Downey, CA (12/8/2017)
- Murray Racing’s Jason and Derek Murray were
running a strong third in the Pahrump Nugget
250 Best in the Desert Series race when a fire
in their Can-Am ended their race early. The
event was the 2017 BITD season finale and was
held in the desert surrounding Pahrump, NV.
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Can-Am
/ ITP / LSR / Murray Racing's Jason
& Derek Murray out the 2017 BITD
Pro Turbo UTV Championship just outside
the top ten in points |
The Murrays were running hard on what was
likely the roughest and rockiest course on
the 2017 calendar. They quickly picked their
way into the top three when their car lost
power and caught fire. They were able to douse
the flames and escaped unharmed.
“We just set a pace for the first 80 miles
because it was really rocky and we wanted
to keep the car moving forward,” said Jason
Murray. “Once we broke mile 80, we started
getting down on the gas and we were chugging
along third on the course. We were right where
we wanted to be, in striking distance for
the lead. At mile 150, the car lost power.
We limped for three or four miles and the
next thing you know the car was on fire. We
jumped out and tried to put the fire out.
We ran out fire extinguishers and resorted
to dirt. Then we used the water in our drinking
bladders and got some help from the cars going
by. Luckily we put it out and saved the car.”
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| Can-Am
/ ITP / LSR / Murray Racing's Jason
& Derek Murray got off to a great
start the Pahrump Nugget 250 running
in the top three |
Despite a difficult end to what was a challenging
desert racing season, the Murrays are already
preparing for 2018. They will work hard and
fast to get ready for the start of the 2018
BITD season next month.
“Jason drove well,” said Derek Murray. “We
started out with a brisk, but conservative
pace and then we started to pick it up. Unfortunately
we had the issue. We’ll go back and find out
what went wrong. We were confident we would
have been in the top two spots. We’ll be back
to fight again.”
The Murray Racing Can-Am matched the difficult
course with ease. With ITP Tires, Fox Shocks
and Torco lubricants, the car ran flawlessly
before the issue.
“It’s crazy to think just how far these ITP
tires have come over the years,” said Jason
Murray. “We were smashing—not driving—smashing
through gnarly rocks with the utmost confidence.
We just ran the Baja 1000 and had zero flats.
We ran nearly 250 miles at Pahrump and had
zero flats. They will definitely be back next
year.”
Lubricants are the key to longevity in off-road
racing. They can easily make the difference
between a win and a DNF.
“We’ve been with Torco for a few years now,”
continued Murray. “They provide us with all
of the lubricants to keep us running strong.
It’s a great oil, it doesn’t break down and
it holds up.”
The Murrays ran a new set of dampers from
Fox Shocks this year. The lightness and engineering
of the new shocks paid off for them this year.
“Fox has been awesome,” said Murray. “They
helped us out with these new aluminum bypass
shocks. They are really light and agile. This
was our first season with them, so it was
kind of a testing ground, but they worked
flawlessly.”
The Murrays will be back, and ready to return
to greatness, as the BITD kicks of its 2018
season January 5-6. The Casey Folks Parker
250 is being held in Parker, AZ.
Murray Racing
2017 Sponsors:
Can-Am, ITP, Lonestar Racing, FOX, Yoshimura, Lazerstar, Torco, Beard Seats, K&N, Berts UTV, AMR Racing, Shoria, OMF, Rugged Radios, Streamline, Visual Impact, Pyrotech
