Locals fare well at SCORE Baja 500

Friday, June 9, 2000 | 10:02 a.m.

Southern Nevada area desert racers, led by class winners Troy Herbst, Billy Goerke and Sammy Ehrenberger, had a higher finishing rate than the rest of the field last weekend at the 32nd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert in Ensenada, Mexico.

With only 107 of 219 starters finishing the grueling race within the 18-hour time-limit, Troy Herbst won the unlimited Class 1 in a Ford-powered Smithbuilt open-wheel desert race car. He also finished second overall behind the new Chevy Trailblazer Trophy-Truck of Larry Ragland of Phoenix. It was Herbst's second straight win in the SCORE Desert Series

Second in the featured Trophy-Truck division and third overall were Troy's older brothers Tim and Ed Herbst, in their Ford F-150.

Troy Herbst, the three-time defending SCORE Class 1 point champion, picked up his third Class win in this event, adding to his wins in 1996 and 1998.

Seventh overall was Pat Dean of Las Vegas, who finished fifth in Class 1 in a Chenowth.

Enduring numerous mechanical woes, Las Vegas' Billy Goerke, driving solo for the first time in a SCORE race, won for the third time this year. Goerke remained undefeated in Class 8 in his Collins' Motorsports Chevy C1500 truck. Team owner Brian Collins debuted his new Chevy Trophy Truck, finishing sixth in the featured class.

Las Vegas' Sammy Ehrenberg won his first race in Class 1-2/1600 as he teamed with Ronny Wilson of Long Beach, Calif., in a Jimco. With the win, Ehrenberg moved into the season points lead for his class.

Henderson's Mark Hutchins was second in Class 10; Bekki Freeman, the tour's only full-time female driver, was eighth in Class 1-2/1600; and Las Vegas' Kory Sheeler was 13th out of a race-high 28 starters in Class 1.

Round 4 of the SCORE Desert Series will be the 5th Annual SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300, Aug. 4-5 at Primm.