SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1482081
A TROUBLE-FREE RIDE Kaden Wells Cruises To A SCORE Pro UTV N/A Win By Mike Vieira Photos by Get Some Photo The 3rd SCORE Baja 400 Presented by VP Racing Fuels proved to be a trouble-free drive for Kaden Wells, with not even a flat tire to slow him down. This was Wells’ third SCORE Baja 400 Pro UTV N/A class victory in a row, and he ended up fourth overall in the UTV classes. His Polaris had no mechanical issues during the race, and as he says, “It was just gas and go for us,” referring to his one fuel stop. The only slight delay he and his co-driver, Emma Cornwell, had was pushing a Class 10 car up a hill near Mike’s Sky Ranch, but otherwise, they never had to get out of the car. Wells expected that the course might be on the slow side because of the earlier rough weather, but said it turned out to be quite fast. “The track was pretty rough from the rain,” he says. “The coast was pretty quick, and I think that leveled out the overall speed, but the first 200 miles was a little slower. It was more technical and had big ruts and impact bumps, but it was a pretty fun course.” The team started in the second position on the road and moved into the lead after the first speed zone. Wells stretched that lead out to nearly an hour and twenty minutes as the race went on, and held it there. After struggles in earlier races this season, third-place finishes in both the SCORE San Felipe 250 and SCORE Baja 500, the win was a welcome one to help him improve his points total toward a repeat win for the season championship. This year, Wells is running the four-seat Polaris that he drove to a second-place finish in last year’s SCORE Baja 1000 to clinch the class championship. Wells is looking forward to this year’s SCORE Baja 1000, and the chance to defend his title. With the win at the SCORE Baja 400, he will start first in class, but because of the length of the race, he doesn’t feel that’s too important. “That one is such a long race, that it depends on who doesn’t have any issues,” he says. Currently, Wells is eight points behind Joe Bolton in the No. 1957 Polaris for the championship, but if he can pull off a win at the SCORE Baja 1000, he could make it two in a row. SJ