THE CHAMPIONS’ CHOICE

Vp Pro Grade Engine Oil

Trusted By Joe Gibbs Engines

We’ve been testing the VP Pro Grade Engine Oil for the last year. Everything looks so good on tear-down; the results are incredible. All of our previous engine wear issues went away. This is the only oil we allow to be used in our engines.

Mark Cronquist Director of Engine Department Joe

Tim Herbst took over the lead after Kyle Jergensen dropped out and went on to finish second T1, fourth overall.

Dustin Jones was the UTV Stock winner and 14th overall. Michael “Bud” Ward took the win in Vintage Buggy 16. Bobby Croy was first in Vintage Buggy 5U and was followed by Bailey Cole who won T4 –Desert Stock OEM in his Ford Bronco. John Ferrari was the Trophylite winner and Ken Tichy in Jeepspeed.

Once the Limited vehicles had their day, it was up to the unlimited classes to show what they could do. Kyle Jergensen was looking to be a repeat winner and used the all-wheel drive in his Brenthel T1 truck to get the hole-shot over Tim Herbst in a two wheel drive Herbst truck off the start. Kyle took off at the same pace that clinched the number one starting position during the prologue. He was checking out on lap one when the same problem that plagued Ryan Arciero bit him hard. He lost the belts which starved his engine oil. He got back on course but the damage done was eventually terminal. Tim Herbst took over as the rabbit with Adam Householder, JP Gomez and several T2 trucks trying to chase him down. When the leaders came into Hammer Town on lap one it was a tight battle between Herbst and Householder. Tim Herbst got bitten by the turn 19 curse again, spinning out in the tight 180 degree left hander that cost him 10 seconds. Householder pitted for fuel and tires which would be his only stop. On lap two, Herbst had a flat so he had to stop in the remote pit for a fresh spare and a splash of fuel. By that point, Householder was already pushing full speed for the finish. He was driving a Herbst truck with Joe Gibbs powerplant so it was a bit ironic for Tim Herbst. He was beaten by some of his own technology. The T2 race was a toss-up. Polvoorde, Dustin Grabowski, Ray Griffith, and Thor Herbst were all clawing through the desert hungry for the win. Polvoorde looked strong until he started to fade. He developed an engine issue which was limiting his power. He kept moving, but it was at a crawl. Grabowski and Griffith traded paint when they started side by side. Grabowski muscled his way past and held that advantage to the end. He took the win, Griffith was second. Polvoorde made it to the finish, but in the 38th overall position.

The top ten finishing order was Householder, Grabowski, Griffith, Tim Herbst, JP Gomez, Thor Herbst, Travis Williams, Eric Hardin, Pat Gailey, and James Scully. It was amazing to see how punishing the course was; even to these unlimited vehicles. Trucks were crashing solely due to the terrain. As mentioned, Adam Lunn and RJ Anderson repeated their win from last year. RJ ran the first lap and Adam decided it was best to keep him in the car for lap two. They finished 16th overall. Gluttons for punishment, several of the Terra Crew Rush trucks entered the desert race for more abuse. At one point Darren Parsons was laying on his side against a refrigerator sized boulder on a steep hill, but persevered to take the win. With a steel cab and working doors, he’s going to have some work on his hands making repairs to his severely dented cab. Rob Seubert was lying on his side a few feet away from Parsons on the same hill and also managed to finish the race and take the Jeepspeed 4700 class win.

The Desert Challenge was an incredible nail biter even after the physical finish. Overall times were still being calculated to determine the winners. It was amazing how aggressive everyone was driving

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Rob Seubert recovered from an on-course incident (at left) to continue on for the Jeepspeed class 4700 win.

Photos by Dirt Nation in such difficult terrain. Most were looking at this as a win at all cost proposition. This combined points format had competitors from several series all racing against each other which gave the victors huge bragging rights. Will this launch Adam Householder, Adam Lunn, the Grabowski Brothers or Ray Griffith into a Best In The Desert championship run? Let’s hope so as the racing at KOH was incredible to watch.