ITP Racers Sweep BITD Silver State 300 Podium

Posted on May 6, 2015

Justin Carver

Ontario, California, May 5, 2015 – The ITP Tires racing team swept the Best in The Desert (BITD) UTV Pro podium in Nevada.

“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.”

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, Nev. 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.

Johnny Angal

“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, Ariz., trailed Angal by 131 points and was midpack 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 SxS 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.

Lacrecia Beurrier

Dragon Fire Racing / AZ West / ITP racer Lacrecia Beurrier put in a steller peformance 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 August 13-15, in Las Vegas.