SCORE announces MasterCraft Safety as co-title sponsor for this year’s 23rd Annual Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250

| January 15, 2010 | 0 Comments

LOS ANGELES—On the eve of this weekend’s 2010 SCORE Desert Series season opener in Laughlin, Nev., SCORE International has announced that prominent Southern California manufacturing company MasterCraft Safety has signed a three-year contract to be the co-title sponsor of the popular MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 desert race.

The event will be held this year on March 12-14 in San Felipe, the picturesque fishing village located along the Sea of Cortez on the Northeastern side of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula.

With the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series launching its 37th season at this weekend’s 16th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in Laughlin, Nev., SCORE CEO/President Sal Fish in association with MasterCraft Safety owner and SCORE racer Robbie Pierce used the Southern Nevada race as the backdrop to make Thursday’s announcement regarding the new SCORE sponsorship.

“It is a wonderful match to be able to have MasterCraft Safety join with SCORE to help enhance the dynamic experience that already surrounds this legendary SCORE Baja race,” said Sal Fish, who has been at the helm of SCORE International since soon after it was founded in 1973. “Having Robbie Pierce as the owner of MasterCraft Safety and also a top racer in the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck racing division, will bring a much greater insight and understanding to our relationship as together we strive to forge new marketing strategies for this SCORE desert racing spectacular. Another exciting dimension to this agreement is that it will bring us right to the threshold of the 40th anniversary season of the SCORE Desert Series in 2013.”

The MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 is SCORE’s annual ‘spring break’ desert race, the first of three SCORE Baja races held annually, and is once again expected to feature nearly 250 entries competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.

Based near San Diego in Santee, Calif., MasterCraft Safety is the leading manufacturer of performance off-road suspension seating, five-point restraints, window nets, and limit straps. In addition to its three-year agreement as co-title sponsor for this race with SCORE International, MasterCraft Safety will also be providing an added $10,000 cash contingency purse to the event.

“As with SCORE International, MasterCraft Safety has nearly four decades of history and heritage in the desert racing community,” said Robbie Pierce, CEO of MasterCraft Safety and driver of the No. 30 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck. “SCORE Baja racing is the heart and soul of my company and it is a great honor to be able to support one of my favorite races in one of my favorite places. I have the unique perspective of participating in SCORE events as a manufacturer of off-road products and also test our products through my own racing efforts. Nothing can compare to SCORE Baja racing and it is important to me as a racer, and also for MasterCraft Safety, to continue to support SCORE and its efforts to ensure the continuation of our sport.”

At this weekend’s SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, MasterCraft Racing has entered not only Pierce’s No. 30 SCORE Trophy-Truck, but also the No. 21 Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck to be driven by eight-time SCORE season class point champion Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas. MacCachren, who is also racing in Class 1-2/1600 in Laughlin, has six career class wins in this season-opening race.

In San Felipe, the green flag will drop at 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 13, for the motorcycle and ATV classes, followed three hours later by the car and truck classes at approximately 10 a.m. The start line for the race will once again be the landmark San Felipe Arches on Highway 5 on the outskirts of San Felipe. The race will finish just south of the Arches, directly behind the Tecate building.

The computerized drawing for starting positions, by class, for Round 2 of the five-race 2010 SCORE Desert Series will be held at the SCORE headquarters in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 13.

The pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the picturesque Malecon, flanked by the Sea of Cortez on one side and the popular restaurants and night clubs of San Felipe on the other.

MasterCraft Safety’s full-line of performance seating offers both comfort and protection in high “G” load situations and provides an 84% reduction of energy in a 50 G load impact. Featuring nine different seat designs and a variety of material options, MasterCraft Safety offers a suspension seat to fit any off-roader’s lifestyle. Whether it is the deep-sided, race-proven design of the 3G or the Jeep enthusiasts favorite, the fully-reclining Baja RS model, MasterCraft Safety has the ideal seat perfectly suited for any off-road conditions or terrain.

MasterCraft Safety has also recently expanded the product offering to include a full-line of performance driving suits, fuel and pit crew fire suits, neck braces, helmet skirts, and elbow and knee pads for pit crew safety. Available in SFI 3.2A/1 and SFI 3.2A/5, the performance driving suits meet and exceed all stated fire protection requirements while providing a comfortable fit and design. Optional hidden-pockets and sewn-in elbow and knee pads make this the first racesuit specifically tailored to the unique environmental conditions of desert racing.

More information on MasterCraft Safety’s full-line of products can be found by visiting www.mastercraftsafety.com.

In addition to season point class point championships, drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also racing to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season, being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 25th consecutive year.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull–official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Blue C Advertising, Off-Road, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.