Inaugural AORC champs decided at Laughlin Desert Classic

The Laughlin Desert Classic wasn’t the best outing for Phil Blurton, who finished 13th in class in the first race and a frustrating 27th in the second to place 14th for the weekend. Fortunately, two factors worked in his favor: a mechanical issue befell Ronnie Anderson and took him out of the race, and the fact that Blurton could drop his worst result from his final points tally.

The American Off-Road Racing Championship lets drivers throw away one race in a given season, meaning a single poor finish wouldn’t hamper your hopes of winning a class title. Such a benefit doesn’t exist for the overall championship, which is based on total elapsed time rather than points accumulated as with class titles.

Even then, Blurton walked away with both. Dropping Laughlin and Anderson’s DNF were all he needed to beat Anderson for the UTV Pro championship by just 13 points. Anderson also removed Laughlin, but his 388 points racked up across the other four races were short of Blurton’s 401.

As for the overall, Blurton completed all 1,717 possible miles for a Limited Race driver. UTV Pro classmate Dan Fisher and Class 10 driver Ayden Ford also achieved this, so the tiebreaker came down to whoever of them went the distance the fastest. Blurton did so in 28 hours, 47 minutes, and 18 seconds, versus Fisher’s 33:41:41 and Ford’s 34:54:20 to secure the inaugural AORC Limited overall crown.

“We had issues all week long, but the entire season went phenomenal,” said Blurton. “I couldn’t have done it without Can-Am, their UTVs are amazing out here. This is probably one of my favorite tracks and it was probably my most stressful day racing out here.

“The 2026 season was amazing up to this point, I don’t like to count points up until the last race, so last night Jeff (Gallegos, co-driver) and I were going through everything and figuring out what position we had to get. I mean, it couldn’t have gone more wrong for me today and then all of a sudden, it turned out perfect in the end. This Can-Am Maverick R was unreal all year long. Hopefully, we can repeat next year as we are coming back to race the full 2027 AORC season and will be back battling for a championship again.”

The inaugural AORC season came to a close in Laughlin, where guys like Blurton and Tracy Graf were keen on solidifying their title pursuits. Graf took the Unlimited overall as the fastest of the five drivers—alongside RJ Stidham, Robby Gordon, Kyle Jergensen, and Stony Kujala—to complete all 1,717 miles. He also held off Gordon to win the Unlimited Truck 4WD title by just seven points over Gordon.

The points battle was close elsewhere too. Nic Whetstone edged out Tracy Poole, both of whom dropped the season-opening Parker 400 by eight points. Despite finishing third in the Limited overall, Ford lost the Class 10 title to Cade Martin by eight as well since Martin racked up more points than him at Parker and Laughlin. Justin von Metal won UTV Pro Stock by five points over Code St. Peter.

UTV Pro Naturally Aspirated saw what was easily the closest margin of victory: just 0.5 points between Lake Adler and Alexia Leaming.

While the AORC doesn’t require drivers to run every race, some class titles weren’t handed out in Laughlin since they didn’t appear at that many events. For example, Bill Hunter is the 2026 Vintage champion by default as the only entrant all year long, and he didn’t record any points at all because he didn’t finish Parker or the Vegas to Reno. Others have joint champions since they each did just a single race to earn 109 points.

Ciaran Naran dropped Parker and took home the Motorcycle overall in the debut season for the Ducati Desmo450. He beat his rival Shane Logan by 42 points, riding a streak that included victories at the Mint 400, Silver State 300, V2R, and Laughlin.

Conner McMullen double dipped in Laughlin, winning on Day 1 in Unlimited Truck Spec then taking the 2WD victory in Day 2. He even claimed the Class 1 title, which only saw entrants in Parker and the Mint.

Class winners

Unlimited

ClassNumberDriver of RecordTotal TimeLaps
Class 1 UnlimitedN/ANo FinishersDNF4
Unlimited Truck 2WD18Conner McMullen1:57:00.93810
Unlimited Truck 4WD58Tracy Graf2:05:59.14110
Unlimited Truck Legends92LKelly McNeil2:18:24.23010
Unlimited Truck Spec240Conner McMullen2:06:53.73610

Limited

ClassNumberDriver of RecordTotal TimeLaps
Class 1/2-16001637Sean Tuite1:38:55.2825
Class 101061Carib Potts2:16:47.06110
Class 111168Tommy Tuite2:15:28.0486
Class 121251Ian Miller2:04:55.9248
Class 14501417Justin Miller2:04:35.2208
EV Open ProductionEV230Gray Leadbetter1:33:51.2925
Gambler 500 / Hooptie X ModifiedG7John Weber2:20:23.7714
Open Sportsman819Tim Seymour2:28:08.7288
Open Sportsman B8127Colton Brenthel1:59:41.4888
Rock800 Legends4887Donnie Kehlenbeck1:25:03.8075
Stock Production Truck Full851Chris Woo2:11:06.3838
Stock Production Truck Mini / Mid7330Chad Hall2:10:41.7308
VintageV101William Hunter2:13:32.6267

UTV

ClassNumberDriver of RecordTotal TimeLaps
Rock900 Pro Open UTVO4964Dave Simon2:42:44.74110
Super 10S1027Carson Wernimont2:22:24.48010
UTV ProT81Deegan Gonzalez2:13:26.44010
UTV Pro Normally AspiratedR511Trevor Lee2:28:10.22910
UTV Pro StockS63Code St. Peter2:24:59.13410
UTV Pro Stock ModifiedZ226Eric Parker2:24:41.77310
UTV Pro TurboB821Dexon Despot2:20:45.02110
UTV StockU957Chris Stevens2:34:40.6438
UTV Stock ModifiedUM156Sarah Stewart2:16:15.4508

Motorcycle

ClassNumberRider of RecordTotal TimeLaps
399 Amateur MotorcycleX297Brian Coldrick2:02:10.6086
399 Expert MotorcycleX152Teddy Miller2:16:45.9479
Adventure Bike Sportsman MotorcycleA73James Johnston2:03:37.7136
Family Expert MotorcycleF3Kimberly Loppnow2:05:29.5638
Hooligan Sportsman MotorcycleH50Mark Gerloff2:16:27.5718
Ironman Amateur MotorcycleO64Silas Hilfiker2:09:35.9939
Ironman Expert MotorcycleO23Eric Plata2:17:23.7159
Ironman Pro MotorcycleJ5Patricio Cabrera2:12:17.87710
Lites Expert MotorcycleK135Jeffrey Wells2:07:31.4648
Open Amateur Motorcycle398Cole Smith2:06:26.1528
Open Expert Motorcycle312Caleb Tate2:09:28.58410
Open Pro MotorcycleN2Ciaran Naran2:00:25.44910
Over 30 Expert MotorcycleM589Robbie Silvernail2:22:24.5628
Over 30 Pro MotorcycleP69Branden Siebenhaar2:14:58.94510
Over 40 Expert MotorcycleM709Jayson Kidwell59:59.6954
Over 40 Pro MotorcycleC22Brett Stevens2:15:56.9768
Over 60 Expert MotorcycleM901Dick Wilk2:17:15.8068
Quad Expert437Steve Kerchner2:12:32.9556
Quad ProQ24David Sudberry2:13:26.5038
Women’s Expert MotorcycleW1Felicia Gaither2:29:01.8566

Class champions

Unlimited

ClassNumberDriver of RecordPoints
Class 1140Conner McMullen103
Class 1 Unlimited100UMichael Mamelli Jr.410
Unlimited Truck 2WD18Nic Whetstone413
Unlimited Truck 4WD58Tracy Graf426
Unlimited Truck Legends92LKelly McNeil426
Unlimited Truck Spec222Kyle Jergensen420

Limited

ClassNumberDriver of RecordPoints
Class 1/2-16001637Sean Tuite327
Class 5 Unlimited504Kyle Krespz213
Class 5-1600568Guy Savedra109
Class 7F716FChris Forsberg212
Class 7S7141James Burman109
Class 9 Challenger924Karissa Veenstra109
Class 101017Cade Martin401
Class 111160James Hayward403
Class 121210
1238		Mark Walker
Bradley Wilson		109
Class 14501417Justin Miller421
Class 20002099Cy Villegas109
Class 30003008John Winn109
Class 60006096Jonathan Slavic109
EV Open ProductionEV230Gray Leadbetter218
Gambler 500 / Hooptie X ModifiedG7John Weber207
Hybrid ProductionH111Skylar Watson321
Jeepspeed Challenge1733Mike Bosley212
Jeepspeed Cup2759Phillip Batchelor103
Jeepspeed Outlaws3705Shaun Davis103
Jeepspeed Trophy4744Brett Maister103
Open Sportsman8127Colton Brenthal431
Open Sportsman B50Joseph Herling104
Rally Raid 2WDRR288Brian Baragwanath109
Rally Raid 4WDRR228Mitch Guthrie109
Rock400 Unlimited4417Mark McCleerey212
Rock500 Modified4548Theresa Contreras103
Rock600 Stock4635Bailey Campbell213
Rock800 Legends4866
4887		Eric Wikle
Donnie Kehlenbeck		109
Rock900 Pro Open UTVO4964
O4984
S4907		Dave Simon
Mitchell Otterson
Payton Dumford		109
Stock Production Truck Full851Chris Woo426
Stock Production Truck Mini / Mid7330Chad Hall436
Super 10S1027Carson Wernimont109
TrophyLite6064Zak Ketcham109
UTV ProT44Phil Blurton401
UTV Pro Normally AspiratedR4Lake Adler412.5
UTV Pro StockS1Justin von Metal418
UTV Pro Stock ModifiedZ8Caysen Weaver415
UTV Pro TurboB43Steve Allen417
UTV SportsmanUS950William Eisenberg207
UTV Stock ModifiedUM21Ryan Parrette200
UTV Stock ModifiedU957Chris Stevens213
VintageV102Bill Hunter0
Vintage MilitaryM122Robert Blanton109
Vintage OpenV204
V276		Rick Madison
Josh Bradfield		109

Motorcycle

ClassNumberRider of RecordPoints
1975–1982 Sportsman MotorcycleV110Taylor Baker109
1983–1995 Sportsman MotorcycleVM269Victor Borg206
399 Amateur MotorcycleX297Brian Coldrick213
399 Expert MotorcycleX152Teddy Miller436
399 Pro MotorcycleX1Allen Pollard109
Adventure Bike Sportsman MotorcycleA73James Johnston431
Family Expert MotorcycleF11William Markley426
Hooligan Sportsman MotorcycleH50Mark Gerloff430
Ironman Amateur MotorcycleO55Joshua Ricciardi426
Ironman Expert MotorcycleO23Eric Plata411
Ironman Pro MotorcycleJ5Patricio Cabrera426
Lites Expert MotorcycleK135Jeffrey Wells436
Open Amateur Motorcycle392Austin Matula408
Open Expert Motorcycle312Caleb Tate436
Open Pro MotorcycleN2Ciaran Naran436
Over 30 Expert MotorcycleM589Robbie Silvernail422
Over 30 Pro MotorcycleP77Stephen Helms317
Over 40 Expert MotorcycleM799Steven Kamrad404
Over 40 Pro MotorcycleC22Dennis Belingheri
Brett Stevens		109
Over 50 Expert MotorcycleM812Eric Streich315
Over 60 Expert MotorcycleM901Dick Wilk425
Quad Expert437Steve Kerchner409
Quad Ironman Expert602Daniel Pirrie206
Quad ProQ33Shandy Kittleson401
Scrambler Sportsman MotorcycleSC58Ty McPherson103
Women’s Expert MotorcycleW1Felicia Gaither431

Overall championship top tens

Unlimited

RankNumberDriverClassDistanceTotal TimeLaps
158Tracy GrafUnlimited Truck 4WD1,717 miles28:27:49.1521
2280RJ StidhamUnlimited Truck Spec1,717 miles29:25:05.5021
35Robby GordonUnlimited Truck 4WD1,717 miles30:06:12.0521
4222Kyle JergensenUnlimited Truck Spec1,717 miles30:06:40.5421
5229Stony KujalaUnlimited Truck Spec1,717 miles31:31:44.3521
618Nic WhetstoneUnlimited Truck 2WD1,591 miles26:20:27.1920
7260Cory FinleyUnlimited Truck Spec1,577 miles29:25:30.4119
850Joseph HerlingUnlimited Truck 2WD1,577 miles32:20:30.0519
927TSteve OlligesUnlimited Truck 2WD1,529 miles25:43:30.6719
1078Tracy PooleUnlimited Truck 2WD1,465 miles24:23:18.1019

Limited

RankNumberDriverClassDistanceTotal TimeLaps
1T44Phil BlurtonUTV Pro1,717 miles28:47:18.6821
2T910Dan FisherUTV Pro1,717 miles33:41:41.1321
31040Ayden FordClass 101,717 miles34:54:20.2021
4T57Blake WilkeyUTV Pro1,703 miles32:01:20.9720
5T948Matt BurroughsUTV Pro1,689 miles34:27:48.1119
6T52Ronnie AndersonUTV Pro1,675 miles29:07:26.3318
7B14Shane HaleUTV Pro Turbo1,675 miles39:56:41.2218
81052Emily GonzalezClass 101,661 miles39:00:48.1617
9T978Dustin JonesUTV Pro1,623 miles28:14:14.4920
10B43Steve AllenUTV Pro Turbo1,591 miles32:33:26.5920

Motorcycle

RankNumberRiderClassDistanceTotal TimeLaps
1N2Ciaran NaranOpen Pro Motorcycle1,565.4 miles27:23:15.7624
2312Caleb TateOpen Expert Motorcycle1,565.4 miles30:13:08.4124
3N18Matthew GrantOpen Pro Motorcycle1,565.4 miles30:19:47.0024
4N56Shane LoganOpen Pro Motorcycle1,495.4 miles29:13:22.3819
5306Graydon SmithOpen Expert Motorcycle1,430.3 miles30:39:19.9621
6N13Caiden FenstermakerOpen Pro Motorcycle1,353.4 miles25:59:313.7422
7J5Patricio CabreraIronman Pro Motorcycle1,317 miles26:23:54.6420
8O55Joshua RicciardiIronman Amateur Motorcycle1,304.3 miles31:09:08.8812
9349Isaiah ClarkOpen Expert Motorcycle1,279.3 miles28:55:27.4520
10J8William ClarkIronman Pro Motorcycle1,198.3 miles31:08:05.4511

Featured image credit: BRP Inc.

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