SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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Going the Distance Brad Wilson nabs Class 1 win in longest-ever SCORE San Felipe 250 By Larry Saavedra Photos by Get Some Photo Wilson Motorsports of Long Beach, California has a lot to celebrate after 29-year-old Brad Wilson clinched the Class 1 win in the brutally long 349.41 mile 2019 SCORE San Felipe 250. Wilson drove to victory in the number 100 W-10 Jimco buggy prepped by Mike Stapleton and newest team member Chris Ramey. This was Wilson’s second SCORE San Felipe 250 win. The Historic Course In the first time in its 33-year history that the SCORE San Felipe 250 course was lengthened nearly 100 miles, according to SCORE officials. It included the summit climb (near mile marker 185), a precarious, sometimes impassable section near SCORE Check Point 2 that driver’s faced after challenging Matomi Wash at mile marker 50. Of course, Wilson, who won the Overall Class 1 Championship in 2018, is no stranger to the many challenges of desert racing in Baja, and that experience paid off at the SCORE San Felipe 250. But there were moments where Wilson may have had his doubts, too. How it Played Out Co-driver Justin Munyon started the race and Wilson jumped into the driver’s seat at mile marker 168 (the highway section). Munyon was 11th off the grid, and came out of Matomi Wash in third position. However, Munyon hit a rock that broke a brake caliper and flattened a tire, which put Wilson down about 30 minutes behind the leaders Shelby Reid and co-driver Dale Ebberts. “It was only the second time I raced this car,” said Wilson. “It was our W-10 car and the setup was a little different than my previous buggy. It’s similar to my original race car in some ways. Easier to drive in the tight stuff, but kicked my butt coming into the finish, after 40 miles of whoops.” “That particular Summit section really had a Baja 500 feel to it,” he said. “It was cool because it gave me a break from the rough start to the race. It was very technical and I was able to push harder on the Summit and that’s where I made up some time on the competitors.” “By the time I got in the car it was a battle between myself, Justin Davis and Mason Cullen,” Wilson said. “Reid was further out in front.” Around mile marker 300 Wilson said he got a flat. Once he was back on course, he managed to get by Davis and Cullen and only Reid remained to challenge for the lead. Nearing the Finish “I got word that Reid was slowing up a bit,” Wilson said. “That was the break we were hoping for and we closed the gap near the finish. When you get in a car and you are down by 30 minutes you just hope that your competitor has an issue and that’s what happened. You’ve got to drive thinking you always have a shot at winning the race, no matter how your start. The course was extremely rocky for sure, and I just drove my race thinking I have a shot at winning.” Wilson took the checkered flag in a time of 7:28:53. Reid technically crossed the finish first, followed closely by Wilson. Yet, Reid was assessed a Virtual Check Point (VCP) penalty and the win reverted to Wilson. Eye on the Championship What’s next for Wilson in Class 1? “The goal for our team is to always get a championship,” he said. “Winning the championships in ’17 and ’18 were great. Going for three in a row would be possible. I want to win all the races and I drive competitively. I don’t want to nurse a car around a corner just for points. But if something happens in a race, and I’m down for hours then that’s when the championship strategy kicks in.” SJ