Fort Mill, SC – As the 2012 Best In The Desert (BITD) season came to a close at Henderson, Nevada, General Tire celebrated three class championships with members of Team GT. For the second straight year, Jim Riley topped the points in the 6100 Class with his Azunia Tequila Ford. Riley battled the rugged deserts of the southwest to post three wins in 2012, including a win at the coveted General Tire Mint 400. Through it all, it was the “team” mentality that helped Riley to the class championship.
“BITD puts together a variety of tough races throughout the year, the only way to win a championship is to be consistent and never give up,” said Riley. “As a team we focus on structure, discipline, perseverance, persistence, luck, and the TEAM.
“This was the first full year of racing in the TrophyLite R8.” Riley continued, “As a whole we learned a lot about the new truck and its capabilities. We worked with a number of manufactures to fine tune the equipment and have been especially happy with our Currie and General Tire products. We have also seen consistent performance from our Culhane Transmission, Mastercraft Safety products, and PCI Race radio support. I am happy that we showed up to every race and gave 100% regardless if we were able to finish or not.”
General Tire’s Macrae Glass also posted back-to-back championships in BITD’s Class 8000Pro. He edged out Team GT member, Kent Kroeker, for the overall championship with three wins on the year. Echoing Riley, Glass credits his team with his success in 2012.
“It takes dedication, determination and drive from the team,” said Glass. “And top-shelf equipment like General Tires and KC Hilites!”
Team is what Team GT is all about and director of marketing, Travis Roffler, was pleased that Generals helped three teams to a BITD championship.
“I’m so proud of all our Team GT members this year,” said Roffler. “Each team gave 110 percent and we couldn’t ask for anything more. To see Jim, Macrae and Bryan stand as champions on General tires is really outstanding. The dedication, tenacity and commitment that these three drivers display is right in step with the General Tire brand. On behalf of General Tire I want to thank all our Team GT members for a great 2012, we can’t wait to start 2013!”
In a Banning Motorsports Class 1100 vehicle, Bryan Folks also claimed a class championship on General’s. Additionally, Vegas to Reno winner Garrick Freitas engaged in a hard fought battle for the Class 1500 championship coming up just shy to finish second. Team GT member, Randy Merritt, also posted a second-place finish in the overall point standings in the 7200 Class.
Look for Team GT to return with a vengeance in 2013 with the BITD Series returns to the Arizona desert on February 2 for the Parker 425.
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Photo caption: Jim Riley rolls to 6100 Class championship in BITD on General