SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge

The starting positions for the 13th annual Laughlin Desert Challenge will be selected Thursday at the Los Angeles headquarters for SCORE International.
The Laughlin Desert Challenge, Jan. 18-21, will kick off the six-race SCORE Desert Series, which includes the Baja 500 in June and the Baja 1000 in November.
Nearly 250 entrants are expected for the Laughlin Desert Challenge to compete for $400,000 in prize money.
“The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is a wonderful event on the SCORE calendar and it is especially a great way to start the year,� said Sal Fish, SCORE President/CEO. “In our sport, it is about as fan-friendly as you can get and nothing surpasses the hospitality the Laughlin resorts show our racers and fans. And the racing is awesome.�
The SCORE Laughlin Leap starts the weekend at 6 p.m. on Jan. 18. Drivers and pit crews will share the spotlight at the Laughlin Events Park, competing for a $16,000 purse. The SCORE Laughlin Leap, a dirt ramp built into the middle of the stadium, challenges the most daring of drivers. This year’s competitors will be looking to break the event record in the SCORE Laughlin Leap set in 2004 by Mark Post in the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150 (160’ 6�).
A total of 17 different classes for cars and trucks are split into eight groups in Laughlin, each running as part of one of seven multiple-lap races over the much-abbreviated 7-mile loop each day. Racing action runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day (Jan. 20-21). The marquee racing division is SCORE Trophy-Truck, featuring high-tech, 750-horsepower, unlimited production trucks along with the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars. The other classes with the largest entry fields will be Class 10, Class 1-2/1600 and SCORE Lite.
Las Vegas’ B. J. Baldwin (SCORE Trophy-Truck) and Gary Weyhrich, Troutdale, Ore. (Class 1) are the defending SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge race winners. The 2006 event included a race-record 233 starters. With an event-record 30,000 spectators on hand, a near race-record 113 vehicles officially finished the two-day race.
Daily general admission tickets, good for grandstand seating, are $20 for each Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, children five and under are free. Daily VIP tickets are $40 each for the three days, good for admission to the Laughlin Hospitality Chalet, including food beverage and special seating.
Advance tickets for the Laughlin Events Park are now on sale at www.visit.laughlin.com or by calling (800) 308-2253.