Thursday, Sept. 9, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.
Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.
Rob MacCachren, Southern Nevada's most decorated desert racer, likes a good challenge.
Although he trails SCORE Desert Series overall points leader Brian Jeffrey by 20 points heading into Saturday's ninth annual Las Vegas Primm 300, MacCachren said he knows precisely what he has to do in order to capture the second overall SCORE title of his two-decade racing career.
"We need to win the last two races (of the season) and if Brian Jeffrey gets two third places, we'll tie for points and we'll win the championship," MacCachren said. "But we have to win, no matter what."
MacCachren, 39, will field a pair of entries this weekend in Class 1-2/1600 in an attempt to stack the odds in his favor. In addition to running in Class 1-2/ 1600, MacCachren also will co-drive with Gus Vildosola in the featured Trophy Truck division.
"We'll have two 1600 cars in the race," MacCachren said. "I'm driving one and then Danny Anderson's driving my old car to try to help get us back in the overall points championship. We're second in points right now and we're trying to put more cars in between me and the guy who is (leading) the overall points.
"I think there's a pretty good possibility if I have no problems and Danny has no problems ... and a few other people have no problems, it's very likely Brian Jeffrey could get fifth or sixth pretty easy -- having no problems. Before the race starts, you kind of scope out your competition and think about who can get what place with nobody having any problems and, honestly, I think there are quite a few people who can beat him, so we might be looking really good after the race, for points."
MacCachren, who won the Las Vegas Primm 300 in Class 1-2/1600 en route to the SCORE overall championship in 2001, said he believes he has a "home-course advantage" this weekend because of his familiarity with the 65.1-mile circuit being used for Saturday's race.
"I know the area probably better than anyone because I think I have more time than anybody that's competing out there these days," MacCachren said. "Is it an advantage? Yes, but it doesn't cinch us the win, by any means.
"I do know the desert better than most, so it helps. And knowing the desert better than most helps me go fast in some areas and slow down in some areas where other people (might not); I kind of have a better strategy for the race because of the experience (on) the track."
An event-record 183 vehicles are pre-entered for the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300, which will start and finish in the special event compound behind the Buffalo Bill's Resort in Primm.
For the third straight year, the race will be split into two groups, with the open wheel and VW Baja bug classes starting at 6 a.m. The truck classes, including Trophy Truck and the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel division, will start at 1 p.m. One vehicle will start every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race and competitors will have an 8-hour time limit in which to finish the race.
LOCAL FLAVOR: The MacCachren and Anderson entries in Class 1-2/1600 are among 21 local entries in Saturday's Las Vegas Primm 300.
Heading the list of local drivers are Ed and Tim Herbst, who teamed to win the overall and Trophy Truck titles last year in Primm and have won three class championships in this race, and Troy Herbst, a two-time Class 1 winner in Primm. (Related list on page 10D.)
EVENT CANCELED: A pre-launch party for the desert-racing documentary "Dust to Glory," which was to be held Friday at Buffalo Bill's Resort in Primm, has been canceled by the film's distributor, SCORE officials announced this week.
"IFC Films informed us that logistical difficulties have forced them to cancel Friday's event," SCORE president Sal Fish said. "IFC is making a major investment of time, talent, resources and funding to promote and distribute this unique documentary on the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 with multiple promotional events and special screenings between now and next spring's worldwide release of the 90-minute film.
"They have a assured SCORE that a complete promotional schedule will be announced in the next few weeks."
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