Motorsport Monday: BITD 2020 King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic, NHRA Arizona Nationals, NASCAR Vegas Results, & New F4 Racing Program

From dirt to pavement, this was a big weekend for motorsports. We’re bringing you results from the 2020 King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic, which continues to get bigger and better every year, as well as the NHRA Arizona Nationals and NASCAR’s run in Vegas. And for those of you interested in advancing your own skills, the Bondurant High Performance Driving School has added some exciting new equipment to its curriculum.

BITD: 2020 King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic

The third race in the 2020 BITD series, the King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic offers fans their first taste of fast-paced and exciting short-course action on the schedule. Operating on a two-moto format, each class competes in two separate days of racing on a 17-mile course, with the lowest combined time winning overall. Open to cars, trucks, and UTVs of all classes, it “requires a particular level of stamina and skill” as the Vegas-based off-road racing organization likes to say.

UTV Night Race

Before the organized racing starts however, the 8-lap UTV Night Race kicks off to ramp up excitement for the weekend. Sponsored this year by Baja Designs, it certainly did not disappoint.

Defending champion, Mitch Guthrie Jr did it again, tackling the brutal 130-mile course and pushing his Polaris RZR to an overall win and first-place finish for the Turbo class. Rounding out the podium were Phil Blurton, who physically led most of the race but suffered some type of front wheel failure in the last lap, and Ryan Piplic in only his second race with the new Polaris RZR Pro XP.

First UTV Unlimited Class went to Mobbin Racing’s Michael Isom and co-pilot Carey McCandless in their Can-Am Maverick X3, while first-time Laughlin racers Gilberto Rodriguez and co-pilot Ryan Comery took second place. Tadamitsu Niihori rounded out the podium.

Official Race Days

Racers got a wet welcome on Saturday as the rain rolled in, making for some chilly (but dust-free!) excitement. That didn’t dampen the competition though, particularly in the popular 6100 class which saw just three minutes separating the top 10.

Sunday brought better weather and more great racing. The toe-to-toe competition continued, with the 6100 class officially wrapping with James Dean/Kyle Craft in first, followed by Ryan Hancock/Jordan Poole, and Troy Messer/Rodney Honberger.

In the popular Trick Truck class, the overall weekend win went to Adam Householder who captured the checkered flag in a picture-perfect finish.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B88ICjfHijF/

2020 King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic Final Combined Days Results for all classes can be found here.

NHRA Arizona Nationals

The NHRA wrapped up its own Duel in the Desert with the 2020 Arizona Nationals this weekend at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. The traditional second-event on the schedule drew a sell-out crowd this year and put down plenty of action.

Top Fuel

Reigning champion Steve Torrence beat out Doug Kalitta to defend his Top Fuel title and clinch his 37th victory. This was Torrence’s debut race of the season; he missed Pomona because his team was trying to settle an appeal with the NHRA over a $25,000 fine for making physical contact with Cameron Ferré during last year’s season finale. According to a Feb. 10 press release from the team, “the amount of the fine and the stipulation that he attend anger management classes were disputed by Torrence Racing.”

Regardless of any drama, Torrence returned to the track and put down a dominating performance, roaring to victory with a final round effort of 3.679 seconds at 321.27 mph.

Funny Car

Tommy Johnson Jr. nabbed his first win of the season and 18th of his career, running a 3.883-second pass at 326.40 mph in his MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. He beat out Jack Beckman, who was looking for his third-straight win.

Pro Stock

Defending Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders took home her first win of the season as well, with a 6.531-second, 210.44 mph run over 2017 world champion Bo Butner. This is Enders 26th Pro Stock win of her career. “I’d have to say today was excellent,” said Enders. “The guys gave me a tremendous race car today. Very consistent, very fast, and we just crushed the competition today and it was really fun.”

Click here for a list of the other victories from the 36th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.

NASCAR Las Vegas Results

NASCAR hit the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this past weekend, with Joey Logano taking his first win of the 2020 Cup Series schedule and marking a dramatic improvement from his 26th place finish at last week’s Daytona 500. This victory also makes the Team Penske driver the back-to-back Pennzoil 400 champion, after he took first last year as well.

Logano held off second-place finisher Matt DiBenedetto during a two-lap restart that ended under caution when several cars wrecked behind the leaders in Turn 4. “I’m not really sure what I was supposed to do (on the last caution), but boy, we fought hard for this one today. Man, what a battle between (Ryan) Blaney and I and Chase Elliott and (Martin Truex Jr.) earlier in the race, and then to see this finish with Matt (DiBenedetto) finishing second is great day for Wood Brothers and for Team Penske,” said Logano after the race.

Rounding out the top five were Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in third, Austin Dillon in fourth and Jimmie Johnson in fifth.

In Sunday’s rain-delayed Xfinity Series’ race, Chase Briscoe held onto the lead after the final restart on Lap 169 of 200, beating out fellow Ford Driver Austin Cindric and taking the checkered flag by 2.874 seconds. Friday night’s Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series went to Kyle Busch who dominated the race, leading seven times for 108 of the 134 laps in the 200-mile race. This was Busch’s 57th win and second-straight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ryan Newman Update

In other NASCAR news, Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Newman is home and recovering after his fiery crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500. “I was fortunate to avoid any internal organ damage or broken bones. I did sustain a head injury for which I’m currently being treated,” Newman wrote in a statement. “The doctors have been pleased with my progression over the last few days.”

No word on when Newman will return to the track but Roush President Steve Newmark said that, “He has expressed unequivocally that this is where he wants to be and he wants to be back in a race car.”

Bondurant High Performance Driving School Launches F4 Program

Itching to grow your own skills as a competitive driver? Looking to nab your SCCA Competition License? Or are you just dying to get behind a true open-wheel race car? Now might be your chance…

The Bondurant High Performance Driving School in Chandler, Arizona recently announced the launch of its own F4 Racing program—the first of its kind in the U.S. Featuring the Ligier JS F4 racecar, enthusiasts and drivers can sign up for a variety of courses starting in March.

“It’s extremely important that drivers who have the desire to compete in the championships show up well-prepared,” commented Ligier Automotive North America Chief Executive Officer Max Crawford. “A school that teaches the same championship curriculum in the same Ligier JS F4 racecar can only be a huge benefit for drivers. Bondurant’s strong reputation and quality instruction made perfect sense for us and we welcome them on board.”

“For over 50 years, the Bondurant School has utilized open-wheel formula race cars in our training programs,” said Bondurant Chief Instructor Mike McGovern. “Never before have we had the opportunity to bring brand new state-of-the-art open wheel racecars and equipment into our advanced programs. This investment, as well as the relationships derived from it, is a direct result of new ownership and their long-term vision and commitment to the school and the industry.”

More context: The 52-year-old internationally renowned performance driving school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2018. After a court auction, three former graduates purchased the school. They have since worked hard to revitalize headquarters, explore new partnerships, and of course, add exciting new programs to the curriculum.

Want more?

Here at the Engine Block, our passion is the automotive aftermarket and anything that drives it. We’re excited to welcome “Motorsport Monday” as the latest competition corner of the blog, a place where we highlight, celebrate, and unpack what’s going on around the circuit—from dirt to street and everything in between.

Check back in with us next week, as we’ll have exciting news on the 26th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout, NASCAR Auto Club, and more. In the meantime, check out our round-up of upcoming racing events.