| BEST
IN THE DESERT
Pahrump Nugget 250
December 3, 2016
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BITD Pahrump Nugget 250 UTV
Race Report
Justin Lambert
& Branden Sims Take Class Wins & Championships
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BEST
IN THE DESERT
Pahrump Nugget 250 |
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Pahrump, NV (12/9/2016) - Justin
Lambert and Branden Sims capped off their championship
seasons as the Best in the Desert Series held its
season finale with a return to Pahrump for the Nugget
250. Cognito’s Justin Lambert won a BITD record
seventh consecutive race in the SXS Pro Production
Class, completing a sweep of the entire season in
his Polaris RZR. LSR / ITP’s Branden Sims, who needed
only a top 10 to clinch the SXS Pro Turbo title,
drove a conservative race and ended up with a victory,
handing Polaris its second victory of the weekend
and both Pro BITD UTV titles.
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Cognito's
Justin Lambert claimed a history making
7th straight BITD win in 2016 to go undefeated
for the Pro UTV Championship |
Best in the Desert racing returned to Pahrump
this year after an eight-year absence. While the
vehicles may have changed, one thing remained
consistent: The tough, silty and rock-filled course.
The event was run on a 255-mile continuous-loop
circuit featuring long silt-covered straightaways
and rocks. High winds on Friday died down before
the race on Saturday, but breezy conditions helped
clear out the dust on the desert course.
In the end, the story of the day was Lambert.
He dominated the event. Along with his unprecedented
seventh class victory, he earned his fourth overall
victory, finishing ahead of some fast turbo cars.
For his efforts, Polaris Industries presented
him with a custom-made broad sword to symbolize
his “slaying” of the competition. Robert VanBeekum
finished second in the Production Class, ahead
of Adam Warren.
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ITP's
Justin Lambert battled with the elements
& trucks at the BITD Pahrump Nugget
250 to hold the overall lead shortly after
the start |
“This is our first championship, so this is definitely
sweet,” exclaimed Lambert. “It made it sweeter
to get the sweep. We batted a thousand this year.
The track was fast, but very silty and rocky.
It was amazing how fast it was. Once we got behind
some slower trucks and buggies, we realized that
they were slowing us up. With four-wheel drive
we were faster in the softer stuff. These RZRs,
they kick butt.
“The key to our success this year was our consistency,”
added Lambert. “We played it smart. We knew when
to take it easy and when to go fast. There is
a fine line between the two.”
Lambert will bring that consistency to the Turbo
Class next season. While he was pleased to beat
out the turbo cars four times this season, he
sees the faster cars as the future of BITD SXS
racing.
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| FOX's
Justin Lambert went undefeated to clinch
the Pro UTV Championship & for 2017,
Lambert is making the move to the BITD Turbo
UTV Class |
“We’re building a turbo car to run the Turbo
Class next year,” said Lambert. “We think it’s
going to be tough to compete with so if we don’t
move up, we’ll be left in the dust. We’re partnering
with SYR Racing and we’re learning some things
with them. Hopefully it gives us a head start
on a new car without even racing.”
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