Murray Motorsports Manage Mechanical Malfunctions to Finish 3rd at 2013 Best in the Desert Mint 400

11 Jul 2013

Murray Racing missed 2nd place in the Best in the Desert Mint 400 by a heartbreaking two seconds.

The Great American Race - that's the designation rightfully bestowed on the Mint 400. Created by Norm Johnson in 1967, as a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel's annual deer hunt, it almost instantly grew into a legitimate desert race, and today continues to hold the title as arguably the gnarliest, most spectacularly demanding off-road race in North America. For many finishing is victory enough, for others like the Murray brothers, Jason and Derek, expectations are set higher. 2013 was the second time in the history of the famous Mint 400 Off-road Desert classic that UTV's were invited to be a part of this prestigious event, and the brothers were looking for a repeat performance of their history making first run at the Mint.

The K&N backed Murray brothers are racing Best in the Desert with full factory support from BRP Can-Am this year.

"We finished 2012 in 1st place," reported Jason. "This year we finished in 3rd, but we had the lead for the first quarter of the race, and then we had some CV issues with the new car, which dropped us down to 7th. We then got back up to 2nd and then had a steering issue. We fell to 3rd and lost 2nd by just two seconds this year. We were pretty bummed by that."

Murray Racing began in 2009 when the brothers began fabricating their first full build UTV to enter into the Best in the Desert class 1900 race series. They figured they were on to something when they finished in 3rd place in their very first desert race in the BITD series. Since then, Murray Motorsports has expanded with multiple cars competing in several different race series, including Best in the Desert, SCORE, WORCS, King of the Hammers and Robby Gordon Stadium Series. Fans can expect a much larger presence from the K&N supported Murray brothers all during the 2013 season.

"We got into desert racing as a hobby, and have found some good success over the past few years," Jason understates. "Up until this year we finished in 23 consecutive BITD and SCORE races, that's pretty impressive."

Murray Motorsports has in fact finished in the top-3 overall in Best in the Desert for the last three years in a row, and they currently sit 2nd overall. Their high level of consistency did not go unnoticed, as the team is proud to have raised the bar in UTV racing, by earning the full factory support of BRP Can-Am for the 2013 season. Earlier this year the brothers also announced that they'll be opening a new race shop which will offer full service fabrication and will produce top of the line Can Am Mavericks.

Clearly last season was "awesome" for Murray Motorsports, and the brothers remain absolutely focused on collecting more wins and top finishes this year. "We currently just finished the Baja 500, where we were running in the lead for the first 360 miles, and then rolled the car a few times to take us out. We had a 40 minute lead on 2nd place at the time. Up next is the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno in August, and in WORCS we have the Taft race. And later this year we have the SCORE Baja 1000, which is the biggest race of the year."

Related K&N News Articles about the Mint 400 and Best in the Desert racing: Randy Merritt and Mongo Racing Finish Best in the Desert Mint 400 in Debut of New Ford Truck; Macrae Glass Gets Class 8 Win at the 2011 Best in the Desert Mint 400; Jefferies Racing Built K&N Filters Buggy Strong in Best in the Desert's Mint 400 Desert Off Road Race; K&N's Dr. Macrae Glass Grabs Class 8 Win at Best in the Desert's Silver State 300; Las Vegas to Reno Best in the Desert Off Road Race Win for K&N Supported Team

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