Four Championships Is Quest of Whelchel at Off-Road Event

When it comes to racing in the desert, off-road driver Jerry Whelchel of Mission Viejo has a simple slogan: “I’ll race whenever, wherever or whatever it takes to win. This is how I make my living and I want to win them all.”

Whelchel, 29, can win more titles than any driver in the 17-year history of the SCORE Off-Road World Championships today when he competes on a man-made, 1.1-mile course at the Phoenix International Raceway.

Whelchel qualified in unlimited single-seat dune buggies, limited 1650cc single-seat dune buggies, 1600cc Baja Bug and stock four-wheel drive trucks Saturday before 2,000.

Roger Mears of Bakersfield and Frank Arciero of Laguna Niguel each have won three events in a day. Mears accomplished the feat twice, in 1978 and 1982. Arciero won three events in 1987.

Whelchel’s top competition figures to be Robby Gordon, 21, of Orange, who became the top qualifier in the two-wheel drive truck and 1650cc single-seat dune buggy classes with his first-place finishes Saturday.

Gordon later announced that he would enter his 1650cc buggy in the unlimited class, setting up a showdown with Whelchel for honors as the fastest driver on the course, which is half pavement and half dirt.

Whelchel seemingly never left the track Saturday, jumping out of one vehicle for Lloyd Sukut’s Sage Council Racing team and into another for an eight-lap race. The only events he failed to enter were the motorcycle and All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) classes.