T RACE paolo baraldi

Toyo Tires Desert Invitational: Event Preview

Over the past few years, King of the Hammers, Ultra 4’s marquee event, has expanded from rock crawling to desert racing with the Toyo Tires Desert Invitational. After initially focusing on the T1 unlimited trucks, the 2021 edition of the event blows past years out of the water by expanding to half a dozen divisions and adding some unique head-to-head showdowns.

Referred to in the regulations as T2, B1, B2, and B3, this year’s Desert Invitational welcomes spec trucks, Class 1 and 10 buggies, and UTVs (respectively) to the proceedings under a unique format. After a Saturday morning qualifying session, the B2 and B3 vehicles will face off in their own event that afternoon, before T2 and B1 go head-to-head and T1 trucks have their moment in the sun on Sunday afternoon. Saturday night will also feature a Class 11 race.

T RACE NICOLAS STEVENIN

Many of the expected front-runners in all divisions have run KOH in the past, whether in the Desert Invitational or the long-established Ultra 4, Every Man Challenge, or UTV races. Last year’s T1 Desert Invitational saw Bryce Menzies and Luke McMillin take the top two spots, as only six racers of the 16 who started the weekend managed to complete all three laps of the race. Both will be back, as will Andy McMillin, Bobby Pecoy, and Cameron Steele, each of whom will look to avenge last year’s DNFs.

All five classes have drawn double-digit entries, with the T2 trucks attracting the largest numbers at 23. For many of these entries, this weekend will mark their first race outing of the season, but a handful of others have already scored podium finishes at other major events. Travis Williams (T2), Brent Fox (B2), and Kaden Wells (B3) all scored class victories in the inaugural Legacy Racing Association event in Pahrump, while Kyle Jergensen (T2) and Williams were also class podium finishers as Best in the Desert opened up its season a week later with the Parker 425.

KOH UTV RACE CAN AM KYLE CHANEY

If any class stands to produce an interesting mix, though, it’s the UTVs. Alongside their head-to-head showdown with the Class 10s, Saturday will provide an opportunity to see how short course and KOH UTV standout Kyle Chaney stacks up against defending SCORE overall champion Matt Burroughs, defending BITD UTV Turbo champion Phil Blurton, defending BITD UTV Production runner-up Wells, and 2020 Mint 400 UTV Pro Turbo winner Branden Sims.

Full entry lists for the 2021 Toyo Tires Desert Invitational are below:

T1 (Unlimited Truck)

NO.DRIVER NAME
7BRYCE MENZIES
14BOBBY PECOY
16CAMERON STEELE
17DAN MCMILLIN
19TIM HERBST
22JAX REDLINE
24BRENT VEENSTRA
29MADIX BAILEY
31ANDY MCMILLIN
79ERIC HARDIN
83LUKE MCMILLIN
90RAUL GOMEZ

T2 (Spec Truck)

NO.DRIVER NAME
27KYLE JERGENSEN
202PAUL BROUGHTON
209JEFF PROCTOR
232BRAD LOVELL
251SHANE DAHLQUIST
261JEFF BADER
296ALEX GONZALES
299CHARLES DORRANCE
316VALERIE CLARK
6105NICK ISENHOUER
6120JOHN WALTON
6122CONNOR PYLE
6126NATHAN MARTINO
6131MIKE OSBORN
6133CHUCK DEMPSEY
6147SCOTT SHIELDS
6157TREVOR HARVEY
6165HEATH SHOUP
6175WILL HEATON
6177TRAVIS WILLIAMS
6194VINCENT MUNOZ
6195TRAVIS CHASE
6196ANDREW MYERS

B1 (Class 1 Buggy)

NO.DRIVER NAME
2CASEY CURRIE
6RAY AYCOX
19PAUL HORSCHEL
103ADAM LUNN
123BROC DICKERSON
127CODY PARKHOUSE
185JUSTIN DAVIS
1526JOE DAVID
1560BRAD ETTER
1562LADD GILBERT
1584BOE BLAND
4480KRIS HICKS
7779KENNETH GOODALL

B2 (Class 10 Buggy)

NO.DRIVER NAME
1010ROBERT KENT WILLIAM MCBEATH
1012BLAINE CONRAD
1021CHRIS BOYER
1024WHEELER MORGAN
1036COREY GOIN
1046ETHAN HAGLE
1047JARED L TEAGUE
1065DAVE MASON JR.
1075BRENT FOX
1079LOGAN BENNETT
1081MATT WINSLOW
1082TREVOR RASMUSSEN
1085JEREMY DAVIS
1088CHASE WARREN

B3 (UTV)

NO.DRIVER NAME
20TRAVIS ZOLLINGER
41TROY SHIPMAN
91KYLE CHANEY
411JIM HENLE
849DEAN WHEELER
913BRANDEN SIMS
940MIKE ZELLER
944PHIL BLURTON
954AUSTIN WEILAND
976PAT OKEEFE
1409JIM BORDEN
1914GARISON CALLAWAY
1935JIMMY RODRIGUEZ
1995KADEN WELLS
2905JASON WILLETT
2914DAN HURN
2948MATT BURROUGHS
2951LOGAN GOODALL

The Toyo Tires Desert Invitational at King of the Hammers kicks off on Saturday morning with tech, contingency, and qualifying, while the B2 vs. B3 Grudge Match goes green at 11AM and the EMPI Class 11 Showdown caps off the day at 7PM. Sunday’s B1/T2 Battle on the Lake Bed and Toyo Tires T1 Desert Challenge will begin at 10AM.

Chris Leone

A veteran of the motorsports industry (both physical and digital), Chris Leone contributes coverage of race events of all types to Off-Road Racer. Elsewhere, he is the marketing/communications manager at iRacing, media director of Jim Beaver's Down & Dirty Show, and a frequent contributor to UTV Underground.