Thirteen side-by-sides lined up for the first SCORE race of
the season, the San Felipe 250, March 8-10. The race was the inaugural race for
the Pro UTV class in the series. When the dust settled Jagged X's Matt Parks
and Jason Spiess had taken the checkered flag in their 1932 Jagged
X/Polaris RZR XP 4 900 and were one of only two side-by-sides to
finish from the class.
The San Felipe 250 is notorious for being the roughest race
in North America with endless whoops, deep
silt and rocky sand washes. After Parks did his pre-run, he knew that this
would be a race of survival.
"The UTVs start dead last in SCORE races and after 240
vehicles had been through the course, it was unbelievably rough," Parks
said. "So we just decided to set a steady pace and take care of the car."
At the 100-mile mark, the Jagged X RZR XP 4 900
was in second place and was working its way through some of the trucks and
buggies. At the second fuel stop at race mile 173, Parks was leading by
more than 20 minutes and just needed to bring it home. After driving the
last two hours in the dark, the team took the checkered flag and sprayed
champagne on the podium at the famous San Felipe arches.
"I am super stoked that we started the year with a win,"
Parks said. "Jagged X did a great job prepping the RZR and Jason
Spiess did a great job calling corners and keeping me patient. I'm excited for
the 500."
The next SCORE race is the Baja 500 in Lake Ensenada, Baja,
Mexico, May 31-June 2.
