The sands of Laughlin, Nevada, were the newest venue for the 2016 BITD season for the Laughling Desert Challenge. Fortunately, the new race went off without a hitch. Replacing the long-time slot of Silver State 300, racers were treated with a much more accessible venue complete with hotels and amenities that even your family could enjoy compared to the sparseness of the tiny mountain towns like Caliente.

The Method Race Wheels Laughlin Desert Challenge was run on a 16-mile course consisting of sweeping turns, sandy washes, whooped-out cross grade, moon bumps, and high-speed power-line roads that all combined with a short-course-style infield section for the fans. Having set the field in qualifying a few days prior, the top dogs of the desert were ready to battle.

In the unlimited 1500 class, it was Harley Letner who took the pole in qualifying and leading most of the race until he lost an engine belt and fell back in the pack to both Cody Parkhouse and Sam Berri. On Sunday, Parkhouse’s consistent driving style put him out front and he led the race from wire to wire to earned the overall win for the weekend in class 1500. Parkhouse was followed closely by Berri in second place, and Letner in third overall to round out the podium.

Also racing during the unlimited buggy race was the increasingly popular 6100 class trucks. Tony Smiley, Matt Laughlin and John Rhymer would lead a very tight race for one of the largest and fastest growing classes in desert racing. When all was said and done, the racers ultimately finished in that order, with Smiley atop the podium and Laughlin and Rhymer finishing in second and third, respectively.

The highly anticipated Trick Truck battle started Saturday afternoon with Josh Daniel earning the pole position after posting the fastest qualifying time followed by Apdaly Lopez, Justin Lofton, Justin Smith and Jason Voss.

Off the line, Justin Smith ran into trouble within the first mile of the race and flipped his truck, leaving him upside down and stranded for some time while everyone passed him. He eventually was up-righted and able to finish the day. Recent Mint 400 winner Justin Lofton also ran into early trouble and rolled his Jimco Trick Truck near the end of lap one. He would also continue on and finish the day.

As much as it looked to be Daniel’s day, it was Lopez who took the win by a mere 5 seconds in Saturday’s race, with Jason Voss following close behind. The finishing results on Saturday would be the starting order for Sunday’s main event. Charging hard off the line, Lopez lead the first two laps while setting a blistering pace, but misfortune in the form of a flat tire. Later he broke the underdrive on his Trick Truck leaving him with a DNF for the race. This handed the lead over to Daniel in his twin turbo truck, with Voss hot on his heels in second. The two battled it out for the next two laps, with Voss slowly chipping away on Daniel’s lead.

“We knew Jason had to pass us and put about a minute time on us,” said Daniel at the finish. “Then we could see the temps on the rear end going up and we could see Voss catching up. Luckily everything held together and we pulled the win for the weekend.”

Although Voss did his best to reel in Daniel for the win, he simply ran out of race track.

“We just needed another lap,” Voss said. “We could smell the gear oil coming from Josh’s truck as we closed in. We were gaining on him but just ran out of miles. We would’ve had him if there was just another lap. Next time we’ll get ‘em.”

Rounding out the podium for Trick Truck was Mexico’s Lalo Laguna.

“We had a little bit of trouble with engine belts yesterday so that put us back a little on today’s race,” Laguna said. “We just pushed as hard as we could and it paid off. A big thank you to my crew for all their hard work this weekend.”

That’s it for the Laughlin Desert Classic. The next race on the BITD schedule is the longest point-to-point race in the U.S. for the Vegas to Reno. This year the race has been extended to a two-day format with additional miles added to the track. Be sure to check back for more on V2R and the rest of the BITD season.

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