Team Riot gathered at the Scorching hot pits for the SoCal 250 at Plaster City this past weekend with high hopes of a good finish. They came away with the overall win and first place in the unlimited truck class.

Josh Daniel drove a blisteringly fast race leading the nearest Trophy truck by over an hour and the second place overall Class 1 car by over 4 minutes.

In a race that Riot would receive zero points towards the SNORE championship the Riot skeleton crew were determined to put on a good show despite the absence of the DOR and team manager. The #68 Riot truck took the lead in the first few miles and never looked back.

“We were committed to putting on a solid performance for Marc and Harvey and to come away with a finish, the last mile down to the finish line Josh and I were so stoked when we saw the crowds of people on either side, it was like Mexico”! said an excited Co-driver Jordan Poole. We were yelling and screaming at each other as we blew by the crowd at 115mph! What a way to complete our first win, it was a killer moment.

“The truck performed flawlessly, the whole Riot/Danzio crew did an incredible job prepping and pitting for us. This is the same truck and Dougan’s motor that we ran at the SS300, you couldn’t have asked for more!”  said Josh Daniel. “As a team we wanted to perform and finish this race, we were able to do that and then some!  Our crew kept accurate time splits of all the competitors. By lap 3, we were already 6+ minutes up on the next overall guy. I decided it would be wise to take her down from the 80% race pace to about 70% to preserve the truck without losing much time. Pacing yourself is probably the hardest part in racing”.

“The only thing that could have made the day better was if Marc could have been climbing up on the roof of the truck with us to enjoy this well deserved victory”, said Poole. “But I’ll tell you something, its not going to be long before he does”!

The whole Riot team was in a celebratory mood, “SNORE does such a great job putting on these races and I just hope that Don and all the guys know how much we at Riot appreciate the hard work that they put into organizing these events and how proud we are to participate” said Daniel as he took the podium at the awards ceremony. Daniel was quick to thank Marc Ewing for allowing him to race in one the best prepped trucks in off road racing, and the incredible talents of the Riot crew members and volunteers, especially Sammy Zaranti and Chris Muzio for overseeing the prep and motor tune. “without these guys, we can’t finish a race. Thanks to you all for giving us a great ride today”!

“I am so proud of our guys, I wish I could have been there to see it”. said Team Manager Harvey Knapp. “I was glued to my computer and phone during the entire race, when Sammy said he felt like an expectant Father I could relate! I slumped in relief after I received word that they had finished, I sent Josh and Jordan a video of me toasting their victory! They really had a great day out there and I hope that Riot can build on this amazing performance”.

“If there is one thing that’s for certain; Josh Daniel is a very fast driver”! Said Marc Ewing, “I am going to sit down tonight and hoist a cold drink to Josh and Jordan for a job well done! He really showed everyone that if the equipment is equal to the task he is going to podium. Congratulations to all the guys on the crew, all of the hard work paid off and Riot has its first win in the books”.