Capping off a great weekend of desert racing Sunday for the Las Vegas Dissemination Company team, determined home-state veteran Pat Dean won the Overall and the unlimited Class 1 victory at the season-opening 14th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge over a rain-soaked filed of 141 sturdy desert racers. The fastest finisher over 8 laps of the intensely rugged 6.25-mile course, Dean ran a combined total time of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 29 seconds, averaging 46.70 miles per hour in a V6 Chevy-powered Bunderson.

Veteran desert racer Rich Ronco made the debut of a made-for-TV Chevy Silverado a memorable one Sunday, finishing second Overall and winning the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division.

The event featured 141 starters from 19 States, Mexico, Canada and New Zealand, who competed in 17 Pro and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks for nearly $400,000 in prize money and contingency postings. The classes were split into five groups in Laughlin, each running as part of one of five races each day of three to eight laps over the rugged and challenging 6.25-mile race course.

As dry and dusty Saturday’s racing was, Sunday was just the opposite as extensive rain showers blanketed the Laughlin area for several hours during the event’s final day.

With a one-second lead over LVDC teammate B.J. Richardson after Saturday’s first half of the race, Dean took the lead on Sunday from the start, staying out front from the green flag to the checkered flag for his first SCORE overall win. Richardson finished third overall and second in Class 1, 5 minutes, 13 seconds behind Dean in a near identical Bunderson-Chevy.

“The funny part is, I sold my car three weeks ago and borrowed a car from a friend of mine, T.J. Flores, which only had a V6 instead of V8, so we were real skeptical” said Dean, pulling off his first SCORE Overall race win in a decade. “But it was awesome. It was a rocketship today and yesterday. We had a super simple weekend. When things come together its super easy. We had a perfect weekend. They’re hard to come by. We actually finished without the air cleaner yesterday. We were hoping the motor would make it and it obviously did.”

Ronco, Peoria, Ariz., was second after Saturday’s first 8 laps over the intensely-rugged 6.25-mile race course adjacent to the center of the Laughlin resort district, and with the attrition on the race course, his fourth-place result in Sunday’s 8 laps was enough for him to earn the victory in his No. 45 Tatum Motorsports SCORE Trophy-Truck, the featured SCORE racing division for high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks.

Originally built for the Unique Whips TV show, Ronco’s No. 45 Tatum Motorsports SCORE Trophy-Truck had a two-day combined time of 2:12:57, averaging a weather-effected 45.13mph.

Second overall, Ronco edged Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin, who was going for his third straight win in Laughlin, by just 41 seconds. Baldwin finished fourth Overall and second in SCORE Trophy-Truck in his No. 97 Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado.

Damen Jefferies, Apple Valley, Calif., was fifth Overall and third in SCORE Trophy-Truck in his No. 22 HMS Motorsports Chevy Silverado, 2:06 behind Baldwin, and 2:47 back of Ronco.

Finishing eight overall and fourth in SCORE Trophy-Truck was B.J. Baldwin’s father Bobby Baldwin, a key executive with MGM/Mirage’s City Center project, 3:18 behind Jefferies.

The fifth and final finisher in SCORE Trophy-Truck was Robbie Pierce, Santee, Calif., in the No. 35 Chevy Silverado, 3:23 back of Bobby Baldwin. Pierce was ninth in the final overall standings.

First-day overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck leader Gus Vildosola Jr., of Mexico, came on strong to start Sunday’s half of the race, leading for the first three laps of Sunday’s finale before engine failure put him on the sidelines.

Leading the field in Sunday’s second half of the race was champion short-course driver Carl Renezeder, Laguna Beach, Calif., but he only completed one lap Saturday so he was officially a did not finisher for the race.

     With the attrition so high, only five SCORE Trophy-Trucks out of 24 starters were official finishers. Besides Vildosola Jr. and Renezeder, other prominent dnfs included NASCAR’s Robby Gordon, who finished 3 laps Saturday and 7 on Sunday, TV personality Jesse James (5, 6), reigning SCORE Trophy-Truck season point championsMark Post/Rob MacCachren (6, 8), four-time SCORE Trophy-Truck race winner Brian Collins (5, 2) and prominent short-course and veteran desert racer Josh Baldwin (5, 8).

The Stock Full and Stock Mini classes were a family affair for the second straight year as Chad Hall won Stock Full in a Hummer H3Alpha and his father Rod Hall won Stock Mini in a Hummer H3. For the successful Team Hummer based in Reno, Nev., it was Rod Hall’s second straight win in his class while it was Chad Hall’s first win in Laughlin after his brother Josh won Stock Full last year.

In Class 1-2/1600, Corey Boyer, Bakersfield, Calif., was the top finisher Saturday and was second Sunday in a Lothringer-VW to beat a field of 16 starters while earning a 49-second victory over Hiram Duran, Chula Vista, Calif., who drove a Amplified-VW to third place after the first day and first on Sunday.

Winning for the first time in a Pro class, Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif./Tim Lawrence, Santee, Calif., won Class 7SX in a Ford Ranger.

Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif. (Class 3, Ford Bronco) won for the sixth time in seven years.

Among the other class winners crowned Sunday were: Rick St. John, Encinitas, Calif./Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, Calif. (SCORE Lite, Duvell-VW), Chris Harrold, Chula Vista, Calif., (Class 10, AlumiCraft-Honda), Enrique Zazueta Jr., La Paz, Mexico (Class 5/1600, VW Baja Bug), Ramon Fernandez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 11, VW Sedan), Jason Voss, Cupertino, Calif., (Protruck, Ford F-150), Kevin Carr, San Diego (Class 5, VW Baja Bug).

For all drivers of record, except Harrold, it was their first class win in this race. It was Harrold’s second, having won Class 10 in 1999 as well. St. John’s co-driver, Pfankuch, picked up his third class win, adding to his two Class 1-2/1600 victories in 2003 and 2005.

A total of just 40 of the 141 official starters finished the difficult challenge, for just a .284 finishing rate, one of the lowest in recent SCORE history.

Round 2 of the 2008 SCORE Desert Series will be the 22nd Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, March 14-15, in Baja California, Mexico.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant Petroleum-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Volkswagen-official vehicle, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant, Red Bull--official energy drink and Bosch Power Tools-official power tool. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast Advertising, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, Micron, NAPA Chassis, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Special sponsors for the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge are: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas Events, Laughlin Tourism Committee and the Laughlin Chamber of Commerce.

For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters (818.225.8402) or visit the official website of the 2008 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

14th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
Round 1, 2008 SCORE Desert Series
Jan. 24-27 - Laughlin, Nevada, 6.25 miles per lap
Total Starters: 141   Total Finishers: 40

Top Overall Finishers
 
Rank, Driver(s), Manufacturer, Class, 16-lap, 100-mile time (miles per hour)
1. Pat Dean, Las Vegas, Bunderson-Chevy.Class 1, 2 hours, 8 minutes, 29 seconds (46.70 miles per hour)
2. Rich Ronco, Peoria, Ariz., Chevy Silverado, SCORE Trophy-Truck, 2:12:57 (45.13mph)
3. B.J. Richardson/John Gaughan, Las Vegas, Bunderson-Chevy.Class 1, 2:13:32 (44.93mph)
4. B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado, SCORE Trophy-Truck, 2:13:38 (4.90mph)
5. Damen Jefferies, Apple Valley, Calif., Chevy Silverado, SCORE Trophy-Truck, 2:15:44 (44.20mph)
6. Steve Barry, Jamul, Calif., Jimco-Chevy.Class 1, 2:16:31 (43.95mph)
7. Chuck Dempsey, Oak Hills, Calif./Mark Levrett, Sparks, Nev., HMS-Chevy.Class 1, 2:18:24 (43.35mph)
8. Bobby Baldwin, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado, SCORE Trophy-Truck, 2:19:02 (43.16mph)
9. Robbie Pierce, Santee, Calif./Brent Gustin, Seal Beach, Calif., Chevy Silverado, SCORE Trophy-Truck, 2:22:25 (42.13mph)
10. Dale Lenk/Brett Lenk, Costa Mesa, Calif., Penhall-Chevy.Class 1, 2:23:47 (41.73mph)
11. James Scott, Hemet, Calif., RPS-Chevy.Class 1, 2:26:30 (40.96mph)

SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge

All-Time Overall Winners

1995—Ivan Stewart, SCORE Trophy-Truck
     Ed/Tim Herbst, Class 1

1996—Rob MacCachren, SCORE Trophy-Truck
            Ryan Thomas, Class 1

1997—Ed/Tim Herbst, SCORE Trophy-Truck
           Mark Post, Class 1

1998—David Ashley/Dan Smith, SCORE Trophy-Truck

1999—Troy Herbst, Class 1

2000—Gary/Mark Weyhrich, Class 1

2001—Steve Sourapas, Class 1

2002—Dale/Mike Dondel, Class 1

2003—Dale Ebberts, Class 1

2004—Gary Dircks, SCORE Trophy-Truck

2005—Dale Ebberts, Class 1

2006—B.J. Baldwin, SCORE Trophy-Truck

2007—Pat Dean, Class 1