SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1526915
KYLE CRAFT Navigating At A Higher Level By Dan Sanchez Photos by Get Some Photo Being a navigator for one of the top SCORE Trophy Truck teams requires more than calling out turns and plotting obstacles from a GPS. Kyle Craft, navigator for Alan Ampudia and the Ampudia Racing Team, has taken navigation to the next level with his unique philosophy. Unlike most navigators, Craft believes being in the right-hand seat involves more than knowing how to plot obstacles and speed zones. He says it’s about combining the knowledge of driving, understanding how the vehicle will react in certain situations, knowing the terrain, and how well he and the driver communicate. This all combines, in his mind, to analyze an outcome and provide a higher level of precision note-calling. “I don’t think anybody is calling out navigation notes the way I am, as far as how many and how aggressive,” says Craft. “I’ve listened to a lot of other guys who I respect, but I think my note calling is some of the most precise, but it’s also very taxing.” Focusing on the task is most important, and Craft says that during most races he doesn’t even know where he is on the course. “Most of the day I’m not looking up. The other side to it is that I study every driver. I know what the plays are. I know what the plans are, and I can give my driver the best analysis possible of what's about to happen next, or what we need to do over the next 50 to 100 miles, based on who’s ahead or behind us.” A Great Foundation According to Craft, no book or school teaches you what he has learned from years of experience and thousands of miles logged. “It started when my dad, Mike Craft was with Cameron Steele and the Desert Assassins team,” he said. “Cameron’s other driver Pat Dean (son of ORMHOF Inductee Butch Dean), and my dad were friends so that’s how the connection started. Pat’s son James called me out for a Class 1 race and we hit it off. It was here that I learned the basis. That was around 2018. After a decent-sized crash at the Silver State 300 in 2019, my dad decided I should have my own truck to drive. I was trained by Ricky Johnson and in time, I began to do well in the states and won several races and championships.” Afterward, Craft caught the attention of BJ Baldwin, who asked him to be on the team and navigate. “I can’t say that we hit it off at first, but we had a lot of great success, earning another championship and multiple wins,” said Craft. “But we did so well that I eventually ended up running his entire program from top to bottom.” It was during his time with Baldwin that Craft picked up new language skills while navigating, a result of BJ’s wanting to use rally racing notations. “When BJ hired me to be his navigator, he was already switched on to rally-style notes. I believe he was probably one of the first pioneers to implement them in off-road racing. But the level of detail hadn’t been matched before. So as we were coming up on different situations, I had to learn his level of calling out notes and in detail. Over time we developed a system where he knew exactly what I was saying and didn’t have to think about it.” Craft continued to hone these skills and applied them to whomever wanted him to navigate for them during a race. “I know what I want when I’m driving, so I can set very high standards for myself in that regard. I don’t believe a lot of navigators can say they also have that many miles driving, but even so, not many understand what the driver is going through. So when navigating, my position is to provide the highest precision note calling as well as a thorough race analysis.” Changing Tires And More The belief is that many drivers want someone well-rounded, a navigator and a mechanic when something happens on the course. For Craft, that’s the wrong type of person to have in the right-hand seat. “It’s a different game these days,” says Craft. “Yeah, back in the early 2000s, even up to 2010, a navigator could change the transmission and still win a race like the SCORE Baja 1000. You could have five flats and still win it. But that isn’t the case anymore.” Craft has seen vehicle speeds increase, fewer breakdowns, and because of this, the level of racing has become so high that teams making the least amount of mistakes are usually winning. “Now, we’re looking at seconds splitting teams apart in the top three in most of these races. So yes, there are still drivers that want mechanics in their cars, but I’m not that guy. And if you want that guy, I don’t believe you’re actually in contention to win,” says Craft. “Just because I know how to fix a transmission doesn’t mean we can win anymore. I believe that if you’re not about winning, you just want to be always finishing. At the level we’re in now, if you come to a situation where you have to change transmission, you should already know that you’re not going to win, right? So it doesn’t matter how good of a mechanic your navigator is. That is why the level of navigating has to be much higher. This is especially true in classes where speeds and the vehicles are at the highest level of off-road racing, because it’s here when your mistakes have more consequences.” Riding With Flaka Fast In 2021, Craft was called by the Ampudia team to replace long-time navigator Steve Covey. “Alan needed someone for the SCORE Baja 400 that year because Steve had broken his wrist or something,” says Craft. I came out, and we honestly did great together.” In 2023, Ampudia called Craft to join the team permanently, starting with that year’s SCORE Baja 400 and Baja 1000 races. “With Alan, I think, we have taken navigation to an even higher level with his knowledge of the terrain in Mexico. He’s a guy that knows every rock and every corner, but I’m still saying everything to keep them in the chase,” says Craft. “So with Alan, it all developed further, and this advanced type of navigation language is something that no school is going to teach you. You can understand what ‘Right Four’ means all day long, but you have to learn to realize that it can mean 30 different things to 30 different drivers.” Ampudia is one of those racers who loves the spotlight and has a huge fanbase. Nicknaming himself Flaka Fast, Ampudia has crowds lining up for a photo and signing thousands of autographs at a race. He is a true showman but is also serious about being one of the top racers in the sport. All the attention, however, doesn’t deter Craft from doing his job. “Coming from BJ’s team, I was exposed to a huge level of fan and sponsor stardom,” he says. “Alan is huge in Mexico and approachable. He genuinely wants to spend time with his fans. It’s something I appreciate.” “I can’t say enough good things about the family. They treat me like I’m one of their own. All three brothers (Alan, Aaron, Rodrigo Jr.) are so well put together. It’s not often you see a family that comes from what I would call a decent social status, who have thriving children that aren’t pretentious or mean. These guys work their asses off, and I respect that because that’s what I do. Putting in the most effort is what I have always looked for in a team, and they bring that. Any suggestions I have, they always listen.” The 2024 SCORE season began with Craft and Ampudia taking their first win together at the SCORE San Felipe 250. “Alan and I are in the infancy of a relationship, and we’re already winning. We’re hoping to get more podium finishes this season,” says Craft. As he continues to hone his abilities, Craft will demonstrate how navigators performing at a higher level can improve a team’s performance. “My dad believed you can control the vehicle much better from the right-hand seat than the driver,” said Craft. “It’s like a chess game, not about moving your hands real fast and getting all the glory. It’s all about putting all these pieces together and solving the problem, and that’s what the navigator does.” SJ