Phil Blurton Goes Back-to-Back at VT Construction Silver State 300
Phil Blurton’s strong start to the 2020 Best in the Desert season continued with his second win in three rounds in Saturday’s VT Construction Silver State 300. Blurton’s time of 4:14:18.133 gave him the top spot in UTV Turbo action by just under a minute over Dustin Jones, while Mint 400 winner Branden Sims completed the podium.
More than 90 UTVs showed up to run the largest Silver State 300 ever, with UTV Turbo comprising the largest class with 46 entries. UTV Production drew 24 racers, UTV Unlimited had a healthy 20-car field, and UTV Sportsman added three more. The postponement of the SCORE season-opening Baja 500, which had previously been scheduled to run in July, enticed SCORE regulars like Wayne and Kristen Matlock and defending Baja 1000 winner Justin Lambert, among others, to add Silver State to their 2020 schedules.
But it wasn’t enough to take down Blurton, whose victory comes after a season-opening triumph in the Parker 250 and runner-up finish in February’s Baja Designs UTV Night Race from Laughlin. The same went for defending UTV Production race winner and series champion Seth Quintero, who beat last year’s SCORE champion Kaden Wells by more than six minutes. Dominick Gaglione came home third in class.
In UTV Unlimited, the top three cars were separated by just under two minutes, with Robert VanBeekum topping the podium over Randy Raschein and Michael Isom. All three pro classes boasted high finishing rates, with only 15 combined DNFs among 90 entries, while all three Sportsman entries made it to the finish as well. The race was cut short at the sixth pit due to the spread of wildfires in the area.
Full results from the 2020 VT Construction Silver State 300 were as follows:
UTV Turbo Results
| Fin. | No. | Driver | Home | Manufacturer | Laps | Time |
| 1 | T944 | Phil Blurton | Auburn, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:14:18.133 |
| 2 | T978 | Dustin Jones | Shreveport, LA | CAM | 1 | 04:15:16.479 |
| 3 | T913 | Branden Sims | Prescott Valley, AZ | POL | 1 | 04:17:23.366 |
| 4 | T919 | Brandon Schueler | Phoenix, AZ | POL | 1 | 04:19:26.791 |
| 5 | T813 | Cole Freiday | Kingman, AZ | CAM | 1 | 04:19:46.771 |
| 6 | T910 | Dan Fisher | Mesa, AZ | CAM | 1 | 04:19:58.132 |
| 7 | T901 | Mitch Guthrie Jr. | Glendora, CA | POL | 1 | 04:20:36.286 |
| 8 | T971 | Wayne Matlock | Alpine, CA | POL | 1 | 04:20:50.236 |
| 9 | T849 | Dean Wheeler Jr | Phoenix, AZ | POL | 1 | 04:22:38.899 |
| 10 | T918 | Justin Lambert | Bakersfield, CA | POL | 1 | 04:23:41.223 |
| 11 | T917 | Jason Murray | Santa Ana, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:24:15.432 |
| 12 | T936 | Jacob Carver | Prescott Valley, AZ | POL | 1 | 04:25:26.990 |
| 13 | T950 | Vito Ranuio | Stockton, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:29:20.479 |
| 14 | T975 | Michael Cafro | Fallbrook, CA | POL | 1 | 04:30:03.054 |
| 15 | T998 | Pj Jones | Scottsdale, AZ | CAM | 1 | 04:30:49.240 |
| 16 | T948 | Matt Burroughs | Norco, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:32:10.858 |
| 17 | T850 | Bruce Binnquist | Costa Mesa, CA | GEI | 1 | 04:32:25.482 |
| 18 | T952 | Jonathan Mcvay | Queen Creek, AZ | POL | 1 | 04:33:20.075 |
| 19 | T806 | Mitchell Alsup | Bakersfield, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:33:22.111 |
| 20 | T885 | Alberto Mendez | Chula Vista, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:33:43.139 |
| 21 | T833 | Brian Crawford | Blythe, CA | POL | 1 | 04:35:15.907 |
| 22 | T830 | Scott Trafton | Santee, CA | POL | 1 | 04:36:07.291 |
| 23 | T931 | Craig Scanlon | Yorba Linda, CA | POL | 1 | 04:36:39.555 |
| 24 | T825 | Cody Bradbury | Nuevo, CA | POL | 1 | 04:37:27.669 |
| 25 | T911 | Josh Meister | California City, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:37:48.953 |
| 26 | T961 | Nate Hale | Draper, UT | POL | 1 | 04:38:06.378 |
| 27 | T820 | Rj Hayes | Apple Valley, CA | CAM | 1 | 04:38:29.240 |
| 28 | T904 | Cory Sappington | Peoria, AZ | CAM | 1 | 04:38:44.689 |
| 29 | T974 | Randy Romo | Henderson, NV | POL | 1 | 04:40:13.311 |
| 30 | T829 | Aspen Chournos | St George, UT | POL | 1 | 04:40:42.095 |
| 31 | T925 | James Moore | Farmington, NM | CAM | 1 | 04:48:12.876 |
| 32 | T991 | Sierra Romo | Henderson, NV | POL | 1 | 04:50:24.200 |
| 33 | T922 | Bernie Gomez | Huntsville, AL | POL | 1 | 04:56:46.464 |
| 34 | T958 | Michael Mamelli | Costa Mesa, CA | POL | 1 | 05:05:05.245 |
| 35 | T940 | Erick Kozin | Yorba Linda, CA | CAM | 1 | 05:10:22.144 |
| 36 | T815 | Ryan Piplic | Las Vegas, NV | POL | 1 | 05:24:48.522 |
| 37 | T860 | Ryan Haggerty | Stockton, CA | POL | 1 | 05:30:02.723 |
| 38 | T845 | Colt Brinkerhoff | Laguna Hills, CA | CAM | 1 | 05:42:20.150 |
| 39 | T927 | Justin Smith | Wittman, AZ | CAM | 1 | 05:48:19.345 |
| 40 | T821 | Nathan Waunch | Olympia, WA | POL | 1 | 05:55:53.018 |
| 41 | T912 | Russell Bowers | Stockton, CA | POL | 1 | 06:57:17.774 |
| 42 | T908 | Colin Wernecke | California, CA | POL | 1 | 07:07:37.237 |
| 43 | T928 | Freddie Cardenas | Riverside, CA | CAM | 1 | 07:47:35.630 |
| DNF | T982 | Randy Jelleff | Beaverton, OR | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | T933 | Brett Sourapas | Rancho Santa Fe, CA | CAM | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | T954 | Austin Weiland | El Cajon, CA | CAM | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
UTV Production Results
| Fin. | No. | Driver | Home | Manufacturer | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 1903 | Seth Quintero | San Marcos, CA | POL | 1 | 04:31:30.839 |
| 2 | 1995 | Kaden Wells | St George, UT | POL | 1 | 04:37:59.446 |
| 3 | 1991 | Dominick Gaglione | Henderson, NV | POL | 1 | 04:39:18.297 |
| 4 | 1985 | Adrian Orellana | Escondido, CA | POL | 1 | 04:44:01.770 |
| 5 | 1895 | Corbin Wells | St George, UT | POL | 1 | 04:44:31.383 |
| 6 | 1954 | Kristen Matlock | Alpine, CA | POL | 1 | 04:52:09.293 |
| 7 | 1803 | Aaron Clark | Brea, CA | POL | 1 | 04:58:22.743 |
| 8 | 1957 | Joe Bolton | La Mirada, CA | POL | 1 | 05:06:30.671 |
| 9 | 1972 | Macy Poelman | Orem, UT | POL | 1 | 05:06:56.256 |
| 10 | 1854 | Zackary Sims | Purcell, OK | YAM | 1 | 05:21:59.592 |
| 11 | 1921 | Tommee Walker | Costa Mesa, CA | POL | 1 | 05:24:24.116 |
| 12 | 1974 | Eric Brisco | Blythe, CA | POL | 1 | 05:27:07.326 |
| 13 | 1850 | Michael Pascarella | Ridgecrest, CA | POL | 1 | 05:32:18.089 |
| 14 | 1940 | Troy Wall | Washington, UT | POL | 1 | 06:02:54.282 |
| 15 | 1992 | Brenden Hempel | Bettendorf, IA | POL | 1 | 06:05:29.892 |
| 16 | 1962 | Dodge Poelman | Orem, UT | POL | 1 | 06:07:55.529 |
| 17 | 1805 | Gabe Matthews | Lakeside, CA | POL | 1 | 06:40:40.841 |
| 18 | 1808 | Madeline Wedeking | Temecula, CA | POL | 1 | 08:39:48.344 |
| DNF | 1977 | Brayden Baker | Anaheim Hills, CA | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 1907 | Scott Baker | Anaheim Hills, CA | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 1938 | Kolton Hustead | St George, UT | TEX | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 1959 | Josh Row | Lakeside, CA | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 1817 | Bret Ward | Scottsdale, AZ | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 1980 | Scott Webster | Brawley, CA | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
UTV Unlimited Results
| Fin. | No. | Driver | Home | Manufacturer | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 2964 | Robert VanBeekum | Queen Creek, AZ | POL | 1 | 04:28:22.582 |
| 2 | 2924 | Randy Raschein | Brownsville, OR | CAM | 1 | 04:29:49.979 |
| 3 | 2901 | Michael Isom | St George, UT | CAM | 1 | 04:29:54.032 |
| 4 | 2975 | Travis Zollinger | Logan, UT | CAM | 1 | 04:42:12.209 |
| 5 | 2941 | Steven Poole | Quartzsite, AZ | CAM | 1 | 04:46:41.886 |
| 6 | 2963 | Craig Johnson | Clarissa, MN | CAM | 1 | 04:56:18.421 |
| 7 | 2914 | Daniel Hurn | Peoria, AZ | CAM | 1 | 05:02:40.558 |
| 8 | 2998 | Cameron Ornelas | Scottsdale, AZ | CAM | 1 | 05:06:13.348 |
| 9 | 2916 | Paul Kraus | Los Angeles, CA | CAM | 1 | 06:02:21.477 |
| 10 | 2903 | Jacob Crotts | Las Vegas, NV | POL | 1 | 06:13:57.893 |
| 11 | 2987 | Jonmark Richardson | Glendale, AZ | CAM | 1 | 06:25:30.091 |
| 12 | 2929 | Josh Shelton | Spicewood, TX | CAM | 1 | 06:36:19.168 |
| 13 | 2925 | Jeramiah Drew | Las Vegas, NV | CAM | 1 | 06:47:44.738 |
| 14 | 2919 | Kieran Cox | Las Vegas, NV | CTM | 1 | 07:54:35.975 |
| DNF | 2920 | Cindy Cobian | Claremont, CA | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 2930 | Sean Cook | Twain Harte, CA | CAM | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 2969 | Cheyne Dewolfe | Buckeye, AZ | CAM | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 2996 | Brook Jensen | Pinon Hills, CA | POL | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 2951 | Herman Johnson | Rio Rancho, NM | CAM | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
| DNF | 2915 | Branden Sorensen | Las Vegas, NV | CTM | 0 | 00:00:00.000 |
UTV Sportsman Results
| Fin. | No. | Driver | Home | Manufacturer | Laps | Time |
| 1 | S917 | Vanessa Isabel | Lone Tree, CO | CAM | 1 | 05:38:01.438 |
| 2 | S965 | Jeff Taylor | Canyon Lake, CA | CAM | 1 | 05:47:16.429 |
| 3 | S915 | Craig Macintosh | Culver City, CA | POL | 1 | 05:55:42.833 |