Watch The Camburg Kids Win The MORE McKenzie’s 250​ Desert Race

Growing up as an off-road enthusiast, I got to do some pretty exciting things. This included outing adventures, attending races, and even competing in some of those events. I relish in those opportunities, cherish the memories, and always work towards making more. It is hard to describe sitting on the start line, getting the green flag, and blasting off into the desert.

When I see the next generation experiencing similar scenarios, it stirs up those butterfly feelings. 

The Camburg Kids just won the MORE McKenzie’s 250 Desert Race, and they seemed well equipped to do it. Corey and Cody Campbell, and Zack Zaiden raced their #1450 Camburg Engineering built Ford Ranger in the 1400 class. This video shows a behind-the-scenes glimpse as well as the story from the kid’s perspective and some race action from the weekend.

Camburg Kids Win Mckenzie’s 250 Race Video

The MORE McKenzie’s 250 Desert Race in Lucerne Valley, California is a popular off-roader destination. The region shares a lot of desert landscape found and seen in neighboring Johnson Valley where the King Of The Hammers takes place. In fact, the KOH desert race course sometimes runs the same lines. 

MORE McKenzie's 250​ Desert Race

More designated over 40% new course ready to be burned in for this event. The desert was primed with some rain on Thursday night before. And there were 122 total competitors entered. It was a good showing of desert racing enthusiasts. 

In the 1400 class, which was also Round 2 of the Steel Cab Series presented by Dirt Design, there were nine starters in the division. Corey Campbell, #1450 Driver Of Record, finished 1st in class 1400, and 23rd overall, with a total time on course of 4 Hours, 51 Minutes, 23.620 Seconds.

Camburg Kids Win The MORE McKenzie's 250​ Desert Race

The Camburg Kids Official Race Report

2022 brought some new team sponsors and more importantly a new focus and drive for the Camburg Kids. The last couple of years of racing while successful have also been a much-needed learning experience with necessary seat time. This year the kids are excited about taking that knowledge and gaining confidence and applying it. For their first race of the year, they are now rocking KMC Wheels’s forged Mesa Beadlocks that are stronger and lighter. Optima’s new high-performance “PureFlow Technology” Yellow Top batteries were also being put to task. 

The M.O.R.E. McKenzie’s 250 race was 5 grueling laps out in Lucerne Valley, CA which is known for some of the roughest & highly technical desert terrain out there. This area recently hosted the King of the Hammers event so quite a bit of the racecourse was still torn up from that. The day prior to the race they were able to prerun the course in Goodman’s iconic Bronco which was an added bonus for sure. They got to see firsthand what they’d be up against. On race day Cody Campbell, Zach Zaiden and Corey Campbell would be sharing driving duties in their Class 1400 Camburg Racing Ford Ranger.

MORE McKenzie’s 250 Lap 1 And 2

Cody started the race and immediately got into his groove and rhythm. Around mile 12 though he got tangled up in some rocks and had a bit of downtime. He got back underway and charged through his first lap and was in 2nd place. Lap 2 was pretty uneventful which is a good thing. Everything was running great and Cody was running at a great pace slowly catching the leader. At the end of Lap 2, Cody pulled into the main pit for a driver change and fuel but the team noticed a substantial power steering leak. They pulled the hood off and ended up topping off the system with power steering fluid.

MORE McKenzie’s 250 Lap 3 And 4

Corey got in the truck and they were back underway onto lap 3. Even with the lengthy pit stop, they were still in 2nd place. He set a pace he was comfortable with making sure to give the fans at mile 29 a little air time. The truck was working awesome and the FOX shocks were handling everything Corey could throw at them. At the end of Lap 3, he came into the main pit for fuel and to top off the power steering again.

Kyle the co-driver ended up getting out and Cody got back in his place. Lap 4 would have the Campbell brothers both in the truck. We can’t confirm or deny any in-truck fist-pumping through mile 29 as they aired it out and also set the fastest 4th lap time. Still sitting in 2nd place they pulled into the main pit for the last driver change and power steering fluid with one last look over.

Camburg Kids To The Finish

Zach now got into the truck to take it to the finish line with Cody. He had some pressure on his shoulders to either better or at minimum keep their 2nd place position; which he was up for the challenge. By this time the course was pretty rough and attrition was starting to come into play. Running a similar pace as they did prior, around a 1/3 into the last lap they saw the leader pulled off to the side. Not knowing their issues, Zach knew he had to continue with the pace to stay upfront and ensure the win. In off-road racing, things can change instantly and nothing is guaranteed. With his foot to the floor, Zach crossed the finish line in 4 hrs 51 min and secured Camburg’s race win.

Camburg Kids Win The MORE McKenzie's 250​ Desert Race

“The kids have no problem going fast. The hard part is knowing when to go fast and being strategic about it. They are learning that part and today it paid off with a win. It’s exciting to see them be successful and having fun racing at the same time.”  – Jerry Zaiden

“Seeing them run up front all day and take the win is awesome. It makes the long hours and hard work worth it for all of us. They are learning something new on and off the track every race. The race starts long before the green flag drops on race day with prep and testing.” – Jason Campbell

Photo gallery

VIEW FULL GALLERY >

Article Sources

About the author

Micah Anderson

Micah is a 20 year authority in the off-road industry with extensive experience founded on marketing, events, and racing. Professionally skilled in all things creative, Micah is passionate about faith, freedom, and anything powered by adventure.
Read My Articles