by Chris Leone // Website // Twitter
Images via The Mint 400
It’s finally here—the long awaited first set of Jim Beaver’s Desert Power Rankings for the 2020 off-road season. Covering events up to the Mint 400 earlier this month, these rankings aim to prove once and for all who the best drivers are in off-road racing’s premier classes.
A little less powerful (but a lot less expensive) than their unlimited counterparts, spec Trophy Truck racing attracts some of the largest fields in the sport these days. A healthy 40-truck entry list to open the season in Parker helped establish this year’s front runners, and a handful of top names impressed with big finishes at the Mint 400. Here’s a look at the top racers in the Desert Power Rankings through March:
1. Terry Householder, 8000 points
While they weren’t podiums, finishes of ninth in Parker and fifth in Laughlin set Householder up to take the top spot in the Desert Power Rankings with a Mint 400 victory.
2. Ryan Hancock, 6700 points
You’ll notice a trend among the next three racers: the same finishes in their first two Best in the Desert races, giving them the same spot in the Desert Power Rankings. For Hancock, it’s second places all around.
3. Troy Messer, 6500 points
Third place in Parker and third place in Laughlin have Messer third place in our first Desert Power Rankings update, but with one race to spare in the five that count in the standings behind Householder.
4. Dustin Grabowski, 6300 points
Switching back to Class 5 for the Mint 400 meant that Grabowski couldn’t separate himself from Hancock and Messer the way that Householder did, but he’s within the thick of the hunt for first.
5. Andre Laurin, 6200 points
Making starts, and scoring respectable finishes, in all three major events thus far this year has enabled Laurin and the OTSFF squad to rack up the points necessary for a solid early ranking.
Desert Power Rankings: Spec Trophy Truck
The full Spec Trophy Truck power rankings, along with each driver’s finishing position in each race, are below (race starters are in parentheses):
Driver of Record |
Total Points |
Parker 425 (40) |
Laughlin (29) |
Mint 400 (23) |
| Terry Householder | 8000 | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| Ryan Hancock | 6700 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Troy Messer | 6500 | 3 | 3 | — |
| Dustin Grabowski | 6300 | 4 | 4 | — |
| Andre Laurin | 6200 | 12 | 9 | 12 |
| Kyle Craft | 5700 | 13 | 1 | — |
| Ray Griffith | 5500 | 10 | 6 | — |
| James P. Scully | 5400 | 5 | 12 | — |
| Taylor Mills | 5400 | 7 | 10 | — |
| Travis Williams | 5400 | 8 | 17 | 16 |
| Kyle Jergensen | 5000 | 1 | 20 | — |
| Pierce Herbst | 4900 | 11 | — | 5 |
| Travis Chase | 4600 | 16 | — | 3 |
| Brad Lovell | 4300 | 18 | — | 4 |
| Jeff Bader | 4200 | 15 | — | 8 |
| Kelly P. McArthur | 4000 | 17 | 14 | — |
| Scott Shields | 3600 | 27 | 8 | — |
| Chad Dohrman | 3600 | 28 | 7 | — |
| Shawn Croll | 3500 | 6 | — | — |
| John Walton | 3500 | 25 | 11 | — |
| Kirk Harkey | 3000 | 29 | — | 6 |
| L.D. Smith | 2900 | 26 | 16 | — |
| Joseph Herling | 2900 | DNF | 15 | 11 |
| Mike Osborn | 2700 | 14 | — | — |
| Scott Kiger | 2700 | 20 | — | 17 |
| Justin Blower | 2300 | DNF | — | 2 |
| Jenson Button | 2200 | 19 | — | — |
| Carey Chrisman | 2100 | 21 | — | — |
| Alex Wacker | 2000 | 22 | DNF | — |
| Steve Restivo | 1800 | 23 | — | — |
| Neal Drickey | 1800 | DNF | 13 | — |
| Adam Ray Lunn | 1800 | — | DNF | 7 |
| Todd Jackson | 1700 | 24 | — | — |
| Nick Isenhouer | 1500 | — | — | 9 |
| Rafael Navarro IV | 1400 | — | — | 10 |
| Steve Croll | 1200 | — | 18 | — |
| Scott McDowell | 1100 | 30 | — | — |
| Bryan Scheible | 1100 | — | 19 | — |
| Joshua Steele | 1100 | — | — | 13 |
| Heath Shoup | 1000 | — | — | 14 |
| Guillermo Zamacona | 900 | — | — | 15 |
| Michael Pyle | 800 | DNF | DNF | 18 |
| Jordan Brenthel | 500 | — | — | 19 |
| Joe Brain | 400 | — | — | 20 |
| Robert Malone | 300 | — | — | 21 |
| Trevor Harvey | 200 | DNF | DNF | — |
| Alan Levinson | 200 | DNF | DNF | — |
| Brandon Gully | 100 | DNF | — | — |
| Brian Day | 100 | DNF | — | — |
| Thomas St. Peter | 100 | DNF | — | — |
| Garrett Gentry | 100 | DNF | — | — |
| Brandon Arthur | 100 | — | DNF | — |
| Matt Laughlin | 100 | — | DNF | — |
| Dennis Jean | 100 | — | DNF | — |
| Chad Hall | 100 | — | DNF | — |
| Brett Maurer | 100 | — | — | DNF |
| Melvin Wade | 100 | — | — | DNF |
For a full explanation of how Jim Beaver’s Desert Power Rankings work, click here. The next scheduled update is after General Tire Vegas to Reno, scheduled for August 12-15.
