SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1420514
THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL Class 1 And Class 10 Racers Fight Through A Tough Course By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, and Jose Vazquez Photos by Get Some Photo It was a tight race all the way to the finish between Class 1 racers Cody Parkhouse and Brendan Gaughan. Parkhouse in the No. 100 car, qualified first, giving the team the advantage to stay ahead of the competition for the win. While Mario Fuentes in the No. 179 car qualified second, they had vehicle issues that ended their race. This allowed Brendan Gaughan and co-driver Buddy Feldkamp to move up and finish in second place. “It was a long day,” said Gaughan. “We caught our first SCORE Trophy Truck at mile seven, so we spent the whole day in the dust. My father is also making fun of me for blowing a curve on the course. At least my Walker Evans wheels and BFGoodrich tires held up. At the SCORE Baja 1000, RJ Anderson will be co-driving with us, so we will have three great racing families teamed up for the SCORE Baja 1000. It will be fun.” Feldkamp drove the car from race mile 230 and had a smooth run. “Brendan did a great job bringing me the car in one piece, and we drove it home,” he said. “Collins Motorsports and the Goerke boys did a great job prepping the car. Glen Helen and South Point are awesome partners. Our co-drivers, Mike Montes and Chad Tucker did a great job navigating too.” Finishing third was Cody Reid, who drove the race solo, as his mom Shelby had a family issue to attend to just before the race. Reid didn’t attend qualifying, and although this race wasn’t a win for the team, he moved up to gain a great starting position for the SCORE Baja 1000. In fourth place was Mason Cullen who also did not attend qualifying, but also now has a great starting position for the next race. Even with the DNF from Fuentes, he along with Reid and Parkhouse are very close in overall season points. A win at the SCORE Baja 1000 for any of these three could also come with a season championship. NO QUITTING FOR CLASS 10 RACERS A total of 13 of the 14 starters of the 2nd SCORE Baja 400 Presented by VP Racing Fuels finished the race. Finishing first was the Hagle family of Ethan and his dad, Ben, in the No. 1046 car. “I found my groove and pushed and got a good lead going,” said Ethan Hagle. “It was my co-driver, Tyler Daniel’s, first race, and I think he had a pretty good time. I want to thank my dad, Gary Johnson, Alumi Craft race cars, and BFGoodrich tires. We hit a ton of rocks that should have shredded these tires, but they did not go flat. We haven’t had a single flat yet. I also want to thank Baja Designs for great lights, and Erica Sacks for great GPS notes. We worked really hard to get to this point.” In second place was the team of Matt and Todd Winslow in the No. 1081 car. “Matt got us the car in physical first place and we maintained the front,” said Todd Winslow. “The course was pretty rough. We did some of this section during the SCORE Baja 500, but today was rougher than it was two months ago. The car did great and the tires held up– no flats, and we brought it to the finish.” In third place was the No. 1016 of Hiram and Eric Duran. The Duran team had difficulty early in the race and got behind, but managed to pull it all back together. “Eric had some issues,” said Hiram Duran. “They started eighth and got some barbed wire in their tires. After it was fixed, they were 15 minutes or so behind the leader. When I got in, I passed three or four cars, but then we got hit in the back and it bent a shock and flattened a tire. We fixed the flat but lost the GPS mount so he had to hold it for the last 150 miles. We are ready for the SCORE Baja 1000.” Despite the third-place finish, the Duran team moved closer towards the possibility of a season class championship. They are one point shy of the current class points leader Freddie Willert in the No. 1006 car. Willert finished fifth in class. SJ