Legal it is, and the Herbst Bros. came to Laughlin with visions of taking home both the Trophy Truck and Class 1 titles. Truggy's transmission had other plans, and despite a swap from Ed's "donor Trophy Truck", and Herbst Sunday win, Mark Post emerged victorious, by over a min. and a half. Post's 60.49 mph average on Sat resulted in the fastest time of the event, and helped propel him to 6th in the seasons standings

Herbst however, gained the points lead over chief rival Bob Gordon on the Strength of his 2nd place finish, and Gordon's 6th place DNF. The intense rivalry between the two stars has escalated in light of recent events, and the fire will come to a full burn at the championship determining Baja 1000. Among other things, Gordon may debut the "next generation" Chenowith, shown at Laughlin's Contingency row. Gordon's new car still employs traditional designs, but uses them in new and interesting ways. Will it be enough to stop "Truggy"?

After 2 days and 130 miles, Doug Fortin and the V-4 Scat powered Class 1 finished up in 3rd less than a min. behind Herbst. Ever the model of consistency, less than 1 mph separated Fortin's runs over the 2 day event.

Charley Townsley DNF'd the Challenge, but his 9 laps were good enough to slide him up the ladder to 9th for the season. While he came on strong on Sunday, with a 2nd place finish and 50 seconds off the lead, his dismal 8th place (DNF) on Saturday held him back from bigger and better things.

5th and 6th went to Nick Baldwin and Gordon respectively with 9 laps each. Back to back 6th place finishes over the weekend added up to a 5th for Baldwin, who at 143 points, holds the 4th slot for the 97 season. Bob Gordon however fell on hard times. With a near miss on Saturday, Gordon was looking like winning material going into the final round of the Laughlin Challenge. Upon landing from the "Laughlin Leap" immediately after Round 2 began, his tie for the point lead took flight with mechanical difficulties. Once repairs were completed, Gordon ran 4 laps for a 7th place finish, at a time he could ill afford the loss.

Gus Vildosola hung in for 8 laps of the high attrition event, while Kory Scheeler managed but 6. For Scheeler, a good finish at the Baja 1000 could boost his season standing from it's current 6th , but for Vildosola who switched classes mid year, he will race for the Baja title alone.

Jeff Quinn and Tim Scalzo shared 5 laps apiece for 9th and 10th position, Scalzo's "next generation" Class 1 saw its share of problems over the weekend, with 10 place finishes over both days. Quinn managed the 9th without even racing on Sunday, as the 7th place finish on Saturday carried his position.

Bob Lofton, John Herder, Mike Williams, Gary Wise, Carl Renezeder, and Steve Melton rounded out the field, with less than 5 laps completed each. The big suprise was Herder, whose back to back victories in the seasons first 2 events held the promise of an outstanding season. All hope is not lost however, as he currently rests in 3rd position overall. If the Parker" or San Felipe Superman steps out of the phone booth at the 1000, it could spell trouble for both Herbst and Gordon.

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