Dickerson Flies His #117 AlumiCraft-Chevy to 125’ 6” Jump.
Gordon Wins SCORE Trophy-Truck in Friday’s $16,000 SCORE Laughlin Leap.
Preview to this weekend’s SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge draws over 5,000 spectators
LAUGHLIN, Nev. –Southern California desert racer Jeff Dickerson lit up the Laughlin night, becoming the second straight unlimited Class 1 driver to win the SCORE Laughlin Leap competition Friday, a prelude to this weekend’s season-opening 17th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in Laughlin, Nev.
Dickerson, a former SCORE season class point champion, thrilled the standing-room only crowd of over 5,000, winning the unlimited Class 1 division by sending his powerful No. 117 Chevy-powered AlumiCraft open wheel desert race car off the six-foot dirt jump for a distance of 125 feet six inches.
It was Dickerson’s first overall win in the event and his first division victory.
Second overall and winning the SCORE Trophy-Truck division for high-tech, 850-horsepower unlimited production trucks was NASCAR Cup team owner/driver Robby Gordon with a leap of 125’. Gordon, a second-generation desert racer who was raised in SoCal but lives now in Charlotte, N.C. drives the No. 77 Team Gordon Chevy CK1500 SCORE Trophy-Truck.
In the unlimited Class 1 division for open-wheel desert race cars, second was Pete Sohren, Glendale, Ariz. with a leap of 124’ in a Geiser-Ford.
Class 1-2/1600 racer Mario Gastelum, El Centro, Calif, in a Jimco-VW defeated Cody Robinson, also of El Centro, Calif. in a Romo-VW with a 79’ to 75’ jump to win the limited CC open-wheel class.
In the Production mini-trucks division, Sportsman racer Jonathon Libby won in a Ford Ranger with a leap of 107’ 6”.
In the Restricted Cars, the winner was Mexico’s Francisco Villagomez, soared 94’ 6”in a Pabloff-VW SCORE Lite race car after finishing second in his division last year.
The unique race, split into two parts, will be held Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the 19 classes divided into five race groups running multiple laps each day. The featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division will race at 1 p.m. each day followed by the unlimited Class 1 cars at 3 p.m.
Ticket information is available at www.visitlaughlin.com
17th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
$16,000 Laughlin Leap, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011
Top Finishers
SCORE Trophy-Truck
Pos. Vehicle No.-Driver, Hometown, Vehicle, Distance, Purse
1. 77 Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., 125 feet ($2,500)
2. Lloyd Sproule, Canada, Ford F-150, 124’ ($350)
2. Scott Steinberger, Cypress, Calif., Ford F-150, 124’ ($350)
Large c.c. Cars
Pos. Vehicle No.-Driver, Hometown, Vehicle, Distance, Purse
1. 117 Jeff Dickerson, Brawley, Calif., AlumiCraft-Chevy, 125’ 6” ($2,500)
2. 121 Pete Sohren, Glendale, Ariz., Geiser-Ford, 124’ 6” ($700)
Restricted Cars
Pos. Vehicle No.-Driver, Hometown, Vehicle, Distance, Purse
1. 1212 Francisco Villagomez, San Jose del Cabo, Mexico-VW, 94’ 6”’ ($2,500)
2. 1001 Michael LaPaglia, Murietta, Calif., Racer-Chevy, 94’ ($700)
Production Trucks
Pos. Vehicle No.-Driver, Hometown, Vehicle, Distance, Purse
1. 1503 Jonathon Libby, Redlands, Calif., Chevy S-10, 107’ 5” ($2,500)
2. 600 David Caspino, Woodland Hill, Calif. Ford Ranger, 104’ ($700)
Limited c.c. Cars
Pos. Vehicle No.-Driver, Hometown, Vehicle, Distance, Purse
1. 1610 Mario Gastelum, El Centro, Calif. Jimco-VW, 79’ ($2,500)
2. 1607 Cody Robinson, El Centro, Calif., Romo-VW, 75’ ($700)
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark 702.298.298.2242, dominiccnv@aol.com, Room 933