K&N Off-Roader Cody Rahders Takes A Top 10 At The Baja 500 In His Polaris RZR

Cody and his father have been developing their Polaris RZR into an off-road contender

Cody, along with dad Doug, made the decision to break out and take on off-road racing. They’d continue their relationship with Polaris and race the RZR, but in doing so stepped into one of the most highly-subscribed and competitive classes in off-road racing.

For example: for the recent Baja 500, 26 side-by-sides were entered in the Pro UTV Forced Induction class, that’s more than 10 percent of all entries. And remarkably, the top finishing Pro UTV FI came in with a lower time than the winners in Class 1/2, Class 5, Class 7, Class 7SX, Class 11, and Class 12. And would have kicked the last place finisher in Trophy Trucks back one position. That’s competitive. Further, of the 26 only two UTVs didn’t finish, so you have to earn your wins and not simply drive around waiting for other competitors to crash out.

Cody, Doug, co-drivers James Hill and Kevin Sullivan, and team were in much better shape for this year’s Baja 500 that last’s. They rolled into Ensenada without the electrical problems that plagued them the previous year and were confident they could achieve a strong finish. Cody ran in fifth through most of the event, broke 40 miles from the finish, made the repair and drove in for a seventh-place finish.

We had a chance to grill Cody about the Baja 500 and whatever else is going on in his life. Here’s what he had to say:

To say that Cody was exited about entering the Baja 500 was a but of an understatement

Cody Rahders: The course is always rough but temps were cooler plus we were better organized and better prepared.

K&N: Did you feel better prepared? Was the team and the UTV better prepared?

CR: The car only went 160 miles at last year’s Baja 1000 before we folded an A-arm and DNF'd so it had relatively low miles on it which made prep easy and after 5 starts in Baja, my dad began to have an understanding of who and what we needed for spares and where they needed to be on course.

K&N: Last year "UTV Driver" wrote "that the desert's not been kind to you." You laughed when you read it, sort of agreeing. Are things better for you out there?

CR: Their "odds" chart is always funny but in my case it’s been accurate. The biggest thing that helped is slowing down, not a lot but just enough to help the car live and get it to the finish. We need to invest in some better parts in key areas that should allow me to pick up the pace.

K&N: The course ran more on the west side of the peninsula than last year, where it was run mainly on the east side. Did that have any impact on you or your UTV?

Cody and his two co-drivers James Hill and Kevin Sullivan enjoy the spoils of their Top 10 finish

K&N: The winner set a blistering pace. His time would have placed him second to last in Trophy Trucks. You came in about two hours later. Did you have trouble in the desert? In the pits? Or had you decided on a pace you thought would bring you home to a good finish?

CR: We don't have the budget (yet) to run at the leaders pace, simple as that. My plan was top 5, to run conservative the first 400 and maintain a top 10 pace then push the last 100 miles and demonstrate we can finish strong. I ran as high as I think it was 3rd or 4th coming into our second pit at race mile 160 but broke an axle coming through a wash and had to have it changed. I lost a few spots there, gained some back and by race mile 240 was in 5th through 440 then had the threaded end of the right outer CV joint break off which ruined a wheel bearing. By the time we got the car out and fixed I lost an hour and a few spots. I got a couple positions back but everyone was so spread out it was just get to the end and finished 7th.

K&N: On top of your racing you’re also a full-time college student. How's school going?

Perhaps Cody's mind wasn't completely on his college course work as he prepared for the 500

K&N: If that weren’t enough, you are working at Fox Shox, tuning UTV shocks. Are you still working at Fox?

CR: Yes. When I'm not in school I work in the engineering department at Fox. It’s awesome to be on the design side and can’t thank Fox enough for the opportunity.

K&N: Did you tune some shocks specifically to your liking?

CR: Yep, mine! Shocks are personal, it’s not a one size fits all. If someone doesn't know what they like we have base settings to get them started then take them testing to develop their skills and learn how the shock works in different conditions. Then we can tune it to their style of driving.

Congratulations on your finish at the Baja 500 and thank you for your time Cody. Good luck with the rest of the season.