ENSENADA, Mexico—Relishing in the euphoria of yet another record-setting performance, Roger Norman and Larry Roeseler enjoyed the well-earned fruits of their laborious journey by capturing the overall 4-wheel victories late Friday in the 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race.
     Beating a deep and talented field of 347 starters that came from 29 U.S. States and 34 countries, Norman/Roeseler powered their way to the top of the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division in the No. 8 Norman Motorsports Ford F-150.
     The world’s best known and most prestigious desert race started for the 34th time and finished for the 19th time in Ensenada, 65 miles south of the U.S border at San Diego.
     As the final checkered flag dropped Saturday evening for the last of 227 official finishers in the 41st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, it was obvious that another incredible and colorful chapter had been added to the legacy of this popular desert race in the magnificent Baja California, Mexico, peninsula.
     The 347 starters are the most ever in race history for a ‘loop’ race and the third most of any race in the 41-year history of the event. The 227 finishers are also the third-most in event history.  The finishing percentage this year was an impressive 65.4 percent.
     Roeseler, Irvine, Calif., drove the first 400 miles and Norman, Reno, Nev., the final 231.35 as the daring duo mastered the Mexico’s magnificently mysterious northern part of the Baja peninsula to finish in a jubilant time of 12:40:33 at an average speed of 49.81mph in the No. 8 Norman Motorsports Ford F-150.
     Roeseler’s overall win gave him a race-record 13 overall race wins, including three in the 4-wheel division to go along with his 10 on a motorcycle.  It was also Roeseler’s 17 career class win in this race.
     It was Roger Norman’s first win in this race. It was also the second straight win of the year for Roeseler/Norman, who first won the SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 in September.
    Roeseler now has three career SCORE Trophy-Truck race wins while Norman has earned two. It was also Roeseler’s fifth straight class win in this race, having won the last for years driving with Troy Herbst in Class 1.
     Winning the overall ATV and Class 25 victory was the team of Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif./Harold Goodman, Brownstown, Mich./Marc Spaeth, Ramona, Calif./West Miller, Fallbrook, Calif., with a championship time of 14:47:25, averaging 42.69mph in a Honda TRX700XX. The talented team swept all three SCORE Baja races this season to earn the season point title in their class.
     “I got in the driver’s seat in the lead thanks to Larry and I just had to bring it home, but that is easier said than done,” said Norman, the Northern Nevada developer who owns the Crystal Bay Casino in North Lake Tahoe.  “I took it easy and kept gaining a little ground on B.J. (Baldwin).”
     “This is the toughest and greatest race in the world and we were racing against the greatest desert racers in the world. I knew we had to have a flawless day to win and we did. We had no flats; our BFG Tires were tougher than the Baja rocks. The only little thing is we went too strong off of a jump around Valle de Trinidad and our top lights came off so we stopped for about a minute and a half to put them back on and they were fine.  We’re here and we have a team that won’t quit and we made it to the finish line with all the body parts.”
     Said Roeseler regarding his continuing winning streak in this cherishe d race, “It was a fantastic day. I followed B.J. off the start. He started 30 seconds in front of us and Brian Collins was doing a heck of a job. It was exciting all the way down until we finally got by the field. We were first on the road and we kept that spot ever since. B.J. was keeping us honest. If he got back in front of us, then we would have had to have finished within 30 seconds of him.”
     “Roger (Norman)did a heck of a job. He kept that five, six-minute lead all the way from when I gave him the five or six minutes. What a wonderful, wonderful race. I went all day today to the 400-mile marker with no flats and I’m pretty sure Roger went all the way to the finish with no flats, so we won the SCORE Baja 1000 with no flat tires. Winning Primm was a great race for us and great momentum for the team so coming to the 1000 with that momentum, for sure, got us going and with our pre-running and preparation, it all paid off.”

Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Overall Champions
(1967 through 2008)
YEAR DRIVERS/RIDERS  VEHICLE TIME
1967
Vic Wilson/Ted Mangels Meyers Manx VW 27:38
J.N. Roberts/Malcolm Smith Husqvarna 28:48
1968
Larry Berquist/Gary Preston Honda 20:38:28
Lary Minor/Jack Bayer Ford Bronco 21:11:32
1969
Larry Minor/Rod Hall Ford Bronco 20:48:10
Gunnar Nilsson/J.N. Roberts Husqvarna 21:35:52
1970
Drino Miller/Vic Wilson Miller VW 16:07
Mike Patrick/Bill Bowers Yamaha 18:31
1971
Parnelli Jones/Bill Stroppe Ford Bronco 14:59
Malcolm Smith/Gunnar Nilsson Husqvarna 16:51
1972
Parnelli Jones/Bill Stroppe Ford Bronco 16:47
Gunnar Nilsson/Rolf Tibblin Husqvarna 19:19
1973
Bobby Ferro/Johnny Johnson Funco VW 16:50
Mitch Mayes/A.C. Bakken Husqv arna 18:42:51
1974
NO RACE
1975
Al Baker/ Gene Cannady Honda 18:22:55
Malcolm Smith/Dr. Bud Feldkamp Hi-Jumper VW 18:55:49
1976
Larry Roeseler/Mitch Mayes Husqvarna 11:30:47
Ivan Stewart Chenowth VW 12:17:28
1977
Brent Wallingsford/Scot Harden Husqvarna 14:37:07
Malcolm Smith/Dr. Bud Feldkamp Funco VW 1510:42
1978
Larry Roeseler/Jack Johnson Husqvarna 14:37:07
Mark Stahl    Chenowth VW 12:55:42
1979
Larry Roeseler/Jack Johnson Husqvarna 19:48:04
Walker Evans/Bruce Florio Dodge pickup 20:48:27
1980
Larry Roesler/Jack Johnson Yamaha 12:45:13
Mark Stahl Chenowth VW 13:33:55
1981
Scot Harden/Brent Wallingsford Husqvarna2017:14:05
Mark McMillin/Thomas Hoke Chenowth VW 20:29:14
1982
Al Baker/Jack Johnson Honda 17:25:27
Mickey Thompson/Terry Smith Raceco VW 19:40:23
1983
Dan Smith/Dan Ashcraft Husqvarna 14:48:10
Mark McMillin/Ralph Paxton Chenowth VW 20:29:14
1984 Chuck Miller/Randy Morales Honda 14:34:34
Mark McMillin/Ralph Paxton Chenowth VW 16:27:09
1985
Randy Morales/Derrick Paiement Honda 17:44:42
Steve Sourapas/Dave Richardson Raceco VW 17:54:55
1986
Bruce Ogilvie/Chuck Miller Honda 18:05:52
Mark McMillin/Ralph Paxton Chenowth Porsche 18:26:28
1987
Dan Ashcraft/Bruce Ogilvie Honda 12:02:14
Bob Gordon/Malcolm Smith Chenowth Porsche 13:15:04
1988
Paul Krause/Larry Roeseler/Danny LaPorte Kawasaki 17:53:16
Mark McMillin Chenowth Porsche 18:07:09
1989
Larry Roeseler/Danny LaPorte/Ted Hunnicutt Jr. Kawasaki 17:53:16
Robby Gordon Ford Pickup 18:04:07
1990
Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicutt Jr./Danny LaPorte Kawasaki 11:11:45
Bob Gordon/Robyn Gordon/Robby Gordon Chenowth Chevy 12:30:45
1991
Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicutt Jr./Marty Smith Kawasaki 13:35:25
Larry Ragland Chevrolet pickup 16:37:35
1992
Danny Hamel/Garth Sweetland/Paul Ostbo Kawasaki 16:50:12
Paul & Dave Simon Ford Ranger 16:53:02
1993
Ivan Stewart Toyota SR5 13:29:11
Danny Hamel/Larry Roeseler/Ty Davis Kawasaki 13:57:23
1994
Danny Hamel/Larry Roeseler/Ty Davis Kawasaki 10:20:47
Jim Smith (Trophy-Truck) Ford 10:28:56
Dave Ashley/Dan Smith Ford F-150 10:43:43
1995
Paul Krause/Ty Davis/Ted Hunnicutt Jr. Kawasaki 19:31:19
Larry Ragland (Trophy-Truck) Chevrolet 20:14:12
Dale White Chevy Truck 21:57:03
1996
Paul Krause/Ty Davis/Greg Zitterkopf Kawasaki 14:11:02
Larry Ragland (Trophy-Truck) Chevrolet 14:38:59
Ryan Thomas Chenowth 15:53:56
1997
Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab/Greg Bringle Honda 13:19:59
Larry Ragland (Trophy-Truck) Chevrolet 13:53:46
Doug Fortin Chenowth 14:31:02
1998
Johnny Campbell/Jimmy Lewis Honda 18:58:48
Ivan Stewart Toyota 19:08:20
1999
Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab Honda 14:15:42
Larry Ragland Chevy 14:26:36
2000
Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab/ Craig Smith, Steve Hengeveld Honda 30:54:12
Dan Smith/Dave Ashley Ford 32:15:39
2001
Johnny Campbell/Tim Staab Honda 13:51:40
Doug Fortin/Charlie Townsley Jimco Chevy 14:35:42
2002
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell/Andy Grider Honda 16:17:28
Dan Smith/DaveAshley  Ford 16:19:03
2003
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell Honda 15:39:52
Doug Fortin/Charlie Townsley Jimco Chevy 16:24:02
2004
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell/Kendall Norman, Honda 15:57:37
Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler, Smithbuilt-Ford 16:18:14
2005
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell/Mike Childress, Honda 14:20:30
Larry Roeseler/Troy Herbst, Smithbuilt-Ford 15:06:19
2006
Steve Hengeveld/ Mike Childress/Quinn Cody, Honda 18:17:50
Andy McMillin/Robby Gordon 19:15:17
2007
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Steve Hengeveld, Johnny Campbell, Honda 24:15:50
Mark Post/Rob MacCachren/Carl Renezeder, Ford 25:21:25
2008
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Johnny Campbell, Honda 12:29:10
Roger Norman/Larry Roeseler, Ford 12:40:33

Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
Total Overall Wins

Cars & Trucks:

Larry Roeseler* 13
Mark McMillin 5
Larry Ragland 5
Malcolm Smith** 5
Dan Smith*** 4
Dave Ashley 3
Doug Fortin Jr. 3
Robby Gordon 3
Ralph Paxton 3
Ivan Stewart 3
Dr. Bud Feldkamp 2
Bob Gordon 2
Troy Herbst 2
Parnelli Jones 2
Larry Minor 2
Mark Stahl 2
Vic Wilson 2
1
Walker Evans 1
Bobby Ferro 1
Rod Hall 1
Johnny Johnson 1
Rob MacCachren 1
Andy McMillin 1
Drino Miller 1
Roger Norman 1
Mark Post 1
Carl Renezeder 1
Dave Simon 1
Paul Simon 1
Jim Smith 1
Steve Sourapas 1
Ryan Thomas 1
Mickey Thompson 1
Dale White 1

*10 on Motorcycle
**2 on Motorcycle
***1 on Motorcycle

Motorcycles:

Johnny Campbell 11
Steve Hengeveld 7
Ty Davis 4
Ted Hunnicutt Jr. 4
Jack Johnson 4
Tim Staab 4
Danny Hamel 3
Paul Krause 3
Danny LaPorte 3
Gunnar Nilsson 3
Kendall Norman 3
Dan Ashcraft 2
Al Baker 2
Robby Bell 2
Mike Childress 2
Scot Harden 2

0D
Mitch Mayes
Chuck Miller
Randy Morales
Bruce Ogilvie
J.N. Roberts
Brent Wallingsford
1
A.C. Bakken
Larry Berquist
Bill Bowers
Greg Bringle
Gene Cannady
Quinn Cody
Robyn Gordon
Andy Grider
Jimmy Lewis
Paul Ostbo
Derrick Paiement
Mike Patrick
Gary Preston
Dave Richardson
Craig Smith
Marty Sm ith
Garth Sweetland
Rolf Tibblin
Greg Zitterkopf

Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
Overall Vehicle Wins

Cars & Trucks:
7
Ford Truck
6
Chevrolet Truck
5
Chenowth-VW
4
Ford Bronco
3
Chenowth-Porsche
2
Chenowth-Chevrolet
Funco-VW
Jimco-Chevy\
Raceco-VW
Smithbuilt-Ford
Toyota Truck
1
Miller-VW
Hi-Jumper-VW
Dodge Truck
Meyers Manx-VW

Motorcycles
19
Honda
11
Husqvarna
9
Kawasaki
2
Yamaha