The 2023 record reset event was easily one of the coolest races to be a part of. Competitors from all over came to compete at Dome Valley, Arizona in an attempt to reset all previous UTV records. The 300’ race format was divided into classes based upon turbo size and engine configuration. For those who have never been to Dome Valley, the racetrack is situated in the heart of farm country surrounded by the beautiful Arizona Mountains. Cool days and downright cold nights made for ideal running conditions for the turbocharged UTV’s to make peak power.
S/UTV (STOCK)
EVP Racer Dustin Couch came all the way from Oklahoma with his stock turbo dune machine. Dustin ran consistently in the 4.7’s. This is extremely fast for a full-weight, non-shop consumer X3 running a standard off-the-shelf EVP Stage 5-X85 tune. Dustin was only beat by one other vehicle all weekend.
EVP Racer Hunter Law (who took first place at the last Sand Outlaws Race) came down from Utah with teammate Raphael Vargas from R&R Motorsports. Hunter’s car was working well, but a mechanical problem kept him from moving up in the standings. His car was also running consistent 4.7’s and was neck-and-neck with Dustin. Hunter was also running an off-the-shelf EVP Stage 5-X85 tune.
E/UTV (43MM)
EVP Racer Michael Reid held the record for the fastest 43mm UTV, which was set in 2022 in Louisiana with an EVP DM-380 kit. Not content to allow someone else to challenge his world record, Michael upgraded his turbocharger from a DM-380 to an all-new EVP Paragon P43-400 race-only kit. In addition, Michael and his wife Stephanie spent many days prior to the Record Reset at the EVP Wisconsin location lightening up the car, removing stereo equipment, etc.
Michael’s driving combined with the EVP-tuned Stock ECU with EVP Launch Control completely smashed the previous record. Reid drove his car to an incredible 3.899 at 79 mph. This is faster than the previous 50mm turbo record! EVP Co-Owner Jim Zuccone was trackside the at the race making fine adjustments to the tune-up, which helped Michael set the new record.
D/UTV (46MM)
EVP Racer Raphael Vargas, fresh off his Sand Outlaws victory in Glamis, California, made some minor changes to the car prior to the race. Raphael put down some seriously good times in the 3.8-second range. Unfortunately, this was a few hundredths off the mark for the world record, but very respectable. Raphael continues to run his Paragon P46 race-only turbo with a Stock ECU custom-tuned by EVP Co-Owner Jim Zuccone. Raphael is the owner of R&R Motorsports in Vernal, UT.
EVP Racer Glen Chubach came to the race with major changes from the last Sand Outlaws race. New engine package, new intercooler, new shocks and all-new Tapp clutching. The track conditions were completely new for this package and the car. The record reset was a shakedown event for Glen so his car is ready to run the Sand Outlaws Series. Look for Glen at the Sand Outlaws Race at Sand Mountain Utah in 6 weeks.
EVP Racer and EVP.MOde Employee Kevin Burns came to the track with minor changes to his stunning M5 car, which also put down some seriously good times with a best of 3.82. M5 is custom-tuned by EVP.MOde's Brandon Toole and was piloted by Tony from Elite Performance.
C/UTV (50MM)
The EVP Desert Storm car came to the party ready to rumble. Fresh off the Sand Outlaws Mod class championship, minor changes were made to the car for the 300’ race format. The incredible power and available traction made it very difficult to keep the car from pulling wheelies. Dan and the team persevered through and got the car to make consistent 3.6-second 300’ runs.
Given that the previous record was 3.9 seconds, EVP’s Dan Picht and the Desert Storm car crushed that record. Unfortunately, James Servey’s YXZ edged Dan out and ran a couple hundredths of a second faster. Congratulations to James.
A/UTV (OUTLAW)
The EVP.MOde M8 car came to the record reset fresh off a second-place finish at the last Sand Outlaws Race. Conditions were very tough to get a car at this power level to take off without wheelieing. This was the major struggle for most of the unlimited cars all weekend. There were two other Outlaw cars that actually flipped over backwards due to track conditions. The MOde crew worked all weekend to settle the chassis but ultimately was not able to make any full passes. Look for M8 to redeem itself at TX2K next.
Kudos to Marc Pomeroy, Jake Jain, Dome Valley Raceway and all the other sponsors and racers who came out to compete. Mar did an excellent job in creating one of the most fun and memorable races ever. The Evolution Powersports thanks Marc for all his hard work and we are proud to be a part of the event.
Special thanks to the companies EVP works with:
Spectrum Turbos
Shock Therapy
Tapp Clutch
Motul
Opus Precision
Injector Dynamics
Paul Yaw
Ignite Racing Fuels
STM Powersports
KBR
GBoost
Motec
Emtron
PWR intercoolers
Sand Tires Unlimited
Turbosmart
CP/Carrillo
ARP
VP Fuels
Knutson Fabrication
TiAL
EVP Parts on these race vehicles:
EVP XR Series Engines
Paragon Turbos
Desert Storm Turbos
Torrent C Plenums
Torrent B Plenums
EVP.MOde
XR Series engine components
EVP Baddass Belts
