SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1465106
TEAM WILSON DOMINATES The San Felipe Desert Takes Out Some Top Contenders By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, and Jose Vazquez Photos by Get Some Photo The Class 1 battle at the 35th King Shocks SCORE San Felipe 250 seemed like it was going to be a battle against some of the best buggy racers and teams in the sport. As the day began, Conner McMullen in the No. 140 buggy started first after the best qualifying run, followed by Brendan Gaughan in the No. 162 car, and Jeff Blanchard in the No. 110 buggy. 2021 Class Champions Brian and Cody Parkhouse started third and were in a good position to win the race once again. Shelby and Cody Reid started fourth, so with the two Wilson teams heading off the starting line fifth and sixth, it seemed like the odds were against them to take the class win. As the race progressed, the 277-mile course would take out more than half the field with one issue or another. McMullen, Gaughan, Blanchard, Parhouse, and Reid all ended their day early, leaving the Wilson team of Kyle Quinn and Ronny Wilson in the No. 168 buggy in first place. The team’s No. 153 car driven by Brad Wilson and Justin Munyon struggled on the course with vehicle issues that seemed to plague them, but they managed to make repairs and get back on the course. While the Wilson teams pushed on, Damen Jefferies in the No. 121 buggy moved up the course. They started last after not qualifying and battled a bit with the 153 Wilson team. Also moving up from starting in ninth place, was Rob Archibald in the No. 169 buggy, trailing Jefferies. Jefferies managed to get around Brad Wilson, and by that time, there wasn’t enough race course to challenge Quinn who had opened a large gap to take the class win. “Kyle did a great job and gave us the car in second place,” said Ronny Wilson. “We had to replace an alternator and dropped to fourth, but we just drove the wheels off it. The course SCORE has put together was incredibly rough. I’ve done a lot of these SCORE San Felipe 250s and this was the roughest I’ve ever done, it was really good. The car worked great– we got no flats. The last 35 miles were so hard.” Jefferies, with co-driver Stephen Jangaard, would hold on to their position to finish in second place. “We didn’t pre-run at all because we have a new race car that didn’t make it,” said Jefferies. “This car wasn’t ready to pre-run, so we just used some GPS notes that we borrowed. Considering that, I think we did pretty well. The only spot I thought the course was kind of weird was by the sulfur mines. Other than that, it was just beat up. It was a last-minute decision to race the SCORE San Felipe 250 for us and everyone did great.” After making several repairs, Brad Wilson and Justin Munyon were able to hold on and finish in third-place, giving the Wilson team first and third place finishes in this race. “It was definitely a day in which we needed a lot of perseverance,” said Brad Wilson. “Our team worked their butts off to fix this car from the multiple issues we had– they were huge. Every time we thought we had it going, we had another issue. We made it here to the finish, and to be on the podium after being down for a few hours, it’s just insane. We got a great start position for the SCORE Baja 500 and that’s one of the most important things. We get to go back home with first and third, we’re ecstatic.” PATIENCE PERSEVERES FOR CHASE WARREN Class 10 competition in this race was also extremely tough. This class has some of the toughest and most experienced buggy racers who continue to win races every season. SCORE fans knew the class could be won by any of the top competitors including 2021 Champion Ben Hagle, Bruce Yee, and Chase Warren. The course would also prove to be very challenging for these racers as well, as nearly half of the field of 20 competitors were taken out in one way or another. For Chase Warren in the No. 1088 buggy, starting 16th made it seem nearly impossible to attempt a class win, but his game-plan to preserve his vehicle and drive patiently paid off. “We drew right near the back and we knew we’d need to be patient out there, and that it was going to be rough,” said Warren. “We took our time and just picked everybody up. We were first on the road a little before the halfway point and never looked back from there. We got some cactuses, some trees, and some rocks, but it was a relatively incident-free race. We wanted to run at a smooth pace. We know it’s a rough race and people will just drop on their own. We just let it come to us.” Cesar Cuevas in the No. 1011 buggy started ahead of Warren, but after an issue with their engine, they pushed hard to get within 10-minutes of Warren to finish in second place. “We started 16th and did well in the first 30 miles despite the whoops,” said Cuevas. “We had some power issues later and had to drive to the pit and fix it. We had some other issues after that and tried to make it up at the end. Thank you SCORE for organizing this great race and the Mexican fans for supporting us.” Right behind Cuevas was the No. 1087 car of Ivan Tagle who finished in third-place only one minute behind. The 2021 Champion Ben Hagle in the No. 1000 buggy was charging to the finish and made it in only a minute behind Tagle to finish in fourth place. “It was a brutal race with never-ending whoops,” said Tagle. “We had a little engine problem at the start and had to deal with it the entire race. It was bad but we made it here and that’s great. I want to thank my pit crew.” SJ FINISH LINE TALK Class 10 BEN HAGLE – 4th Place: “Anyone who gives just one lap around this course will certainly have a new appreciation for the beating these cars can take. That was brutal. We had a difficult pit stop, but once we got things sorted out, we just got going. It’s fun being here at El Malecon. Last season was our first coming here and it wasn’t as fun without the fans.” SJ Official Finishers CLASS 1 (Unlimited open-wheel single or two-seaters) (Starters 10, Finishers 4) 1. 138 Kyle Quinn, 34, Lakewood, CA/Ronny Wilson, 60, Long Beach, CA, Jimco-Chevy, 05:21:15 (51.74 Miles Per Hour) 2. 121 Damen Jefferies, 49, Poolville, TX/Stephen Jangaard, Torrance, CA, Jefferies-Chevy, 06:10:31 3. 153 Brad Wilson, 32, Long Beach, CA/Justin Munyon, 35, San Clemente, CA, Jimco-Chevy, 07:52:39 4.169 Rob Archibald, 49, Lakeside, CA/Charlie Townsley, 48, San Diego/Anthony West, 27, San Diego, Jimco-Chevy, 10:46:00. CLASS 10 (Limited, sealed engine, single or two-seaters) (Starters 19, Finishers 12) 1. 1088 Chase Warren, 32, Scottsdale, AZ/Martin Richardson, 41, La Mesa, CA, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 05:27:27 (50.76 Miles Per Hour) 2. 1011 Cesar Cuevas, 46, Chula Vista, CA/Gerardo Sepulveda, 28, Chula Vista, CA, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 05:40:37 3. 1087 Ivan Tagle, 34, Chula Vista, CA/Joaquin Ramirez, 28, Chula Vista, CA, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 05:41:25 4. 1000 Ben Hagle, 32, Somis, CA/Ethan Hagle, 29, Somis, CA, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 05:42:45 5. 1005 Arnoldo Gutierrez Jr, 33, Mexicali, MX/Abraham Gutierrez, 24, Mexicali, MX, Racer-Chevy, 05:45:31 6. 1009 J. David Ruvalcaba, 49, Ensenada, MX/Esteban Cruz, 50, Ensenada, MX, Alumi Craft-Honda, 05:51:00 7. 1014 Bruce Yee, 22, Chula Vista, CA/Agustin Moreno, 30, San Jose del Cabo, MX, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 06:11:57 8. 1028 Armando Avila, 19, Juarez, MX/Luis Gutierrez, 36, Juarez, MX/Bruno Barraza, 30, Juarez, MX, Jimco-Chevy, 06:16:05 9. 1002 Matias Arjona IV, 22, Ensenada, MX/Matias Arjona III, 57, Ensenada, MX, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 06:16:08 10. 1098 Dustin Miller, 43, Salt Lake City, Utah, Custom-Chevy, 06:20:54 11. 1019 Alberto Mendez, 38, Ensenada, MX/Luis Floriano, 36, Tijuana, MX, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 07:44:43 12. 1064 Justin Buckley, 31, Long Beach, CA/Justin Burleson, Alumi Craft-Chevy, 09:34:50.