The 2010 BlueWater Resort & Casino/Best in the Desert Parker 425 off-road race took its toll on almost two-thirds its racers.

B.J. Baldwinwas the overall winner of the 2010 BlueWater Resort & Casino/Best in the Desert Parker 425. John Gutekunst/News-Herald Photo.

Best in the Desert President Casey Folks said that, of the 239 vehicles that left the starting line, only 82 finished Saturday’s race, which began with weather that later turned rainy and cold.

At the awards ceremony Sunday, Folks remarked that he hears racers say that it’s a smooth, fast course every year during the pre-run. Yet, every year the course sees a high attrition rate during the race.

Some of the racers who spoke at the awards ceremony said the course was both tough and deceptive.

Folks said the wet weather created a sense of déjà vu with the 2009 race, which was also run on a cold, windy and rainy day. Folks noted there wasn’t as much rain this year. While some sections of the course were better than they were in 2009, others were worse.

Folks said BITD extended the time limit for vehicles to cross the finish line for an hour in order to accommodate the bad weather. He also thanked the BITD retrieval crews who went out and brought in drivers and vehicles, which had gotten stuck or had broken down. He said some of the crews were still on the course at 4 a.m. Sunday just to make sure they hadn’t missed anyone.

The race results announced Sunday are unofficial. Official results should be announced later this week at www.bitd.com.

The overall winner of the race was BJ Baldwin of Las Vegas. He drove truck #97 in the 1400 Trick Truck Class. His time for three laps was 7:16:14. In addition to his first-place trophy, Baldwin received a new trophy, the Manny Esquerra Valor Award. This award was created to honor the overall winner of the Parker 425.

The award is named for the late Manny Esquerra, who died during the 2008 race. Esquerra drove in Parker off-road races more than 30 times and won his class several times, the last of which was in 2006. During his career, he did much to popularize off-road racing and bring new sponsors to the sport. Esquerra was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame on Aug. 23, 2008.

Esquerra’s grandson, Trystin, presented the award, which consists of two trophies. The award will be on permanent display at BWRC with the overall winner’s name, and the award winner will get a replica.

Placing second overall in the three-lap classes and first in the 1500 class were Steve and Ray Croll of Corona, Calif. They brought #1585, a Ford, in with a time of 7:35:59.

In the two-lap classes, Dan and Dave Moore of Scottsdale placed first in #1815, a Jeep. Their time was 6:19:35. They also won the 1800 Sportsman Class.

Among Lake Havasu City racers, the best finish came from Gary Roglin in #8115, a Ford. Riding with Justin Brinkerhoff and Karl Hartmetz of Parker, he placed third in the 8100 class with a time of 8:41:48 for two laps.

The best finish for Parker racers was that of Randy Merritt and Chris Golding in Mongo Racing’s Ford #8181; placing second in the 8100 class with a time of 7:16:01 for two laps.

Two other Parker racers, Trent Beaver in #8105 and Patrick Moore in #8116, placed fourth and fifth respectively in the 8100 class. Beaver’s time for two laps was 9:33:03 for two laps, while Moore ran two laps in 11:16:25.

Charlie Philpot Sr. and Charlie Philpot Jr. placed ninth in the 1100 class. They had a time of 8:23:47 for two laps.