Kyle Jergensen, Brayden Baker Pace 2024 California 300 Qualifying

Qualifying is in the books for the third California 300, the final round of the 2024 UNLTD Off-Road Racing Series Triple Crown, and two of the top names in the sport triumphed across the pair of qualifying sessions. Defending California 300 Limited Race winner Brayden Baker (UTV Pro Open) will get to go for two in a row from the top starting spot on Saturday, while Unlimited Truck SPEC points leader Kyle Jergensen outpaced more than two dozen vehicles in qualifying for Sunday’s Unlimited Race with the top overall time of 5:29.969.

Pro UTVs and Class 10s were the first group to go on Friday morning, with UTV Pro Stock points leader Justin Von Metal the first to go. Top UTV Pro qualifier Cruz Birchard had the fastest time for much of the session with a 6:34.842, before Chris Blais, Baker, and Tyler Mills each posted faster times. Blais only just managed to sneak past Birchard, but Baker’s 6:02.543 blew both out of the water as the UTVs waited to see if the Class 10s could turn faster times. In the end, four would sneak into the top 10, but Mills’ 6:16.831 would still fall over 14 seconds short of Baker’s lap.

From there, it was the Unlimited machines’ turn to shine, led by more than 15 of the SPEC trucks. Thomas St. Peter held the early lead with a 5:49.835, but Trey D. Gibbs and Cole Hardin would each surpass him before Jergensen laid down a time over 11 seconds faster than Hardin’s, setting the benchmark for the full-powered Unlimited Trucks to match.

One by one, both the 2WD and 4WD entries would try to equal Jergensen, but to no avail. Unlimited Truck 2WD points leader and 2024 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 winner Adam Householder slotted into second with a 5:41.616 before Eric Hardin and top 4WD qualifier Cole Potts each cracked the 5:37s. Nic Whetstone, one of the last qualifiers of all, came closest, but he’d still fall just over two seconds short of Jorgensen’s top time.

Top qualifiers for Saturday’s California 300 Limited Race were as follows:

1. #PO977 Brayden Baker, UTV Pro Open, 6:02.543
2. #1008 Tyler Mills, Class 10, 6:16.831
3. #PO924 Chris Blais, UTV Pro Open, 6:34.573
4. #P923 Cruz Birchard, UTV Pro, 6:34.842
5. #1061 Carib Potts, Class 10, 6:35.188

Top qualifiers for Sunday’s California 300 Unlimited Race were as follows:

1. #222 Kyle Jergensen, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 5:29.969
2. #18 Nic Whetstone, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 5:32.371
3. #79 Eric Hardin, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 5:37.469
4. #60 Cole Potts, Unlimited Truck 4WD, 5:37.690
5. #24 Adam Householder, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 5:41.616

The California 300 Limited Race will take the green flag on Saturday morning at 8AM, while the Unlimited Race will kick off on Sunday at 8AM. Follow along with live timing and tracking from the California 300 all week long at thecalifornia300.com/live.

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