...equipped with everything a 4 wheeler could want. Famed off road racer Rod Hall was a guest at the awrds banquet, and he also did the honor of drawing the winning tickets.

        Steve Andrews of Crestline, California was the recipient of this years’ Sweepstakes vehicle. “I still can’t believe I won,” said Andrews who owns a Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 along with a few other “project vehicles.” As a resident and frequent visitor to the trails in the San Bernardino mountains, Andrews said he bought a book of tickets for the vehicle while it was on display at the Off Road Expo in Pomona to “help support the cause,” and that he didn’t expect to win anything.
The cause to which Andrews refers is the ongoing battle to keep public land open to the public. One way CA4WDC uses the money raised from the ticket sales every year is to donate to legal battles being waged by people who would like to see our deserts and forests closed to any use be it 4x4, motorcycle, ATV or equestrian.
        Guest speakers for the Delegate meetings included Ed Waldheim, President of CORVA and recent appointee to the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division, Jim McGarvie, Executive Vice President of Off Road Business Association, and Del Albright of the Blue Ribbon Coalition. All of the guests spoke of the need for off highway vehicles users to pool their resources to fight land closures. CA4WDC President Bob Reed agreed saying, “When people ask me which organization to join, I tell them to join as many as possible. We are in this fight together.”
For more information on joining an organization, visit www.cal4wheel.com, www.corva.org, www.orba.biz, www.sdorc.org, www.sharetrails.org

New Hi-Lift Jack
Hi-Lift Jack Company, has designed a new product for 2004, that makes it easy to lift your late model SUV and truck from the wheel instead of the bumper while using your Hi-Lift Jack. This makes a lot of sense since most bumpers on modern vehicles are plastic and offer little support or durability. The new Lift-Mate has a lifting capacity of 5,000 lbs, with rubber coated hooks and pad to protect the wheel and tire. Hi-Lift Jack Company; (800) 233-2051; www.hi-lift.com

Ensenada to host Baja Races
LOS ANGELES—Ensenada,
Mexico, has been selected as site and host city of two of the oldest and most famous desert races in the world, it was confirmed by SCORE International, the world’s foremost desert racing sanctioning body. June’s 36th Annual SCORE Baja 500 will start and finish in Ensenada and November’s season-ending 37th Annual SCORE Baja 1000 peninsula run, the granddaddy of all desert races, will start in Ensenada.
While anticipated since last December, the contract was officially finalized and executed between SCORE and Ensenada government and tourism officials recently. The contract is being finalized for the SCORE Baja 1000 to be in La Paz, on the Sea of Cortez side of the foreboding Baja California peninsula.
        Round 3 of the five-race 2004 SCORE Desert Series will be held June 4-6 while the season-finale will be held Nov. 18-21. Ensenada is located on Todos Santos Bay on the Pacific Ocean side of the Baja California peninsula, 65 miles south of the U.S. Border near San Diego.
Host to more SCORE races than any other city on either side of the border, SCORE has made Ensenada the desert racing capital of the world. For the Baja 500, which averages about 250 starters, this will be the 31st time it has started and 28th time it has finished in Ensenada.
Averaging about 220 starters, this will be the 30th time the Baja 1000 has started in Ensenada.
Reflecting the sentiments of his city, Ensenada Mayor Dr. Jorge Antonio Catalan Sosa said, “Once again, the people and city government of Ensenada are pleased to host two more SCORE desert races. We are very thankful that SCORE has made Ensenada the home of the premier desert racing in the world. SCORE International and the City of Ensenada have had a wonderful relationship of over 30 years, and for that we thank Sal Fish and all of the SCORE racers and their crews.”
Both races, which feature 24 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, will start adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Convention Center in downtown Ensenada. The Baja 500 is scheduled to finish for the first time inside of the Deportivo Antonio Palacios baseball stadium at 9th Street and Guadalupe Avenue in the heart of Ensenada, the third largest city in Baja California.
The 36th Annual Baja 500 will be held June 4-6, in Ensenada. More than 250 vehicles, competing in 24 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, are expected to take the green flag in Ensenada on June 5.
        Besides these two races in Ensenada, the 2004 SCORE Desert Series schedule includes one completed race and two additional events. The season began on Jan. 15-18 at the 10th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in Laughlin, Nev., and continued Feb. 27-28 with the 18th Annual San Felipe 250 in Baja California, Mexico. In between the two races in Ensenada will be the 9th SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 Sept. 10-11 in Primm, Nevada.
        For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters (818) 225-8402 or visit the official website of the 2004 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-internional.com.

Multi-Purpose Ax
It’s been said, that all a person
needed to blaze through the new frontier was a good ax. Well, that thought still holds true even today. The MAX Multi Purpose Ax, is actually seven tools in one. The 3 ½ pound Hudson Bay style steel ax with a nice leather sheath is mated to a 36" composite poly glass handle which takes a beating even from novice ax campers. The attachment at the head of the ax offers the user an option to pick from several tools depending on the situation. The set includes a Broad pick, Pick, Mattock, and spade shovel. Forrest Tool Company: (707) 937-2141; www.maxax.com
 

Robotic truck to race across the desert — with no driver
COLUMBUS, Ohio – At 2.5 tons
and 9 feet high, the truck that Ohio State University engineers are about to race across the Mojave Desert could literally crush the competition. And it would do so without a driver.
        Of course, the truck won’t be squashing its rivals — the purpose of the competition is to design vehicles that can drive autonomously and avoid obstacles, rather than run them over.
With no human intervention and only global positioning system and local sensing data to guide it, the truck must find its way across the desert as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge, March 8-13.

        Ohio State will soon send the truck, dubbed TerraMax, to the headquarters of corporate sponsor Oshkosh Truck Corp. in Wisconsin. There, it will be given a new paint job for the race. Then the truck will head to California, where a week of tests and qualifying rounds will culminate in a day-long race from Barstow to Las Vegas.
        DARPA, a research unit of the U.S. Department of Defense, hopes to use American engineers’ competitive spirit to uncover next-generation military technology. The team whose vehicle is first to cross the finish line within 10 hours — while still performing certain tasks, such as passing under a bridge and avoiding collisions — will receive $1 million in research funding.
The six-wheeled truck is by far the largest vehicle in the race — others range in size from dune buggies to SUVs. In fact, the Ohio State team had to remove part of the truck’s cab to meet DARPA’s height restrictions.
        But to Umit Ozguner, professor of electrical engineering and TRC Inc. Chair on Intelligent Transportation Systems, the truck’s on-board computer and sensor system are what will really set it apart.
        “We have a lot of experience developing technologies for the automated highway,” Ozguner said, referring to Ohio State’s extensive research into traffic control systems and intelligent vehicles. “Here we’re leaving the highway entirely and going off-road, where anything can happen.”
And while Ozguner would like to see his team return home with the $1 million prize, he’s the first to say that winning isn’t the point.
        “It’s not about who comes in first or second, it’s about whether this can even be done,” he said.
A ten-hour trek across the Mojave’s Death Valley would be a difficult task even for an experienced human driver, he explained. Six on-board computers — each not too different from the hardware found in a standard desktop PC — will detect and map the rugged desert terrain ahead, and decide when to speed up, slow down, turn, and change gears.
        Aside from providing the military-grade truck, Oshkosh is partnering with the Ohio State team on the technology to make it work, as are scientists from the Artificial Vision and Intelligent Systems Lab at the Universita Degli Studi di Parma, Italy. The system is being developed at OSU by a team that includes eleven graduate students. Keith Redmill, a research scientist with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department is in charge of integration. Charles Toth from Ohio State’s Center for Mapping is coordinating the mapping and route planning activity.
        Sponsors on the project include the Transportation Research Center, Inc.; Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, LLC; the Bosch Group; Raytheon; and the Honda/OSU Partnership.
Ohio State was the first university to begin an intelligent transportation program, and has been participating in related research since the 1960s. Some automated car technologies first studied at the university are now making their way into luxury automobiles, which feature advanced cruise control and collision avoidance systems.
        Ozguner feels that even more advanced technologies, such as those his team used in the TerraMax truck, could enter mainstream automobiles as soon as five or ten years from now.
“Although the demands of the final system are extremely high, individual technologies are available. This is not blue sky stuff,” Ozguner said. “It is very much close to reality.”
        The engineers were hard-pressed to find terrain in the Ohio State campus area that could challenge the TerraMax truck. Tests in California during the week before the qualifying rounds will be necessary to show what the truck can really do.

AMA Supercross Series Revised Broadcast Schedule on ESPN2
AURORA, Ill. (February 17, 2003) - Clear Channel Entertainment’s Motor Sports division announced today the revised broadcast schedule of THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercross Series on ESPN2. The remaining schedule is as follows:
ESPN2 Broadcast Schedule
125cc Sunday 3/14/2004 4:00 PM ET Edward Jones Dome St.Louis, MO
250cc Sunday 3/14/2004 6:00 PM ET Edward Jones Dome St.Louis, MO
125cc Saturday 3/27/2004 12:00 PM ET RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN
250cc Saturday 3/27/2004 1:00 PM ET RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN
125cc Sunday 4/4/2004 1:00 PM ET Silverdome Pontiac, MI
250cc Sunday 4/4/2004 2:00 PM ET Silverdome Pontiac, MI
125cc Sunday 4/18/2004 3:00 PM ET Texas Stadium Irving, TX
250cc Sunday 4/18/2004 4:00 PM ET Texas Stadium Irving, TX
125cc Sunday 4/25/2004 10:00 PM ET Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT
250cc Sunday 4/25/2004 11:00 PM ET Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT
125cc Sunday 5/2/2004 12:00 PM ET Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV
250cc Sunday 5/2/2004 1:00 PM ET Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV
** Schedule subject to change **
For more information, or to purchase tickets, please log on to supercross.cc.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Carlsbad Raceway Update
Coast Racing reports there will no longer be a head count at the front gate at Carlsbad Raceway and reservations are no longer needed.
        Motocross practice is being held on the new Upper Track. This track loves big bore four strokes, like going fast! The uphill on this track is 1100 ft long 5th gear pinned!
CRA is working with the landlord trying to put together a six race grand prix series that will start in March.
        On practice days (call for dates) Gates open at 10am, riding from 11am - 4pm, no minors, 18 and up! Carlsbad Gate fee:$15.00 / CRA Track Fee $25.00 For last minute weather update for practice call that morning 760 722 6639
        Christmas race results are posted at our web site www.coast-racing.com Trophy pickup 15th at Motopro in Oceanside 760 433-4333
        Carlsbad Raceway Future? Who knows our lease is month to month, so enjoy it while it lasts. [email protected] 760-722-6639

San Diego Off Road Magazine Gives Away
Off Road Goodies
Donations from Duncan Racing, San Diego Sportcycle, Cycle Parts West and Motoworld of El Cajon made this an off road goodie bag worth having.
        At the San Diego Off Road Exposition held at Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, Feb 7-8, anyone who showed up wearing a San Diego Off Road Magazine T-shirt and/or purchased a subscription to the magazine at the Expo was entered into a drawing for this collection of off road items valued at nearly $300.
        The bag included a 4WD video, Great Outdoors DVD, motocross socks, lots of T-shirts, tie-downs, stickers, toys, and a variety of other items valuable to your off road experience.
The lucky drawing winner was Mark Garrett of San Diego.

Henderson officials move annual off-road race to winter
Henderson, Nev. - Henderson’s Terrible 300 Desert Race will see changes this year, officials from the Henderson Convention and Visitors Bureau announced recently. Due to the extreme heat drivers faced during the past two races – both held in July with temperatures as high as 120 degrees – organizers have worked to move this year’s race to December.
        Best in the Desert Racing Association will both produce and sanction the event, which will add 50 miles to the race as well as reintroduce motorcycles and ATV’s to the existing line up of cars, trucks and buggies. Last year’s race did not include motorcycles and ATV’s.
        Henderson’s Terrible 300 (formerly SCORE Henderson’s Terrible 250) takes place in the Eldorado Valley located between Henderson and Boulder City. Originally produced by SCORE International and sponsored by the Henderson Convention and Visitors Bureau, Herbst Gaming and the city of Boulder City, the race had run into difficulties due to two consecutive years of record heat. The race was to be re-scheduled for 2005 until officials from SCORE International, Herbst Gaming and the Henderson Convention and Visitors Bureau discussed the future of the race and decided to work together on a new type of event that would not be hindered by the heat.
        ”We cannot thank SCORE International and its chief executive officer Sal Fish enough for starting this race,” said Bud Pico, manager of tourism and sales for the Henderson Convention and Visitors Bureau. “And we look forward to continuing our relationship with SCORE International and Herbst Gaming through our new venture.” The new producer of the Henderson’s Terrible 300 –Best in the Desert Racing Association – is well known for its events throughout the southwest. Led by Casey Folks, Best in the Desert Racing Association is the producer of a six-race series that includes such popular races as the Parker 425 in Parker, Ariz., The Terrible’s Town 250 in Pahrump, Nev., sponsored by Herbst Gaming; and the TSCO Vegas to Reno, the longest desert race in the United States.
        ”We are excited to be able to continue the race and we are equally excited to be working with Best in the Desert Racing Association,” Pico said. “We also thank the city of Boulder City for their past and continued support of Henderson’s Terrible 300 Desert Race.”
        With the re-addition of motorcycles and ATV’s, the number of vehicle entries for the race is expected to reach 200 this year. Details and pre-race activities are still being finalized. However, a tentative schedule includes: Dec. 2, Qualifying for starting positions and course reconnaissance; Dec. 3, Sponsors Midway and pre-race party; Dec. 4, Race Day; and Dec. 5, Awards Celebration.
For more information regarding Henderson’s Terrible 300, visit www.bitd.com. For more information on the Henderson Convention and Visitors Bureau, call (702) 267-2171, or toll free (877) 775-5252.