Motor Sports: Herbst brothers highlight 2002 desert racing season

For anyone but Terrible Herbst Motorsports, a terrible racing season would be one to forget. But for Las Vegas' brothers Ed, Tim and Troy Herbst, the 2002 Optima SCORE Desert Series will be remembered as only being terrible to all the racers they defeated during the grueling six-race season.

While older brothers Ed and Tim were winning the season championship of the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division for a record third time, Troy was busy etching his name in granite in the SCORE records books while capturing both the unlimited Class 1 and the 2002 SCORE Overall point championships.

With little time to enjoy their latest championship trophies, the Herbsts along with the rest of the SCORE racing community are preparing for the 2003 SCORE Desert Series opener which is less than a month away. The 9th annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge will be held on Jan. 16-19 along the banks of the Colorado river in the Southern Nevada destination resort of Laughlin. SCORE will celebrate its 30th season of championship desert racing in 2003.

The youngest of three brothers on the Terrible Herbst Motorsports team, Troy Herbst, 36, has forged an unparalleled SCORE desert racing record the last six seasons. Since 1997, Herbst has now won the unlimited Class 1 title for an unmatched six consecutive years and the coveted SCORE Overall point championship for a record four times.

He also won the overall crown in 1997, 1998 and 2000 and was second the other two years in his Ford-powered Smithbuilt open-wheel desert race car. During this streak, Troy Herbst has won his class in 12 races and his class has the most entries at the majority of the SCORE races.

Finishing second in the season opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in January, third in the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in March and combined with his overall and unlimited Class 1 win at the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 in June, his sixth-place finish at the SCORE Henderson's Terrible 250 in July, his 10th in September at the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300, Herbst earned his latest crown with a third place finish in Class 1 (fourth overall) in last month's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

SCORE points are determined both on final finishing position and number of vehicles which started the race within the individual class. After six events, Herbst earned 376 points, 31 more than his older brothers, who finished second overall in their Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck.

"You can't win four SCORE overall point championships without an entire family behind you," said Troy Herbst, whose Terrible Herbst Motorsports team was voted by the SCORE membership as the 2002 SCORE Entry Sponsor of the Year. "I'm fortunate to behind the wheel and have such an incredibly dedicated family, team and race crew behind me. I also wouldn't have won without Larry Roeseler, a great, great desert racer who drove some of both the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 1000 with me."

Third in overall points in America's Foremost Desert Racing Series, just three points behind the SCORE Trophy-Truck of Ed Herbst, 41, and Tim Herbst, 39, was Scott Steinberger, Cypress, Calif., who finished second in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the Ford F-150 he bought from the Herbsts before the start of this season.

Finishing fourth in overall points and winning the Stock Full class was John Griffin, Mission Viejo, Calif. (AM General Hummer), with 341 points while fifth was Dale Ebberts, Canyon Lake, Calif., who finished second in Class 1 (Jimco-Toyota), with 338.

The next five in the overall point standings, separated by just 25 points, were all class point champions.

Sixth overall with 336 points was Class 7S champion Dan Fresh, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., in a Jeep Comanche, while seventh in overall points with 336, one point ahead of seventh place Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif., who won the Class 10 title in a BMW-powered Jimco.

Eighth overall was Class 5/1600 champion Allan Gregory, Alpine, Calif. (VW Baja Bug) with 330; ninth was Class 1-2/1600 winner Brian Jeffrey, Acton, Calif. (Lothringer-VW) with 321, while 10th overall was Class 11 titlist Eric Solorzano, Ensenada, Mexico (VW Sedan) with 311 championship points.

While it was Christensen's, second title as a SCORE racer (1998 was the other), it marked the first time in SCORE's long history that a BMW-powered vehicle won a SCORE class point championship.

Jeffrey, 40, also won the $12,000 purse of the Toyota True Grit awards which goes to the winners of non-factory-backed SCORE classes who completed every required mile of the six races in the 2002 Optima SCORE Desert Series.

Winning the featured motorcycle class 22 and the 2002 SCORE overall motorcycle point title was the undefeated (four wins) team of Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif./Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif. (Class 22, Honda XR650R). It was fifth SCORE Class 22 championship for Campbell and the second straight for Hengeveld.

Las Vegas' Jimmy Stephensen and his co-rider Mike Cafro, Carlsbad, Calif., won Class 25 and were the 2002 SCORE overall ATV point leaders on their Honda 250R.

Among the other 2002 SCORE car and truck class point champions were: Nick Vanderwey, Buckeye, Ariz. (Class 8, GMC Sierra); Ken Stroud, Alpine, Calif. (SCORE Lite, Raceco-VW); Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif. (Class 3, Ford Bronco), Bob Land, Lake Forest, Calif. (Stock Mini, Isuzu Rodeo Sport) and Eric Fisher, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 9, Garibay Challenger-VW).

Troy Herbst, Steinberger, Ebberts, Fresh and Jeffrey were also among just seven racers (out 581 total) who earned Toyota Milestone Awards for finishing every required race mile in 2002. The others were: Jake Maness, Redstone, Colo. (Class 1-2/1600), and John Griffin, Mission Viejo, Calif. (Stock Full).

There were four different winners in six races in SCORE Trophy-Truck for 750-horsepower-plus unlimited production trucks which had a record 21 entries in the season-ending Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Despite winning the first two races (Laughlin and San Felipe) and the last (Tecate SCORE Baja 1000), defending series point champions Dan Smith and David Ashley, Riverside, Calif., finished third in final points in their Optima Ford F-150. Winning the three other SCORE races this season were the teams of Mark Miller, Carefree, Ariz./Larry Ragland, Phoenix in a Chevy Silverado (Tecate SCORE Baja 500), Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Jerry Welchel, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., in a Ford F-150 (SCORE Henderson's Terrible 250) and the Herbst brothers (SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300).

SCORE official sponsors for 2002 were: Optima Batteries-title sponsor of the series and official battery, BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Southern California Ford Dealers-official vehicle, 76 Racing Fuel-official fuel and Rental Service Corporation-official equipment supplier. Associate sponsors were: Tecate Beer, Coca Cola of Mexico, Bilstein Shocks, Insant Mexico Auto Insurance, Downey Off-Road, Signpros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's, Rancho Suspensions, Off-Road Innovations and Advanced Color Graphics.

Pro Cars & Trucks

SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (30 Total Racers): 1 Ed Herbst/Tim Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 345; 2. Scott Steinberger, Cypress, Calif., Ford F-150, 342; 3. Dan Smith/David Ashley, Riverside, Calif., Ford F-150, 294.

CLASS 1 (47 Total Racers): 1. Troy Herbst, Las Vegas, Smithbuilt Ford, 376; 2. Dale Ebberts, Canyon Lake, Calif., Jimco-Toyota, 338; 3. Chuck Hovey, Escondido, Calif., Jimco-Chevy, 279.

PROTRUCK (25 Total Racers): 1. Steve Barlow, Temecula, Calif., Ford F-150, 289; 2. Alan Pflueger, Honolulu, Chevy Silverado, 280; 3. Rick D. Johnson, Barstow, Calif., Ford F-150, 186.

CLASS 1-2/1600 (37 Total Racers): 1. Brian Jeffrey, Acton, Calif., Lothringer-VW, 321; 2. Jake Maness, Redstone, Colo., Jimco-VW, 307; 3. Kash Vessels, Tucson, Ariz., Chenowth-VW, 295.

CLASS 3 (9 Total Racers): 1. Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif., Ford Bronco, 291; 2. Rich Severson, Mesa, Ariz., Jeep Cherokee, 70.

CLASS 5 (8 Total Racers): 1. George Seeley Jr., Glendale, Calif., VW Baja Bug, 282; 2. Larry McCallum, Imperial, Calif., VW Baja Bug, 105.

CLASS 5/1600 (44 Total Racers): 1. Allan Gregory, Alpine, Calif., VW Baja Bug, 330; 2. Rob Taylor, San Diego, VW Baja Bug, 267; 3. Ruben Guitierrez Jr., Hemet, Calif., VW Baja Bug, 263.

CLASS 7 (18 Total Racers): 1. Craig Turner, Yorba Linda, Calif., Ford Ranger, 268; 2. Perry McNeil, Lemon Grove, Calif., Ford Ranger, 172; 3.Hector Salazar, Chula Vista, Calif., Ford Ranger, 126.

CLASS 7S (19 Total Racers): 1. Dan Fresh, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Jeep Comanche, 336; 2. Doug Siewert, Oceanside, Calif., Chevy S 10, 253; 3. Eric Hardin, Anaheim, Calif., GMC Sonoma, 240.

CLASS 8 (24 Total Racers): 1. Nick Vanderwey, Buckeye, Ariz., GMC Sierra, 275; 2. Joe Patelli, Romoland, Calif., Chevy Blazer, 194; 3. Benny Canela, Indio, Calif., Ford F-150, 151.

CLASS 9 (18 Total Racers): 1. Eric Fisher, Ensenada, Mexico, Garibay Challenger-VW, 275; 2. Arturo Velazco, Beaumont, Calif., Chenowth VW, 267; 3.Tony Modica, Long Beach, Calif., Chenowth-VW, 180.

CLASS 10 (47 Total Racers): 1. Martin Christensen, Escondido,Calif., Jimco-BMW, 335; 2. Eli Yee, Tijuana, Mexico, Jimco-Honda, 294; 3. Steve Myers, Newport Beach, Calif., Jimco-Toyota, 288.

SCORE LITES (35 Total Racers): 1. Ken Stroud, Alpine, Calif., Jimco VW, 291; 2. Tom Ridings, Long Beach, Calif., Mirage-VW, 258; 3. Jerry Penhall, Costa Mesa, Calif., Penhall-VW, 184.

CLASS 11 (8 Total Racers): 1. Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, VW Sedan, 311; 2. Fernando Flores, Mexicali, Mexico, VW Sedan, 99; 2. Garth Ankey, Portland, Ore., VW Sedan, 99.

STOCK FULL (9 Total Racers): 1. John Griffin, Mission Viejo, CA, AM General Hummer, 341; 2. Kevin Conlin, Riverside, Calif., Ford F 250, 134; 3. Chad Hall/Rod Hall, Reno, AM General Hummer, 105.

STOCK MINI (4 Total Racers): 1. Bob Land, Lake Forest, Calif., Izusu Rodeo, 227; 2. Chris Bainum, Colton, Calif., Kia Sportage, 108.

Pro Motorcycles

CLASS 21 (10 Total Racers): 1. Eddie Zeller, Coronado, Calif., Yamha YZ350F, 245; 2. Joe Desrosiers, San Marcos, Calif., Yamaha WR250F, 201.

CLASS 22 (27 Total Racers): 1. Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif/Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif., Honda XR650R, 289; 2. Brian Pinard, Murrieta, Calif., Honda XR650, 190; 3. Jose Meza, Fresno, Calif., Honda XR650R, 188.

CLASS 30 (16 Total Racers): 1. Kevin Ward, Chatsworth, Calif., Honda XR650R, 272; 2. Jim O'Neal, Chatsworth, Calif., Honda XR650, 190.

CLASS 40 (10 Total Racers): 1. Jim O'Neal, Chatsworth, Calif., Honda XR650, 265; 2. Sam Dempsey, Van Nuys, Calif., Honda XR650, 140.

CLASS 50 (2 Total Racers): 1. Richard Jackson, Acton, Calif., Honda XR650R, 165.

Pro ATVs

CLASS 24 (5 Total Racers): 1. Luis Navarro, Chula Vista, Calif., Honda 250R, 49.

CLASS 25 (23 Total Racers): 1. Jimmy Stephensen, Las Vegas/Mike Cafro, Carlsbad, Calif., Honda 400EX, 272; 2. John Gregory, Chula Vista, Calif., Honda Rincon, 256.

Sportsman

CARS (16 Total Racers): 1. Gordon Frevel, San Diego, VW Baja Bug, 202.

TRUCKS (7 Total Racers): 1. Mark Floyd, Midland, Texas, AM General Hummer, 106.

MOTORCYCLES MOTORCYCLES >250cc (47 Total Racers): 1. Bobby Black, Stockton, Calif., Honda XR650R, 293.

ATVs (12 Total Racers): 1. Steve Willenberg, Lakeside, Calif., Honda 250R, 260.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.