WORLD HARE & HOUND CHAMPIONSHIP

Trevor Hunter (pictured) and Hayden Hintz are a tough team to beat. The duo clinched their third straight series championship at the World Hare & Hound Championship. Photo by Dirt Nation

By Mike Ingalsbee

Hare and Hound racing got its name from the old practice of hunting with dogs. The hare is out front blazing the trail, while the hounds follow in pursuit. In hunting, the dogs typically wear the hare down and catch their prey. At the Best in the Desert World Hare & Hound Championship the hares fi nished fi rst in both the bikes and the UTV classes. It is every rider for themselves at this Hare and Hound; One Man, One Machine, One Way. Those who raced together as teammates during the season were on their own. This worked to the advantage of the hare that got away while the hounds were busy banging bars.

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Dalton Shirey ran away from the fi eld to become the World Hare & Hound Champion. Photo by Dirt Nation

The hare turned out to be none other than Dalton Shirey, earning his second Hare & Hound Championship this season. Everyone knows you can’t let him check out at the front. “The Hare and Hound in Tonopah was great this year,” said Shirey. “It was a bitchin course with all the singletrack; it was really fun. I just wished my hands were warmer. I cut the fi ngers off my gloves to let the sweat drain out, but it made my hands cold. It was a smooth ride from start to fi nish; never had a wheel on me. I think I won by 8 minutes? I blew a couple turns so I could clean it up, but it was a great day.” Finishing second was Trevor Hunter who had a serious battle with his otherwise teammate Hayden Hintz. “It was a little frustrating, but I guess the result was not DirtVenture 49

Trevor Hunter fi nished second. Photo by Dirt Nation

Open Pro Jeremy Newton fi nished third overall. Photo by Dirt Nation too bad,” says Hunter. “It started out rough when my bike wouldn’t fi re. I got off the line way back. I made a bunch of quick passes to get up in the top 5 or 6. I was behind Zach Meyers for about 20 miles until he let me by; that was really nice of him. I caught up to my teammate Hayden who was battling with Jeremy Newton for the season points championship. Jeremy missed a turn so it was an easy pass, but then I got lost. I was on the UTV course. Jeremy and Hayden both got past me. After 10 miles I caught both of them so it was wheel to wheel with all of us for 10 to 15 miles. Jeremy got Hayden and then I got Jeremy while dicing in the trees. Both of us got lost and then he got out fi rst. It opened up so I was in his dust. I caught him and we went bar to bar for 5 miles. I was able to get by and build a gap but I had no chance of catching Shirey. I had a lot of fun. I liked the mix of technical with the high speed.” Jeremy Newton fi nished third overall behind Trevor Hunter. Brandon Krause was fourth place and Hayden Hintz came in fi fth. It was enough to clinch the championship. He lost the battle, but won the war by 9 points. Sixth through ninth place overall were all winners. Sixth overall was Ironman Pro winner and nice guy Zach Myers. Seventh place overall was

Iron Pro winner Zach Myers took sixth overall. Photo by Dirt Nation

Steven Machado was the Open Expert class winner. Photo by Dirt Nation

Open Expert class winner Steven Machado followed by Over 30 Pro winner Robby Brockman. Rounding out the top ten were Dan Lick and then Robert Glines who were second and third in the Open Expert class. Women’s champ and season points champion was Kimberly Loppnow who fi nished twelfth place overall. The bike racers were treated to some nice singletrack at this race; something that everyone who rides on two wheels cherishes. The UTV race turned out to be very similar.

Kimberly Loppnow sealed up another class championship with her Women Expert win. Photo by Dirt Nation

Dustin Jones was second across the fi nish line but claimed the overall UTV win on corrected time. Photo by HighRev Photography

Vito Ranuio’s third place fi nish was good enough to seal the deal on his 2022 Pro Turbo Class Championship. Photo by Bink Designs

Unlike the mass start of the bike race, they lined up according to the points standings. The fastest were all out front with eventual season points winner Vito Ranuio leading the way. He would play cat and mouse all day with Dustin Jones all day. “The championship points aff ected our strategy for the race,” said Ranuio. “I prefer to race to win, but when you are leading for a championship, sometime you have to give up a win. We were fi rst off the line; Dustin started behind us. We started to see his dust so we picked it up a little, but we weren’t really pushing hard. I started to go into full race mode but my co-driver brought me back down. He said let’s just concentrate on that championship. At Laughlin on day two I almost fl ipped the car I was running so hard. The Tonopah course was fun, but it was narrow and hard to pass. It was good to start in front. Dustin ran a good strategy. He knew he could just follow us and win on corrected time. One thing that was strange was how clean the car is. I had no dust all day so the car looks spotless. Our goal for next season is to win races now that we have a championship under our belts.” Dustin Jones crossed the line second, but closed the gap on Ranuio enough to take the win on time. “The course was fast and fun, but it had a lot of gotcha’s,” said Jones. “It was the fi rst time running this course for everyone so nobody knew what to expect. Usually we go a little harder. We are willing to tear up a car if it means a win. We were not

Bruce Raub 2022 Laughlin Desert Classic Jeepspeed Challenge Class Winner

Photos by RnR Photos

really in the championship; Vito would have had to DNF for that to happen. We pushed him a little to drive harder, but it would have been no benefi t to pass him. He wasn’t holding us up; he was running a fast pace, just not an all-out pace. Anytime we would get close we were on the horn, and making a lot of dust trying to get in his head. We leaned on him all day long. It’s nice to put a stamp on the season with a win. That’s what everyone will be thinking about until next year.” Joe Terrana also managed to sneak up a couple spots but unlike Ranuio and Jones, had tons of dust to contend with. “We caught up to Murray and was stuck in his dust from mile 40 to 130,” said Terrana. “It was just too rocky to go off the course for a pass. When he blew a belt, we got around him. It was frustrating, but it was a real fun course. It was super fast and fl owing. We won in Laughlin so we were hoping to win back to back. Everyone has been very nice to us this year and we have learned a lot. We plan to run the same schedule next year, but in a brand new Lonestar Racing car. I only have one year in the sport now, but I live in the desert so I feel right at home. My co-driver Jason Montes has taught me a lot too. He also races with the Herbst’s and has a lot of experience.” Joe pushed hard in the last 10 miles to fi nish

Joe Terrana fought through the thick dust to take second overall. Photo by Dirt Nation

Photo by RnR Photos

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Michael McFayden took the Trophy Unlimited class win and fi fth overall. Photo by Jeff Waldaias Photos

second overall and second in Pro Turbo class behind Jones. Vito Ranuio was third, Jason Murray fourth and Colton Gubler rounded out the top fi ve. Fifth place overall and the winner of the Trophy Unlimited class was 2021 rookie of the year Michael McFayden who is just 16 years old. He debuted a brand new car in Laughlin, but had a crash so he was racing his old car. “We just ran our own pace all day,” said McFayden. “The two minute intervals meant no dust for most of the day. We caught the car ahead of us at mile 30, then Blais at mile 100 after the lake bed. Our race went super smooth with no issues. I really liked the fast fi re roads. I think some good luck was bound to happen after all the problems we had at Laughlin. If we didn’t have the crash at Laughlin it would have taken a lot of hands to get the car ready in time for this race. My fi rst race in a UTV was in Parker last season but I have been riding quads and bikes since I was young. Jumping into racing was defi nitely diffi cult, but we fi gured it out. My goals next year will be to get some wins and then maybe jump up into the Pro Turbo class.” The top six overall were all Can Am’s. Second place in Trophy Unlimited and seventh overall was Ryan Piplic. He was the top Polaris in the fi eld. Piplic got a wellearned second place, but was going for the win. “Our result was not as good as

Seventh overall, Ryan Piplic fi nished second Trophy Unlimited. Photo by Dirt Nation we hoped,” said Piplic. “We started off at a good pace; with good fl ow. We caught a rock between a rear caliper and the wheel. We chose not to stop for repairs so we pushed through with no brakes. It was disappointing, but we made the best of it. The course was not the typical long straight shot. There were a lot of fast, fl owing turns; a driver’s course. It reminded me of the Silver State 300 without the trees. It was a lot of fun. There was a dry lake bed, a lot of rocks and some

Mitchell Alsup took the Super Stock class win. Photo by Dirt Nation silt but not like when we run after the trucks. I liked the two minute gaps.” Strategy came into play in Tonopah, but all out speed was also a factor. The Hares might have fi nished fi rst, but the hounds were hot on their tails. With everyone having such a great time, next year’s race will probably have a bunch of hounds lining up to race. We’ll have to wait and see how that goes.