SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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STRENGTH IN NUMBERS Nearly 50 UTV Teams Challenged The 2024 SCORE Baja 400 By Larry Saavedra, Paul Hanson, Isaac Flores, and Ariana Medrano Photos by Get Some Photo The popularity of SCORE UTV classes was on full display at the 5th SCORE Baja 400 Presented by VP Racing, where nearly 50 teams faced off against blinding dust and treacherous terrain. Within the large group of UTV racers competing at this year’s event, some suggested Polaris was the heavy favorite coming into the race, and factory team driver Cayden MacCachren didn’t disappoint the fans. As predicted, MacCachren took home the UTV Overall and Class win, making this race his fourth consecutive Overall for the SCI Motorsports Factory Polaris team. SCORE Pro UTV Open The win came down to seconds,” said MacCachren in the No. 1821 RZR Pro R. “I had no idea where I was toward the end. Even though I started first off the grid, I still had to race like I was in last place.” About 30 miles from the finish, MacCachren was two minutes behind UTV leader Brock Heger in the No. 1896 RZR Pro R. “That wasn’t good to hear,” said MacCachren. “I picked the pace up from Ojos to the finish and got within four seconds of the win.” Assuming he lost the race to Heger, MacCachren sucked it up but was happy that another Polaris teammate took the top spot on the podium. To MacCachren’s surprise, news got back to that Heger was penalized in a speed zone, dropping the No. 1896 car back to second, and moving MacCachren to the top of the leaderboard. “It’s not the way I wanted to win, but it’s still a win,” MacCachren added. Even with the penalty, it was a good day for Heger too. “It was a long day for sure,” he said. According to Heger, his Polaris blew a shock early on and got passed by a lot of people. Fortunately for the team, he made the repairs, charged forward, and regained the lead. Heger says the race car was feeling really good. “I decided to push the limits,” he added. “ But the dust made it almost impossible for Heger to see the course in the final 50 miles. Third place went to Wayne Matlock in the No. 1871 Polaris RZR. Matlock says it was a rough day. “I don’t mind rough courses, but man it was dusty,” he said. “We never got out of the race car, and gassed up twice. Both were very quick pits. Overall we bent a brake rotor, otherwise, everything worked perfectly.” Matlock’s wife Kristen in the No. 1854 Polaris didn’t have quite the finish she had hoped and summed it up this way. “It was going very well until it wasn’t,” she said. She lost the front brakes at race mile 80 and relied on only three working brakes the entire race. “It was awkward, but fun.” SCORE Pro UTV Forced Induction Rodrigo Ampudia Jr. took home the Class win in the No. 2910 Can-Am Maverick. “It was a great race for us,” he said. “We had some problems during the day that cost us a lot of time.” Still, Ampudia preserved and made it to the top of the podium. “There was a lot of dust and it was difficult to pass the slower cars because the visibility was so bad,” he said. “The beach section was extremely fast and we had a load of fun competing in this year’s race.” Erick Kozin in the No. 2940 Honda Talon took second in class, which was his second podium of the season going into the SCORE Baja 1000 in November. He now leads the SCORE Points race in class. Bogart Escandon in the No. 2956 Can-Am Maverick landed squarely on the podium in third place after a tough race. According to Escandon’s co-driver Adrian Escandon, the team had some issues with the course. “Flat tires and all the dust didn’t help,” he said. “The third-place finish should bump us up the points. “Our goal was to get a top five, and we did it.” The team was surprised to find a course different than the one they had pre-run. “It was really beat up,” he said. “We were cautious with the car and took it to the finish.” Escandon sits back only a few points from leader Kozen. SCORE Pro Stock UTV With two first-place finishes this season, Kaden Wells in the No. 3925 Can-Am Maverick took the SCORE Pro Stock win. Wells was heavily favored to win the SCORE Baja 400, a challenge he gladly accepted. Wells said it was an uneventful experience. “We had a flawless day at the 400. The course was tough, but the Can-Am Maverick handled it well. The fact is, we didn’t get out of the car all day. It was gas and went for 420 miles.” Wells started last off the grid but moved into the front position within the first 100 miles. He set a pace from there and just focused on the finish. Wells currently leads in points in class. Francisco Beltran in the No. 3921 Can-Am Maverick took second place by crossing the finish line 20 minutes behind Wells. “I’m tired,” Beltran said after the race. “We didn’t make any major mistakes. We hit some small rocks, but no big deal.” Beltran added that his team was monitoring Wells’ race after getting passed by him. “We wanted to try and catch him,” he said. But Wells had other plans and stayed 10 or so miles ahead of Beltran to the finish. “The Maverick had a lot to endure, but it got us on the podium,” he added. Jorge Cano in the No. 3900 Can-Am took third and was super happy to have finished. “It was challenging, and we left everything out there on the course,” he said. The SCORE Baja 400 was his fifth consecutive podium. “The car is in great shape, although he said there were issues with the clutch near the finish. “It happens in every race,” he added. SCORE UTV Normally Aspirated David Pedder in the No. 1984 Honda Talon continued his podium streak by taking first in class again at the SCORE Baja 400. Like the other UTV teams who challenged the course, Pedder says it was super rough. And jokingly said, “My favorite part of the whole race was the highway section. But we’re happy with our finish and want to thank SCORE and everyone who volunteered to help.” Pedder acknowledged a couple of flat tires, but other than that nothing else happened mechanically to the Honda. “I like what SCORE did with the course this year, it was a welcome change,” he said. Pedder is currently leading in points in the class. Eva Star Malabanan in the No. 1919 Polaris RZR is a fan favorite in Ensenada. She took home another second-place podium finish and crossed two hours behind Pedder. Malabanan placed second at the King Shocks SCORE San Felipe 250 and placed fourth at the BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 500. Joe Bolton in the No. 1957 Polaris RZR took third in class. SJ