As if racing on their home desert wasn’t a good enough advantage, Las Vegas’ Brian Collins and John Gaughan each received the coveted pole position in the recent computerized drawing for start positions for next month’s 7th Annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 desert race.
Round 5 of the six-race 2002 Optima SCORE Desert Series, America’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, will be held Sept. 13-14 in Primm, Nev., 35 miles south of Las Vegas. Nearly 150 vehicles, competing in 16 Pro and two Sportsman classes, are expected to compete in the final segment of the inaugural SCORE Triple Crown of Southern Nevada bonus program.
Both talented second-generation desert racers born and raised in Southern Nevada, Collins will drive a Chevy Silverado in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division while Gaughan will pilot the first vehicle off the line in the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars.
Because of increasing safety concerns at its U.S. races run on a relative short loop course (under 100 miles), Los Angeles-based SCORE International, producer of the race, has made the decision to run the race in two parts.
The three SCORE races held annually in Mexico are either point-to-point or a long enough loop to keep to a minimum the amount of vehicles catching others. Laughlin is a unique format race with classes grouped safely in various races each day and Henderson was a first-time event this year.
Both portions of the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 will have seven hour time limits and SCORE has split the vehicles primarily on the basis of type of vehicle. SCORE will run several classes starting at 6 a.m. on Sept. 14 with the truck classes and the unlimited Class 1 starting at 2 p.m. The course is a loop of just under 70 miles in length.
“SCORE has always been the innovator in the sport of desert racing,” said Sal Fish, SCORE President and CEO. “Safety is paramount at SCORE and our dedicated SCORE race crew is making this unique attempt in an effort to provide as safe a race as possible, while still allowing us to enjoy the benefits of SCORE desert racing at its best.”
The classes in the 6 a.m. portion of the race and the number of laps required will be: 4 Laps–Class 10, SCORE Lite, Class 5; 3 Laps–Class 1-2/1600, Class 5/1600, Class 9; and 2 Laps–Class 11, Sportsman Buggy, Sportsman Truck.
The classes in the 2 p.m. portion of the race and the number of laps required will be: 4 Laps–SCORE Trophy-Truck, Class 1, Protruck; 3 Laps–Class 8, Class 3, Class 3I, Class 7, Class 7S, Stock Full; 2 Laps–Stock Mini.
Racing on their home desert, Southern Nevada racers are always strong contenders in this race. Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst is the defending overall and unlimited Class 1 champion of the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 in his Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford-powered Smithbuilt open-wheel desert race car.
Among the top challengers for the overall title that Herbst will have to contend with will be his older brothers, Ed and Tim Herbst.
Ed and Tim Herbst, who won the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division in their 750-horsepower Ford F-150 in 1998, are very familiar with the desert terrain where they honed their gifted racing skills. The older Herbst brothers won the SCORE Trophy-Truck season titles in both 1999 and 2000.
A dozen Southern Nevada entries were part of last Friday’s drawing for starting positions at SCORE’s Los Angeles headquarters, and more than 20 are expected to be part of the final starting grid.
Pre-race festivities will be held behind Buffalo Bill’s Resort and will include the colorful manufacturer’s midway and technical inspection, from Noon to 7 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 13), of all the race vehicles.
Admission is free for spectators to grandstands at the start/finish line area in the special events compound at Buffalo Bill’s resort. This area is mandated as the only designated spectator area by the Bureau of Land Management which issues the permit for the race.
The SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 will also be the final event of the new SCORE Triple Crown of Southern Nevada. The season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, Jan. 20-21, started the SCORE Triple Crown and the inaugural SCORE Henderson’s Terrible 250, July 10-14, was the middle event.
The three races include added contingency bonuses for racers who win their respective classes in all of the SCORE races in Southern Nevada.
After the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300, the final race on this year’s six-race Optima SCORE Desert Series schedule is the 35th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, Nov. 20-23. The granddaddy of all desert racing will start in Ensenada, on the Pacific Ocean side of the Baja California in Mexico and finish in La Paz, on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula.
Title sponsors of the 7th Annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 are the Las Vegas Events/Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Primm Valley Resorts.
For more information, contact SCORE at (818) 225-8402, or visit the Score-International website.
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