SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1526915
HAILEY HEIN The Best Seat In The House By Larry Saavedra Photos by Get Some Photo It’s been a wild ride for Hailey Hein as the navigator for the #1821 Factory Polaris SCI Motorsports Polaris RZR driven by Cayden MacCachren. Being in the navigator seat full-time for MacCachren for the past two seasons, Hein has had the best seat in the house to multiple SCORE UTV Championships and a string of class wins over the years. But early in her career, there was a time when Hein was simply a race shop assistant for her dad Craig. “I grew up working with my dad in his race shop,” she said. “He was racing Polaris when the first 800cc race cars were introduced in 2008. I did whatever was needed, but eventually, my sister and I started racing UTVs, too. I had to learn to navigate as well. That led to co-driving and navigating for Jagged X Off-Road’s program in multiple SCORE events. That’s when I met Cayden.” Hein was surprised to get an offer to navigate during the ‘21 SCORE Baja 1000 for MacCachren, and she was hooked. “I kind of got thrown in the deep end during that race and navigated for 600 miles with him,” she said. “But I trusted him so much that it made my job easier.” Through the years Hein has sharpened her skills by pre-running in the navigator seat for both Cayden and his dad Rob MacCachren. “I got lucky because they both knew what they wanted to hear from the navigator and learning from the best has its rewards,” said Hein. But even with the best-laid plans things can and do go wrong, so she’s always prepared. “We’re all human and mistakes happen in the heat of a race,” Hein said. “As a navigator you learn from it. Where I was a year ago until today is huge.” At speed, the navigator has a lot to do, and Hein says it all can get a little challenging. “It starts with reading the pre-running notes to the driver,” she said. “Next to the GPS, you are monitoring all the engine sensors and belt temps while keeping track of your position. Then you’re looking out front beyond the driver to avoid anything you didn’t see during pre-running.” In most teams, a navigator also has to be ready to jump out of the race car to change a flat, and in her case, she’s constantly thinking of ways to do any mechanical fixes as fast as possible without creating downtime that hurts everybody. If there’s some emergency on the course Hein said she is prepared to call the chase trucks with a detailed list of the problem that she’s discussed with her driver. “With Cayden, we’re pretty calm from start to finish,” Hein said. “You have to stay as calm as possible because you are racing to beat your competition. What’s crazy are the speeds of the Polaris. You can’t tell from the seat but it is fast. It’s a testament to the prep and professionalism of everyone on the team.” SJ