Dougans Racing Engines Now 4 for 4 in Major Off-Road Desert Races in 2016
Andy McMillin earned his first overall win of 2016 in his TSCO Racing T1 Trick Truck at Best in the Desert’s Vegas to Reno, solidifying his place in the top five Best in the Desert overall standings with two races remaining in the 2016 season. With Justin Matney’s win at the Parker 425 in the Geiser Brothers RPM Off-Road Trick Truck, Justin Lofton’s win at The Mint 400, Tavo Vildosola’s win at the Baja 500 and now McMillin’s win at Vegas to Reno, Dougans Racing Engines has checked off four of the top five elite races in off-road desert racing, with the notorious Baja 1000 up for grabs later this November. McMillin battled through dust all weekend and finished +00:08:09 over Rob MacCachren, a feat he says has him comfortable heading in the Baja 1000.
“My confidence level is extremely high headed into the Baja 1000,” says McMillin. “I had an amazing race. With so much dust we just had to sit in line behind Rob Mac and Voss on Day 1. Then we picked it up pretty good on Day 2 and were able to get some clean air going for the win.”
McMillin patiently finished Day 1 +00:03:32 back from the leader. He had a trouble free day but was forced to hold steady in the dust. He knew that with a flawless truck, 347 miles on Day 2 would be plenty to make up the lost time if he could get around the leaders in to open air. McMillin was able to do so later on in the race and from there he was pinned to the finish. McMillin finished first on day 2, earning the overall win by over eight minutes on Rob MacCachren on corrected time.
“The TSCO Racing T1 Trick Truck was on point. The team was on point. It all just came together and I am so pumped to give everyone involved in my program our first win of 2016!” commented McMillin at the finish line.
In the debut of the brand new Smiley Motorsports #2 Trick Truck, Jeff Geiser and Tony Smiley finished 11th overall and 9th in class in a trouble free run all weekend. After finishing +00:18:02 on Day 1, Geiser and Smiley put the hammer down and moved up fourteen spots to finish the race top ten in class.
In his best showing of 2016, Todd Pedersen of Space Monkey Racing finished 14th overall and 11th in class in the #75 Trick Truck. Dougans teammate #46 Troy Vest finished behind Pederson in 15th overall and 12th in class. With a 19th place class finish at the Parker 425, an 11th place class finish at The Mint 400 and now a 12th place finish at Vegas to Reno, Vest sits in seventh place in the overall points standings with two races remaining.
#38 Eric Hustead earned his first finish of 2016 in 21st place overall and 14th place in class. Hustead qualified 36th and climbed to 22nd place +00:17:50 off the lead pace on Day 1, where he remained at the end of the race.
The two YouTheory Racing Trick Trucks powered by Dougans finished side by side in 26th/28th overall and 16th/17th in class. #55 Anthony Terzo and co-drver Beau Mortin finished 33rd on Day 1 and hammered home for a solid finish. Three flat tires and with a broken jack plagued Jeff Terzo and Brad Beintema on Day 1 but the duo were able to run clean on Saturday for a 17th place finish.
#27 Steve Olliges and #16 Cameron Steele had solid finishes with their 18th and 20th place finishes in class.
Despite his 21st place class finish, #17 Geiser Brothers RPM Off-Road Trick Truck of Eduardo Laguna remains in second place in the overall points standings, just nine points behind Jason Voss. Laguna’s race didn’t go as expected and adjustments made to his truck on the fly contributed to a crash at over 100mph. Laguna’s team was able to put the truck back together and get to the finish line, a key to earning valuable points towards the overall points championship.
#58 Tracy Graf was one of the final finishers at Vegas to Reno but earned valuable points to keep himself in the hunt for an overall points championship. Graf was rewarded 87 points for his finish which puts him in third place overall, 14 points behind current leader, Jason Voss.
Dougans racers now fill six of the top twelve spots in the overall points chase in the Best in the Desert Series including Eduardo Laguna (2nd), Tracy Graf (3rd), Andy McMillin (5th), Troy Vest (7th), Justin Lofton (9th) and Justin Matney (12th).
The brutal nevada desert got the best of #95 Scott Whipple, #62 Ryan Poelman, #4 Justin Matney, #41 Justin Lofton and #60 Cole Potts and they did not finish the race.
Next up for Dougans Racing Engines will be the Best in the Desert Blue Water Desert Challenge on October 6th-9th.
About Dougans Racing Engines
Dougans Racing Engines (www.dougansracing.com) specializes in high performance engines for the top off-road competitions including the Best In the Desert and SCORE racing series. With over thirty-five years in the industry, Dougans offers high quality engine packages for trophy trucks, Class 1 trucks, and prerunners. We build complete engine packages that have gained a reputation in the racing world as consistent, powerful, dependable winners. Along with our engine packages, we provide dyno testing and personal track support to ensure that our customer’s needs are met all the way to the finish line. At Dougans Racing, customer satisfaction is our top priority and we strive to keep you running hard and winning races mile after mile.
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