So many times in the past few years of UNLTD Off-Road Racing Series action, overall race wins have come down to Unlimited Truck drivers Eric Hardin and Adam Householder. Sunday’s California 300 Unlimited Race came down to both once again—and this time, it was Hardin taking top honors by a margin of just one minute and 37 seconds.
Sunday’s action kicked off at 8 a.m. with Rubik Racing’s Nic Whetstone, the fastest Unlimited Truck 2WD qualifier just like he was in the BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400, getting things going from the front of the field. He’d maintain that physical top spot through the first of four laps on the nearly 75-mile Barstow course, but heading to halfway, the No. 18 team would be forced to call it a day early.
He was far from the only driver with early struggles, though, as Unlimited Truck SPEC points leader Kyle Jergensen also fell out of contention early despite posting the fastest time in Friday’s Qualifying session.
That elevated Householder and Hardin, the past two Mint 400 race winners, into the top two spots overall. Hardin held the physical lead, but Householder would hang onto the top spot on corrected time for the second and third laps. Going into the final lap, Householder and Hardin were split by just 47 seconds, but a blistering lap time of 1:23:35—nearly two and a half minutes faster than Householder’s—would shift the power balance.
Likewise, the Unlimited Truck SPEC lead would change hands in the closing stages of the race as well. This time, it would be a Hardin leading earlier and finishing second, as Cole Hardin ceded the class lead to Jack Olliges on the final lap. Olliges’ class victory was also good for the final podium spot in the overall rankings, while Hardin and James Scully completed the SPEC class podium and overall top five.
Unlimited Truck 4WD
In Unlimited Truck 4WD, the head-to-head battle between Cole Potts and Brett Comiskey ended with Potts out front once again. The class sweep for Potts across all three of this year’s UNLTD races would give him a perfect points score, making him the series’ overall Unlimited champion.
Top finishers from the 2024 California 300 Unlimited Race were as follows:
1. No. 79 Eric Hardin, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 4 laps, 5:43:39.912
2. No. 24 Adam Householder, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 4 laps, 5:45:17.502
3. No. 227 Jack Olliges, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 4 laps, 6:03:44.712
4. No. 279 Cole Hardin, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 4 laps, 6:04:48.197
5. No. 246 James Scully, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 4 laps, 6:09:33.092
6. No. 295 Pat Bailey, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 4 laps, 6:17:52.211
7. No. 205 Trey D. Gibbs, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 4 laps, 6:25:03.554
8. No.238 Eric Hustead, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 4 laps, 6:29:49.748
9. No. 60 Cole Potts, Unlimited Truck 4WD, 4 laps, 6:30:23.490
10. No. 282 Brent Fox, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 4 laps, 6:41:22.328