The Best in the Desert off-road racing series is kicking off its season this weekend for trucks and off-road racecars with the Parker 425. Dale Dondel was the fastest in qualifying of all the racers in his Trick Trucks, with the next fastest driver being Sam Berri in a Class 1500 buggy a little more than a second behind him. Taking the third-fastest spot in qualifying was a Kyle Conlon, who was nearly six seconds behind Berri on time.
BITD officials are expecting a large turnout for the Parker race. Race Director for Best in the Desert Casey Folks said in a press release leading up to the event that they expect a high number of entries. We now have 39 Trick Trucks, 48 Class 1500 and 39 class 1000s registered to race, [so] were well on our way to having a record-breaking entry for this years race, he said. The interest has been overwhelming in this legendary event, and I know 2014 is going to be an awesome year for not only us, but also for all of our great and loyal racers.
As the first major off-road desert race in this U.S. in 2014, quite a few big names are entered into the race. Below is a list of the top 20 qualifiers, and be sure to check back for a recap of the action at Parker.
2014 BITD Parker 425
1. Dale Donel 3:17.109 Class 1400
2. Sam Berri 3:18.391 Class 1500
3. Kyle Conlon 3:24.383 Class 1400
4. Tracy Graf 3:25.079 Class 1400
5. Lloyd Sproule 3:26.598 Class 1400
6. Chris Kemp 3:27.226 Class 1400
7. Mark Weyhrich 3:27.558 Class 1400
8. BJ Baldwin 3:27.870 Class 1400
9. Gustavo Vildosola 3:28.292 Class 1400
10. Jason Voss 3:28.706 Class 1400
11. Shawn Croll 3:28.395 Class 1400
12. Ray Griffith 3:29.963 Class 1500
13. Loren Brown 3:30.750 Class 1500
14. Craig Potts 3:31.349 Class 1400
15. Robby Gordon 3:31.874 Class 1400
16. Troy Herbst 3:32.100 Class 1400
17. Justin Lofton 3:32.514 Class 1500
18. Jonathan Swift 3:32.881 Class 1400
19. CJ Hutchins 3:33.207 Class 1500
20. Scott Bailey 3:33.265 Class 1500