Motor Sports: SCORE and Sal Fish honored by DARPA

"Mission accomplished." With two words, Sal Fish accessed the nearly two years of assistance his SCORE International desert racing organization provided to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that culminated last week with the inaugural $1 million DARPA Grand Challenge for autonomous, robotic ground vehicles. Read on for the full story.

Supporting the pioneering project with nearly 200 personnel, SCORE helped oversee route development and logistics at venues in Fontana, Calif., Barstow, Calif., and Primm, Nev., along with three proposed routes between Barstow and Primm.

"It was truly a 'brave new world' for SCORE to be such an integral part of a trailblazing project like the DARPA Grand Challenge and from all the input we have received, SCORE provided invaluable assistance," said Sal Fish, CEO/President of Los Angeles-based SCORE International. "I am pleased that our SCORE crew was able to meet the challenge and equally honored that DARPA has recognized our contribution to their overall effort."

"When DARPA Director Dr. Anthony Tether announced at the final team dinner that DARPA could not have executed the Grand Challenge without SCORE, it was a shinning moment in SCORE history that I will never forget," Fish added. "For SCORE to be asked and then to fulfill its responsibilities so well relative to such an important national defense project speaks volumes about our experienced and dedicated SCORE staff. I've known for years how awesome our SCORE family of workers is, now a lot more people from around the world know what a great staff we have at SCORE. We look forward to helping DARPA achieve all of it's objectives with the Grand Challenge project."

Overseeing daily operations for the nearly 200 SCORE personnel involved with the ground operations and facility set-up was Paul Fish, SCORE's long-time Vice-President and Sal Fish's nephew. Paul Fish has been a part of SCORE in various capacities for nearly 15 total years. Paul Fish also coordinated the purchase and distribution of the massive equipment and supply inventory needed for this unique event.

DARPA drew on the innovative resources and vast experience of Fish to develop the game plan for executing this vital DARPA field exercise on the road to developing autonomous, robotic ground vehicles for military applications.

"SCORE came highly recommended to DARPA, and it didn't take more than our first meeting with Sal Fish to know we had made the right choice in securing the services of Sal and SCORE to help us execute this landmark event," said U.S. Air Force Col. Jose Negron, the DARPA Program Manager for the DARPA Grand Challenge. "Sal's incredible knowledge in a multitude of areas helped him and SCORE become extremely valuable consultants on this massive project. Sal and SCORE produced far and above our greatest expectations in route development and logistics support. We welcome the opportunity to have SCORE as part of future Grand Challenge projects."

SCORE also helped supervise the plan development and execution factors of the five-day Qualifying, Inspection and Demonstration (QID) at California Speedway in Fontana (March 8-12).

Fish was also a key player in identifying and securing the use of the start and finish line areas for the DARPA Grand Challenge. Not only the sites, but the temporary work facilities, security structures, electrical sources, communications access, public safety equipment, not to mention housing for over 500 total personnel involved with executing the DARPA Grand Challenge.

SCORE turned the historic Slash X Café near Barstow, Calif., into a formidable staging and launch area for the field test and the Buffalo Bill's Resort in Primm, Nev., into an appropriate Challenge Operations Center and potential finish-line area for the Grand Challenge.

In addition to helping DARPA identify and design a route that would be challenging, yet capable of being traversed by vehicles without a human driver, Sal Fish used his vast knowledge of diplomacy in the desert to deal with the numerous government, political, law enforcement, land owners and special interest groups who have been such vital parts of the permitting process for the DARPA Grand Challenge.

It was SCORE's vast experience and the relationships Sal Fish has developed in over 30 years in the desert that proved to be a most valuable resource for the DARPA Grand Challenge.

SCORE International, which produces and sanctions the five-race SCORE Desert Series, began in 1973 when it was founded by the late Mickey Thompson. SCORE continues today under the direction of Sal Fish as the leading sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing and is famous for its flagship event, the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. In 2004, SCORE began its 31st year of producing championship desert racing.

DARPA is the central research and development organization for the U.S. Department of Defense. The Agency manages and directs basic and applied research and development projects for the Department of Defense, and pursues research and technology where the risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions.

For photos and stories about the DARPA Grand-Challenge, see the official DARPA Grand Challenge web site. For more information on SCORE-International, visit the Score-International web site.