Desert Race

New winners for the season opener By the staff of Dirt Wheels, Photos by Harlan Foley The Best in the Desert season opener held record-breaking racer attendance with 330 total entries. Over 100 entries were registered for the various Pro UTV categories and 54 among the UTV Turbo class. The UTV Unlimited class nearly doubled in size from the previous year. The UTV Pro Open class ran for the first time in the Tensor Tire Parker 250 and was claimed by Mitchell Alsup. This class was designed to allow a more…

King of the Hammers began 12 years ago in Johnson Valley with 13 guys racing or a case of beer. Today KOH has grown to have over 45,000 spectators and 118 entries just in the UTV class alone. The week-long event began last Friday when Hammertown officially opened to the public. However, racers came out days before the event was even set up, so they could pre-run the course and prepare for the brutal 181 mile race. This year was promised to be the toughest KOH course in history for the UTV drivers. But before the racers could…

Safecraft driver Larry Roeseler is a legend in off-road motorcycle racing starting with his early years racing a Harley-Davidson 100cc two-stroke in the desert to later rides with Husqvarna, Yamaha and Team Green Kawasaki where he won both the Baja 500 and 1000, multiple ISDE medals and finished as top American in the ISDE. He even raced the ISDE (International Six-Day Enduro) on an 80cc motorcycle. LR, as he is known, also has class wins at Vegas to Reno on a motorcycle and in a truck. After his motorcycle career…

Best in the Desert's Vegas to Reno is the longest off road race in America. At a whopping 540 miles, this race took out nearly half of the record 88 UTV entries running the course this year. This years top five finishers in the UTV turbo class for Vegas to Reno consisted of two RZRs and three CanAms. It was an impressive lineup of drivers and race teams who all worked hard to earn their spot. First place was gained by Phil Blurton of the No Limit Race Development and Manufacturing team. This was their second year in a…

 Travis Pastrana shreds in RZR Star Car Polaris RZR demonstrated why it is the recreational side-by-side leader and overwhelming choice of desert racers by representing 60-percent of the field at Best in the Desert’s (BITD) General Tire “Vegas to Reno” presented by FOX. When the dust settled, Team RZR’s Kristen Matlock had her first Pro Production win in her No. 1954 RZR XP4 1000. “I did it!!! I got my first win in the UTV Pro Production class,” said Matlock. “I can't stop smiling, I'm so pumped right…

Professional action sports legend and stunt performer Travis Pastrana will take his mad skills to the starting line when he races the Polaris RZR Star Car at the longest off-road race in the U.S., Best in the Desert’s (BITD) “Vegas to Reno” race on Aug. 18. Pastrana, a 13-time X-Games medalist, will push a 2017 Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo EPS to its limits, maximizing the ultimate combination of power, suspension and agility as he looks to add to his long list of motorsports accomplishments. Pastrana will be…