Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicle racer Logan Gastel won the 2018 Best In The Desert Silver State 300 race outside Alamo, NV. Gastel, who has been racing in the series for three seasons, notched his first career overall win in the series in a near stock Can-Am off-road vehicle.
Starting outside the top 10 at the 300-mile point-to-point BITD Silver State 300 race in Nevada, Can-Am/Rugged Radios/Summers Bros./ITP racer Logan Gastel knew he had to run a nearly flawless race to find a spot on the podium, but was confident in his vehicle and his own abilities. Gastel has been steadily improved his game over his five total years of desert racing and three in the BITD series. The Pro driver from Highland, CA, who drives the No. 969 Can-Am Maverick X3 X rs Turbo R vehicle, put in a time of 06:05:00.300 to notch his first BITD victory.
"Starting number 19 we knew we had our work cut out for us, so we pushed the car hard to run down our Can-Am teammate, Phil Blurton, and to come out on top still feels like a dream," said Gastel. “Our Maverick X3 race vehicle ran flawless all day, like it always does. The Silver State 300 is like a mini Vegas-2-Reno race. I really like racing it, as I always seem to do really well.”
Gastel, who moved all the way up to third place in the class standings after his win, runs a 2017 Maverick X3 X rs Turbo R side-by-side vehicle that he calls one of the most stock vehicles in the class.
“It’s really 99 percent stock, aside from the all the aluminum and mandatory BITD changes,” he said. “By stock, I mean we run a stock drivetrain, stock clutch, stock ECM and even the frame underneath everything is stock. It’s just so competitive and reliable, always giving us a chance to finish.”
Can-Am/No Limit RD/XPS racer Phil Blurton, the reigning BITD UTV Production Turbo class champion, put his Maverick X3 X rs Turbo R side-by-side vehicle on the podium, taking second place. The additional points at this event also means Blurton took over the class points lead after the race. Derek and Jason Murray, Can-Am/ITP/Lone Star Racing/Murray Racing, finished seventh, but currently hold down second overall in the points race. That gives Can-Am the top three spots in the UTV Turbo ranks, not counting throw outs.
The next BITD event for Can-Am racers is the popular Vegas to Reno event, Aug. 15-18 in Nevada.
For more information about Can-Am off-road products, the family of championship-winning Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicles and the Can-Am racing program, visit: https://can-am.brp.com/off-road/.
