SCORE Journal

SCORE-Journal-Jan-2021

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

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SCORE 2020 Pro UTV Unlimited Champion Eliott Watson Brings Honda Its First SCORE UTV Class Championship By Mike Vieria Photos by Get Some Photo Eliott Watson’s second-place finish in the SCORE Baja 500 and a first-place finish in the SCORE Baja 1000 brought home the Honda Racing Team’s first points championship in the Pro UTV Unlimited class. His new Honda Talon obviously worked well for him in both races and proved to be competitive in the toughest conditions imaginable. “It was a new platform to the UTV market, and the first real race car that Honda put out, so it was kind of a one-off deal compared to the rest of the UTV teams that had a couple of years of R & D,” says Waston. In the SCORE Baja 500, Watson shared the driving duties with Bud Ward and said they began the season with a task of making the car last through each race. “We didn’t want to set the world on fire with our pace. We just wanted to try to get the car to the finish to be in a good spot for the points championship going into the SCORE Baja 1000.” For this Honda team, the SCORE Baja 500 went mostly smooth for the team, with their only problem being a turbo issue that was quickly repaired in the pits near mile 400. After finishing second in that race, the team headed out to the SCORE Baja 1000, but Quintin Tucker, Watson’s usual navigator, fell ill and was replaced by Geoffrey Donnivin at the last minute. The sudden change, however, didn’t seem to hurt the team’s performance. Watson drove the first 300 miles of the race. “Everything was flawless. It was our first time really being able to push the car with all the lessons we learned in the 500 and other races, and we had some good improvements on the car,” said Watson. “It was able to sustain a lot more beating.” Watson also had 2014 SCORE Trophy Truck Champion Steven Eugenio as part of his co-driving team. Eugenio took over until mile 505 and gave the team an advantage during the night. “It was a huge help having a guy with so much experience run the night section where there were so many cars broken and upside down,” said Watson. Bud Ward then drove the car to mile 820, when Watson jumped back in to take the car to the finish. “We had a couple of little minor problems along the way, but nothing too big, and we just kept on moving,” said Watson. “That’s what it took to win, with how gnarly the race was, and how long of a day and night it was for us.” Watson has been in and around SCORE racing all his life, with his dad holding multiple SCORE Lites Championships, and his cousins racing SCORE Trophy Trucks. “Now to be old enough to partake in the action is a pretty cool feeling, especially with my dad in the pre-runner and my uncle running chase for us,” he says. “It’s fun having our family get together and connect down there. Everyone tries to help me as much as possible, but at the end of the day, I’m left to figure it out and learn from my mistakes. It’s been a couple of years since they’ve all raced there but they’ve all got the bug to go back and do it again now.” Watson’s racing plans for 2021 are still a bit up in the air, as he recently parted ways with the Honda Racing Team. But, with his family’s long history of Baja racing, and outstanding success this year, he’s sure to be back for future SCORE challenges. SJ

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