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King Shocks Racer BJ Baldwin Tops Best in the Desert Parker 425

It was an overall 1-2 finish for King Shocks in Saturday’s Parker 425, the season-opening event for truck classes running for the 2022 Best in the Desert title. BJ Baldwin’s three-lap time of 5:45:55.050 was good for the Trick Truck class and overall victories, while Conner McMullen topped the 6100 class with a time of 5:53:09.094.

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Baldwin’s winning time was more than 13 minutes faster than anybody else in the Trick Truck class. Only minor mechanical issues on the final of three laps on the long Parker course prevented him from an even more substantial victory. After finishing fourth in series points last year with a consistent run across all five rounds, Baldwin leaves Parker with the championship lead going into the Silver State 300 in April.

“Leveling the playing field has given us an unfair advantage,” Baldwin said after the victory. “My marketing partners and my team made it happen. We’ve never been stronger. This is going to be an awesome race season.”

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McMullen, meanwhile, made the most of his first BITD start in the 6100 division for spec trucks. After laying down the fourth fastest time in event time trials, the former Class 10 champion pushed to the front of the field in a spirited battle for top honors in one of desert racing’s deepest classes. In the end, the 21-year-old’s margin of victory over three 128.5-mile laps of a challenging Parker course was just under three minutes, marking his first BITD class victory since last year’s Laughlin Desert Classic in a 6200 car.

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“Congratulations to BJ Baldwin and Conner McMullen for sweeping their classes and the top two overall spots in this year’s Parker 425,” said King Shocks owner and president Brett King. “They each had what it took to conquer two deep fields of the world’s best desert racers, and chose to ride on King Shocks to take them to victory. We’re looking forward to another great racing season with both of them pushing for class championships on King!”

Racing, prerunning or just having fun, whatever your application; King Shocks has the shock for you with the performance, reliability, precise tuning and adjustability you need. King Shocks, The Leader in Off-Road Technology!

About King Shocks

King Shocks makes world-class desert racing shocks for trucks, buggies and UTV’s. King manufactures and hand assembles all of their shocks in Southern California. King Shocks has been the industry leader for over a decade and continues to leave the competition in the dust by providing the level of quality, performance and customer service that champions demand.

Chris Leone

A veteran of the motorsports industry (both physical and digital), Chris Leone contributes coverage of race events of all types to Off-Road Racer. Elsewhere, he is the marketing/communications manager at iRacing, media director of Jim Beaver's Down & Dirty Show, and a frequent contributor to UTV Underground.