SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1488532
THE KIGER COMEBACK EliJah Kiger And The Coastal Racing Team Win In TT Spec By Dan Sanchez Racers who climb into a SCORE TT Spec love the feel, power, and agility of what these vehicles can deliver. But the reality is that along with it being one of the most popular classes in the SCORE World Desert Championship series, TT Spec is also one of the most competitive. At the 55th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts, a total of 28 competitors started the race, made up of young and experienced Baja racers who have already had numerous race wins in their careers. One of them was 2021 SCORE Baja 1000 winner Elijah Kiger, who had not had such a great 2022 season with a fifth-place best finish at the SCORE Baja 400, but managed to repeat another SCORE Baja 1000 victory in this race. “Winning two of them is insane,” says Kiger on the outcome of this important race. He and the No. 238 team made up of Jason Coleman and Jason McNeil, two other very experienced racers with previous race wins, planned to race clean and hit every CheckPoint and Virtual Check Point (VCP). This ultimately led to their first-place class finish after crossing the finish line behind the No. 264 truck of Pierce and Riley Herbst. “We started good in fourth position and made up a couple of spots to be in second place on the course early in the race,” said Kiger. Co-driving with Kiger were also some experienced SCORE Baja race winners, including Jason Coleman and 2021 TT Spec Champion Jason McNeil, who helped the No. 238 team make up time and stay in that position during most of the race. “Jason Coleman held the position over Mike’s Sky Ranch and through the night, then he handed it over to Jason McNeil who made up a good amount of time and caught up to the Herbst team,” said Kiger. “We didn’t get to pass them to the finish line and they crossed it first, but racing with both Jason’s taught me it’s best to run fast but clean and their experience paid off. We were very conscious of the VCPs and it all came together at the end.” This comeback win also gave Kiger and the team additional confidence in knowing they can be as competitive as some of the top teams in this class. “We’re fortunate to have a great program and we’re ready to try and go for more wins during the 2023 season,” he says. “This race, however, was surreal. We hit a few bottlenecks but we ran our own race and made it to the finish. It’s the competition at this level that makes SCORE TT Spec so attractive and our goal now is to stay competitive here. I think we’re definitely better at longer-distance courses and we will be ready for the 2023 season.” SJ