Craig McCarthy holds off UTVs for 2025 NORRA 500 victory

Could a UTV overall a NORRA race? Maybe, but that’ll have to wait another year.

The two-day NORRA 500 was a tale of two vehicles. The first day was one for the UTVs while the more powerful trucks thrived in the second. Despite the fight the former put up, it was a Trophy Truck on top once more.

Day 1 ran through a tight and technical course that allowed the UTVs to keep pace with the trucks. Although Craig McCarthy’s 1Nine Trophy Truck was the fastest on all three Selective Sections, the likes of Thomas Purcell, P.J. Jones, and fastest qualifier Kaden Wells were right behind in their UTVs. After the first day, McCarthy led Purcell by just 7:35.

Wells picked up the pace in Day 2, but was too far back to catch McCarthy and instead battled with Jones for the final step on the podium. Jones edged him out on that front by just three seconds.

At the front, things went smoothly for McCarthy save for a flat tire.

“Anything can happen,” he said about pushing the car. “It’s a long day today and I think we played our cards right on the second-to-last or the last special. We let Purcell go first and then Briggs snuck in front of us, so we waited a few more minutes and just had some clean air from there.”

Purcell settled for second in his brand new Polaris RZR Pro R. He was receptive to how it fared, with the only concern being that it wasn’t going at full throttle early on until it was tweaked by his team.

“Trying to stay out in front of the the big trucks is a little bit difficult in this thing, but it did fine,” said Purcell. “There’s plenty of tight and technical stuff in the beginning and the end to allow us to kind of stay out front. All in all we had a good day and just kept it rolling and we’re here.

“It’s a lot of fun. The car is just super balanced, super easy to drive, never has any hiccups, brakes are incredible, acceleration’s incredible, steering, the whole package is has been really impressive.”

UTVs made up four of the top ten spots and three in the top five. Robby Gordon’s SPEED UTV finished tenth, giving the family something to be satisfied with since his son Max retired with a mechanical issue.

Michael Frederick was the 500’s first bike winner since 2021. SCORE motorcycle liaison Andy Kirkerbroke his ribs in a crash while coming down a ledge and landing atop pointed rocks.

Stage winners

Car

StageCarsTime
Day 1, SS1Craig McCarthy2:22:21
Day 1, SS2Craig McCarthy48:55
Day 1, SS3Craig McCarthy2:23:44
Day 2, SS1Gay Smith1:25:02
Day 2, SS2Kaden Wells1:06:22
Day 2, SS3Kaden Wells1:40:15

Moto

StageRoadbookTimeGPSTime
Day 1, SS1Michael Frederick4:30:14Dustin Davis4:02:25
Day 1, SS2Kevin Busch1:20:59Jayson Walmsley1:25:37
Day 2, SS1Shawn Blair3:50:41Dustin Davis4:01:38
Day 2, SS2Shawn Blair1:03:50Rudy Alvarado1:09:16
Day 2, SS3Kevin Busch1:10:51Dustin Davis1:02:09

Overall winners

Car

ClassOverallNumberDriver of RecordVehicleTotal Time
Challenger BuggyDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Evolution 4-Seat UTV186Steve Fugate2024 Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo RR11:35:10
Evolution 61007214Donald Cerrone2019 Mason 6100 Spec Trophy Truck10:26:18
Evolution Class 10111087Ivan Tagle2018 Alumicraft Class 1010:54:53
Evolution Class 7100667151Jeff Thorp1997 Ford Ranger27:42:47
Evolution Class 720042708James Bluth2014 Pistol Pete Sohren Baja Lite14:12:22
Evolution Pre-Run Truck301959Casey Currie2015 Jeep Gladiator12:34:13
Evolution Pro UTV21979Thomas Purcell2026 Polaris RZR Pro R10:04:23
Evolution Production Naturally Aspirated UTV191993Mario Gutierrez Jr.2018 Arctic Cat Wildcat XX11:35:20
Evolution Production Turbo UTV3980P.J. Jones2024 Can-Am Maverick R10:15:30
Evolution Ultra 4×4DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Evolution Unlimited Buggy53737Jeff Terzo2025 Can-Am Maverick R10:16:00
Evolution Unlimited Truck148Craig McCarthy2025 1Nine Industries Trophy Truck10:00:53
Historic Buggy62101Kevin Schaefer2004 Jimco Dominator21:48:25
Historic Truck and Truggy6829Bob Briggs1990 Chevrolet Silverado10:17:02
Legend 4×4571976Sean Barber1976 International Harvester Scout Terra19:27:05
Legend Buggy46228Wayne Kriehn1979 SandHawk SR15:11:44
Legend Car37504Rich Minga1981 Ed Frisk Baja Bug13:21:27
Pioneer 4×456407Eric Olson1973 Ford Bronco19:09:29
Pioneer Buggy41305Ramon Castro1971 Sandwinder Buggy14:09:31
Vintage 4-Cylinder BuggyDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage 4-Cylinder Truck59468Jose Santibanez1986 Toyota 4Runner19:44:13
Vintage 6-Cylinder Buggy28911Barrett Smith1985 Mirage Buggy12:28:35
Vintage 6-Cylinder TruckDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Class 1/2-1600321690Robert Fleishman2020 Pelon Race Cars 160012:35:29
Vintage Class 538566Les Biemot1967 Volkswagen Class 513:28:51
Vintage Class 5-1600DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Class 12221210Scott Wisdom1988 Raceco Class 1211:42:23
Vintage Open Truck 4×4DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Open Truck Rear LeafsDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Stock Production Car651195Gilberto Garcia1998 Volkswagen Beetle23:31:11

Overall winners

Cars

ClassOverallNumberDriver of RecordVehicleTotal Time
Challenger BuggyDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Evolution 4-Seat UTV186Steve Fugate2024 Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo RR11:35:10
Evolution 61007214Donald Cerrone2019 Mason 6100 Spec Trophy Truck10:26:18
Evolution Class 10111087Ivan Tagle2018 Alumicraft Class 1010:54:53
Evolution Class 7100667151Jeff Thorp1997 Ford Ranger27:42:47
Evolution Class 720042708James Bluth2014 Pistol Pete Sohren Baja Lite14:12:22
Evolution Pre-Run Truck301959Casey Currie2015 Jeep Gladiator12:34:13
Evolution Pro UTV21979Thomas Purcell2026 Polaris RZR Pro R10:04:23
Evolution Production Naturally Aspirated UTV191993Mario Gutierrez Jr.2018 Arctic Cat Wildcat XX11:35:20
Evolution Production Turbo UTV3980PJ Jones2024 Can-Am Maverick R10:15:30
Evolution Ultra 4×4DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Evolution Unlimited Buggy53737Jeff Terzo2025 Can-Am Maverick R10:16:00
Evolution Unlimited Truck148Craig McCarthy2025 1Nine Industries Trophy Truck10:00:53
Historic Buggy62101Kevin Schaefer2004 Jimco Dominator21:48:25
Historic Truck and Truggy6829Bob Briggs1990 Chevrolet Silverado10:17:02
Legend 4×4571976Sean Barber1976 International Harvester Scout Terra19:27:05
Legend Buggy46228Wayne Kriehn1979 SandHawk SR15:11:44
Legend Car37504Rich Minga1981 Ed Frisk Baja Bug13:21:27
Pioneer 4×456407Eric Olson1973 Ford Bronco19:09:29
Pioneer Buggy41305Ramon Castro1971 Sandwinder Buggy14:09:31
Vintage 4-Cylinder BuggyDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage 4-Cylinder Truck59468Jose Santibanez1986 Toyota 4Runner19:44:13
Vintage 6-Cylinder Buggy28911Barrett Smith1985 Mirage Buggy12:28:35
Vintage 6-Cylinder TruckDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Class 1/2-1600321690Robert Fleishman2020 Pelon Race Cars 160012:35:29
Vintage Class 538566Les Biemot1967 Volkswagen Class 513:28:51
Vintage Class 5-1600DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Class 12221210Scott Wisdom1988 Raceco Class 1211:42:23
Vintage Open Truck 4×4DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Open Truck Rear LeafsDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Stock Production Car651195Gilberto Garcia1998 Volkswagen Beetle23:31:11

Moto

ClassOverallNumberRider of RecordVehicleTotal Time
60+2611Robert Sjoberg2023 Husqvarna FE 50117:20:54
Amateur Rally1429Michael Frederick2024 Kove 450 Rally13:01:15
XR6504121Kevin Busch2006 Honda XR650L17:48:56
Rally GPS1*770Rudy Alvarado2022 Honda CRF450RL12:23:32

Featured image credit: NORRA

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