March 14, 2008 – The 22nd Edition of the SCORE San Felipe 250 kicked into full swing along the beach in this quiet tourist resort nestled alongside the Sea of Cortez. The 2007 SCORE Desert Series did not include a stop at the famed location because of agreements between the many different factions of government agencies and the land owners that make up much of the land the race course is run on.

SCORE CEO, Sal Fish, used his persuasive magic to ensure that the 2008 race would kick off and indeed it did on this absolutely stunning Friday. Held along the Malecon just feet off the soft sand of the Sea of Cortez, this year’s race contenders lined up for a festive spectacular contingency event that rivaled no other.

Flavored by the sweet original sound of Mariachi bands, the flowing cold Tecate, and the street fair festival, San Felipe came alive for the 22nd running of this grand race. The sunburned faces and wide smiles signaled that the SCORE San Felipe 250 has arrived back to its home, the relaxing beaches of Northern Baja California.
Thousands of fans from around the world mixed with racers and their crews as they pushed their race cars through the streets of a town that has long be regarded as a “quiet little fishing village.” Well that changes each year when the SCORE Desert Series invades the city streets with their 800 horsepower race vehicles all preparing for race day.

The race vehicle count was definitely diminished than in previous years, however that didn’t stall the great atmosphere associated with SCORE events internationally.

The buzz throughout the race teams is no doubt how difficult it is going to be to survive this race course as many race veterans are reporting that the race course is more difficult than they have ever seen in the past.
Collins’ Motorsports Driver/Team Owner, Brian Collins, said it was the toughest he’s ever seen and he’s embracing the difficulty of the terrain hoping confident that his MOPAR Dodge Ram will make it to the checkers in the top spot.

Riviera Racing’s Rob MacCachren commented, “We’ve been here for a week and each day the race course is more chewed up. This is no doubt the biggest we’ve seen the bumps as long as I can remember and the team that has no problems will end up on top. The Riviera Racing truck always runs very good at San Felipe and we’ve done our homework. I’m looking for a great finish if all of our cards fall in the right spot.”

Ballastic B.J. Baldwin has been staying at the El Cortez all week long and he and his father, Bobby Baldwin, have held a rigorous prerun schedule, although in testing his truck here in San Felipe not long after the truck arrived he suffered a transmission failure in testing and the truck went back stateside for repair. The truck has return to San Felipe and he’s expected to contend amongst the top teams.

Jesse James tested his race truck in the first 30 miles with the new proto-type KING Shock package and he melted the main seals of both rear shocks causing the shocks to lose all fluid and rendering his #54 truck to the trailer until they could repair the KING shocks. James had previously been using FOX Racing Shox and changed to KING’S before the 2007 SCORE Baja 1000, however they have not held up to the rigors of San Felipe here this week.

The 1600 Champion, Dave Caspino, pushed his all black 1600 car through contingency and he hopes to repeat as the class champion with a good race here in San Felipe.

The Desert Assassin’s Moto Crew wasted no time in causing a stir as Cam’s boys were involved in a melee at the famed Rice N’ Beans. Tables were scattered and two warriors banged it out on the floor rendering one of Cam’s riders with a broken hand. Rice N Beans was filled to capacity with Crystal Bay Motorsports team members, Riviera Racing team members, Desert Assassin’s team members along with many smaller teams. The warriors were broke up quickly but not before blows were thrown. Let’s just say the DA is obviously in the house…

San Felipe weather could not be any better as the temperatures hovered right around the mid-70’s most of the day and the weather is expected to be the same through the weekend with thousands of fans pouring into San Felipe for Saturday’s main event.
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