Bryce Menzies Triumphs in King of the Hammers Toyo Tires Desert Invitational
16 teams entered Thursday’s Toyo Tires Desert Invitational, King of the Hammers’ premier showcase for T1 desert trucks, but only six survived to the finish. When all was said and done, it was Bryce Menzies who came out on top, earning the winner-take-all $100,000 cash prize with a time of 5:29:10.595.
Menzies beat defending event winner Luke McMillin to the finish by just over six minutes. BJ Baldwin was third, with Dan McMillin’s new-look ride in fourth, Kevin Thompson scored in fifth, and Raul Gomez completing the finisher list in sixth. Behind them, Sourapas Motorsports completed two of the three laps, but was unable to get to the finish.
No other truck completed more than one lap, including the renumbered #24 of Andy McMillin, which paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant for the event. After a series of flat tires had already impeded their pursuit of Menzies for the victory, McMillin rolled his truck on the second lap; nobody was injured. Cameron Steele withdrew after experiencing steering issues, while Casey Currie suffered a near-immediate failure in his Trophy Jeep, which he had entered to gain more time on course before Friday’s Ultra4 race.
Full results from the Toyo Tires Desert Invitational were as follows:
| Pos. | No. | Name | Laps | Total Time | Diff. |
| 1 | 7 | Bryce Menzies | 3 | 05:29:10.595 | |
| 2 | 83 | Luke McMillin | 3 | 05:35:47.371 | 00:06:36.776 |
| 3 | 97 | BJ Baldwin | 3 | 05:51:13.465 | 00:22:02.870 |
| 4 | 17 | Dan McMillin | 3 | 06:07:59.141 | 00:38:48.546 |
| 5 | 70 | Kevin Thompson | 3 | 06:10:07.016 | 00:40:56.421 |
| 6 | 90 | Raul Gomez | 3 | 06:38:23.520 | 01:09:12.925 |
| DNF | 88 | Steven Sourapas | 2 | 03:51:35.758 | 1 Lap |
| DNF | 24 | Andy McMillin | 1 | 01:47:39.481 | 2 Laps |
| DNF | 14 | Robert Pecoy | 1 | 01:54:21.300 | 2 Laps |
| DNF | 16 | Cameron Steele | 1 | 02:02:28.475 | 2 Laps |
| DNF | 41 | Justin Lofton | 1 | 05:20:32.245 | 2 Laps |
| DNF | 38 | Eric Hustead | 1 | 05:26:03.354 | 2 Laps |
| DNS | 2 | Casey Currie | DNS | ||
| DNS | 11 | Rob MacCachren | DNS | ||
| DNS | 25 | Jax Redline | DNS | ||
| DNS | 40 | Nick Nelson | DNS |
King of the Hammers continues later today with the premier Ultra4 race. Click here to watch the live stream!
