KOH Desert Invitational: Morgan Wins Grudge Match, Menzies Tops T1 Qualifying
Saturday’s B2 vs. B3 Grudge Match as part of the King of the Hammers Desert Invitational attempted to answer one question: which is faster, a Class 10 car or a UTV? At least for now, we’ve got a definitive answer to that question.
Wheeler Morgan topped Saturday’s showdown between the two classes, the first time any divisions other than T1 unlimited trucks ran as part of the Desert Invitational, by completing five laps of the course in 6:16:09.627. Of the seven entries that finished every lap, Class 10 entries made for five, and locked out the entire top five with drivers Jeremy Davis, Brent Fox, Blaine Conrad, and Chase Warren.
Kyle Chaney and Phil Blurton were the only two UTV racers to finish all five laps, coming home sixth and seventh overall. Kaden Wells, Travis Zollinger, and Dean Wheeler completed the overall top 10 at four laps apiece. Morgan and Chaney would take home $10,000 apiece for their class wins, but Morgan would claim the $50,000 bonus for winning overall.
The B2 vs. B3 Grudge Match was joined on Saturday by qualifying for all three classes racing Sunday: the T1 unlimited trucks, T2 spec trucks, and B1 division for Class 1 and Ultra4 entries. Defending Desert Invitational winner Bryce Menzies was best of the group at 6:26.949, more than 10 seconds faster than any other driver and almost 23 seconds faster than Kyle Jergensen in the nearest T1 entry. Cody Parkhouse was second fastest overall and topped the B1 division, while Pierce Herbst’s T2 entry ensured that at least one team from every division would crack the top six.
Finally, Blake Wilkey topped Saturday night’s Class 11 Showdown, taking home a $20,000 bonus of his own after holding off a hard-charging Bryan Croft. 16 Class 11 entries did battle over 25 grueling laps on the short course.
Full combined B2 vs. B3 Grudge Match results were as follows:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Class | Laps/Time |
| 1 | 1024 | Wheeler Morgan | B2 (Class 10) | 5/6:16:09.627 |
| 2 | 1085 | Jeremy Davis | B2 (Class 10) | 5/6:20:25.522 |
| 3 | 1075 | Brent Fox | B2 (Class 10) | 5/6:23:51.170 |
| 4 | 1012 | Blaine Conrad | B2 (Class 10) | 5/6:24:42.085 |
| 5 | 1088 | Chase Warren | B2 (Class 10) | 5/6:45:21.664 |
| 6 | 191 | Kyle Chaney | B3 (UTV) | 5/6:58:25.646 |
| 7 | 944 | Phil Blurton | B3 (UTV) | 5/7:15:50.176 |
| 8 | 1995 | Kaden Wells | B3 (UTV) | 4/5:29:25.028 |
| 9 | 2975 | Travis Zollinger | B3 (UTV) | 4/5:42:51.402 |
| 10 | 849 | Dean Wheeler | B3 (UTV) | 4/5:51:17.692 |
| 11 | 1914 | Garison Callaway | B3 (UTV) | 4/6:03:20.212 |
| 12 | 2948 | Matt Burroughs | B3 (UTV) | 4/5:05:27.957 |
| 13 | 1046 | Ethan Nagle | B2 (Class 10) | 3/4:05:50.724 |
| 14 | 1082 | Trevor Rasmussen | B2 (Class 10) | 3/4:17:28.653 |
| 15 | 1935 | Jimmy Rodriquez | B3 (UTV) | 3/4:48:46.443 |
| 16 | 10 | Brad Bauder | B3 (UTV) | 3/5:17:57.131 |
| 17 | 2905 | Jason Willett | B3 (UTV) | 3/5:21:46.078 |
| 18 | U940 | Mike Zeller | B3 (UTV) | 3/5:42:55.945 |
| 19 | 411 | Jim Henle | B3 (UTV) | 3/7:00:11.174 |
| 20 | 1079 | Dan Reger | B3 (UTV) | 2/2:19:15.009 |
| 21 | 913 | Branden Sims | B3 (UTV) | 2/2:34:06.895 |
| 22 | 1081 | Matt Winslow | B2 (Class 10) | 2/2:37:12.724 |
| 23 | 1099 | Dale Ebberts | B2 (Class 10) | 2/3:01:11.240 |
| 24 | 2904 | Cody Sappington | B3 (UTV) | 2/3:49:25.572 |
| 25 | 1010 | Robert McBeath | B2 (Class 10) | 2/4:52:18.819 |
| 26 | 1047 | Jared Teague | B2 (Class 10) | 1/1:36:31.797 |
| 27 | 2914 | Dan Hurn | B3 (UTV) | 1/2:05:24.719 |
| 28 | 1409 | Jim Borden | B3 (UTV) | 1/2:14:11.964 |
| 29 | 1950 | Logan Goodal | B3 (UTV) | 1/4:52:29.342 |
| 30 | 954 | Austin Weiland | B3 (UTV) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | 907 | Billy Long | B3 (UTV) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | 41 | Troy Shipman | B3 (UTV) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | N/A | Mike Lucey | B3 (UTV) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | 976 | Pat O'Keefe | B3 (UTV) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | 1065 | Dave Mason Jr. | B2 (Class 10) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | 1036 | Corey Goin | B2 (Class 10) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | 1079 | Logan Bennett | B2 (Class 10) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | 1021 | Chris Boyer | B2 (Class 10) | 0/0.000 |
| 30 | N/A | Travis Walsh | B2 (Class 10) | 0/0.000 |
Sunday’s Desert Invitational qualifying results and starting order are as follows:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Class | Time (Laps) |
| 1 | 7 | Bryce Menzies | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 6:26.949 (1) |
| 2 | 127 | Cody Parkhouse | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 6:37.383 (1) |
| 3 | 153 | Ray Griffith | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 6:47.512 (1) |
| 4 | 27 | Kyle Jergensen | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 6:49.503 (1) |
| 5 | 14 | Bobby Pecoy | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 6:53.973 (1) |
| 6 | 6164 | Pierce Herbst | T2 (Spec Truck) | 6:56.274 (1) |
| 7 | 16 | Cameron Steele | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 6:57.858 (1) |
| 8 | 22 | Jax Redline | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 6:58.432 (1) |
| 9 | 6195 | Paul Broughton | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:02.099 (1) |
| 10 | 6195 | Travis Chase | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:02.416 (1) |
| 11 | 2 | Casey Currie | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 7:03.422 (1) |
| 12 | 6138 | Brad Lovell | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:03.640 (1) |
| 13 | 79 | Eric Hardin | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 7:05.273 (1) |
| 14 | 6196 | Andrew Myers | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:11.180 (1) |
| 15 | 209 | Jeff Proctor | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:12.605 (1) |
| 16 | 6172 | Dustin Grabowski | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:12.796 (1) |
| 17 | 19 | Paul Horschel | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 7:13.439 (1) |
| 18 | 29 | Madix Bailey | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 7:15.610 (1) |
| 19 | 261 | Jeff Bader | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:16.159 (1) |
| 20 | 103 | Adam Lunn | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 7:16.433 (1) |
| 21 | 19 | Tim Herbst | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 7:16.955 (1) |
| 22 | 90 | Raul Gomez | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 7:18.461 (1) |
| 23 | 6177 | Travis Williams | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:20.287 (1) |
| 24 | 24 | Adam Householder | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 7:24.356 (1) |
| 25 | 6192 | Jason Coleman | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:25.299 (1) |
| 26 | 6120 | John Walton | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:26.204 (1) |
| 27 | 3 | Todd Wyllie | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 7:31.830 (1) |
| 28 | 6131 | Mike Osborn | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:33.140 (1) |
| 29 | 6157 | Trevor Harvey | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:34.161 (1) |
| 30 | 1562 | Ladd Gilbert | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 7:34.812 (1) |
| 31 | 1526 | Joseph David | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 7:35.414 (1) |
| 32 | 296 | Alex Gonzales | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:37.279 (1) |
| 33 | 6147 | Scott Shields | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:40.624 (1) |
| 34 | 6175 | Will Heaton | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:42.893 (1) |
| 35 | 232 | Heath Shoup | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:52.301 (1) |
| 36 | 6126 | Nathan Martino | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:52.963 (1) |
| 37 | 6105 | Nick lsenhouer | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:55.522 (1) |
| 38 | 6139 | Terry Householder | T2 (Spec Truck) | 7:58.710 (1) |
| 39 | 6122 | Michael Pyle | T2 (Spec Truck) | 8:00.077 (1) |
| 40 | 1560 | Brad Etter | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 8:09.731 (1) |
| 41 | 4480 | Kris Hicks | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 8:14.533 (1) |
| 42 | 251 | Shane Dahlquist | T2 (Spec Truck) | 8:17.849 (1) |
| 43 | 6148 | Casey Chrisman | T2 (Spec Truck) | 8:26.009 (1) |
| 44 | 4 | Brent Veenstra | T1 (Unlimited Truck) | 8:30.890(1) |
| 45 | 7779 | Kenneth Goodall | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | 8:31.818 (1) |
| 46 | 6194 | Vincent Munoz | T2 (Spec Truck) | 8:32.480 (1) |
| 47 | 214 | Valerie Clark | T2 (Spec Truck) | 8:53.064 (1) |
| 48 | N/A | Joe Davis | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | No time |
| 49 | 185 | Justin Davis | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | No time |
| 50 | 123 | Broc Dickerson | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | No time |
| 51 | 6 | Ray Aycox | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | No time |
| 52 | 1584 | Boe Bland | B1 (Class 1/Ultra4) | No time |
| 53 | 299 | Charles Dorrance | T2 (Spec Truck) | No time |
| 54 | 6133 | Chuck Dempsey | T2 (Spec Truck) | No time |
| 55 | 255 | Garrett Gentry | T2 (Spec Truck) | No time |
| 56 | N/A | Patrick Reardon | T2 (Spec Truck) | No time |
Sunday’s T1 Desert Invitational and B1 vs. T2 Battle on the Lakebed will begin at 10AM. All classes will be scored independently, but an overall winner between the B1 and T2 classes will also be declared.