FOX athletes begin the 2013 Best in the Desert racing series with multiple wins and a clean sweep of the 6100 class podium on a tough Parker, Arizona race course.
El Cajon, Calif. – Miles of deep sand and brutal rocks strewn across the legendary Parker 425 race course took its toll on many competitors but failed to prevent FOX athletes from wins in classes 1500, 1000, 1100, 6100 and 2000.
In the unlimited open wheel class, (1500) Corey Keysar took the win and fifth place overall ahead of FOX athlete Brian Parkhouse in second. “We were not concerned about a top qualifying position, it is a long race,” said Corey, “We ran just hard enough in time trials to start ahead of the slower cars in our class. On raceday, we would need a clean run. We had no issues, our FOX shocks were flawless.”
Class 1000 had 42 cars entered. The winning team of Andrew Myers and Ross Savage were the 32nd car in their class to leave the line but passed 18 other cars in the first 30 miles. The team just won the HDRA South Point 250 two weeks before the Parker race. “Without FOX’s help getting our shocks turned around we wouldn’t have made the race on such short notice,” said Ross Savage, “We had one set-up session with FOX before the HDRA race and he nailed it. The car is flawless, we couldn’t be happier.”
FOX athletes also took the top two spots in classes 1100 and 2000. In 1100, it was the Banning Motorsports team who dominated with Bryan Folks, (defending class 1100 champion) in his number 1178 taking first and teammate Ali Banning driving the Autism Speaks number 1123 in second place. The two were in a heated battle amongst themselves on the last lap, finishing within a minute of each other. “We had to keep the pace high to take the win over our own teammates,” said Bryan, “The way our cars work, I just can’t imagine how they could go any faster. The FOX shocks make these beam cars fly.”
In 2000, (Limited 1600cc open wheeled buggies) the Mattox brothers Ryan and Ross were able to run flat out in the nearly dust free conditions to take the victory over second place FOX athlete Max Hanberg. “We pushed our FOX shocks hard all day,” said Ross Mattox, “the rougher it got, the more cars we passed.”
The 6100 class had only eight starters but with several new trucks making their debut, the future of the young class looks very promising. Fox athletes swept the podium with the win going to the Camburg team with Jerry Whelchel behind the wheel. “Our truck is much heavier than the rest of the class,” said team owner Jerry Zaiden, “Everything on the truck is larger; bigger coolers, bigger brakes, bigger springs because it was built for the Trophy Truck class. Our FOX shocks are also bigger. They really had a handle on this rough course and allowed us to run away from the field.”
The results from the Parker race speak for themselves. Whether you drive a heavy, full-sized truck like Jerry Whelchel or a lightweight, single-seat, 1600cc buggy like the Mattox brothers, FOX has the race-proven damping technology to put you out front.