TAKE FIVE: SCORE las vegas terrible’s cup II

Friday, July 28, 2006 | 7:48 a.m.

IF YOU GO

What: SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup II

When: Gates open at 5 p.m. today and Saturday; racing begins at 7 both nights

Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway dirt track

Tickets: $15 to $30; 739-3267, www.scorelasvegas.com

Short stuff

The second installment of the Las Vegas Terrible's Cup off-road race is unique among the events staged by SCORE International, the sanctioning body that puts on long-distance races in the deserts of Mexico and Southern Nevada. The Las Vegas Terrible's Cup is held on a specially constructed 1.5-mile course that winds in and around the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and features more bumping and banging than a stock-car race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Back by popular demand

Last year's inaugural Terrible's Cup was the first short-course stadium race held in Las Vegas since the now-defunct Mickey Thompson Stadium Series raced at Sam Boyd Stadium in October 1994 - a race that featured future NASCAR stars Robby Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and was won by off-road legend Ivan Stewart. A near-capacity crowd estimated at 8,000 packed the dirt track last year to watch the Saturday night races.

Future of desert racing?

Short-course stadium races such as the Terrible's Cup could become a staple on the SCORE Desert Series schedule, which includes two other races in Nevada. "Maybe we can turn our Laughlin event into more of this kind of a show and the Primm event, maybe, because we're losing land all over Nevada, and maybe this is the way to do it," SCORE president Sal Fish said after the inaugural event. "But this is not going to replace the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 - the cornerstone of what off-road racing is about."

Elite field

The Las Vegas Terrible's Cup II is the lone nonpoints event on the 2006 SCORE Desert Series schedule. A limited field of 69 drivers from eight SCORE classes - including the featured Trophy Truck class - will compete in a total of 11 races each night. Among the prominent local drivers scheduled to race are brothers Ed, Tim and Troy Herbst, B.J. Baldwin and his father, Bobby Baldwin, Rob MacCachren, and brothers Bryan and Cody Freeman.

Special guests

Robby Gordon and NBC Sports reporter and SCORE regular Cameron Steele are among the celebrities taking part in this weekend's Terrible's Cup. Gordon, who got his start in desert racing, is taking advantage of a break in the Nextel Cup Series schedule and will race his Red Bull-sponsored Chevrolet in the Trophy Truck division. Steele will be shuttling between San Jose, Calif., where he is working on the telecast of the Champ Car race, and Las Vegas, where he will race in four classes: Trophy Truck, Class 1-2/1600, Class 7SX and SCORE Lite.