ST. GEORGE — Not many couples get to blend high-speed adrenaline rushes with romantic getaways, but driver-navigator duo Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell live that life every day.
Wells and Cornwell, based in Hurricane when they’re not on the road racing, competed in the Baja 400 two weeks ago. It’s one of the premier yearly off-road races in the world held in Ensenada, Mexico.
“This was my fourth Baja. The previous three I had won,” Wells told St. George News. “This is the first year I didn’t win. We were in a different class and ended up fifth.”
Cornwell, Wells’ girlfriend and navigator, was right by his side in the high-speed race.
“It’s really fun,” Cornwell said. “It’s definitely a unique and special experience like no other. A lot of people don’t get to experience such an adrenaline rush with someone they love. It’s a super bonding experience.”
St. George News reported on some of Wells’ earlier races as a family member of the Risq Racing team in Hurricane and when he drove in the Baja 1000 and the Mint 400.
This year’s race was different as he was driving more muscle — a new Polaris Pro R.
“It’s got a little more motor, more power,” Wells said. “My previous cars would top out around 80 miles per hour. In this last race I think we topped out at 105. Faster is better. There’s more competition in this class, now we’re competing against the fastest UTV’s.”
Sitting next to the driver, the navigator’s role is to track the course with GPS and help predict course changes and turns. Cornwell said she gets a first-hand look at Wells’ driving skills.
“He’s calculated and smooth and almost prescient,” Cornwell said, noting that Wells can see course changes and obstacles well before they happen.
“It’s like he’s looking down from above,” she added. “He knows where every rock is, knows how to set up for turns and can see into the future, it seems.”
Cornwell is studying to be a physician’s assistant and met Wells when she was working for a medical company that provides services at car races.
“I was able to combine my love of medicine and off-road racing,” Cornwell said. “And at a race Kaden came by to get an IV and that’s how we met.”
Their racing partnership began in a Mint 400, which they won.
“Since then it just slowly developed into a personal relationship,” Cornwell said.
“She’s awesome,” Wells said. “She’s focused, she pays attention to the GPS and wants to win just as bad as I do, so we work together really well that way.”
In the recent Baja race, Wells was up in the front of the pack and competing with the leaders before he was slowed by a flat tire.
The tire change took longer than normal because they had to get the vehicle situated on the jack. Wells and Cornwell fell from third to eighth in the time it took to change the tire.
They got back in the race and started picking off the vehicles ahead of them one by one. Then, more off-road bad luck saw them stuck behind a couple of trucks racing in a different class, and they couldn’t get around.
In the end, they finished fifth and missed a podium appearance by eight minutes.
“It just wasn’t in the cards,” Wells said. “We kind of just got stuck behind traffic. But it was still one of the better races of the year. We keep improving and learning new things.”
Photo Gallery
Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell in their car racing the Baja 400, Ensenada, Mexico, September, 2023 | Photo by highrev photo, courtesy Libby Wells, St. George News
Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell and members of their team at the Baja 400, Ensenada, Mexico, September, 2023 | Photo by highrev photo, courtesy Libby Wells, St. George News
Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell are racing and life partners at the Baja 400, Ensenada, Mexico, September, 2023 | Photo by highrev photo, courtesy Libby Wells, St. George News
Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell in their car during the Baja 400, Ensenada, Mexico, September, 2023 | Photo by highrev photo, courtesy Libby Wells, St. George News
Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell and their fans at the Baja 400, Ensenada, Mexico, September, 2023 | Photo by highrev photo, courtesy Libby Wells, St. George News
Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell are racing and life partners at the Baja 400, Ensenada, Mexico, September, 2023 | Photo by highrev photo, courtesy Libby Wells, St. George News
Kaden Wells and Emma Cornwell in their car racing the Baja 400, Ensenada, Mexico, September, 2023 | Photo by highrev photo, courtesy Libby Wells, St. George News
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