The Best in the Desert Silver State 300 course offers plenty of elevation change. It winds through high mountain passes before dropping back down to the silt laden valley floors but the terrain was not the tough hill to climb that daunted Justin Lofton. He would start the race from the 24th position. Many miles of the course are on narrow twisty trails that can open into long fast straight-a-ways. When combined with the thick dust that normally develops, it offers perfect conditions to check out from the pack for those running up front. Starting farther back would be a huge challenge.

The time trials course was held on a mostly flat, rock strewn track in Jean Nevada. The layers of loose rock on the surface were just like ball bearings. Justin had plenty of speed in the #AHBEEF / General Tire / Jimco; he clocked the 4th fastest time but clipped a cone resulting in a 15 second penalty added to his time. The penalty put him back to 24th position but his unfortunate luck during time trials would not deter him on race day.

“We had good luck with the wind,” said Justin, “It’s usually dusty and a follow the leader type race. With good vision we were able to work our way through the field. By pit 4 we had some clean air so we pushed hard for the overall win.” Justin was running on the ragged edge, just where the rocks lie on the course. “I made a couple of mistakes; we had to change a couple front tires. My co-driver Derek Balcunas got it done and my crew chief adjusted our strategy to make sure we stayed in front of the cars we passed on the course. At pit 5 we fueled up and put on rear tires. The traction from a fresh set of Grabbers will get you through the silt beds. It was flat out to the finish and the win, our weekend ended up being great!”

Justin brought the car home for the win in class 1500 and a third place overall. “The car was perfect all day,” said Justin, “Our FOX shocks, Trailready Beadlock Wheels, Monster Seal and General Tires kept us out front. We did not have to fire up the Baja Designs lights.” Justin will be taking the momentum from this win into the longest off-road race in the United States, the BITD General Tire Vegas to Reno race held August 13-16 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Justin will have another chance to out-run the competition again in Northern Nevada.