Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Laughlin race could be a Terrible thing

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 9:41 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Troy Herbst has won everything there is to win in the SCORE Desert Series, but his overall victory in last November's Baja 1000 left the personable Las Vegas racer nearly speechless.

Herbst, a second-generation driver and youngest member of the Herbst racing dynasty, scored the family's first overall victory in 34 years of competing in the grueling Baja 1000.

"I can't even begin to put in words what it was like at the finish line in La Paz when I realized that we had accomplished something my family has been attempting to do for over three decades," said Herbst, who teamed with co-driver Larry Roeseler to win the four-wheel overall crown.

"We are such a close family (that) it truly was a victory for my dad and my brothers as much as it was for Larry and I."

Herbst, 38, said he hopes to carry the momentum from his Baja victory into this weekend's 11th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, where he is the defending Class 1 race winner.

"Now, we get to start the new year focused and ready to rock 'n' roll on the river," Herbst said. "The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is a special race for Terrible Herbst Motorsports because of the format and the hospitality there, it is a great opportunity for family, friends and customers to see 'Los Terribles' in action up close and personal."

Herbst, a six-time SCORE Class 1 season champion and three-time overall series champion, has 16 career race victories since 1997, but only two have come in the season-opening Laughlin race (1999 and 2004).

The 11th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge kicks off Thursday at 6 p.m. with the $16,000 "Laughlin Leap," which was won last year by Mark Post with an event-record leap of 160 feet, 6 inches. The $10,000 "SCORE Pit Crew Showdown" will be held Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Racing will begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Laughlin Events Park on the corner of Thomas Edison Drive and Bruce Woodbury Way in Laughlin.

This year's race also will include the $25,000 Jason Hunter Memorial Class 10 race. Hunter Motorsports is putting up a $25,000 bonus purse in the memory of Jason Hunter, the 2001 SCORE Rookie of the Year who was killed a year ago in an automobile accident. The winner of the Class 10 race will earn a $10,000 bonus.

Las Vegas' Bobby Baldwin, the CEO and president of Mirage Resorts, will drive the No. 96 Ford while his son, B.J., will pilot the No. 97 Trophy Truck. Marty Coyne of El Centro, Calif., will drive the No. 5 Ford and son Travis will drive Robby Gordon's No. 31 Chevy. Larry Ragland, who co-drives the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Chevy with Brian Collins of Las Vegas, will race against his son, Chad, who will drive the No. 80 Chevy.

Last year, MacCachren won both Class 1-2/1600 and SCORE Lite and finished second in Trophy Truck. MacCachren also won his division in the "Laughlin Leap" and the "Pit Crew Challenge."

11th annual SCORE

Laughlin Desert Challenge

SCHEDULE

Thursday

6 p.m. -- $16,000 Laughlin Leap (start/finish line at Laughlin Events Park)

Friday

9 a.m.-4 p.m. -- Contingency & technical inspection (Laughlin Events Park)

4:30 p.m. -- $10,000 SCORE Pit Crew Showdown (start/finish line at Laughlin Events Park)

Saturday

7 a.m. -- Racing starts

Sunday

7 a.m. -- Racing starts

8 p.m. -- Awards celebration (Rio Vista Room, Edgewater hotel-casino)

Daily racing schedule

7 a.m. -- Group 1: Classes 5 (4 laps), 5/1600 (4), 9 (4), 11 (2), SPT Car. 80-minute time limit (65 minutes for Class 11)

8:30 a.m. -- Group 2: SCORE Lite (4 laps). 80-minute time limit

10 a.m. -- Group 3: Protruck (4 laps), Classes 8 (4 laps), 7 (4), 7S, Stock Full, Stock Mini, 3, SPT Truck (ALL 3 laps). 75-minute time limit

11:25 a.m. -- Group 4: Class 10 (4 laps). 75-minute time limit

12:50 p.m. -- Group 5: Class 1-2/1600 (4 laps). 80-minute time limit

2:20 p.m. -- Group 6: Class 1 (4 laps). 65-minute time limit

3:35 p.m. -- Group 6: SCORE Trophy Truck (4 laps). 65-minute time limit