Coverage sponsored by Obor Tires
The 34th SCORE San Felipe 250, the long-awaited kickoff round to the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship, saw some of the strongest UTV fields in the history of the series, including a record 33 entries in the Pro UTV Forced Induction class. When all was said and done, it was Brandon Schueler in Forced Induction, Kristen Matlock in Normally Aspirated, and Mike Cafro in Pro Stock UTV who would conquer the 280.2-mile course and top their respective class podiums.
It was a banner day for Cafro in particular, as he scored both the Stock class win and a top five finish in the Forced Induction division as the only driver of record to score top five finishes in both UTV divisions. Cafro’s #3955 Obor Tires-backed Polaris RZR in the Pro Stock division posted a time fast enough for fourth overall among UTVs regardless of division, and came in over 40 minutes ahead of class runner-up Nick Bruce.
Schueler, meanwhile, teamed up with Caden MacCachren—son of Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Rob—to post a winning time of 6:17:45.485. Their margin of victory over Austin Weiland came in at just over a minute, while Wes Miller leapfrogged from a 20th place starting spot onto the final step of the podium a further 10 minutes behind.
The Normally Aspirated division was decided by just over five minutes, with Matlock defeating Dodge Poelman and Kaden Wells to kick off her title defense with her fourth victory in the last seven events. In the Open class, Justin Elenburg boasted the largest margin of victory among any division, finishing an hour and a half ahead of closest rival Josh Herzing.
When all was said and done, out of 63 combined UTV entries, 46 made it to the checkered flag, part of an all-time SCORE record finishing rate of more than 72 percent. 22 of the 33 entries in the Forced Induction division headlines that list, with only three of the 10 Pro Stock entries falling out and Normally Aspirated and Open each suffering just one DNF.
Full finisher lists from the UTV classes as provided by SCORE were as follows:
PRO UTV FI (two-seat Forced Induction, OEM engine UTVs)—
(Starters 33, Finishers 22)—1. 2919 Brandon Schueler, 32, Phoenix/Cayden MacCachren, 19, Las Vegas/Pat Stone, 50, Payson, Ariz./Miles Martin, 31, Peoria, Ariz., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 6:17:45 (44.51 mph); 2. 2954 Austin Weiland, 28, El Cajon, Calif., Can-Am X3, 6:18:51; 3. 2989 Wes Miller, 51, Las Vegas/Donny Powers, 33, Morgan Hill, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4Turbo, 6:28:25; 4. 2944 Phil Blurton, 34, Auburn, Calif./Beau Judge, 44, Rockland, Calif., Can-Am X3, 6:32:03; 5. 2975 Mike Cafro, 51, Fallbrook, Calif./Jamie Kirkpatrick, 39, Olympia, Wash., Polaris Turbo S, 6:37:34; 6. 2940 Erick Kozin, 42, Yorba Linda, Calif./Drew Stanton, 22, , Can-Am X3, 6:40:22; 7. 2938 Kolton Husted, 21, St. George, Utah, Can-Am X3, 6:44:31; 8. 2987 Edgar Garcia Leon, 33, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Nancy Garcia, Can-Am Maverick X3, 7:11:59; 9. 2974 Jorge Cano, 46, Culiacan, Mexico/, Can-Am X3 XRS Turbo RR, 7:22:40; 10. 2948 Matt Burroughs, 52, Norco, Calif./Zachary Burroughs, 22, Norco, Calif./Bradley Howe, 34, Leona Valley, Calif./Tim Orchard, 65, Riverside, Calif., Can-Am X3, 7:27:04; 11. 2967 Mike Pratt, 53, Draper, Utah/Eddie Leon, 35, Lehi, Utah/Cody Scofield, 26, Draper, Utah/Chance Lee, 34, Draper, Utah, Polaris RZR Turbo S, 7:45:09; 12. 2930 Sean Cook, 55, Twain Harte, Calif./Matt Davis, Twain Harte, Calif./Brendan Cook, Plymouth, Calif./Carlos Diaz, San Diego/Eric Cook, Folsom, Calif., Can-Am X3, 7:57:32; 13. 2931 Craig Scanlon, 47, Helena, Mont. (Yorba Linda, Calif.)/Keith Redstrom, 51, Glendale, Ariz., Polaris RZR Turbo,8:08:15; 14. 2915 Jessica Lopez, 17, Tecate, Mexico/Arturo Aguilera, Tecate, Mexico, Can-Am Maverick X3, 8:19:37; 15. 2970 Francisco Beltran, 50, La Paz, Mexico/Francisco Beltran Jr, 20, La Paz, Mexico/Diego Beltran, 18, La Paz, Mexico, Can-Am X3 XRS, 8:29:05; 16. 2904 Cory Sappington, 55, Peoria, Ariz./Ashley Antill, 25, Las Vegas, Nev./Jason Flanders, 38, Phoenix/Todd Turner, 54, Peoria, Ariz., Can-Am Maverick X3 Max, 8:34:51; 17. 2999 Bob Jablonsky, 48, Mesa, Ariz./Jack Torkkola, 60, Mesa, Ariz./Larry Hutchenson, Fountain Hills, Ariz., Can-Am X3, 8:41:23; 18. 2976 Jesus Mendez Jr, 23, Mexicali, Mexico/Yoshua Marquesho, 27, Mexicali, Mexico/Jesus Mendez Sr, 44, Mexicali Mexico/Felix Garcia, 22, Mexicali, Mexico, Can-Am Maverick XRS, 8:49:31; 19. 2905 Marc Burnett, 50, Alpine, Calif./Simon Terzian, 30, Valencia, Calif., Can-Am X3, 9:36:38; 20. 2929 Jose Rodrigo May Lopez, 27, Zapopan, Mexico/Alejandro Ramirez, 27, Zapopan, Mexico/Victor Cruz, 29, Ensenada, Mexico, Can-Am X3, 9:54:07; 21. 2949 Alonso Lopez, 47, Murrieta, Calif./Mario Amezcua, 46, Tijuana, Mexico/Leobardo Gomez, 41, Tijuana, Mexico, Can-Am X3, 11:03:40; 22. 2920 Roberto Ruiz, 47, El Centro, Calif./Oscar Ruiz, 24, El Centro, Calif./Rodolfo Navarro, 48, Mexicali, Mexico, Can-Am Maverick,12:42:42
PRO UTV NA (two-seat Normally Aspirated, OEM engine UTVs)—
(Starters 12, Finishers 11)—1. 1954 Kristen Matlock, 40, Alpine, Calif./Adrian Felix, 34, Tecate, Mexico, Polaris RZR XP4 1000, 6:47:52 (41.22 mph); 2. 1962 Dodge Poelman, 20, Orem, Utah/Luis Dominguez, 25, Polaris XP1000, 6:53:26; 3. 1995 Kaden Wells, 22, Apple Valley, Utah/Mitch Johnson, 23, St. George, Utah/Arnie Wells, 35, Idaho Falls, Idaho/Jonathon Atondo, 27, Heber, Calif./Travis Wells, 47, Apple Valley, Utah, Polaris RZR XP1000, 7:21:46; 4. 1957 Joe Bolton, 63, Corona, Calif./Dana Jones, 62, Scottsdale, Ariz./Matthew Banuelos, 40, Whittier, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 1000, 7:23:41; 5. 1909 Quirino Rene Gutierrez, 37, San Diego/Sergio Agun, 32, Tijuana, Mexico/Marco Valenzuela, 33, Ensenada, Mexico, Polaris RZR XP1000, 8:35:36; 6. 1925 Zach Sizemore, 27, Hesperia, Calif./Geoffrey Dunivin, 25, Simi Valley, Calif./Wayne Lambert, 46, Canyon Lake, Calif., Honda Talon 1000R, 8:38:46; 7. 1911 Greg Row, 57, Alpine, Calif./Scott Bergen, 39, Ramona, Calif./Dave Magy, 56, Philadelphia/Zach Hydeman, 33, San Diego, Polaris RZR XP1000, 9:05:19; 8. 1910 Jose Angulo, 51, Hurricane, Utah/Monica Angulo, 19, Hurricane, Utah/Jonathan Atondo, 27, Hebert, Calif./Taylor Jones, 18, Hurricane, Utah, Polaris RZR XP1000, 9:07:09; 9. 1920 Elias Hanna, 38, Ensenada, Mexico/Francisco Verdugo, 29, Ensenada, Mexico/Wayne Lambert, 46, Canyon Lake, Calif., Honda Talon 1000R, 9:58:17; 10. 1972 Katie Vernola, 29, San Clemente, Calif./Kyle Ahrensberg, 33, San Diego, Polaris RSI, 10:01:51; 11. 1912 Rickey Arslanian, 39, Livermore, Calif./Brian Cooper, 37, Santa Rosa, Calif./Kevin Fox, 32, Santa Rosa, Calif., Polaris RZR XP1000,12:01:33
PRO UTV STOCK (Stock UTVs, FI or NA)—
(Starters 10, Finishers 7)—1. 3955 Mike Cafro, 51, Fallbrook, Calif./Adan Ibarra, 40, Ensenada, Mexico, Polaris Turbo S, 6:30:59 (43.00 mph); 2. 3953 Nick Bruce, 55, Queen Creek, Ariz./Cam Muldner, 50, Surprise, Ariz., Can-Am X3 Max XRS RR, 7:13:03; 3. 3950 Scott Trafton, 39, Alpine, Calif./Gabe Seebold, 39, El Cajon, Calif., Polaris RZR Turbo, 7:40:06; 4. 3951 Manuel Reyes, 39, Toluca, Mexico/Cesar Vela, 40, Guadalajara, Mexico/Jorge Vela, 46, Guadalajara, Mexico/Omar Saucedo, 36, Guadalajara, Mexico/Pierluigi Pernazza, 37, Guadalajara, Mexico/Eduardo Uribe, 50, Mexico City, Polaris RZR XP Pro, 9:24:21; 5. 3939 Brett Franson, 46, San Antonio, Texas/Danny Tran, Boerne, Texas/Jane Steidel, San Antonio, Texas/Fernando Padilla, El Paso, Texas/Bryan Gunderson, Houston, Can-Am X3, 9:42:46; 6. 3907 Hector Jimenez Jr, 23, Blackfoot, Idaho/Hector Jimenez Sr, 45/ David Jimenez, 18, Polaris RZR XP Turbo, 10:41:42; 7. 3913 Carolina Sanchez, 34, Calexico, Calif., Can-Am X3, 10;43:49
PRO UTV OPEN (two-seat open UTV open-displacement)–
(Starters 7, Finishers 6)—1. 1870 Justin Elenburg, 43, Mesa, Ariz./Ernesto Taylor, 32, Mesa, Ariz./Michael York, 50, Gilbert, Ariz./Mike Jeluso, 39, Can-Am X3, 6:51:57 (40.81 mph); 2. 1877 Josh Herzing, 34, Cypress, Texas/Travis Herzing, 28, Cypress, Texas/Ryan Blagrave, 19, Cypress, Texas/Anthony Decrosta, 30, Cypress, Texas/Lacrecia Beurrier, 51, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Polaris RZR XP1000, 8:22:38; 3. 1898 Cameron Ornelas, 46, Leona Valley, Calif./Kyle Hildalgo, 35, Sylmar, Calif., Can-Am X3, 8:41:31; 4. 1871 Wayne Matlock, 43, Alpine, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 9:01:21; 5. 1869 Mike Lesle, 60, Wildomar, Calif./Dan Miller, Salt Lake City, Utah/Marshall Lobo, 40, Menifee, Calif., Polaris RZR XP Turbo, 9:20:47; 6. 1879 Michelle Barraza, 36, Mexicali, Mexico/Humberto Garcia, 35, Mexicali, Mexico/Victor Castillo, 35, Mexicali, Mexico, Polaris RZR Turbo, 9:57:23
The 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship continues with the 53rd SCORE Baja 500 on June 9-13, 2nd SCORE Baja 400 on September 14-19, and 54th SCORE Baja 1000 on November 15-20. Coverage of the 34th SCORE San Felipe 250 will air as part of ESPN’s World of X Games later this year.
Check out Ernesto Araiza’s full gallery from the SCORE San Felipe 250 below!
