Ontario, CA (12/13/2013) - Team ITP ATV and side-by-side racers competed at the Best In The Desert Henderson 250 this past weekend in Nevada. Team ITP race squads Rowdy Dawg Racing captured the UTV Sportsman class championship and Murray Racing took second overall in the UTV Pro class, despite tying for the most points in the class.
"Our Best In The Desert race teams had an outstanding season," said Pat McGuire, Public Relations / Race Support. "Rowdy Dawg Racing won the Sportsman class Championship and the Murray Racing team battled for the UTV Pro class title all the way to the final finish line and had to end up settling for very close second in a very deep, talented and competitive 1900 P class."
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Team
Rowdy Dawg Racing, Jim Osier and Mike
Colosimo, captured the 2013 Best in the
Desert Sportsman UTV class championship
racing on 28-inch ITP Bajacross tires |
The Henderson 250, the final round of the BITD
series, took place outside of Henderson, Nev.,
in freezing temperatures. The desert course
required three laps and roughly 120+ miles from
start to finish and included rocks, ruts, high-speed
runs and plenty of whoops to challenge the racers.
Also, the UTVs competed at the same time as
the motorcycles and ATVs, providing an additional
challenge for the side-by-side racers.
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The
Murray Racing team, which won the Vegas
To Reno round earlier this year, finished
third in the UTV Pro class at the BITD
Henderson 250 race and tied for the class
points title. However, they team ended
up finishing second overall in the championship
standings due to losing a final tiebreaker |
Murray Racing, riding on 30-inch ITP Ultracross
tires and T9 Pro Mod Beadlock wheels, entered
the finale with a slim points lead, but was
looking to record another podium finish and
capture its first BITD crown. However, the Murray
team, which includes co-drivers and brothers
Derek and Jason Murray, ended up completing
three laps in just less than three hours to
capture third overall. It was the Murray's 25th
straight finish in the BITD racing series. But
more importantly, the podium finish gave the
team a good shot at the overall title. However,
after removing the one alloted throw out and
calculating the points, it was determined the
Murrays actually tied for the UTV Pro class
points lead. From there, a tiebreaker rule was
issued (which took round five, the BlueWater
Desert Challenge, results into account) and
the Murrays were given second overall for the
season.
Also competing in the UTV Pro class (1900 P) for Team ITP was Cognito Motorsports' Justin Lambert and teammate Justin Sheakley, who were sixth in points after five rounds of racing. The team took fifth in the class at the Henderson 250 and unofficially ended up finishing the season in fifth place.
The BITD UTV Sportsman class championship went to team Rowdy Dawg Racing, which was made up of racers Jim Osier and Mike Colosimo. Competing on 28-inch ITP Bajacross tires, the No. 1990 RDR squad finished first in the UTV Sportsman class, 14th out of 16 total vehicles in its segment grouping (UTV Pro, PRO SDR1, UTV Sportsman) and 50th place out of 186 total entries.
About ITP:
In business for more than 30 years, ITP has become the world's #1 ATV/UTV aftermarket tire and wheel source. ITP utilizes its experienced staff of engineers, designers and technicians at its two American tire facilities in Clinton, Tenn., and Jackson, Tenn., to develop award-winning tire-and-wheel designs for virtually all ATVs and side-by-side vehicles. Numerous outlets distribute ITP tires across the United States and in more than 25 countries worldwide. For ITP's full-color catalog, call toll-free: 1-800-859-4740. www.itptires.com