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Sandoval wins Parker 250

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Lifelong Fallbrook resident Mikey Sandoval won the Pro Naturally Aspirated class at the Parker 250 off-road competition Jan. 8.

Sandoval and co-driver Austyn Rodriguez of Bonsall completed their two 125-mile loops in 4:41:09.933. Arizona driver Robert Van Beekum had the second-place time of 4:46:11.831. The third-place team, Josh Row and Preston Axford of Lakeside, completed the course in 4:46:39.419. Dallas Gonzalez of Arizona and Tyler Hall of Nevada took fourth place with a time of 4:48:56.928.

"It was great. It's been a while since I've won a big race," Sandoval said. "It's good to be back."

Sandoval had not previously won a Best in the Desert race. He made his Best of the Desert debut on Aug. 13, 2021, in the Vegas to Reno race and placed 13th among Pro Naturally Aspirated drivers.

"We had some mechanical issues. We finished, but we didn't get the overall spot we wanted," Sandoval said.

The Parker 250 was the second Best in the Desert race for Sandoval. He was one of 25 Pro Naturally Aspirated entries and one of 14 finishers. Sandoval drives a 2021 Honda Talon utility task vehicle with a displacement of 1,000 cubic centimeters.

Sandoval made his UTV debut with a local series in Plaster City. He began midway in the 2019 season and raced a full 2020 season, winning the Pro Unlimited class championship.

Motocross competition preceded UTV racing for Sandoval. "I've raced motocross all my life," he said. "I've been riding since I was 3."

Although he was 3 when he began riding motorcycles, he started competing when he was 7 and raced motocross events for 11 years before switching to four-wheel vehicles. "My body started hurting. I didn't want to get hurt anymore," he said.

Sandoval is now 21. He graduated from Fallbrook High School in 2019. He acquired the Honda Talon at the beginning of 2021. "I just built a pretty simple car that can go fast and win," he said.

His father, Mike Sandoval, is his crew chief. "I work on my own stuff, but I have a crew that comes up to the race," Sandoval said.

Approximately 20 crew members join Sandoval for the races. His primary sponsors are Raceco USA and Yokahoma Tire.

Sandoval started fifth among Pro Naturally Aspirated drivers at the Parker 250. "It was dusty, rough," he said. "It was brutal."

He led for only about 35 miles of the 250-mile race. "I didn't get to the lead until about 90 miles into the last lap," he said.

Sandoval wanted to avoid mistakes and also avoid wear and tear on his UTV unless it was necessary. He passed Gonzalez for the lead. "I battled him the whole lap," Sandoval said. "I passed him in the pits".

Gonzalez had stopped to pit. "I didn't," Sandoval said.

The additional position wasn't the only advantage of being ahead of Gonzalez. "He made a lot of dust," Sandoval said.

Sandoval still had to face dust from drivers of other classes. "There was a lot of dust still," he said.

Moving ahead of Gonzalez gave Sandoval the lead, although he didn't realize it until his father congratulated him at the finish line. "When I passed him I thought there was one more person I needed to pass still," Sandoval said.

Sandoval thus crossed the finish line thinking he had finished second.

The next Best in the Desert race will be in Laughlin, Nevada, in late February.

 

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