SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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From The Showroom To Baja SCORE’s Pro-Stock UTV class offers an affordable way to go racing By Dan Sanchez With the popularity of UTVs continuing to grow, SCORE has constantly modified and added classes for a variety of subcategories of these vehicles, as they began to be upgraded with more components that made them faster and more capable in racing competition. These currently include Pro UTV Forced Induction for modified vehicles with factory turbocharged engines, a Pro UTV N/A class for modified vehicles with factory naturally aspirated engines, and a Pro UTV Unlimited class for vehicles with highly modified engines, chassis, and suspensions. With this in mind, SCORE added the Pro-Stock UTV class is to get people into racing in an inexpensive way. “We wanted it to be a way to get your toes wet in racing,” said Dan Cornwell, SCORE Technical Director. “We started the class about a year ago and we’re very excited about it. We consulted with many UTV racers including 2018 Pro UTV Overall Champion Wayne Matlock, on what is going to last on a stock vehicle. Wayne, for example, runs stock engines and transmissions, but he has years of experience and factory backing. So the challenge was to keep the vehicles as stock as possible, but realizing what needs to be done to them to make them safer and last in a rough Baja race.” A Basic Overview Cornwell explained what is allowed on a Pro-Stock UTV, but also added that SCORE will eventually change some of the rules as the class progresses, to meet the needs of racers. “Right now, the car has to run the stock engine, transmission, and suspension,” says Cornwell. “The engine and transmission rules are simple, but there are some things racers can do to their factory suspension systems. While the original factory A-arms must be used, they can be reinforced for added strength. The stock shocks that came with the vehicle must be used, but the coil-springs can be modified. At the rear, the attachment points that hold the upper axle can be modified for added strength. On the front suspension, the factory spindles must also be retained but the tie-rods can be upgraded.” Cornwell also pointed out some obvious safety issues that are also addressed in the SCORE rule book for this class. “The roll cage must be an approved safety cage for racing, as well as the seats and safety harnesses,” says Cornwell. “Racers can use the stock fuel tank, but if doing so, they must reinforce the front and rear bumpers and use a full five-layer racing suit and underwear for maximum protection. The vehicle can be upgraded to a safety fuel cell with more fuel, and if so, occupants can use a three-layer suit and not have to modify the factory bumpers.” Racers Offer Positive Feedback Brad Lovell, won the class at the 50th Anniversary SCORE Baja 500 racing a stock Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo and felt it was a great way to experience the race with his family. “We’ve raced for 15 years in everything from rock crawling to short course and more,” said Lovell. “It’s expensive to race in Mexico but people do it because it’s fun. We wanted to go there and race with kids and family, so the Pro-Stock UTV class was a way we were able to do that. Simply put, when things are cost-effective, it drives down the stress and for us, the race was more fun than what we thought it would be.” One of the advantages of the Pro-Stock UTV class is that the investment in the vehicle doesn’t take away from its usefulness in other areas. “We’ve already put more miles on the Polaris in Colorado where we live and we use it to have fun with our kids,” says Lovell. Another benefit of these stock vehicles in this class is the overall investment doesn’t keep adding up. According to Rodrigo Ampudia, who won the class at the Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, believes the vehicles are now much more capable than they were several years ago. “We pre-run in Can-Am UTVs and after seeing the 2020 models, I thought they could run the entire race,” said Ampudia. “I ran the race hard and I finished without any mechanical problems.” Ampudia ran the race in this class just to see what the car would do, and although he isn’t planning on competing in the class as a serious effort, he did notice some things that other Pro-Stock racers could consider. “If the rules end up changing to allow the use of aftermarket A-arms but making sure they are the factory length, that would be much easier than trying to weld gussets and additional material to the factory arms to beef them up,” he says. “In this race, we kept the stock fuel rank and I had to wait a long time to refuel. Upgrading to a fuel cell would have made refueling faster, but on the Can-Am, there’s not enough space as it’s so close to the top of the exhaust. If I had to do it again, I would do less to the car just because it runs awesome stock from the factory.” Looking For Factory Involvement Proving that a UTV can go from the showroom to the finish line at a SCORE Baja race, is one of the considerable proof that manufacturers have used what they learned in racing has developed into a faster and more capable vehicle. Racers in the Pro-Stock class hope that the factory can be more involved, with support on factory-replacement parts and perhaps more incentive. “Generally, People will go out, drive too fast and break the car,” said Lovell. “Then they’ll complain that the vehicle is not strong enough. This class requires driving smart, but for the longer term, the class can open the door for factory support at the races.” “Knowing you can always go to the dealer and replace parts makes it so much easier,” said Ampudia. “For this race, I ended up adding higher-end lights and a radio, but at the end of the day, you can go out in the dunes with the same car.” As SCORE Tech Director, Cornwell also believes the growth of the Pro-Stock class can be an even bigger advantage to the OE’s should they get involved. “To put it into perspective, our Pro-Stock Polaris has more horsepower and suspension travel than Class 1 cars had in the 1980s,” he says. “The OE’s know what they’re doing in building a capable vehicle, but support and incentives to win would help get the class up and running, and perhaps even motivate champion veterans to get into it and make the class even more popular in the years to come.” SJ