Round four in the SCORE Championship series took us back to the Imperial Valley for the Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge. Paralleling the Laughlin race of old, the weekend started out with the Imperial Valley Big Air Challenge held in town at the local fairgrounds.

Sadly, many of the “stars” of the off-road nation did not attend, but the ones who did filled those shoes in quick fashion. Hometown boys Jeff Dickerson, Justin Lofton and Steven Eugenio went big and showed off for the record-setting crowd at the free event. Former ProTruck Champion Jeff Dickerson set a new record of 173 feet in his Class 1 car, beating the previous Laughlin Leap record of 161 feet.

Afterward the racers hung out with their fans, signed autographs and posed for pictures. Trophy Truck driver Steven Eugenio donated his $2000 in winnings to the Baja Hurricane Relief effort for the victims of Hurricane Odile.

Similar in format to the prior Laughlin event, the racers were treated to a 7-mile desert course connected to a 1-mile short-course infield. Racing was spread out over three days starting Friday evening and continuing throughout the weekend. The windy and dry conditions of the area played havoc on many of the racers, as this event was one of the dustiest racers seen in some time. Veteran racers were caught off guard, as conditions kept them from their normal race pace, which gave an advantage to those racers who were more comfortable in the heavy dust. Steven Eugenio won both the Heat 1 and the overall for the weekend, making this his first SCORE Trophy Truck win since joining the class just one year ago.

“We’re really happy with this win,” said Eugenio at the finish. “Some guys race for years without getting a class win in Trophy Truck, but here we are at the top of the box. That alone is an accomplishment, but to beat guys like Rob, Tavo and BJ, those guys are the best.

“I really need to thank my partner Steve Covey for his navigation skills – without him we wouldn’t be here. It was a gamble and I drove solely off of him. It takes a lot of trust. We've been racing together for a year now and we've built a relationship on trust, so when he calls a note I'm pretty confident that's what it is going to be. Also a big thank you to my wife and family for putting up with this obsession, and to my father in-law Fidel Galindo – without him none of this happens.”

Pulling in second for the weekend in Trophy Truck was Tavo Vildosola, who struggled with traffic and visibility issues during the race. 

“We ran a really clean first few laps and then started running into some really heavy lap traffic, and Steven (Eugenio) got around us in zero visibility,” Tavo said. “He knows his way around here and he did an excellent job. Yesterday we had a good run until we started catching up to the SCORE Trophy Truck Spec trucks and that slowed us down. He had a great run yesterday and put some time on us. We came in second place today and most importantly, leading the points going into the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. We are one step closer to getting that number one plate on our truck which has been a dream of our family and of the race team. We want to be the first Mexican national team to win an overall championship in SCORE Trophy Truck. We've won the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 and hopefully we will win it again and the overall championship. That would be the Cinderella story ending.”

Rounding out the podium in third place in Trophy Truck was BJ Baldwin.

“We ran a very good race, and I'm proud of my team and the truck was prepped to perfection,” Baldwin said. “I thought it was a great idea to have a medium-style short-course event for desert racing but unfortunately it didn't work out quite as well as planned, but we had a good weekend overall.

“I'm having kind of a rough year on finishes but third place is going to have to do for this weekend and that puts us back in the hunt for the championship, which is what I'm really happy about. I thought I was out of the points hunt this year because of some of the rough times I've had finishing races this year. I've really been focusing on the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 and really trying to prepare myself to solo the race and hopefully get three wins in a row there!”

Cody Parkhouse took first place in Class 1 for the weekend, furthering his points lead going into the Baja 1000.

“Yesterday I knew we would have a tough battle coming out of the infield, but luckily we got through first and led everybody around,” he said. “I was surprised because I thought we would be blinded by the dust but we were actually able to see a little bit by the reflections on the cones and the lights. If you were going perpendicular to the wind it would blow the dust right off. Today Justin Lofton pulled us into turn one but they had just watered the track down and he braked too late, went wide and we were able to tuck underneath. I knew if we could get him out of the infield he would have a really tough time coming through our dust to pass us. Luckily we got out in front, ran a clean race and passed a whole bunch of Class 10 cars. I've known Justin for a few years and I knew it would be tough and I knew he is fast so it mattered to get out of the infield first.”

Lofton was able to keep the race close but had to settle for second place in Class 1.

“This is an awesome event and the Imperial Valley is an awesome place to hold a race,” Lofton said. “We've got the best race fans anywhere and it's really cool that I get to go sleep in my own bed tonight. That makes it extra special. Aside from the conditions being just a little too dusty it's just an awesome racecourse and a lot of fun. These jumps over here were a blast. You never get to catch this much air. This is a lot of fun and we are looking forward to the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.”

Third in Class 1 unlimited field went to Rob Archibald, who had a really tough time seeing anything on day one, so much so that he ended up stopping to adjust his lights during the race.

“We started driving by Braille a little bit because we didn't have much light and they were pointed the wrong direction,” he said after day one. “We just tried to get through it and bring it home in one piece. We forgot to adjust two of the lights. Our upper lights were useless so we turned them off right away, but then the lower lights were pointed up and held all the dust right in front of us. I had to be intelligent about bringing the car back in one piece.”

After surviving day one, Archibald was able to earn a podium spot with a solid race on day two. “Today went a lot better,” he said. “Last night I had those lights that didn’t allow me to see so today I got to do my normal thing. The only change we made from the first segment was lowering the tire pressure.”

Justin Matney is still in the SCORE Class 1 points hunt after his fourth-place finish on the weekend. “Running behind (Cody) Parkhouse and Justin (Lofton) was a dust bowl and then we broke two bolts in the steering and ran a lap without steering,” he said. “We got back around to the pit and got the bolts replaced and came home for a finish. That's what really counts since we are in a championship running for the points.”

Other than the big dogs in Trophy Truck and Class 1 the Pro Moto class had a heated battle for the lead on both days. Colton Udall (above left) would take the win for the weekend narrowly beating out Ricky Brabec and Robby Bell on the Kawasaki. He entered the final day trailing slightly on time and had to make up the gap.

“I knew I had to beat Ricky by five and a half seconds today and I know they are a solid team so I just pinned it,” Udall said. “That was the most nervous I've been in a long time. If they had won this race all they would have to do is finish (the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 to win the championship.) I love settling (the championship) at the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. It is the ironman of races and I'm really looking forward to November. Building this team, preparing and giving Kawasaki a challenge is great. We've been working hard for a long time and it's paying off.

Brabec and Bell split their race evenly on both days to finish in the runner-up slot for the weekend.

“Ricky did an awesome job this morning, and when I got on the bike it took me a lap or two to get the flow of the course but I couldn't quite reel Udall in. We are looking forward to settling  (the championship) at the granddaddy of all events, the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.”

From here we move on to the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, where the Trophy Truck, Class 1 unlimited and Pro Moto Championships will all be settled. Who will it be? Keep an eye out for our coverage here on Off-Road.com