BEST IN THE DESERT Series Parker 250 ATV Race January 11, 2013

Parker, AZ (1/14/2014) -The 2014 Best in the Desert Racing Series welcomed racers to the opening round at the Parker 250, and it was defending Pro Quad Champions CT Racing's David Scott and Danny Prather taking the win aboard their Honda TRX 450R. Moose/Lonestar Racing's team Trent Kendall and Joe Ramos took second, followed by Honda rider Jose Torres rounding out the podium.

With the final race of 2013 ending just over a month ago, the racers were all eager to begin a whole new season and fight their way to the 2014 title.

The Best in the Desert Parker 250 was held just outside of Parker, AZ where racers were greeted to sunny "west coast" weather. With temperatures in the low 50's at the start of the event, it warmed up after sunrise to temperatures close to 80. A slight breeze cleared the dust from the course offering the racers better visibility to see further ahead.

The Quad Classes took to the line at sunrise to conquer the rugged Best in the Desert Parker 250

With five teams entered in the Quad Pro class, each racer took off from the line individually. One minute increments separated each team, with a five minute gap from the first team and the last team to leave the line. Incredibly rough and rugged terrain lingered ahead, proving the Parker 250 to truly be the roughest race of the season. Whoops, rocks, and washes would test both the high speed skill and technical ability of each competitor.

Defending Best in the Desert Quad Pro Class Champions David Scott & Danny Prather started last off the line and made their way up to the front of the pack

In the Quad Pro Class, defending champion CT/Maxxis Team David Scott and Danny Prather had to work hard to earn the season opener win. After being the last team off the starting line, they had a five minute gap behind the first place team. They took the lead from Q83 team of Cody Mitchell and Colt Brinkerhoff in the final fifteen miles of the race and still managed to win by over six minutes. After capturing the championship in 2013, kicking off the season with a win has helped to continue to build their positive momentum.

"The bike was working flawless. The Elka shocks worked great and the CT motor just ripped, I can't explain how fast our bike was today," said Danny Prather

Once Prather handed the bike off to teammate David Scott half way through the race, he was prepared to make the final few passes on the other teams and take over the lead. Approaching the final fifteen miles of the race, Scott was able to steal the lead from Q83 team of Cody Mitchell and Colt Brinkerhoff and rode his Maxxis/DWT machine to the top of the podium. After capturing the championship in 2013, kicking off the season with a win has helped to continue to build their positive momentum.

With over five hours and three laps completed on the 82 mile loop track, David Scott & Danny Prather earned the first win of the 2014 Best in the Desert Season

"We definitely had to work for the win, there's a lot of tough competition out there. We took off last in our class so we knew if we got up front we would for sure have it," said Scott about their race.

Coming in just over six minutes behind the leaders was the Q11 Honda 450 of Trent Kendall and Joe Ramos. Taking advantage of being the first Pro off the line, the Fasst / Lonestar Racing backed riders led the first half of the race. Although the team fell back to third for a few miles, the duo capitalized on the mechanical failure of the Q83 team and moved back into second, crossing the finish line with a time of 5:23:22.

Trent Kendall & Joe Ramos lead the first half of the race after starting first in the pro field. Although the Q11 Team fell back to third, they were able to capitalize on the mechanical issues of the Q83 team to take over second before crossing the finish

After finishing the 2013 season in third, kicking off the season in second is a step up for the team and they are excited to battle for the championship during the remaining races. Trent Kendall commented on the rugged obstacles saying, "It's one of the rougher Parker 250 races I can remember. The rock garden was bad you really had to pick your lines through there."