SCORE Journal

SCORE-Journal-December-2020

SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing

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A SLOW AND BRUTAL POUNDING UTV Classes Feel The Brunt Of A Long, Tough Course By Dan Sanchez Photos by GetSomePhoto Bottlenecks and a constant slow pounding is how most of the UTV racers described the race at this 53rd BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Racers knew this would be a longer loop course that what they were used to, but those that tried to challenge it driving solo, really felt it at the end. The addition of a high level of competition within the Pro UTV FI class also made winning much more difficult for all the racers involved. Major contenders such as Wayne Matlock, Marc Burnett, Brandon Schueler came to take on the SCORE Baja 1000. But this year, seemed like the challengers would finally get their victory. Matt Burroughs in his Can-Am X3 had won the SCORE Baja 500 and started first for the class. Last year’s winner Craig Scanlon had also shown he was a contender and added to the high level of competition that was tough to beat. After the SCORE Trophy Trucks had gone through the course, the Pro UTV classes had to deal with terrain that was much more rocky and tough than what they had experienced pre-running. In the end, the rough terrain took out parts and competitors no matter how experienced or novice they were. Those like Wes Miller who drove a conservative race and who decided not to drive solo made a wise choice. Although he took had components break along the way, his team helped push to the finish for the eventual win. Matt Burroughs also planned for multiple drivers and had Zachary Burroughs, Bradley Howe, and Dan Lewis drive various sections of the course, which ultimately led to their success in second place. Towards the end of the race, Burroughs said he decided not to go all-out and try to catch Miller and safely drive the Monster Energy Can-Am to a second-place finish and cement a 2020 Championship. This left many racers pushing hard to get to the finish line with Marc Burnett finishing in third, but not after some major repairs on the course. “The four-wheel-drive trucks killed the course,” said Burnett. “it was a night and day difference from what it was when we pre-ran it. We ended up breaking two trailing arms within the first ten-minutes so luck just wasn’t with us this time.” Missing from the podium was Wayne Matlock who has won this race twice before in 2015, and 2018. Matlock has several mechanical issues from the start and his day ended much earlier than expected. Nevertheless, he and the team switched gears to support his wife Kristen in Pro UTV NA. Arredondo Trades Two-Wheels For Four The last time we saw Francisco Arredondo was when he won the SCORE Pro Moto Unlimited Championship in 2016. Back then, Arredondo had accomplished his goals of winning on a motorcycle but surprisingly came back in 2020 driving a Chris Haines prepared Honda Talon. Arredondo didn’t miss a step, utilizing the talents of co-drivers Jamie Campbell (brother of Johnny Campbell) and Cisco Bio who has experience in everything from SCORE Trophy Trucks to Class 5 bugs. The effort paid off with Arredondo winning the class ahead of the favored queen of off-road Kristen Matlock. Matlock stared at the rear but ran a slower pace than what she had originally hoped for. “I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the race, and that set the pace for the entire day which slowed us down,” she said. “I got back to my usual self towards the end, but there was already too much time between us and the leaders.” Despite the efforts and a fourth-place finish, Matlock hung on to try and wrap up a class championship. Ahead of Matlock was the number 1985 Polaris RZR XP1000 of Adrian Orellana who finished just shy of 33-minutes behind Arredondo. Orellana had co-drivers, Carlos Sosa, Russell Porter, and Manny Viena assisted with the driving and managed to cross the finish line despite some issues. “We had a couple of flat tires and we rolled the car in a bad bottleneck,” said Orellana. “ I tried to go up and around the cliff gave out and we rolled on top of another truck. It took us about 30-minutes to get it back over and out but we kept on going “ Finishing third in the Pro UTV NA class was the number 1995 Polaris RZR XP1000 of Kaden Wells, with co-drivers Arnie and Travis Wells. “It was a pretty good course, and it started showing how much longer it was when the car broke down near the end, but we made it,” said Wells. Sanchez Wins Pro Stock UTV Carolina Sanchez entered her first SCORE Baja 1000 and with the help of co-drivers Jaime Delgadillo, Edgar Ruiz, and Daniel Reyes. Sanchez battled through the tough SCORE Baja 1000 course in her number 3913 Can-Am to her first victory in Pro Stock UTV. “It was a very difficult and strategic race,” said Sanchez. “We didn’t have a lot of opportunities to get into a good speed and it was a slow-paced race for us so we needed to be patient. Racing here at the SCORE Baja 1000 was a dream come true and a challenge that I accepted and worked hard to make it.” Sanchez was the only finisher of the five competitors of the race. It was much the same for the Pro UTV Unlimited division where five competitors started, and only the number 1893 Honda Talon of Eliot Watson ended up finishing in first place in class. “I’m stoked to have won the SCORE Baja 1000 on my first attempt,” he said. “I’ve been coming here for years with my father, and he’s a great mentor who helps me, so it means a lot to win this thing.” Watson was assisted by co-drivers Quintin Tucker, Ben Ward, Brian Weatherly, Jeffery Donovan, and Steven Uginio. Official Finishers PRO UTV FI  (two-seat Forced Induction, OEM engine UTVs 1. 2989 Wes Miller, 50, Las Vegas/Donny Powers, 32, Morgan Hill, CA/Jason Luburg, 37, Zanesville, Ohio, Polaris RZR XP Turbo, 26:01:43 (34.52 mph);  2. 2948 Matt Burroughs, 51, Norco, CA/Zachary Burroughs, 22, Norco, CA/Bradley Howe, 34 Leona Valley, CA/Dan Lewis, 54, Jurupa Valley, CA/Mitchell Alsup, 30, Bakersfield, CA/Drew Stanton, 22, Ventura, CA, Can-Am X3, 26:41:31;  3. 2905 Marc Burnett, 49, Chula Vista, CA, Can-Am X3, 27:00:50;  4.2977 Justin Ellenburg, 43, Mesa, AZ/Ernesto Taylor, 32, Mesa, AZ/Michael York, 50, Gilbert, AZ/Mike Jeluso, Denver, Colo., Can-Am X3, 27:30:12;  5. 2967 Mike Pratt, 53, Draper, UT/Nate Hale, 32, Draper, UT/Eddie Leon, 35, Lehi, UT/Chase Lee, 35, West Jordan, UT/Justin Kec, St. George, UT, Polaris RZR Turbo S, 29:40:51;  6. 2974 Jorge Cano, 45, Culiacan, MX/Christian Sanchez, MX, Can-Am X3 Turbo SRX, 30:41:53;   7. 2919 Brandon Schueler, 31, Phoenix/Miles Martin, 31, Peoria, AZ/Pat Stone, 50, Payson, AZ/Joe Pierce, Maine, Polaris RZR XP Turbo S4, 31:20:20;  8.2930 Sean Cook, 54, Twain Harte, CA/Matt Davis, Twain Harte, CA/Brendan Cook, Plymouth, CA/Carlos Diaz, San Diego/Eric Cook, Folsom, CA, Can-Am X3, 31:23:60;  9. 2909 Alex Baker, 39, Reno, Nev./Ben White, 38, Reno/Sam Cothrun, 41, Reno, Nev./Harry Wagner, 45, Reno, Nev., Can-Am X3, 33:34:20. (24 Starters, 9 Finishers) PRO UTV NA  (two-seat Normally Aspirated, OEM engine UTVs) 1. 1945 Francisco Arredondo, 43, Guatemala/Cisco Bio, Spring Valley, CA, Honda Talon, 26:02:40 (34.49 mph);  2. 1985 Adrian Orellana, 36, Escondido, CA/Carlos Sosa, 65, Russell Porter, 37, Manny Viena, 26, Polaris RZR XP1000, 26:35:38;  3. 1995 Kaden Wells, 22, St. George, UT/Arnie Wells, 35, Idaho Falls, Idaho/Travis Wells, 47, Apple Valley, UT, Polaris RZR XP1000, 27:03:03;  4. 1954 Kristen Matlock, 40, Alpine, CA, Polaris RZR XP4 1000, 28:03:44;  5.1957 Joe Bolton, 63, Corona, CA/Dana Jones, 62, Scottsdale, AZ/Steve Buckley, 59, Canyon Lake, CA/Matthew Banuelos, 40, Whittier, CA/Austin Bolton, 25, Corona, CA/Darren Carlson, 27, Norco, CA, Polaris RZR 1000, 31:42:46;  6. 1973 Raul Padilla, 47, Tecate, MX/Pedro Yaxha Lopez, 28, Potrero, MX/Joe Martinez, 28, Campo, CA/Gustavo Gonzalez, 20, Dulzura, CA, Yamaha YXZ1000, 37:42:00. (10 Starters, 6 Finishers) PRO UTV STOCK  (Stock UTVs, FI or NA) 1. 3913 Carolina Sanchez, 34, Calexico, CA/Jaime Delgadillo, 36, Mexicali, MX/Edgar Ruiz, 41, Mexicali, MX/Daniel Reyes, 42, Heber, CA, Can-Am XR3, 34:11:49 (26.27 mph);  2. 3910 Dave Davenport, 50, Gilbert, AZ/Nick Bruce, 54, Queen Creek, AZ/Cam Mulder, 50, Surprise, AZ, Can-Am X3 Max, 35:55:13;  3. 3933 Randy Emberton, 61, El Cajon, CA/Mark Liening, 39, Spring Valley, CA/, Polaris RZR Turbo S, Polaris XP1000 Turbo S, 39:16:02. (5 Starters, 3 Finishers) PRO UTV UNLTD  (two-seat unlimited UTV open-displacement) 1. 1893 Eliott Watson, 20, El Centro, CA/Quintin Tucker, 28, Imperial, CA/Ben Ward, 35, Hemet, CA/Brian Weatherly, 30, Hemet, CA/Steven Uginio, Imperial CA/Jeffery Donnivin, Simi Valley, CA, Honda Talon 1000R, 28:37:59 (31.38 mph). (5 Starters, 1 Finisher)

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