SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1545899
OFF-ROAD RACING CHOPS Experience And Determination Continue To Payoff For Joe Bolton Story by Stuart Bourdon joe Bolton has been racing off-road since 1984. That includes 26 SCORE Baja 1000 races. During those early years, Bolton competed in almost every moto class there was and won races. That all changed a few years ago during a family vacation. “We were in Colorado, had our bikes, but decided to rent some UTVs. There were some pretty cool trails in the area, and those things were amazing. The next day I bought one.” Before long, Bolton was successfully piloting a UTV in off-road racing events. “The mechanical and technical advancement that some of the UTVs have made in the last 10 years is just unbelievable. In my opinion, nothing else has advanced that quickly in any off-road sport. The Polaris Pro R cars are now chasing the big trucks. They’re just so capable.” All those years racing in the moto classes have given Bolton an edge. “Guys like Larry Roeseler and Dan Smith used to race bikes. Both were awesome moto riders, champions in their sports, and amazingly fast. They became very good at driving cars and trucks because they learned to miss things that would take out a bike. I learned quickly where you can go fast and where you have to slow down.” Recently, he’s been competing in a Polaris XP 1000 and has racked up 14 podium finishes during the last 5 years in the UTV NA (Naturally Aspirated) class. “You have to avoid all the big things that the trucks can just hit and keep on going. Some of those who just started with UTVs think they can go over anything at speed, but they wind up tearing off suspension arms, getting flat tires, and breaking things. “We have been getting great support from Polaris, running in the Pro UTV NA (Naturally Aspirated) class, and having some good races. In 2023, we won the SCORE class championship. As of the 2026 SCORE Baja 500, we are leading in points, so we’re going to do the rest of the races this season in the NA class, but we’re thinking of switching to the Pro Stock UTV class for next year. The Pro Stock UTV class is very competitive, has more entries, but doesn’t have the big budgets like the full-factory support teams.” SJ