SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1544512
A LAST-DITCH EFFORT Kaden Wells Wins With His Pre-Runner By Larry Saavedra Photos By Get Some Photo Thirty days before the start of the King Shocks 39th SCORE San Felipe 250, a fire gutted Kaden Wells’ race-ready Can-Am Maverick R at an event in the states. Instead of calling it quits, Wells went to work prepping his pre-runner to do the job. It wasn’t bolt-for-bolt as good as his race car, he admitted, but Wells says he figured it would get him through the first race of the season. Little did he know how right he was. Wells ended up capturing the win in SCORE Pro UTV Forced Induction class, and along the way made a bunch of new fans proud to see last year’s Class Champion on top of the podium again. “Something exploded on the Maverick I was going to race at San Felipe,” Wells said. “I had about a month or so to figure things out because I didn’t have a backup. I read the rule book and went to work on my pre-runner and replaced everything I could. The fuel cell wasn’t ideal, but it was the only option I had. It held only 14 usable gallons which meant I would have to pit more often.” Despite racing with a smaller fuel cell, Wells was able to swap a new drivetrain and suspension, but the chassis was two years old and the wiring was original to the vehicle. Wells said the Maverick he used in San Felipe had about 8,000 miles on it. It was more miles than your typical race car, but he didn’t seem to be worried. “The vehicle was competitive and I didn’t have any real issues during the race,” he said. “It did run hotter than normal, but that was expected because I was running lights for night driving. It was also a super-hot day, and the sand washes affect the engine temperature.” Even though it wasn’t a full-chassis race car, Wells knew he had to keep it smooth and not rush to the finish. “I would have been stoked with a podium,” he said. “I didn’t even know I had won the race, but my team radioed and said dude you won. I was as surprised as anyone.” Like other racers, he said the dust was pretty bad at times. “Because I started in the back of the field I stayed in a decent pocket of clean air for a while. But I had to get by a bunch of Class 10 cars.” According to Wells he did have a super-fast run on the dry lake bed because it was basically free of any competitors when he made his move across it. The entire race was a quick, but it was the roughest he had had in many years because of the rocks, ruts, and lines that constantly changed from pre-running to race day. Wells hopes that his all-new Can-Am Maverick is ready sooner than later, but he’s fine going for it in his two-year old pre-runner at the SCORE Baja 500 in June if that’s what it takes to stay in the game. SJ