Winners of the special $10,000 AEM/DIRTSports/UPR.com bonus purse were Mike Belk-$3,000; B.J. Baldwin-$2,000; and $1,000 each by Ron Whitton, Gary Weyhrich, Brian Collins, Chad Ragland, and Nick Vanderwey. At the finish line, the winners immediately donated $5,300 of the purse back to the El Oasis Orphanage near Valle de Trinidad in Baja California.
The 2006 SCORE Desert Series includes chase for the $50,000 Kartek Off-Road contingency bonus to be awarded to several qualified 2006 SCORE Class point champions.
The 2006 SCORE Desert Series also involves the hunt for the annual Toyota Milestone and $12,000 Toyota True Grit Awards. The prestigious Toyota Milestone Awards are presented to every racer who completes every required mile of every race in the 2006 SCORE Desert Series. The $12,000 Toyota True Grit purse is split among the SCORE season point champions who are also Toyota Milestone award winners in several non-factory-backed classes.
SCORE official 2006 sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant Petroleum-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, American Racing-official wheel, Airstar America-official space lighting provider. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Kartek Off-Road, Centrix Financial, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
Additional associate sponsors, for the 2006 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are Micron Technology, Red Bull North America, Cotuco de Ensenada, Fideicomiso Publio para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada, the government of Baja California Sur, the State Tourism Department of Baja California Sur and the city tourism fund of Loreto.
For more information on the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2006 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.