Whetstone, Aikins, Von Metal Post Fastest Times in 2025 Parker 400 Qualifying

Thousands of spectators looked on as Nic Whetstone, Brody Aikins, and Justin Von Metal laid down the top times in Thursday’s qualifying for the 2025 Parker 400, returning to Parker, Arizona this weekend as the opening event of the new UNLTD Off-Road Racing Series season. Aikins bested the Group 1 qualifiers who will be taking part in Friday’s Limited Race with a time of 9:52.154, just over five seconds ahead of top UTV top qualifier Von Metal, while Whetstone stared down a talented set of contenders for Saturday’s Unlimited Race in Group 2 with a time of 8:57.318—marking the third straight time he topped the Unlimited Truck 2WD class in UNLTD qualifying.

This year’s Parker 400 qualifying saw the Class 10s paired with the Pro UTV classes in the first group, while the Unlimited Truck, Unlimited Truck SPEC, and Class 1 entries took to the track in the second group. With more than 30 vehicles on the line in each group, and the qualifying driver in each entry set to start their respective races, competition was fierce.

Both groups produced some intriguing results. While UTVs took up eight of the top 10 spots in Limited qualifying, it was a Class 10 that posted the top time thanks to Aikins—and Von Metal’s UTV Pro Stock that posted the only other time under 10 minutes. As for the Unlimited Trucks, the top three of Whetstone, Mark Post, and Eric Hardin were within just 2.638 seconds of one another, setting up what should be a close fight for the top spot on Saturday.

Defending race champions Larry Heidler and Conner McMullen were both in the top half of the standings in their respective groups. Heidler was 13th overall in Limited qualifying and sixth in UTV Pro Open with a time of 11:00.922, while McMullen, who upset the Unlimited field last year with an overall win in Class 1, swapped to Unlimited Truck SPEC for 2025 and qualified fifth overall and first in class at 9:12.722.

2025 Parker 400 Qualifying Group 1 results were as follows:

1. #1077 Brody Aikins, Class 10, 9:52.154
2. #PS974 Justin Von Metal, UTV Pro Stock, 9:57.459
3. #P902 Parker Christian, UTV Pro, 10:17.837
4. #P915 Chaden Zane Minder, UTV Pro, 10:19.165
5. #PO901 Chase Mankin, UTV Pro Open, 10:24.607
6. #PO931 Ian Kennedy, UTV Pro Open, 10:35.042
7. #P968 Jeff Martin, UTV Pro, 10:49.297
8. #PO975 Brice Allen, UTV Pro Open, 10:53.139
9. #1042 Andrew Yurcho, Class 10, 10:56.602
10. #R916 Brandon Kilgore, UTV Pro, 10:56.718

2025 Parker 400 Qualifying Group 2 results were as follows:

1. #18 Nic Whetstone, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 8:57.318
2. #3 Mark Post, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 8:58.880
3. #79 Eric Hardin, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 8:59.957
4. #12 Robert Johnston, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 9:09.342
5. #240 Conner McMullen, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 9:12.722
6. #279 Cole Hardin, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 9:15.879
7. #24 Adam Householder, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 9:15.976
8. #17 Josh DeJong, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 9:29.262
9. #227 Jack Olliges, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 9:34.294
10. #65 Dave Mason Jr., Unlimited Truck 2WD, 9:35.406

Festivities for the 2025 Parker 400 continue in downtown Parker all afternoon long with the return of the Parker 400 Downtown Experience. Featuring tech and contingency for racers as well as exhibits from the biggest brands in off-road racing, the Parker 400 Downtown Experience is open until 8PM and free to attend. When racing kicks off on Friday, fans can follow live timing and tracking all week long at theparker400.com/live.

The 2025 Parker 400 marks the first of four rounds on the 2025 UNLTD Off-Road Racing Series calendar. It will be followed by the legendary BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 in Las Vegas on March 5-9, the inaugural Reno 600 in Reno on April 16-19, and the season-ending California 300 in Barstow on October 1-5.

For more information on parking Passes, Camping, and Merch, visit theparker400.com.

Details regarding racer registration, sponsorship packages, exhibitor vending, spectator tickets, camping, and parking passes for UNLTD Off-Road Racing are live on Unlimitedoffroadracing.com.

About UNLTD Off-Road Racing

The Unlimited Off-Road Racing league was formed by The Martelli Brothers in 2023 after more than a decade of successful desert off-road race promotion, including The Mint 400, The UTV World Championship and The California 300. The league was formed to promote the sport of desert off-road racing, the off-road industry, and to expand the reach of off-road companies beyond the industry and into the homes of every off-road race fan, globally. Key attributes of the newly formed league include large racer car counts, competitive and challenging race courses, safe and family-friendly spectating areas, multiple days of racing and off-road festivities all located near major cities and markets that positively affect the off-road industry. The Martelli Brothers, owners of the motorsports powerhouse production group Mad Media have made it their mission to grow the league into a four race series that showcases the best off-road racers on the best courses in North America.

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