- Officially Crowned: Can-Am Maverick X3 Racers Swept the Podium in what’s considered the world’s most grueling one-day race
- Dethroning the Competition: Can-Am vehicles finished in 8 of the top-10 positions
- It’s a Trend: Dominance comes two weeks after Can-Am secured all of the top 20 positions at the 2020 Dakar Rally, the world’s toughest race
With a statement-making performance, Can-Am racer and rock-crawling rookie Hunter Miller won the 2020 Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers race Sunday in Johnson Valley, Calif. Can-Am drivers Kyle Chaney and Phil Blurton rounded out the podium to complete the historic all-Can-Am podium sweep, and Can-Am drivers took four of the top five spots and eight of the top 10.
Miller, whose resume includes a GNCC UTV Championship with Can-Am, was solid from the start, earning the second qualifying spot behind his younger brother and eventual ninth-place finisher, Cody Miller. He faced stiff competition from Can-Am teammates Chaney and Blurton, but remained poised under pressure, trusting his Can-Am Maverick X3 X rc Turbo RR and co-driver Chad Hughes to carry him to the finish line.
“I could go fast in the desert because I have an awesome car setup,” said Miller. “My Can-Am X3 was flawless the whole day. We got to the rocks, which were not my strong suit, and Chad Hughes guided me through it – I couldn’t have done it without him.”
Between Miller, Chaney and Blurton, all three Can-Am Maverick X3 racers held the lead at one point during the race, but it was Miller who led when it counted most. Chaney and Miller vied for the lead at one point, but Chaney said he misread the course in the dust, and it set him back. It also gave Miller a sizeable time cushion from which to work.
“We caught up to Hunter in the lakebed and I thought the trail went right behind him. I was in the dust and I went off of a cliff, and it rolled,” said Chaney, who pushed on to the finish after turning his car back over. “I told people I wouldn’t be happy unless I won, but I’m just as excited for Hunter to win, and I’ll take second place any day from what we went through.”