zarogoza

3925 Kaden Wells

3926 Yoshua Morquecho

3930 Douglas Cornwell

3943 Dennis Romero

3959 Antonio Mendez

CLASS 1/2-1600 (4)

16XX Daniel Reyes Jr

1606 Daniel Goodrich

1656 Raul Ojeda

1662 Julie Boyer

CLASS 8 (1)

809 Josh Klenske

CLASS 5/1600 (1)

561 Zackery Woodruff

BAJA CHALLENGE (2)

BC 1 Joseph Koenig

BC 2 Frank Olagary

CLASS 7F (2)

714F Justin Park

719F Cesar Gutierrez

CLASS 11 (1)

1111 Eric Solorzano

Sportsman

SPT UTV (1)

1801 Oscar Indreland

Pro Motorcycles

PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (9)

1x Juan Carlos Salvatierra

8x Fernando Beltran

9x Austin Eddy

13x Adrian Ortiz

20x Eric Kirby

24x Jacob Robinson

25x Bryce Stavron

92x Tucker Hopkins

99x Samuel Scott

PRO MOTO 30 (2)

317x Ethan Wheeler

354x Felipe Barron

PRO MOTO 50 (3)

513x Joseph Amey

514x Lawrence Janesky

547x Mike Prunty

PRO MOTO 40 (4)

400x Alirio Amado

407x Luis Esquivel

411x Francisco Esposito

452x Travis Flateau

PRO MOTO IRONMAN (14)

704x Casey Odonnell

707x Joseph Darminio

716x David Topete

717x Travis Lukens

719x Kadin Guard

724x William Gross

745x Patricio Cabrera

753x Carlos Hannan

756x Francisco Heredia

780x Jeff Miller

781x Miguel Luna

788x Brian Roberts

789x Christian Cuevas

799x Marco Molinar

PRO MOTO 60 (1)

616x Harrold Harris

 

PRO MOTO ADVENTURE (3)

805x Dustin Davis

827x Gerardo Rubio

834x Scott Purcell

PRO MOTO BAJA-e (1)

E499 Christian Klein

Pro Quads

Pro Quad (3)

10a Dionisio Zavalo

18a Roberto Villalobos

39a Sergio Jimenez

Sportsman

SPT M/C (4)

205x Francisco Rosas

236x Andy Valencia

283x Chad Waite

298x Josh Hess

SPT QUAD (3)

119a Sebastian Castro

124a Erick Talamentes

138a Gabriel Vazquez