The following item was taken from the
Baja Racing News Blog:
SCORE off-road racing seems to have run into the perfect
storm. Entries for Saturday's 40th Tecate SCORE Baja
500 are off nearly 40 percent from last year's record
492 starters. OUCH!
Three
elements seem to factor into the startling drop: problems
in the housing industry, the price of gasoline and the
threat of violence in Mexico. But the 300 entries SCORE
has received for the 441-mile race – which starts
and finishes in Ensenada – still ranks among the
Baja 500's 10 largest fields. “We've had a great
run,” SCORE publicity director Dominic Clark said
yesterday of a four-year period that saw entries soar
from 260 in 2003 to last year's record field. “But
we have been impacted by a lot of things.”
Notably, the economy – although many racers have
also backed away from racing in Mexico after the incidents
of robbery on the highways surrounding last year's Baja
1000. SCORE's fortunes have always risen and fallen
with the Southern California housing industry –
the racing end of the equation trailing the turns in
the industry by about a year. Plus, the cost of gasoline
and racing fuels has increased significantly since the
end of the 2007 season.
The only increase SCORE is seeing in Baja 500 entries
this year is the percentage of Mexican racers. One driver,
however, is undaunted by the problems facing SCORE.
Robby Gordon, who ran second overall to Brian Collins
in last year's Baja 500, will double again this weekend.
He will fly to Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Dover,
Del., after finishing the Baja 500. Gordon is making
one change. He has parked his TrophyTruck and will run
the Hummer H3 that he prepared for January's canceled
Dakar Rally.
Collins, who will be seeking a third straight Baja
500 overall victory, will team with Escondido's Chuck
Hovey, who is parking his open-class buggy to share
Collins' Dodge Ram TrophyTruck. [That's SCORE Trophy
Truck pilgrim!]
Among the notable teams missing this year's Baja 500
are McMillin Racing of Chula Vista, Herbst Racing and
Alan Pflueger. Mark and Scott McMillin told SCORE at
the start of the year that they would be taking a step
back in 2008 to see how racing in Mexico shakes out.
The Herbst team and Pflueger have withdrawn from the
Baja 500 for economic reasons. [at least, that's what
they've told SCORE]
Another entry returning to the Baja 500 will be the
ATV team led by Danny Prather of Ramona and Mike Cafro
of Carlsbad. Like Collins and the motorcycle tandem
of Robby Bell and Kendall Norman, Prather and Cafro
will be seeking a third straight overall title in their
division.
With entries right at 300, SCORE expects a handful
of additional entries just before the start, giving
organizers a legitimate shot at 300 starters for only
the 10th time. In 2004, the race drew 300 starters for
the first time since 1977. The field jumped to 345 in
2005, 438 in '06 (eclipsing the mark of 384 for both
the 1976 and '77 races) and 492 last year. “Over
the last five years, we experienced the same type of
expansion we had in the 1970s before the housing decline
of the 1980s,” Clark said. [story end]
After 441.15 miles, B.J. Baldwin beats Post/MacCachren
for the 4-wheel Overall victory at 40th Tecate SCORE
Baja 500