Justin Davis Dominates in the Desert

When the 2024 Unlimited Off-Road Racing schedule kicked off with the Parker 400 in January, Justin Davis entered the Unlimited Truck SPEC class with a brand-new TSCO chassis. His first race in the truck resulted in a victory in the grueling race held in the desert around Parker, Arizona.

While Davis found immediate success, it also comes as no surprise. A native of Chino Hills, California, who now lives in Colton in the Golden State, he has competed in a wide variety of off-road classes for much of his life.

“I was always in the desert as a kid doing all that, so I’m just drawn to it,” he says. “[It’s] something about beating the elements. It’s not a groomed track that you go around. It's not perfect every time. We go around the track, but it's going to be different every single lap. There are so many variables to overcome.”

Davis’ father raced motorcycles in Las Vegas in the 1970s and eventually moved to competing on four wheels. Davis, however, primarily played hockey all over the country in his youth. But when his hockey days came to an end, his father got back into racing, competing in short-course classes in off-road trucks. The family also owned some modified desert off-road vehicles in which Davis got his start.

“We used to go to the desert a couple of times a year and just go driving around,” Davis says. “Then when I was 14, my dad's like, ‘Well, if you can do it by yourself, we can go racing.’ So, I got in there and pushed the clutch in and took off. That was it.”

He and his sister began racing and Davis climbed the ranks, spending the most time in Unlimited Buggies. Along the way he became a five-time winner of the prestigious Baja 1000, competing in the event for the first time at the age of 16 in 2010. He’s scored a wide variety of other wins, including the Baja 500 twice, and is a two-time SCORE points champion.

He has also competed in Class 10 trucks powered by the four-cylinder GM Ecotec engine and joined the headlining Trophy Truck ranks in the off-road world for a time. But as costs spiraled, he has found a home in various sanctioning bodies’ spec-truck classes over the last handful of seasons.

“It’s still expensive, but you don't have the $100,000 engine program you’ve got to run; we’re hard on equipment but we're not nearly as hard as with unlimited power,” Davis explains. “Trannys go two races instead of every race you throw them in the trash. So, you just get a lot more longevity out of parts. We have Trophy Truck parts, but with a quarter of the horsepower. Because this class is a little bit more cost-effective, it doesn't matter from Mexico to Vegas, there are 30 trucks in every race.”

Davis won the Parker 400 with an engine similar to the Chevrolet Performance LS376/525 crate engine* under the hood – a popular choice in spec classes.

“We’ve always had Chevys in pretty much everything just because there's a lot of parts around between Small-Blocks and Ecotecs and all that,” he says.

After Davis’s win in the Parker 400 – which featured a spirited last-lap battle – he received a new Chevrolet Performance 525 RLB crate engine* from AutoNation Chevrolet Gilbert. The engines will go to the Unlimited Truck SPEC winners at the Parker 400, Mint 400 and California 300 this season. To be eligible, racers simply need to run an AutoNation Crate by Klein Engines decal on either side of the truck.

The 6.2L power plant is a sealed long-block assembly based on Chevrolet Performance’s CT525 circle track crate engine.* It is capable of 533 horsepower and 477 lb.-ft. of torque. Highlights include LS3 rectangular-port cylinder heads, strong forged pistons and heavy-duty connecting rod bolts for performance and durability. Other accouterments include coil-on-plug ignition, an SFI-certified balancer and a six-quart racing oil pan. An induction and ignition system are all that’s needed to complete the engine assembly. Davis sent his to engine builder Wiks Racing Engines to install the intake manifold and fuel rails and have it tested on the dyno.

The 525 RLB is designed to save costs by incorporating a variety of high-strength parts out of the box. Spec-class racers and builders often upgrade their LS3 engines to those components per the rulebook before sealing anyway, meaning the 525 RLB takes away some parts and labor costs. The engine also helps keep competitors on an even plane with a factory seal, simplifying the inspection process for technical officials.

The engine was created with talented racers like Davis in mind.

“I think the main thing is just leveling the playing field,” he says. “We have the rebuilt LS3 which is basically the same thing, but this one comes straight from GM. … You have the better parts so it is more reliable than just a bone-stock one, but mainly you can't cheat.”

In the immediate future, Davis plans to use up his existing LS3-based power plants but hopes to install the 525 RLB for events in Mexico like the Baja 1000. He and his team, Green Army Motorsports, compete in a wide variety of races each year. In addition to the full Unlimited schedule in 2024, they plan to spend plenty of time south of the border.

“That’s usually what we race because it allows you to go pre-run, we go down there for a week or so and have a good time,” he says. “In Mexico, it favors a guy that does his homework.”

The Green Army name started as a joke based on the people and money required to run a race team, but today it is found on both Davis’s landscaping company and green waste recycling business.

Although Davis has already achieved a great deal of success, he is only 30 years old and perhaps just entering his prime as a racer.

“We're not going anywhere anytime soon,” he says.

The 525 RLB will help ensure he stays up front.

Be sure to keep watching The BLOCK for much more on Chevrolet Performance and all motorsports disciplines.

*Because of their effect on a vehicle’s emissions performance, these engines are intended exclusively for use in competition vehicles. These engines are designed and intended for use in vehicles operated exclusively for competition: in racing or organized competition on courses separate from public roads, streets or highways. Installation or use of these engines on a vehicle operated on public roads, streets or highways is likely to violate U.S., Canadian, and state and provincial laws and regulations related to motor vehicle emissions.