Compiled by SEMA Editors
 Dave Cole, owner and co-founder of the King of the Hammers event, grabbed the victory at the NORRA Mexican 1000 in his #54 ’86 Toyota 4Runner. | |
Falken's Cole Takes Desert Win in Norra Mexican 1000 Vintage Rally
Falken Tire took its first-ever desert win by finishing first in the Vintage 108-in. Wheelbase 4x4 Class in the NORRA Mexican 1000—the four-day on- and off-road "vintage-flavored" rally through Baja.
The race took place from April 27–May 1, and Dave Cole, owner and co-founder of the King of the Hammers event, grabbed the victory in his #54 ’86 Toyota 4Runner. His time was 15:56:48 as teams ran from Mexicali to Los Cabos, with overnight stops in Bahia de Los Angeles, Loreto and La Paz.
Also competing in the race was Matt Parks in the Vintage Open Truck W-real Leaf Springs Class. His truck, originally built by Randy Fortune at Walker Evans Racing and dubbed the "Beer Hauler" due to its Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsorship and corresponding race livery, was competitive until it lost a driveshaft at roughly 100 mph, sidelining the team.
 Brad McClure, in his BTM Motorwerks/GoGoGear.com BMW M3, came out victorious at the opening round of the Nitto Tires United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) at Thunderhill Raceway. | ||
Brad McClure came out victorious at the opening round of the Nitto Tires United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) at Thunderhill Raceway. McClure was driving the BTM Motorwerks/GoGoGear.com BMW M3 in only his second-ever USTCC race. Dave Brown had the lead for most of the race and finished second in the Competition Clutch/Hawk Brake BMW M3. Mike Lock finished third.
On Saturday, Bob Bradfield won the pole position by finishing first in the preliminary race in the TNI Racing Mazdaspeed 3. However, the celebration was short lived as Bradfield was stripped of his pole position time after passing under a yellow flag during a Sunday practice session. Bradfield was to start in the back of the field while his teammate Doug Makishima started on pole position. Next to Makishima's BMW M3 was another BMW M3 driven by two time USTCC Champion Brown.
On the last lap, Brown was leading with McClure right on his bumper waiting for a mistake. McClure faked to the inside to force Brown to cover the inside and tried a very difficult outside pass at Turn 14 and Turn 15. The move worked and McClure was rewarded with the white flag. He led the rest of the way and brought the car home to a win.In the GT field, Geoff Sykes, driving the Replay TV/European Motor Works BMW M3, won in a tight battle over Daniel Akhromstev who was driving the Domport Auto Body BMW M3. The two of them were bumper to bumper for much of the race and Sykes just edged out Akhromstev at the end. Rob Rodriguez in the TH Motorsports Noble M400 finished third.
 Robbie Gordon, driving the #7 SPEED Energy/MAPEI/Toyo Tires truck held off points leader Rob MacCachren to capture his first win in Stadium SUPER Trucks history. | |
Robby Gordon and Larry Swim Win at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks invaded the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a full night of off-road racing action. Robby Gordon, Larry Swim and Jerry Whelchel were able to conquer the multiple challenges to record wins in Round No. 3 of SST Competition.
Gordon, driving the #7 SPEED Energy/MAPEI/Toyo Tires truck held off points leader Rob MacCachren to capture his first win in Stadium SUPER Trucks history.
Whelchel, the only competitor to compete in every single Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group event, made his return to stadium racing a successful one taking the lead on Lap 3 en route to taking the win in the 10-lap SUPER Buggy final.
Adrian Cenni and Apdaly Lopez started the 12-lap SUPER Buggy final and raced around the course until Lopez stalled on the front stretch of Lap 3. Cenni fell back several positions after making contact with another driver. While trying to make up lost position, Cenni chose the crossover jump and landed hard, breaking the right front suspension. Cenni would drop out on Lap 5 after Rino Navero would jump over the concrete retaining wall bringing out the red flag.
Welchel went on to capture the win over Tyler Winburry and third-place finisher Phil Bollman.