In 2011, Menzies and co-driver Pete Mortensen drew the No. 1 starting position and led the top class trophy trucks throughout the nine-hour race. They finished more than 10 minutes ahead of the next-fastest trophy truck finisher.

The team, which rides on KMC wheels, won’t start first in 2012. But they are up to the challenge posed by a talented field and notoriously tough terrain. So far, a total of 38 trophy trucks — the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850 horsepower, unlimited production trucks — are on the entry list for the Tecate SCORE Baja 500.

Menzies joins a list of former winners expected to compete including Andy and Scott McMillin (2010), who also ride on KMC wheels, B.J. Baldwin (2008), Brian Collins (2006, 2007), Robby Gordon (2005), Alan Pflueger (2004) and Curt LeDuc (1995).

With late entries accepted up to race morning, the 44th running of the contest is expected to feature competitors from 30 U.S. States, and 10 countries.

The green flag is set to drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday, June 2, for the motorcycle and ATV classes, followed by the car and truck classes three hours after the last ATV — at approximately 10 a.m.

The elapsed-time competition will start and finish in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Boulevard Costero in the heart of Ensenada, leaving and returning into the city through the always spectator-laden Arroyo Wash.

In addition to season class point championships, racers are also competing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race, along with the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards. Categories will be determined by public on-line voting and season points.

For 2012 Menzies Motorsports has a packed competition schedule, with a return to short course and desert competition, including the SCORE Baja 500, BITD Vegas To Reno and SCORE’s Baja 1000.

About Menzies Motorsports

Established in 2007 by Las Vegas businessman Steve Menzies, the Menzies Motorsports squad has become one of the most prominent forces in off-road racing. The team racked up a series of accolades in 2011, including championship titles in the SCORE Trophy Truck Championship and the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. Driver Bryce Menzies, 24, was also recognized as Dirt Sports Magazine’s Rider of the Year.

About KMC

KMC designs, produces and distributes one-piece wheels for the automotive aftermarket and off-road race industry. Founded in 1982, KMC has a 30-year legacy of delivering unsurpassed product quality at competitive prices. KMC is owned today by Wheel Pros and its products are sold worldwide in more than 20 countries on four countries and through a U.S. network of more than 25,000 authorized dealers. KMC is a proud sponsor of the Menzies Motorsports team.

Emerging from the No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota after a practice session on the track, the driver told reporters that it was the “most scared I’ve been in a vehicle, in anything with a roll cage for sure.”

He did two complete spins during his practice session, but was able to keep his car out of the wall. Pastrana, whose NASCAR program is partly sponsored by KMC, is new to the series. He took a 22nd-place finish at his debut outing in the Nationwide series last month.

In preparation for the race, the 11-time X Games gold medalist has been working with NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer David Pearson.

“I’m still learning the sport of NASCAR so to get some great advice from a legend like Mr. Pearson was extremely beneficial for me,” said Pastrana. Pearson, who owns 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins and 12 pole positions at Darlington Raceway, educated the 28-year-old rookie on how to master driving the 1.366-mile South Carolina track, dubbed “Too Tough to Tame.”

Pastrana made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut April 27th at Richmond International Raceway. He started 25th and finished 22nd.

He said he’s been awed at his welcome into the NASCAR community and is grateful for the support of big names in the sport including Jimmie Johnson, Matt Crafton and Ryan Truex.

“It’s just amazing all these people are willing to help me when they have to race against me each week,” said Pastrana, who started his racing career on two wheels. “In motocross you never told another competitor your secrets. It just wasn’t part of the culture.”

Pastrana will race under the RAB Racing banner during the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. Scott Zipadelli served as Pastrana’s crew chief Friday night at Darlington Raceway. In eight NASCAR starts Pastrana has one top-10 and two top-15 finishes. He has a career-best finish of sixth at the Toyota All-Star Showdown in January 2011.

SOURCE: Pastrana 199 Racing

In preparation for the race, the 11-time X Games gold medalist has been working with NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer David Pearson.

“I’m still learning the sport of NASCAR so to get some great advice from a legend like Mr. Pearson was extremely beneficial for me,” said Pastrana.

Pearson, who owns 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins and 12 pole positions at Darlington Raceway, educated the 28-year-old rookie on how to master driving the 1.366-mile South Carolina track, dubbed “Too Tough to Tame.”

Pastrana made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut April 27th at Richmond International Raceway. He started 25th and finished 22nd. He said he’s been awed at his welcome into the NASCAR community and is grateful for the support of big names in the sport including  Jimmie Johnson, Matt Crafton and Ryan Truex.

“It’s just amazing all these people are willing to help me when they have to race against me each week,” said Pastrana, who started his racing career on two wheels. “In motocross you never told another competitor your secrets. It just wasn’t part of the culture.”

Pastrana will race under the RAB Racing banner during the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.  Scott Zipadelli will serve as Pastrana’s crew chief Friday night at Darlington Raceway.

In eight NASCAR starts Pastrana has one top-10 and two top-15 finishes. He has a career-best finish of sixth at the Toyota All-Star Showdown in January 2011. Coverage of the Darlington event airs on Friday on ESPN2 starting at 8:30 a.m. Full race coverage begins at 7 p.m.

SOURCE: Pastrana 199 Racing 

Tickle had a successful night and continued his streak of top-10 finishes in the Supercross Class. He grabbed a third-place finish in his heat, and was feeling confident as the Main Event approached. He started mid-pack in the main, but was easily making passes for positions. He made some headway and propelled from ninth to seventh in one corner, eventually nailing down the sixth-place spot by the time the checkered flag waved. He is currently 10th in the Supercross Class point standings.

Wilson arrived in Salt Lake City recovering from a shoulder injury sustained at the previous race in Seattle. He was only four points out of the lead in the Supercross Lites West Region, and was hoping to close the gap between him and Eli Tomac. Wilson was cautious as he went out for his first timed practice, but was feeling confident that he could focus on the task at hand. He posted the second-fastest lap time, but went down hard shortly thereafter. It was unclear to the team as to whether Wilson would be able to race that night, but it was later decided that he was feeling well enough to tough it out, and Wilson lined up for the Supercross Lites West Main Event. He easily navigated into podium position territory after the gate dropped, and it was looking as if he would grab a podium finish. Then, disaster struck. Wilson went down hard in the whoops and was unable to finish the race. The championship chase is now over, as Eli Tomac managed to clinch the title in Salt Lake City, but Wilson is still second in points, despite the DNF.

The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki race team now prepares for the final round of Monster Energy Supercross, which will be held in Las Vegas this Saturday, May 5. Wilson still sits second overall in the Supercross Lites West Region, while Tickle is only five points away from ninth overall in the Supercross Class.

Make sure you follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the most up-to-date info on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team.

About Pro Circuit
Based in Corona, Calif., Pro Circuit Products, Inc. is a leader in off-road motorcycle and ATV exhausts and aftermarket performance parts. Started in 1978, Pro Circuit is the go to shop for recreational riders and professionals for everything from suspension work to complete engine packages, and everything in between.

Created by former desert racer Mitch Payton, Pro Circuit proves its products and services week-in and week-out through its tagline “We Race.” Every product that dons the Pro Circuit stamp stems from the legendary Pro Circuit race team. A staple in the professional paddock, Pro Circuit Racing has earned 28 AMA championships and more than 200 race wins in more than 30 years of competition.

KMC is one a proud supporter of the Pro Circuit team.

SOURCE: Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Team

The 11-time X Games gold medal winner qualified 25th and raced as high as 16^th during the 250-lap event. Despite falling a lap behind the leaders at the lap 180-mark, the RAB Racing driver looked poised to grab a top-15 finish. However, a pit lane speeding penalty during the race’s final stop forced a return to pit lane and dropped him another lap to the leaders.

“The result wasn’t what we wanted, but to be perfectly honest — I felt pretty good out there,” said Pastrana. “You know we weren’t a top-10 car, but for a while we were closing in on what could have been a top-15 before I messed up the pits.”

This is a long-awaited debut in the NASCAR Nationwide series for Pastrana, who thanked sponsors including KMC to ESPN reporters after the race. He was originally set to start his NASCAR career last summer, but was injured in a big crash in the X Games Best Trick competition and had to delay his plans. He said he’s enjoying racing against big names in his new sport.

“We passed (Brad) Keselowski at one point and I was like, ‘That’s awesome.’”

Kurt Busch won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond. Pastrana returns to action in No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota at Darlington Speedway on May 11. The Pastrana NASCAR Nationwide program is backed by iRacing, Boost Mobile, Toyota, Samsung and KMC Wheels.

SOURCE: Pastrana Waltrip Racing

The 28-year-old action sports star will also run in Thursday’s K&N Pro Series East race in Pastrana199’s No. 99 iRacing Toyota.

The 11-time X Games gold medal winner expects to run in seven Nationwide Series races in 2012 with RAB Racing, who formed a Nationwide alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing this month.

He says he plans to take a moderate approach to his rookie Nationwide season.

“Last year I was way too aggressive,” said Pastrana. “I need to be really good on the restarts and qualifying. My goal is to be on the lead lap at the end of the race. If we can do that and not crash, it would set a lot of confidence for me going into Darlington.”

RAB Racing will change its current No. 09 number to the No. 99 starting this weekend.  The team has competed in five Nationwide Series events at Richmond since their inaugural year of competition in 2009 and has three top-20 finishes, including a best showing of fifth in 2011.

KMC Wheels is a sponsor of Pastrana’s motorsport efforts. The driver will also pilot a Dodge Dart in the Global Rallycross Championship and at X Games in 2012.

In seven NASCAR starts Pastrana has one top-10 and two top-15 finishes. He has a career-best finish of sixth at the Toyota All-Star Showdown in January 2011.

Originally scheduled to run Nationwide in 2011, Pastrana’s career in the series was delayed to this Friday after he broke his ankle and foot during a Motocross Best Trick contest at X Games.

Mike Greci will serve as Pastrana’s crew chief during the NASCAR K&N Pro East Series race while Scott Zipadelli will serve as his crew chief in the Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway

Thursday night’s NASCAR K&N East Series race will air live on SPEED starting at 7 p.m. ET while the NASCAR Nationwide race will air Friday night live on ESPN2 starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.

SOURCE: Pastrana Waltrip Racing

Ricky Johnson, of El Cajon, Calif., picked up a pair of PRO 4 race wins in both of his contests this weekend, while teammate Bryce Menzies, of Las Vegas, Nev., earned victory in the PRO 2 category on Saturday and third a night earlier.

Jonhson had to battle Adrian Cenni for his Saturday win after the race started with the rival No. 11 truck in first position. Cenni stayed out front for a few laps, but Johnson quickly moved up through the field, claiming the lead on lap 9 as Cenni started developing a flat tire. When the lap 9 mandatory caution came out, Cenni was able to benefit, going to the pits to change his tire and remaining on the lead lap.

“I just really want to thank the whole team,” said Johnson. “(I want to) congratulate Adrian, he drove a great race. It was awesome out there. Adrian and I got into each other and he had to go in and change those Maxxises but I had (confidence) in our BFGs. We stayed out there and we pulled it off. I think BFG definitely deserves this win.”

Defending PRO 2 champion Menzies was able to claim the victory in the second PRO 2 race of the season after finishing third the previous night.

“We had a fast truck all weekend and I led the whole thing Friday and just pulled a bonehead move and screwed up by myself, but we knew we were going to come back today and just do it for my whole team and my crew – they deserve it,” said Menzies. “So I’m just super stoked to put this thing on the top of the box. I couldn’t do it without everybody who supports me.”

Menzies started in fourth place Saturday but was up to second by lap 4, tracking down the No. 9 of Chad Hord. Menzies caught the bumper of Hord and attempted to take the lead on lap 7, but was unsuccessful.

After the mandatory lap 9 caution, Menzies and Hord raced side-by-side, making contact. Menzies was able to slide by and get away from Hord as he cruised on to win the race. Hord finished second and CJ Greaves followed behind in third.

The KMC-backed Johnson and Menzies will next travel to Buchanan, Michigan, for contests May 26-27 at Red Bud.

Unofficial Results:

PRO 2: 1. Bryce Menzies; 2. Chad Hord; 3. CJ Greaves; 4. Jeff Kincaid; 5. Steve Barlow; 6. Mike Jenkins; 7. Jamie Grosser; 8. Mike Oberg; 9. Andrew Caddell; 10. Dan Schlieper.

PRO 4: 1. Ricky Johnson; 2. Adrian Cenni; 3. Scott Douglas; 4. Mike Jenkins; 5. Mark Jenkins; 6. Johnny Greaves.

“I just got released from the doctor to start riding,” said Rattray. “I’m so pumped! I’m going back in another three weeks for a check up, but he says all will be ok. Time to get ready for some hot races!”

Make sure you follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the most up-to-date info on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team.

About Pro Circuit

A staple in the professional paddock, Pro Circuit Racing has earned 28 AMA championships and more than 200 race wins in more than 30 years of competition.

Based in Corona, Calif., Pro Circuit Products, Inc. is a leader in off-road motorcycle and ATV exhausts and aftermarket performance parts. Created by former desert racer Mitch Payton, Pro Circuit proves its products and services week-in and week-out through its tagline “We Race.” Every product that dons the Pro Circuit stamp stems from the legendary Pro Circuit race team.

April brought more than showers to the west coast as the team departed for Charlotte on Saturday morning and 3 hours later they found themselves driving into an April snowstorm. After being stuck in Arizona for several hours sitting in traffic due to the snow and an overturned semi, they finally got back to full speed and will be arriving to the Charlotte Motor Speedway later this afternoon. Team Owner Steve Menzies who is leading the way checked the weather this morning, and it’s looking like Saturdays race day has 60% chance of rain. Here we go again. Make sure to bring your umbrellas and rain boots cause rain or shine, you will still find the Menzies guys ready to race.

2011 brought Menzies Motorsports 3 Championships, 2 of those from the TORC series where Bryce Menzies and Ricky Johnson raced the Menzies Motorsports Pro 2 and Pro 4 all the way to the top. The plan going into this year for Menzies and the drivers, do it all over again. With the trucks running the number 1 plates this year, Menzies and Johnson know that the competition will battling to take those away and this first race will set the tone of the season. Top drivers will not be holding back in their attempts to make it to the top of the podium and we are going to do the same.

The 2012 TORC season opener will be aired live on SPEED so all the fans that do not get the opportunity to smell the race fuel in the air, feel the heart pounding motors race by and cheer on their favorite drivers from the stands, well they can do it from the comfort (and possibly rain free) of their own home.  Racing begins Friday April 20th @ 7pm Eastern Standard Time.

SOURCE: Menzies Motorsports

Despite two No.1 qualifiers, the team ultimately had a rough start to the season at the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ 2012 opener with a pair of DNFs.

The Team Renezeder trucks practiced well on Friday afternoon, and followed up by qualifying on the pole in the Lucas Oil Pro-2 Nissan Titan and second in the Lucas Oil Pro-4 Nissan Titan.

The Pro-4 division kicked off the racing on Saturday afternoon, and it was apparent in the opening laps that Renezeder’s truck was having problems. He radioed to his spotter, crew chief Bill Smith, that he’d lost front wheel drive. After that it was just survival mode. He salvaged a sixth place finish for points, but was frustrated that he wasn’t able to dice with the leaders.

The Pro-2 race followed, with the invert starting Renezeder outside row two. He raced his way up to second by lap 13, but on the entry into turn one of lap 14 major contact with Robbie Woods finished his day. The DNF equated to an 11th place finish and it was back to the drawing board for the team for Sunday’s events.

Renezeder was on crutches all weekend following a mountain biking crash that dislocated his right ankle. His limited mobility caused his foot to catch and break the ignition switches as he climbed into the Pro-4 for qualifying on Sunday morning. Lead mechanic Brett Repella “MacGyvered” the switches and sent him out for the first lap, but the truck kept cutting out. Eventually, the team was able to patch together a fix and Renezeder rejoined the qualifying session and took the truck to number one. The team was finally feeling racy, but it was short-lived.

Pro-2 qualifying started with a brake problem. They finally locked up on the frontstretch, and him coming to a complete stop on the track brought out a full-course yellow. Three trucks cleared him on the inside, and then Woods plowed into the back of him, damaging the right rear corner of the truck. The team got the truck back into race condition and Renezeder managed to race from his 12th place start to sixth on lap ten. But at the start of lap eleven the truck lost all power, finishing his day early again, showing a 13th place result on the time sheets. And that followed a duplicate race in his Pro-4, where the same driveline issue from Saturday resurfaced, relegating him to a seventh-place finish.

“We’re one of the lucky teams that have had a lot of highs in this sport, so a weekend like this is bound to happen sooner or later,” said Renezeder. “We’ll go back to the shop, do our homework, and come back out ready to win in a few weeks.”

SOURCE: Team Renezeder