Matlock/Prull Power to Parker 250 Victory

After gaining the backing of American Honda, Wayne Matlock and Chad Prull knew that the best way to thank their new sponsors was by going out and winning, and that's what they did at the Epic Racing Products Parker 250, round one of Best in the Desert's 2006 Silver State Series. They completed the 232-mile event in Parker, Arizona, in five hours, four minutes and seven seconds on their TRX450R, also backed by Alba, Precision Concepts and IMS, among others. (Noting the increased ATV participation led a pre-race announcement by Honda's Bruce Ogilvie that Honda will offer contingency money to the top five in the three ATV team classes—Pro, Expert and Amateur.)

"Everything went flawlessly!" Prull exclaimed at the finish. "We ended up drawing the number two [starting] position, which is rare—usually we're in the back and chasing. Wayne started and had, I think, about a 30-second lead [when] I hopped on. Every section that Wayne and I ran, we progressively added on between 30 seconds and a minute lead. Everything went perfect."

The winners' ride ended up being so quick that it put them into fifth overall in combined motorcycle/ATV standings, besting the runner-up Quad Pros—Nick Nelson and Greg Stuart—by 4:20. The Temecula Motorsports/CT Racing/Maxxis TRX450R-mounted pair came from behind to best the third Quad Pro finishers, Michael Cafro and Danny Prather on a Temecula Motorsports/Maxxis/IMS TRX450R that finished in 5:13:55. (That gave them ninth overall in combined motorcycle/ATV finishers.)

Defending series champ Josh Frederick teamed up with Greg Row on a Maxxis/Douglas Wheel/Elka-backed Bombardier Outlander 800. Though the machine did better than in the Baja 1000, they couldn't match the pace of the front-runners and placed eighth in class, 23rd combined overall.

"We look forward to a fabulous year compared to last year," Prull said. "Last year we DNFed here." And that DNF cost them the championship. This year, with a factory behind them and an unbeatable start to the season, they're primed to trade their number two plate in for number one after the five rounds are finished.

Parker 250 Results, Top 10 ATVs
1. Chad Prull/Wayne Matlock, Honda TRX450R
2. Nick Nelson/Greg Stuart, Honda TRX450R
3. Michael Cafro/Danny Prather, Honda TRX450R
4. Steve Beilman/Clark Evernham, Yamaha YFZ450
5. Rick Cecco/Cory Hove/Tyler Lenig, Yamaha YFZ450
6. Kevin Canepa/Mitch Canepa/Gregory Price, Honda TRX450R
7. Shane Strunk/Shiloh Strunk, Honda TRX450R
8. Greg Kirk/Jose Ramirez, Honda TRX450R
9. Wade Longley/David Scott, Honda TRX450R
10. Josh Frederick/Greg Row, Bombardier Outlander 800