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Five of Pahrump Valley's more prominent IMCA Modified racers joined with 186 drivers from 22 states and three Canadian provinces in an attempt to lay their hands on the $5,000 to win purse at the 10th Annual Duel in the Desert at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's dirt track last week.

Leland Hibdon, Levi Kiefer, Jason Pike, Bryan Wulfenstein and Eric Shenberger had several chances to qualify for the A-main.

It didn't take long for one of the Pahrump contingent to get into the chase for a spot in the final 28. Hibdon, the 2006 Pahrump Valley Speedway IMCA champion, drew the very first heat and it became painfully obvious that the highly respected car builder and racer had his hands full with the ill-handling modified of Todd Nunnally.

His quest to qualify ended in turn three after working his way into the fourth position. The enforced one yellow rule implemented by IMCA officials had Hibdon headed to the pits seeking further adjustments and another chance to qualify.

Pike, Shenberger and Wulfenstein waited until the seventh heat before getting their chances to qualify, and for Shenberger the results were nearly identical to Hibdon's.

Shenberger, who is an IMCA modified rookie, found himself sitting sideways looking into the eyes of the on-rushing eyes of the leaders of the race in turn three and was shown the black flag. Wulfenstein, another modified rookie, motored to a ninth-place finish ahead of two California drivers and Shenberger.

Pike, a veteran racer and multi-track champion, was seemingly down in power, but he drove to a fifth place finish.

When it was time for Kiefer, it was the last of the 16 qualifying heats that determined qualifiers for the B-mains.

Kiefer was running a prototype Lee link, the only modified in the nation currently testing the part. Unfortunately, the experimental part could only salvage a sixth-place finish and considerable head scratching back in the comfort of the pits.

Hibdon returned for the first B-main and again found the temperamental modified fighting the track conditions. He was 18th in the field of 22 after spinning out and being black-flagged. Things didn't get any better for the two rookies and the veteran in the fourth B-main.

Shenberger started at the rear of the field and spent most of the race gaining valuable seat time which culminated in a 17th-place finish, the best of the trio. Pike got spun out by a competitor in turn two and finished 18th.

Wulfenstein left the track almost unnoticed during the heat of the action and was 20th in the 21-car field.

Kiefer rebounded from his early difficulties and had everyone in the media center sitting up and taking notice in the eighth and final B-main. He started outside of the fifth row in a field of 22 drivers which featured five-wide racing.

His diligence paid off in full with a fine third place finish and valuable points in qualifying attempts. With the impressive list of heavy hitters in the lineup, it was a very bright spot for the Pahrump racers to build.

Despite the many low lights experienced by the Pahrump drivers, there was plenty of action.

Last year's race featured many multi-car pileups and it took until the second heat for action to get on the edge this year.

A four car crash early in the action didn't eliminate any of the heavyweights and they continually found their way to the lead.

Moving on to the Thursday night A-main were four-time national champion, David Murray Jr. of Oberlin, Kan., and four-time national champion, Johnny Saathoff, of Beatrice, Neb.

Winner of the last two Duels in the Desert, Jeremy Payne of Jeremy, Ark., made it into the A-main but was knocked out of contention after being involved in a five car crash. He would become one of many that would have to try and find a way to re-qualify on Friday.

The top eight finishers in the feature could sit back and relax until Saturday and they were; Kellen Chadwick (Oakley, Calif.), Bobby Hogge IV (Salinas, Calif.), Murray, Saathoff, Mike Hansen ( Alta, Iowa), Steve Arpin (Calgary, AB), Reese Coffee (Hinton, Iowa) and Brad Pounds from Bakersfield, Calif.

In other action, Las Vegas driver Dan Fitzgerald, the 2006 runner up to the national champion, took heat number five despite languishing near the rear of the pack until a bold move took him from fourth to first after a green flag restart.

Heat six winner, Cameron Beary (Atwater, Calif.) failed the post-race tech inspection, giving the win to fellow Californian, Joe Carr.

In perhaps the most horrific crash ever at the Duel, John Sloan of Susanville, Calif., walked away from a multi-barrel roll launch on the backstretch which left debris strewn on the racing surface.

The width of the car was squeezed considerably and resembled a Top Fuel dragster as it was unceremoniously carted to the pits on the working end of the wrecker.

Sloan emerged from the wreckage after several minutes and was obviously shaken as he laid down on the track before being treated by emergency medical personnel.

In another accident which brought out the red flag, Christopher McKellar from Bakersfield severely damaged the front end of his modified after contacting the turn one wall, a careening car and the catch fence.

Poster boy for senior citizens throughout the United States has to be Sherman Barnett of El Paso, Texas. The 72-year youngster wheeled his Barnett Harley-Davidson sponsored modified to a fourth in his heat, and a fifth in his B-main.

Meanwhile, his wife, Christy Georges, duplicated her husband's placement in her heat and then claimed a second in the B-main, just missing out on an automatic transfer into the Big Show. Georges was the first female to win a $10,000 modified event.