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Ryan Prosser becomes youngest BITD Trick Truck champion
With a third class win in as many races at last weekend’s Laughlin Desert Challenge, 18-year-old Ryan Prosser is the youngest driver to win Best In The Desert‘s Trick Truck championship.
Although Trick Trucks are generally among the top vehicles in desert racing, the class was relatively quiet in 2024 outside of the premier Vegas to Reno. Prosser was the only TT driver to enter all four races, and even then he did the V2R in a UTV Open instead. TT was a Prosser-only show at the season-opening Golden State 250, while defending champion Jonathan Brenthel was his only other competition at the Silver State 300 where the latter retired.
In Laughlin, the only other Trick Truck entered was Jordan Dean who retired. Prosser finished seventh overall among Unlimited vehicles.
While competition was certainly scant, BITD awards forty-five points for simply finishing, meaning a retirement could have easily thrown things out of order. Furthermore, if no driver runs at least three races (the fourth can be dropped as one’s worst finish), a trophy would not be awarded.
Besides the title, Prosser also claimed Rookie of the Year honours. As the reigning champion, he will be allowed to swap his #42 number plate out for #1.
Ironically, TT still had the closest points battle of all cars and trucks. David Ziegler held off Connor McMullen with a strong outing at Laughlin to claim the Class 6100 title. Chris Woo and Chad Hall were the only full-season competitors in the Stock categories, as was Jeff Harmonson in the Jeepspeed Trophy.
On the opposite extreme, the battle for the top motorcycle title came down to just a single point. Although Shane Logan finished behind Hayden Hintz at Laughlin (third to Hintz’s first), Logan’s result was dropped for being his worst outing of the season and allowed him to hold off Hintz for the championship.
Can-Ams swept the three UTV championships. Dustin Jones, in his first full season with the Can-Am Maverick R after winning the 2023 Silver State 300 in its racing début, held off Colt Brinkerhoff for the UTV Turbo Pro title. Another Maverick R topped UTV Open with Josh Row, who was the fastest UTV outright at the Vegas to Reno, beating Laughlin overall winner Cody Bradbury.
Bradbury, Jones, and Row finished 1–2–3 among all UTVs at Laughlin.
Short course racing took place the Friday before the main desert events. Joe Terrana won the Class 11 race ahead of Brian O’Dor, while Chase Mankin and Mason Cotter respectively topped the UTV Short Course and Youth classes. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone pulled double duty by entering both the Class 11 and UTV Short Course events, finishing second in the latter and five laps down in the former.
Laughlin Desert Challenge class winners
Car/Truck
Limited
| Class | Overall Finish | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
| 4800 Ultra4 | 8 | 4817 | Johnny Valadez | 1:02:51.750 |
| Class 1600 | DNF | N/A | No Finishers | DNF |
| Jeepspeed Cup | 3 | 1706 | Ken Tichy | 2:32:19.134 |
| Jeepspeed Outlaw | 6 | 3769 | Alex Littleboy | 2:21:31.990 |
| Jeepspeed Trophy | 1 | 4725 | Jeff Harmonson | 2:20:35.171 |
| Stock Full | 7 | 1230 | Chris Woo | 2:22:22.023 |
| Stock Mid-Size | 5 | 7300 | Chad Hall | 2:35:25.930 |
| UTV Sportsman | 2 | M911 | Tray Parkhurst | 2:28:49.479 |
Unlimited
| Class | Overall Finish | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
| 6100 Spec | 1 | 6140 | Conner McMullen | 1:47:23.286 |
| Class 1000 Limited | 4 | 1077 | Brody Aikins | 2:00:01.565 |
| Trick Truck | 7 | 42 | Ryan Prosser | 1:53:51.696 |
| Unlimited Car | 6 | 1507 | Nick May | 2:07:29.944 |
Motorcycle/Quad
| Class | Overall Finish | Number | Rider of Record | Total Time |
| Motorcycle 399 Expert | 28 | 225 | Josh Newsom | 2:35:33.679 |
| Motorcycle 399 Pro | 7 | X69 | Branden Siebenhaar | 2:25:45.458 |
| Motorcycle Ironman Amateur | 29 | O63 | Kellen Davies | 2:41:08.210 |
| Motorcycle Ironman Expert | 13 | O27 | Remington Mathews | 2:32:33.918 |
| Motorcycle Ironman Pro | 5 | J40 | Aiden Poulson | 2:41:35.769 |
| Motorcycle Lites Amateur | 31 | G38 | Cooper Nugent | 2:26:58.979* |
| Motorcycle Lites Expert | 21 | K77 | Ethan Monrreal | 2:25:59.946 |
| Motorcycle Lites Pro | 33 | A99 | Andy Moore | 2:32:08.139* |
| Motorcycle Open Amateur | 25 | 292 | Tyler Simpson | 2:32:10.179 |
| Motorcycle Open Expert | 6 | 315 | Wyatt Seat | 2:25:24.830 |
| Motorcycle Open Pro | 1 | N1 | Hayden Hintz | 2:25:43.380 |
| Motorcycle Over 30 Expert | 14 | 510 | Morgan Shultz | 2:33:05.012 |
| Motorcycle Over 30 Pro | 4 | P5 | Hayden Roberts | 2:35:46.257 |
| Motorcycle Over 40 Expert | 22 | O19 | Jayson Kidwell | 2:26:08.378 |
| Motorcycle Over 40 Pro | 27 | C1 | Brett Stevens | 2:33:29.170 |
| Motorcycle Over 60 Expert | 19 | 923 | Dick Wilk | 2:40:37.579 |
| Quad Expert | 30 | 458 | Dakota Hibler | 2:23:02.639* |
| Quad Pro | 10 | Q2 | Bret Greenholz | 2:28:31.079 |
UTV
| Class | Overall Finish | Number | Driver of Record | Total Time |
| UTV Naturally Aspirated Pro | 12 | R11 | Ethan Groom | 2:26:54.118* |
| UTV Open | 1 | H1 | Cody Bradbury | 2:17:02.779 |
| UTV Super Stock | 6 | S930 | Todd Zuccone | 2:26:25.775 |
| UTV Turbo Pro | 2 | T978 | Dustin Jones | 2:19:39.097 |
2024 Best In The Desert champions
Some classes did not name a champion because none of its competitors ran every race.
Car/Truck
| Class | Number | Champion | Points | Number | Runner-Up | Points | Margin |
| 4800 Ultra4 | 4817 | Johnny Valadez | 212 | 4837 | Jeremy Jones | 82 | 130 |
| 6100 Spec | 6123 | David Ziegler | 262 | 6140 | Conner McMullen | 82 | 180 |
| Jeepspeed Trophy | 4725 | Jeff Harmonson | 216 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Stock Full | 1230 | Chris Woo | 288 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Stock Mid-Size | 7330 | Chad Hall | 245 | 7366 | Loren Healy | 73 | 172 |
| Trick Truck | 42 | Ryan Prosser | 218 | 1 | Jonathan Brenthel | 89 | 129 |
Motorcycle/Quad
| Class | Number | Champion | Points | Number | Runner-Up | Points | Margin |
| Motorcycle 399 Expert | 225 | Josh Newsom | 262 | 208 | Jared Silva | 59 | 203 |
| Motorcycle Ironman Amateur | O63 | Kellen Davies | 255 | O51 | Jason Bowles | 117 | 138 |
| Motorcycle Ironman Expert | O27 | Remington Mathews | 224 | O20 | Brian Spiersch | 79 | 145 |
| Motorcycle Ironman Pro | J7 | Dustin Slade | 207 | J6 | Mike Chastain | 147 | 60 |
| Motorcycle Open Expert | 315 | Cameron Wilson / Wyatt Seat | 211 | 324 | Jack Monach | 187 | 24 |
| Motorcycle Open Pro | N2 | Shane Logan | 246 | N1 | Hayden Hintz | 245 | 1 |
| Motorcycle Over 30 Expert | 510 | Morgan Schulz | 262 | 525 | Mike Beck | 118 | 144 |
| Motorcycle Over 40 Pro | C1 | Brett Stevens | 173 | C22 | Dennis Belingheri | 73 | 100 |
| Motorcycle Over 60 Expert | 916 | Harold Harris | 264 | 923 | Dick Wilk | 134 | 130 |
| Quad Expert | 458 | Dakota Hibler | 252 | 440 | Joseph Linderborg | 192 | 60 |
| Quad Pro | Q2 | Brett Greenholz | 228 | Q88 | Jason Zittel | 209 | 19 |
UTV
| Class | Number | Champion | Points | Number | Runner-Up | Points | Margin |
| UTV Open | H959 | Josh Row | 284 | H1 | Cody Bradbury | 238 | 46 |
| UTV Pro Turbo | T978 | Dustin Jones | 238 | T845 | Colt Brinkerhoff | 199 | 39 |
| UTV Super Stock | S930 | Todd Zuccone | 244 | S74 | Derrick Luttrell | 196 | 48 |
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