Ontario, Calif. - The ITP Tires racing team swept the Best in The Desert (BITD) UTV Pro podium in Nevada and also faired well at the Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship Series, coming away with 13 podiums and four class victories in all.
"We had a huge weekend in the BITD series, sweeping the Class 1900 Pro podium and earning six of the top 10 finishes in the class," said Pat McGuire, Public Relations/Race Support. "Across the country in Tennessee, our ATV motocross racers scored more than a dozen podiums and had four overall wins."
Silver State 300
Round four of the Best In The Desert (UTV/ATV), the Canidae Tap It Silver State 300, started at the Aliante Casino Hotel, North Las Vegas, NV. The 300-mile, point-to-point course then loops its way through the eastern part of the Nevada desert and back into town. The course was dry and extremely dusty, making it both difficult to see and pass.
ITP had several teams competing in the desert race, including class points leader and 2014 Baja 1000 Class 19 winner Johnny Angal. Just four points separated Angal (UTV Inc.) and Justin Lambert (Cognito Motorsports) coming into the SS 300. But it was another ITP-supported driver who would steal the show in Nevada. Justin Carver piloted his No. 1936 custom Lonestar Racing Polaris, outfitted with ITP tires and wheels, to his first win of the year, edging Angal by about a minute after the time adjustments.
"We are completely stoked about earning a podium sweep and to have the top four 1900 P class finishers in the Best In The Desert Silver State 300 race," said Ryan Edwards, Tech Support Representative/West Coast Race Coordinator. "Carver has really been picking up the pace lately and he had a solid performance this weekend using 30-inch ITP UltraCross tires on SD Series Dual Beadlock wheels. Our racers have proven, once again, that the ITP UltraCross tire is the tire of choice for desert competition."
Carver has steadily improved this year, posting a top-20 run at the UTV World Championships, 11th at the Mint 400 and now the overall at the Silver State 300. Carver, of Prescott, AZ, trailed Angal by 131 points and was mid-pack in the point standings prior to the round, but gained valuable points to climb into top 10 in the standings after his first-ever BITD 1900 P victory. He was joined in the car by co-driver and fellow Arizonian Jack Defibaugh.
Angal expanded his points lead over Lambert and the rest of the Class 1900 Pro field, by recording a strong second-place podium finish in his No. 1921 Polaris outfitted with ITP UltraCross tires. The talented driver (with teammates Eric Ringler and Craig Hammar II) passed more than 25 other side-by-side vehicles through thick dust on his way to another podium finish. He's currently leading the point standings heading into the next round.
Scott Yancey's team (Supercross.com/Goliath Company) earned the final podium spot, ending up less than two minutes behind Angal. Yancey's team (Matt Jacksol, Derryke Rich and Robert Casey Wiesel) was in 15th at the 100-mile mark, but rallied to climb into the top four at the 250-mile position.
Branden Sims, in the No. 1913 Polaris RZR, was the unofficial leader at three different points (50-, 100- and 250-mile marks) in the race, but ended up in fourth at the end after adjusted time. Lambert, who led the race at the 150-mile mark, was 18th. Lonestar Racing/ITP driver Dan Fisher and co-driver Shannon Miazga took seventh, while Logan Gastel and co-dawg Josh Lucero, put their Can-Am Maverick in ninth place at the end of the day, giving ITP six of the top 10 finishing positions for the race.
Dragon Fire Racing/AZ West/ITP racer Lacrecia Beurrier put in a steller performance as well, winning the Unlimited Pro SxS class and finishing 15th overall in her ITP-equipped Polaris RZR. The next round of BITD UTV racing, the Vegas-to-Reno competition, is scheduled for Aug. 13-15, in Las Vegas.
Muddy Creek
Round three of the 2015 Mtn. Dew ATV MX National Championship series made its way to Muddy Creek in Blountville, TN. ITP had dozens of racers competing in several classes, including the premier Pro, Pro-Am and Pro Sport classes as well as several other amateur categories. The team earned 13 podiums, four of which were victories.
JB Racing/Can-Am/ITP Pro Jeffrey Rastrelli ended up fourth overall in the Pro ranks. He tallied a 4-4 moto scorecard and missed his second podium of the year by just one position. Moto one saw Rastrelli start out in second and run much of the race in third place before dropping to fourth at the end of the race. He paired that with a wire-to-wire fourth-place run in moto two. In four events, including the Daytona event in mid March, he has compiled 115 points, which is good enough for fourth in the class point standings.
Team ITP racers garnered four amateur class wins at Muddy Creek. Class victories went to Noah Mickelson (in two classes), Megan Manshack and Parker Wewerka. Mickelson posted two 1-1 moto scorecards in the youth ranks for Root River Racing/Rage ATV/Motowoz using ITP QuadCross MX tires. Manshack, who competes in both the ATV MX series and Grand National Cross Country series using ITP tires on her RRR-backed Honda, competed in two classes at round three. She won the Women's class with a convincing 1-1 sweep. Wewerka, a contingency-supported racer, piloted his No. 40 Yamaha to his second-straight 450 A moto victory. He has four total wins in three different classes in 2015 using ITP tires.
ITP racers narrowly missed victory in five other classes, as Brandon O'Neill, Tyler Peters (two classes), Grayson Eller and Pro Sport (Pro-Am) A class competitor Dylan Tremellen all recorded second-place finishes at Muddy Creek.
Four other racers also tallied podium finishes in the amateur ranks. Dalton "Bubba" Hicks finished third in the Production A class on ITP tires. A-level racer Westley Wolfe, another racer who does double duty in ATV MX and GNCC, was third in the talented 450 A class at round three. Youth racers Peyton Zimmerman (Super Mini 12-15) and Johanna Vossman (Schoolgirl 13-17) also used ITP MX tires to tame the Muddy Creek course and put them in the third spot on the podium.
ITP motocross racers finished fifth or better in 25 classes at round three. Round four is slated for May 16-17 at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, PA.
