2015 WORCS Racing Round #9 - Buffalo Bill's October 17, 2015 Primm, NV

Mickey Thomas battled Haagsma and Guthrie Jr throughout the event, and he was able to claim another podium finish in the third spot. “The three of us ran bumper to bumper really the entire race, and this is a good way to end the season,” said Thomas. “Our car is really dialed in. We’re still working on the clutch, but other than that the car is on rails. I have the speed to be a top contender for the championship next year.”

Mystik Lubricants' Mickey Thomas has come on strong in the final rounds of his WORCS rookie season with several podium finishes

Thomas came into the WORCS series this season with a brand new Polaris RZR XP 1000 and very little experience. He said he’s leaving this year with a dialed in RZR and a ton of driving experience.

“Starting out, we had basically a stock RZR,” explained Thomas. “We kept improving the car, and by mid-season I could work on my driving instead of working on the car. My driving ability is so much better than it was at the beginning of the season.”

Mike Gardner’s fourth-place finish in his first Pro race was another feather in his cap this season. Gardner also clinched the Side by Side 1000 title. He ran the Pro race in the car usually piloted by RJ Anderson.

HOLZ Racing's Mike Gardner made his WORCS Pro SxS Racing debut in RJ Anderson's RZR & he finished an impressive 4th place

“Winning the (SXS 1000) Championship was pretty unreal,” said Gardner. “Racing Pro today, RJ told me to win or wad. So I drove it as fast as I possibly could. I’m surprised I didn’t break it.”

Beau Baron’s fifth-place finish came after he ripped off the holeshot at the start. Baron had elected to run smaller tires and while they worked great at the start, the setup slowed his car in the long run.

Maxxis' Beau Baron grabbed the WORCS Pro UTV Holeshot & finished out the day with a top five finish

“I was sick of not getting starts all year, so I put smaller tires on my car,” said Baron. “I didn’t take the time to adjust my suspension or anything. I also did some clutching changes. It ripped at the start, but on the straightaway it was topping out. I could only block them for so long. I didn’t have the setup right, but it was so fun leading.”

Ryan Piplic’s sixth-place effort was indicative of his consistency this season. Piplic needed only to finish in the top 10 to clinch the Side by Side Pro title, which was his second career WORCS Pro UTV Championship

WORCS Racing SxS Pro Championship(left to right) Beau Baron (3rd), Ryan Piplic (1st), David Haagsma (2nd)

“I drove very conservatively today,” said Piplic. “Starts can be very hairy here, so I let everyone go and finished sixth. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I could have mixed it up with the top guys, but it wasn’t worth the risk with the championship on the line.”