Lofton Takes Victory, Concrete and Blurton Earn Titles at BITD BlueWater Desert Challenge

Justin Lofton returned to the top step of the podium for the first time in 2020 at the BlueWater Desert Challenge, the final round of the Best in the Desert season, over two days of competition on Saturday and Sunday. Lofton took the victory over Concrete Motorsports’ Kevin Thompson and Harley Letner, who secured the Trick Truck championship with the runner-up result and will take over the #1 for the 2021 season.

The event, which made its return to Parker, Arizona in October for the first time in three years, proved to be incredibly tough on some of the sport’s top racers. Cameron Steele in Trick Truck and James Dean in Class 1500 were among those whose events ended with a wreck, but the biggest crash of the weekend belonged to former series champion Jason Voss. Voss suffered a broken arm among other injuries in the rollover, but was reported by the team to be awake and in good spirits, while co-driver Don Powers suffered broken ribs as well as other minor injuries.

On the other side of the coin, it was a triumphant weekend for RPM Offroad, as Josh Daniel returned to Trick Truck action in the #4 carried to so much success by Justin Matney over the years. After sitting sixth in class on Saturday, Daniel topped the Trick Truck class in Sunday’s action to put himself in the mix for a podium result.

In Class 6100, Kyle Jergensen qualified on pole and won both days of racing to claim the overall victory, class title, and Maxxis Triple Crown championship. Ray Griffith and Dustin Grabowski completed the podium. Meanwhile, Brad Wilson debuted a brand new Jimco Racing Hammerhead Class 1500 to take the win, and Hayden Hintz and Trevor Hunter wrapped up the Open Pro motorcycle championship.

The weekend was full of drama for UTV racers as well, as the race win came down to a surprising belt failure for leader and Saturday Turbo winner Christian Sourapas just two miles short of the finish. After battling Sourapas all weekend, Austin Weiland inherited the victory, with Phil Blurton coming home second unofficially to reclaim the Turbo championship from Mitch Guthrie Jr. and earn this year’s Triple Crown title.

In UTV Production, a tight points battle between Kaden Wells and Seth Quintero remains too close to call. The duo, separated by five points with Quintero in the lead coming into the race, fought tooth and nail for the victory all weekend long, but Wells came out on top in the weekend results. Randy Raschein would win the UTV Unlimited battle, but Michael Isom won the war, reclaiming the number 1 plate for the 2021 season.

The 2021 Best in the Desert season resumes in Parker in January, with the Parker 425 for cars and trucks and Parker 250 for UTVs, motorcycles, and quads switching dates. A majority of the 2020 schedule that was announced before the COVID-19 pandemic will return to its original dates for 2021, as will the Maxxis Triple Crown.

Check out our photos from the 2020 BlueWater Desert Challenge below!