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Category: Desert Racing

Alcon celebrates podium domination at Best in the Desert’s Vegas to Reno

Alcon Specialist Brakes and Clutches would like to congratulate Jason Voss and BJ Baldwin on their podium places at the recent Vegas to Reno race. Running his Alcon-equipped truck, Jason Voss powered to his third consecutive victory at the longest off-road race in the USA, finishing a whole 30 minutes before second place. Alcon-equipped BJ Baldwin finished third, just seconds behind Luke McMillin.

Jason Voss leading the way in his Alcon-equipped truck at Vegas to Reno.

Alcon has a long history in US motorsport, supplying winning brake systems to F1, Indycar, NASCAR, and Grand Am series. Alcon’s off road systems have been used by champions across the US, whether it’s driving 1,000 miles down the Baja peninsula, tackling the tough Vegas to Reno course, turning heads in Global Rallycross, or dominating the American Rally Championship. Not only that, Alcon has been a major player in NASCAR for over 10 years, and counts over 30 World Rally Championships to its roll of honour.

Desert racing trucks tackle the harshest terrain, creating additional challenges for all components, not least brakes. Alcon uses its experience, coupled with the latest design software, to optimise the available package space and ensure the best product design is achieved. Expert engineering knowledge allows Alcon to create the strongest, stiffest caliper for the lightest weight possible. The seal-in-bore design of the seal means it is further from the heat source to prevent warping or melting. Pistons are also stainless steel for improved durability and reduced thermal conductivity.

BJ Baldwin finished third to give Alcon two podium finishes.

Key considerations when developing products for this form of racing include vehicle weight, the length of the race, and the unique way brakes are used. The bespoke nature of all Alcon products means that they have been specifically designed with these needs in mind, from the optimised durable caliper housing and internal fluid pathways, right down to the recessing of the bleed screws and off-road-specific piston sizing. This design is the product of market research, extensive collaboration with drivers and engineers, testing, and extensive off-road experience to create a championship-winning brake package.

The culmination of this knowledge and experience is the winning brake systems used by both Voss and Baldwin, as well as other Trick Truck competitors, giving the world’s top drivers the confidence to push their limits.

About Race-Dezert.com
Race-Dezert.com was created by off-road enthusiasts, giving off-roaders a place online to share information about the sport and culture of off-road racing. Based in Southern California, Race-Dezert.com highlights the off-road disciplines of desert racing, short course off-road, stadium truck racing, rally raid, rally racing and rock crawling.

Our goal is to connect the world of off-road racing globally, bringing people together through the common denominator of off-road culture. Whether you are a racer, a promoter, a chase team member, a casual fan, or just interested in learning about off-road, Race-Dezert.com is a place where you can learn about the sport and culture of off-road racing.

August 26, 2015
Big Changes Coming to Best in the Desert in 2016

For the past five years, Best in the Desert has led off-road racing as the premier race series in the sport. With entries growing each year, BITD has held strong to a six-race format with the addition of The Mint 400 in 2012. However, their staples in the Parker 425, Silver State 300, Vegas to Reno, Blue Water Desert Challenge and Henderson 250 have gone relatively untouched in these years.

Announced today by BITD Race Director, Casey Folks, in front of hundreds of media, sponsors and industry leaders, the 2016 Best in the Desert race schedule looks everything but standard. Folks has spent years working to better not only Best in the Desert but the off-road racing community as a whole. Here’s a look at the new 2016 Best in the Desert Racing Association race schedule. (more…)

August 17, 2015
BITD Vegas To Reno returns and Banning Motorsports is ready to dominate two classes

Phoenix, Arizona (August 10, 2015)– We all know that Vegas to Reno is one of the big desert races of the year here in the states. Banning Motorsports is lucky enough to have numerous years of experience racing this brutal race and also being victorious. Now its time to see if they can do it again in Class 6100 as well as the 2400 class.

Banning Motorsports will make their way to Vegas Wednesday. They will be taking the same qualifying position they received at The Mint 400 so that means they will line up 13th in the 6100 class to take on 24 other trucks. Lee Banning Sr., Lee Banning Jr. and Gary Williams Jr. will all be ready for their shot behind the wheel during the race with Chris Godfrey sitting co-rider calling out the terrain.

The 550 mile course will have the racers making some serious elevation changes as they make their way from Northern Las Vegas all the way up to just South of Reno. They will find themselves at nearly 8,000 feet. On top of those elevation changes they will also encounter parts of the course that were washed away due to flooding and even possible dry lake beds that are still a mini lake. The heat of the desert can play a major roll on the race vehicles as well and drivers will have to be watching their gauges non-stop to be sure they don’t overheat in the middle of nowhere Nevada.

Bryan Folks and Rick Graf will be powering the 2488 Banning Motorsports car and will switch co-riders between Adam Warren and Tim Sullivan. This is a strong team and they are leading in the class points. The class may not be the largest but it is a very competitive one. One minor error can mean that the competitor in your dust can take over your position. These guys will be taking their General Tires all the way to Reno unless major catastrophe takes over.

Best In The Desert has done a great job at marking the course and all its dangers and Banning Motorsports looks forward to this race every year as it can bring much success.

Events start on Wednesday with qualifying. You can find the teams at contingency on Thursdayat Aliante Station and race day will start before the sun rises just North of Las Vegas.

Be sure to follow Banning Motorsports on Social Media for event day updates.

August 10, 2015
JIMCO Racing’s Jason Voss Wins the BITD Silver State 300

Three JIMCO Vehicles in the Top Five Overall

The Silver State 300 racecourse is run in the Eastern part of Nevada and can be considered one of the fastest racecourses of the series. Three hundred miles is all there is to muscle your way to the front. After earning top starting position, Jason Voss never surrendered his track position and took the overall win to close the gap in the 2015 overall points race.

Though clean air is an obvious advantage on fast roads that produce blinding dust, a flawless race is still required to take an overall as each race becomes closer and closer. Jason Voss did just that and won Silver State +00:02:24 over second place finisher, Rob MacCachren. The win marks Voss’ second consecutive Silver State 300 victory. After taking four BITD wins (Parker 425, Silver State 300, Vegas to Reno and Henderson 250) in 2014, Voss is now proving he owns one of the most reliable and consistent trucks in off-road and currently sits fourth in the overall points chase.

Two other JIMCO vehicles landed in the top five, including the brand new #1549 buggy of Sam Berri and current Class 1500 points leader, Cody Parkhouse. One point separated the two heading in to the race. Parkhouse missed out on the class win +00:00:38 behind 1500 winner CJ Hutchins. He was the first Class 1500 to finish line but Hutchins, having started eleven spots behind, won on corrected time. Though Parkhouse is yet to win in 2015, he is proving consistency can also give you the edge in overall points halfway through a season.

Despite his huge win at the Mint 400 earlier this year, Berri sits four points behind Parkhouse in the overall points lead. Berri was +00:02:35 off Hutchins’ pace and continues to astonish the class in his single seat JIMCO buggy. Just missing the top ten was JIMCO’s #1599 Todd Tuls. #1547 Pat McCarthy did not finish.

#92 Kevin Curtis powered through numerous issues all day and salvaged points as the last finisher of the race.

#94 Steve Strobel was sixteenth overall qualifier and was up front with the leaders through the fifth pit but ended up not finishing the race. At race mile 187, a mechanical failure in a remote, narrow part of the race track left the #94 stranded with chase crews unable to get the truck and make the necessary repairs needed to finish the race. Justin Lofton’s day ended almost as quickly as it began.

Sixteen miles in to the race rolled the #41 JIMCO Trick Truck cutting their day short. “Both John and I are doing well after our flip at Silver State. Big thanks to our Sparco Full contaminate seats, neck restraints and Jimco Racing Inc for building a safe truck. We will rebuild and be back faster than ever,” said Lofton.

Class 10 has been shaping up to be one of the most competitive classes in off-road racing. Twenty-one 10 cars started the race, including the #1025 and #1071 of Chad Dohrman and Jason Coleman. Fifty miles in to the race, the two led the field and were separated by only ten seconds. The run out front was short lived when Dohrman eventually dropped out due to mechanical issues.

Coleman pushed on but sat +00:04:55 off Class 10 leader and eventual race winner Cody Robinson at race mile 150. Coleman made strides to close the gap throughout the second half of the race but never enough to take the top spot from Robinson. Coleman seized the second place spot on the podium and now sits in second place in overall points in Class 10.

Racing will resume South of the border for the 47th Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 from June 3rd – 8th.

About JIMCO Racing Inc.
Jimco Racing Inc is the largest off-road race car builder in the world. From American desert races to Baja races to the Tatts Finke Desert Race to the Dakar Rally, JIMCO has been manufacturing top of the industry off-road race vehicles since 1975. Twenty time SCORE Chassis Builder of the Year, JIMCO’s Trophy Trucks, Class 1, Class 10, Class 12, Class 1/2-1600, Pre-Runners, Pro-Lite, Pro 2 and Rally Raid vehicles are the industry standard that continue to produce wins and championships across all mediums of off-road.

About Mad Media:

Mad Media (www.madmedia.com) is a San Diego based marketing and creative agency, with in-house film and television production. We craft authentic, culturally engaging brand messages, and deliver them across print, web, photography, and film platforms. Mad Media has been leading the online content revolution since 1995 producing major commercial, television, online content and viral film projects such as The Gymkhana Series and XP1K Series.

May 13, 2015
Banning Motorsports Overcomes Hardship at the Silver State 300

Phoenix, AZ (May 11, 2015)– Banning Motorsports have been faced with some rough races this season, but the Best In The Desert Silver State 300 has proven to be the most difficult by far for the team. A race that runs through beautiful Nevada scenery. didn’t end so beautifully for the Arizona based team.

The team would arrive to Las Vegas, NV early on in the week as they had to qualify the #6155 truck for their starting position for race day. Not having the quickest qualifying run, Banning Sr. would be starting the race 14th Class 6100 off the line. The race started at 9:30am and would only take the Trick Trucks an estimated 5 hours to complete the 275 mile course.

Once off the start line, Banning Sr. and Chris Godfrey immediately faced the dust that hung in the air from the faster vehicles. They had 13 competitors in front of them that they needed to pass and another 7 behind them just waiting to capitalize on any mistake they may make. Banning Sr. was charging hard from behind the wheel and by pit 1 it was reported that they were up to 10th place. By pit 2 they had made up another position just 72 miles into the race. It was looking to be an easy day but just 10 miles up the road the #6155 would battle for another position when they would be blinded by the dust and clip a rock that would cause them to roll over. The damage to the truck was repairable with time, but with over 2 hours to get the truck back on all 4 wheels the race was already to far gone for the team to continue in the #6155 truck.

Banning Motorsports would continue to chase their points lead in the #2488 car with Bryan Folks and Adam Warren starting the race. With a great run through the first 80 miles of the race and staying in first, the #2488 car would find itself on its side at race mile 84. After hitting a big berm in a right hand turn that would stop them from keeping the car upright. After waiting for help to get it back on the wheels, they had lost several positions and were back running the race looking to at least get to the finish. Making it to pit 4 the team did a drivers change and Rick Graf would get behind the wheel with Tim Sullivan in the co-rider seat. Some more clean miles of racing would bring them up to teammates in car 1023 where the Melton team had slid off course and damaged the front end of the car. Graf and Sullivan helped the #1023 car back on course and then they continued to the finish line where they would surprise themselves with a 2nd place finish.

“Today our team showed that no matter what happens, you have to push to the finish. It was a great day for the team after overcoming the roll overs and other obstacles that were thrown our way.” Said team owner Lee Banning Sr.

The Banning Team still supports the #1023 car ran by Melton Motorsports and as the 1023 car started the race, they would mid pack with Steve Melton and Jake Dewitt in the car. Running fast through the dust with minimal issues just major dust. Passing several cars and trucks before arriving at pit 4 would have them around 7th on the road. Quick fuel and a drivers change would have them back on the course quickly. Hayden now behind the wheel and continuing the fast pace up to and thru pit 5. Shortly after pit 5 near rm 180, Hayden clipped a tree on the left side as he was coming down the steep grade. Breaking a lower arm and the steering rack, it took several hours before they were able to get the car so they could limp down the mountain 32 plus miles to pit 6. The chase crew did a quick lower arm swap out and got them back on the road but a short 5 or so miles down course the injured steering rack gave up ending their day. After a hard fought race earlier in the day the team was disappointed but they knows it’s all part of racing.

Again the Banning crew did a awesome job supporting all the cars and truck this race giving proof that our teams middle name should be “tough.” A huge thanks to all our loyal crew and partners for everything they do to keep us on course in the desert.

May 13, 2015
King Shocks Racers Shine At Silver State 300 Winning 7 Classes And The Overall Victory

May 8th, 2015 – Garden Grove, CA – The Best in the Desert Silver State 300 is not your typical desert race. It’s not covered in whoops or miles of washed out cross grain; it’s mostly fire roads with some silt beds thrown in. The terrain not only tests a shocks performance it tests the racers ability to maintain control of their vehicles. Racers battle on narrow twisty trails lined with trees that hold the dust in place. They have to make split second decisions while running at high speeds with limited visibility that creates treacherous race conditions. In such a high stakes environment, King Shocks racers achieved impressive results.

Leading the way was Trick Truck defending champion Jason Voss. He earned the number one qualifying spot after Dale Dondel, (also on King Shocks), clipped a cone. The 15 second penalty ended Dondel’s eight straight number one qualifying streak. “Dale is tough to beat during qualifying,” says Voss, “I feel for him, the same thing happened to us at Vegas to Reno.”

2015 BITD Silver State 300

After starting first off the line, Voss ran out front all day; never seeing another vehicle out his windshield. It was up to the rest of the field to chase Voss down but they just could not catch him. It was the second straight Silver State 300 win for Voss who has taken back to back Trick Truck championships since switching to King Shocks in 2013. “I think a lot of racers underestimate how important suspension set-up is for the Silver State race,” said Voss, “We don’t see miles of whoops but increasing forward bite out of the corners and controlling body roll is crucial. We test with King Shocks before every race to adjust our suspension to race conditions. When we tested before this race, we hit the whoops to get the balance right but we also spent time on gravel roads to get our cornering speeds up. This win puts us in a great position to take our third straight victory at Vegas to Reno. We will have our suspension dialed in perfectly for the race.”

2015 BITD Silver State 300

Jason Voss took full advantage of starting up front while the King Shocks racers came from the pack to outrun their competition. Class 1500 winner CJ Hutchins started 7th in class, 18th off the line. He maintained his speed all day and when elapsed times were tabulated he was the fastest. Four cars crossed the line ahead of CJ but his time bested them all. CJ was first in class 1500 and third place overall.

Class 10 winners Cody Robinson and Kyle Conlon left nothing to chance. They started 10th in class with Conlon behind the wheel. By mile 80, Conlon had passed them all to be physically first and first on corrected time. Robinson took over at mile 150 continuing the pace that Conlon established. In the late stages, Cody lost power steering but still managed to take the victory and finish in an amazing 15th place overall; beating a long list of unlimited cars and trucks.

2015 BITD Silver State 300

All the way through the field the results were the same. In 7200, King Shocks racer Troy Messer came out on top. Class 8000 saw Don German outpace everyone in his King Shocks clad Chevrolet truck. Class 2400 was won by John Hsu and Bob Mamer won Jeepspeed Cup class 3700 in his turbocharger Comanche Pick-up.

The King Shocks advantage was clearly demonstrated at the Silver State 300. “King Shocks congratulates Jason Voss on his imposing Silver State 300 victory,” said Ramses Perez, director of marketing, King Shock Technology Inc. “With seven class victories and the over all win, I am thrilled to say King Shocks is the shock choice of Off-Road champions.”

Racing, prerunning or just having fun, whatever your application; King Shocks has the shock for you with the performance, reliability, precise tuning and adjustability you need. King Shocks, The Leader in Off-Road Technology!

About King Shocks
King Shocks makes world-class desert racing shocks for trucks, buggies and UTV’s. King manufactures and hand assembles all of their shocks in Southern California. King Shocks has been the industry leader for over a decade and continues to leave the competition in the dust by providing the level of quality, performance and customer service that champions demand.

May 11, 2015