BEST IN THE DESERT Pahrump 250 December 2, 2017

Can-Am / No Limit's Phil Blurton & Beau Judge clinehed the Best in the Desert Pro Turbo UTV Championship at Pahrump with a 4th place finish

Jonathan McVay won the UTV Production race, ahead of Russell Griffin, who clinched the championship. Robert VanBeekum finished third.

Run on a course in the desert surrounding Pahrump, NV, it was quickly apparent that if featured some of the roughest terrain of any venue this season. The track started in rocky desert, then into silt beds. The final 20 miles were the most trying for the competitors with its rocks and G-outs causing the most retirements in the field. With little wind and heavy silt beds, visibility-robbing dust further challenged the racers.

Can-Am / Monster Energy's Matt Burroughs held a considerable lead till less than 50 miles from the finish when he broke a belt & ran out of gas, which dropped him to the back of the pack

Mitch Guthrie, Jr. led from the pole in his Polaris, but Matt Burroughs took the lead early in his Can-Am. Schueler quickly caught up to Burroughs and the battle was on. They were running within seconds of each other when Burroughs’ machine blew a belt with less than 50 miles left and he then ran out of fuel. Schueler navigated the final leg of the course to score the victory.

Polaris / Jagged X Racing's Brandon Schueler secured his first BITD win of the season at the Pahrump 250

The win moved Schueler to second in the final points and was made extra sweet by coming just two weeks after he won the SCORE Baja 1000. With the start of the 2018 BITD season just weeks away, Schueler is happy to hit the mark and hopes to ride that inertia into the Parker 250 BITD season opener.

6-Time BITD Champion, Brandon Schueler, finished second in the Pro Turbo UTV Class Championship

“Our first win of the season was a rough one…it was dusty, rocky and silty,” said Schueler. “That last section from the last pit on was pretty nasty. It was nasty, rocky and the G-outs at the very end were tough. We got out of the rocky stuff and those G-outs nearly ended our race. After winning only one race this season, second in points is pretty good. Our car is getting really dialed in so we’ll keep running and we see ourselves on the top of the box next season.”

His runner-up finish is also a momentum moment for Justin Lambert, who finished just three seconds behind Schueler after a 23rd-place start. Moving though the field in what was likely BITD’s most grueling race of the season will definitely help Lambert going into the 2018 season opener.

Polaris / Cognito's Justin Lambert charged his way through the rocks & dust to secure an impressive 2nd place finish just a few seconds behind Brandon Schueler

“Schueler started fourth, so I know we’re faster than him,” explained Lambert. “As long as we can keep the car together, it will be some fun racing. This was our first season in the turbo car, so we’ve been working super hard to get things dialed in. So it’s great to see it pay off at the end of the season. We’re going to carry that momentum into Parker in four weeks.”