Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi to take shot at SCORE Baja 1000

Verizon IndyCar Series driver Alexander Rossi, the winner of the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016, will compete in November at the 51st SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race in Ensenada, Baja California in Mexico.

Rossi becomes the fifth different Indy 500 winner to compete in the famed off-road contest.

The other Indy 500 winners who have raced in the SCORE Baja 1000 and the year they won the Indy 500 are Parnelli Jones (1963), Rick Mears (1979, 1987, 1988, 1991), Danny Sullivan (1987) and Buddy Rice (2004). 

IndyCar season champions who have raced in the SCORE Baja 1000 are Mears, Sebastien Bourdais, Jimmy Vasser, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Paul Tracy.

Of the former IndyCar racers who have competed in the SCORE Baja 1000, only Parnelli Jones has wins in this race, having won in both 1971 and 1972.

The 27-year-old Rossi will share driving duties with Jeff Proctor in the No. 709 Honda Ridgeline. Rossi won three races, had eight podiums, earned three poles and had a series-high 321 passes while finishing second in the 2018 IndyCar Series point championship. 

The 29-year-old Proctoris from Glendora, California and won his class in the SCORE Baja 1000 in both 2015 and 2016 in his No. 709 Honda Ridgeline factory-supported race truck.

SCORE races have classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. Class 7 is the division for Unlimited, six-cylinder production appearing trucks or SUVs.

Over 300 entries, from 35 U.S. States and 20 countries are expected to compete in this year’s 51st anniversary celebration of the SCORE Baja 1000 which is revered worldwide as the granddaddy of all desert races.

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