Best in the Desert’s Tensor Tire Parker 250 Presented by Polaris sets new turnout records, featured tight racing.
The dust is settling in Parker, AZ as the first Best In The Desert race of the 2020 series comes to an end. The Tensor Tire Parker “250” presented by Polaris was run under near perfect conditions and the results were impressive.
2020 Parker 250 UTV Racers
A record number 295 off-road racers participated in the Tensor Tire Parker “250” presented by Polaris, besting the previous record of 281. That included some significant increases in the UTV classes which saw an impressive 56 entries in the UTV Pro Turbo class alone. UTV Unlimited also saw a large increase in entries for the 2020 Tensor Tire Parker “250” with 19 vehicles taking the green light and the UTV Rally class had an impressive 23 vehicles start. The notable increases only confirm that Best In The Desert hosts high-profile races that are significant in the off-road racing world and that they’re more popular than ever.
The Tensor Tire Parker “250” presented by Polaris marked the first race of Best In The Desert’s 37th championship season as well as the first race of the Maxxis Triple Crown. This race, combined with the BlueWater Parker “425” presented by Jimco, Maxxis Vegas to Reno presented by Fox, and the BlueWater Desert Challenge presented by Youtheory will have the biggest cash prize payouts in history.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2020 season,” commented Best In The Desert Race Operations Manager Donald Jackson. “Our new 4Wheel Parts Youth Championship Series and Maxxis Triple Crown Series is off to a great start plus we had a lot of new first time racers joining us. If this race is an indication of what to expect, 2020 should be a landmark year for off-road racing and Best In The Desert.”
2020 Parker 250 Youth UTV Racers
The weekend’s racing activities got off to a great start on Friday, January 10 with the youth classes which also saw a record turnout. The new 4Wheel Parts Youth UTV Championship series drew young racers from all over the US. It was exciting to see the potential of the upcoming generation of off-road racers and their love and passion for the sport. The UTV Y 1000 class came down to a very close race between Ethan Groom, Dallas Gonzalez, and Jaxton Lambert with Groom taking home the win.
Jacob Argubright was the first Triple Crown Award winner of the weekend winning the overall Open Pro Motorcycle class and top overall motorcycle. He took home a Maxxis Triple Crown bonus of $3,500 for his efforts. Finishing in second place and taking home $1,000 in Maxxis Triple Crown bonus money was Jeff Trulove. Hayden Hintz rounded out the top three winning $500 in the Maxxis Triple Crown Series.
Motorcycle Winner of Parker 250
The UTV classes had some amazing battles, none tighter or with more pressure than the UTV Production Turbo class. Phil Blurton came out on top claiming the Maxxis Triple Crown bonus of $7,500, besting second-place finisher Austin Weiland by a mere minute and six seconds who took home the $2,500 Maxxis Triple Crown bonus. It was a challenging race for Blurton as he’s struggled at past Parker “250” events with a best finish in class of 28th position. His co-driver Beau Judge won the short course the day before. Fourth through sixth were separated by one minute and 14 seconds with Randy Romo taking fourth, Jason Murray in fifth, and Sierra Romo rounding out the top six in the Pro UTV Turbo class.
Other highlights include Michael Isom, defending Best In the Desert Unlimited Class Champion, taking home the Unlimited class victory with Shane Redline coming in second only 13 seconds ahead of Billy Long in third place.
Parker 250 UTV Race
Finally, the UTV Pro Production win went to Kaden Wells in his Polaris RZR, followed by Joe Bolton driving his Polaris RZR to second place only 30 seconds ahead of the Textron team of Robby and Max Gordon. James Hill in his Polaris RZR took home the class win.
The Tensor Tire Parker “250” presented by Polaris is only the beginning of an exciting 2020 series. Parker, AZ will be heating up in just two weeks for Best In The Desert’s Blue Water Parker “425” presented by Jimco on January 23 through January 26.