Final countdown to 37th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
Parnelli Jones-2004 Grand Marshall…crossover racers include NASCAR
Champ Car, IRL, IndyCar, SCCA, Rally... NBC Sports... Centrix returns
Nearly 300 racers from 30 States, 10 countries heading
To Mexico, Nov. 16-20, for granddaddy of all desert races
Parnelli Jones, former champ in SCORE Baja and Indy…

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 4, 2004) -- Motorsports superstar Parnelli Jones, whose racing talent landed him in four different halls of fame, has been named Grand Marshall for the upcoming Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 by event organizer Sal Fish and SCORE International. A veteran desert racer himself, Jones will preside over the festivities of the granddaddy of all desert races.

The season finale of the five-race 2004 SCORE Desert Series--the world’s foremost desert racing series, the 37th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will be held Nov. 16-20 as a rugged peninsula odyssey of 1,016.3 miles from Ensenada in Baja California to La Paz, in Baja California Sur.

To date, an impressive total of 281 vehicles have officially entered this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. When registration is complete, nearly 300 vehicles competing in 26 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs are expected to compete in Mexico.

As much a dominant personality as he ever was driving a race vehicle, Jones won the 1963 Indianapolis 500 as well as back-to-back SCORE Baja 1000 races in 1971 and 1972.

“Having Parnelli back with us is a great honor as well as being a family reunion,” said Sal Fish, who joined SCORE shortly after it was founded in 1973. “Parnelli is one of those rare individuals who had tremendous success in several forms of motorsports, both as a driver and as a team owner. With his great history in SCORE racing, the hardest thing for us will be to keep him from strapping on a race helmet and hopping into one of our SCORE Trophy-Trucks.”

Thanks to the largest entry of celebrity and crossover racers since the event began in 1967, Jones will feel right at home with motorsports luminaries from around the globe.

From La Paz, at the southern tip of Baja, to Indianapolis, from the top of Pike’s Peak to Green Valley Raceway, from the dirt of Eldoro to board rooms around the world, Parnelli Jones is a legend.

Jones, 70, of Palos Verde, Calif., was also a prominent Indy Car team owner for a number of years and has earned inclusion in the following groups: National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, Inernational Motorsports Hall of Fame, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

“It’s great that SCORE would remember me in this way, but I did remind Sal (Fish) that I have never said that I was retired from racing,” said Jones, whose son P.J. (NASCAR racer) also races occasionally in SCORE races. “Bill Stroppe built great vehicles that I drove, but these new SCORE Trophy-Trucks are truly amazing machinery. It’s been four years since I went to Mexico for the SCORE Baja 1000 and going down there in this capacity will be very special for me, especially because I will always be a desert racer at heart.”

Jones becomes just the second Grand Marshall in the storied history of the event, joining Mario Andretti, who served last year in honor of the 30th anniversary of SCORE International.

Pre-race festivities will be held around the Riviera del Pacifico Convention Center in Ensenada and the San Nicolas Hotel, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 16-17. The race will start on Thursday, Nov. 18, in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Convention Center with motorcycles and ATVs getting the green flag at approximately 6:30 a.m., followed by the car and truck classes at approximately 9:30 a.m. Vehicles will start one every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race. The finish line will be on the outskirts of La Paz adjacent to the tourism office. While the fastest finishers will complete the rugged route in just over 16 hours, each vehicle will have a 40-hour time limit to become official finishers in the historic event.

...Crossover drivers include Paul Newman, R. Gordon, Vasser, Bourdais, Meira, Jordain Jr., Goodyear, Guerrero, Forbes-Robinson...
As always, several crossover racers test their skills in the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race and this year will see the largest number in the 37-year history of the granddaddy of all desert races.

Leading the group of crossover drivers this year are film legend, accomplished race-car driver and Champ Car team owner Paul Newman (Centrix Financial Baja Challenge Class) and NASCAR’s Robby Gordon (SCORE Trophy-Truck).

Also entered are Champ Car’s Jimmy Vasser with Indy Car veteran Mike Groff (Class 1), SCCA sports car racing legend Elliott Forbes Robinson, who will drive with Jay Culbertson (Class 10) and legendary supercross/motocross rider Ricky Johnson will drive with Chad Ragland (SCORE Trophy-Truck).

Scheduled to race in the special Centrix Financial Baja Challenge class (Baja touring cars) are Champ Car regulars Sebastien Bourdais, of France (current series point leader heading into this weekend’s finale in Mexico City) and Michel Jourdain Jr., of Mexico, Indy Racing League regular Vitor Meira, of Brazil (2004 IRL Rising Star Award for Rahal Letterman Racing), 1985 Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan, former Indy Car drivers Scott Goodyear and Roberto Guerrero and Pikes Peak Hill Climb record setters Rod Millen, Rhys Millen and Jeff Zwart.

It will be the first time in the SCORE Baja 1000 for Newman, Bourdais (who drives for the Newman-Haas Champ Car racing team), Meira, Sullivan and Goodyear.

Racing in two vehicles in SCORE Trophy-Truck and one in Class 1-2/1600 will be ESPN sportscaster Cameron Steele, while Riding in the motorcycle Class 30 will be Jimmy Lewis, Editor of Dirt Rider, who also won the overall motorcycle title of this race in 1998 with Johnny Campbell.

Driving in one of five Centrix cars in the special Centrix Financial Baja Challenge class (Baja touring cars) will be: Centrix CEO Robert Sutton (who has won this special class each of the last two years),1996 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 overall 4-wheel vehicle winner and 4-time class winner Ryan Thomas, noted Hollywood stuntman Rich Minga, the 1987 SCORE Overall point champion who has one Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 class win, five seconds and eight thirds, noted ABC sportscaster Paul Page and former SCORE racer Brian Coats who has one career SCORE Trophy-Truck race win.

...NBC Sports will bring Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 to the world...
For the first time in over two decades, this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be televised on network television in the United States.

NBC Sports, in association with Aura360, is producing a one-hour special to air in December on the NBC Television Network. The telecast will air on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).

Anchor for NBC will be emmy-award winner sportscaster Al Trautwig. Joining Trautwig as producer will be veteran Billy Matthews and a talented veteran crew that includes several of the NBC team that covered this summer’s Olympics in Greece.

Matthews intends to present the Tecate SCORE Baja1000 in a unique way that will not only cover the race, but will tell the human interest stories of the many people involved in the race. It will tell the stories of the racers and members of their crews as well as the impact the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 has economically and socially on Baja California.

A special pre-run preview segment, which will include NASCAR’s Robby Gordon, will air during the Jeep World of Adventure Sports on Saturday, Dec. 4. (2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (EST).

...Centrix Financial, special SCORE sponsor...
Denver-based Centrix Financial has increased its role with this month’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race, it was announced officially today by SCORE International.

Returning for the second year as a special SCORE race sponsor, Centrix also sponsors the Centrix Financial Baja Challenge class. The Centrix Financial Baja Challenge class features 12 identically-equipped, Porsche-powered Baja Touring cars shod with BFGoodrich Tires.

“Centrix has been a wonderful partner for SCORE desert racing and it always significantly enhances our events when they participate,” said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO/President. “Bob Sutton (Centrix CEO) is one of the classiest people I know and he has a passion for SCORE desert racing that is growing stronger every year.”

Founded in 1990, Centrix first made its presence felt seven years later when Robert Sutton, current Chairman and CEO, purchased the company and began his quest to build the nation’s most innovative player in the multi-billion dollar world of auto finance.

That energy is what has brought Centrix back to this race for the third consecutive year. In addition to the special race sponsorship with SCORE, Centrix is also fielding five cars in the Centrix Financial Baja Challenge Class, where Sutton will be looking for his third consecutive class win in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

“I could not be more excited about returning to the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 for the third consecutive year,” said Sutton. “It is an iconic event in the world of motorsports, presenting more challenges in terms of scope, difficulty and logistics than any other event in the world. I salute Sal Fish and his SCORE team for being able to step up to the challenge and pull off a world class event year after year.”

“It’s especially fitting for Centrix to be so heavily involved in the event because it presents a perfect metaphor for our business. At the foundation of the race—and of our business—is planning, risk-management and teamwork. We have learned how to translate these attributes into success at Centrix, whether we are talking about making auto loans or finding success on the race course.”

The Centrix Financial Baja Challenge class this year will include several family members competing, many in different vehicles. Sutton is driver of record in the BC 9 car while is son David Sutton is at the lead driver in the BC2 car and his daughter Kate Sutton is leading the BC 8 team to Mexico.

Pike’s Peak Hill Climb record holder Rod Millen, of New Zealand, is part of Sutton’s BC 9 team while Millen’s son Rhys (BC8) and Ryan (BC2) are also competing.

The BC4 car will be filled with member’s of the Jourdain family of Mexico City. Champ Car racer Michel Jourdain Jr., is driver of record and will be joined on the team by his father Michel Jourdain Sr., and his uncles Bernard Jourdain and Jean Pierre Jourdain.

Celebrating its 31st anniversary this year as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, the SCORE Desert Series is returning to Mexico for the last of three races held annually in Baja California.

SCORE official sponsors for 2004 are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Southern California Ford Dealers-official vehicle and C.L. Bryant-VP Racing Fuels-official fuel supplier. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Herbst Gaming, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bilstein, Signpros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products, and Advanced Color Graphics.

Additional sponsors of this year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are: Centrix Financial, Cotuco and Fideicomiso Publico para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada.

For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official Optima SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com