Eight Classes, Eight Winners: Ultra4's Final Joker Race Spread the Wealth in Oklahoma
Cross Bar Ranch hosted the last Joker Race on the 2026 Ultra4 USA calendar, and when the dust cleared, not one driver managed to double up. Here's who came out on top.
Key takeaways
- Cross Bar Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma hosted the second and final Joker Race of the 2026 Ultra4 USA season on July 10-11
- Eight different drivers walked away with eight different class wins, no repeat champions across the card
- Ultra4's Joker format only requires one qualifying finish, with a racer's best result between the two events counting toward points
- The rocky, high-speed Arbuckle Mountains course previewed the kind of terrain teams will lean on heading toward next year's bigger championship stops
Numbers pulled from Ultra4 USA's official event pages for Crossbar and the earlier Big Sky 200.
Why Cross Bar Ranch Chews Teams Up
If you've never heard of Cross Bar Ranch, picture something built to punish complacency. The Davis, Oklahoma park sprawls across roughly 6,500 acres of the Arbuckle Mountains, threading over 200 miles of trail through terrain that swings from wide-open blast sections to tight, ledgy rock without warning. It's the kind of place where a car dialed in for speed gets exposed the moment the trail turns technical, and vice versa.
That split personality is exactly why Ultra4 keeps coming back. A course that rewards horsepower on one stretch and precision on the next forces teams to build a rig that can do both, which is a big part of what makes this sport different from a straight desert sprint. Nobody wins Cross Bar by being one-dimensional.
The Joker Race Format, In Plain Terms
For folks used to a straightforward points chase, Ultra4's Joker system takes a second to click. Every competitor is required to run at least one of the season's two Joker races to stay eligible for national points, but they don't have to run both. If a team does show up for both Big Sky in Montana back in June and Crossbar this month, only the stronger of the two finishes actually counts toward the championship ledger.
It's a format built for a series that spans the whole country and asks racers to make hard calls about travel, budget, and which track suits their rig. Some teams treat the Joker races as a free swing, since a rough weekend at one gets erased by a solid run at the other. Others just pick the one closer to home and bank whatever they can.
Eight Classes, Eight Different Winners
What stood out most from Crossbar wasn't any single dominant run, it was how spread out the results ended up. Across the buggy and UTV fields alike, eight classes produced eight separate winners, with nobody stringing together multiple trophies on the day. In the marquee 4400 Unlimited class, Tad Dowker got past Chris Branton, while Jeff Martin took the 4800 division over Greg Neff.
The UTV side told a similar story. Alan Burton grabbed the 4900 UTV Open crown ahead of Nick Anderson, Scott Farley held the stock UTV field off with Jeremy Blackburn chasing, and Phil Straatmann topped the modified UTV class over Adam Kinnett. Down in the 4600 division, Cory Day edged out Chris Mefford, and in the entry classes, Westin Kelley won UTV 170 Stock while Michael Farley took the Youth 1000 category, a nice sign for the pipeline of younger racers coming up through the sport.
From Montana Rock to Oklahoma Rock
Crossbar was the second half of a two-race stretch that opened back in June at Big Sky in Broadview, Montana, where the UTV Open class saw Dustin Robbins hold off Mike Slawson by less than a minute after four laps. That race also carried a $3,000 bonus purse from title sponsor FR8 Factory for the fastest UTV overall, and it set the tone for a Joker stretch defined by tight margins rather than blowouts.
Put the two events side by side and the pattern is clear. Whether it was Montana high country or Oklahoma rock, these Joker races have rewarded consistency over flash. Teams that showed up prepared for whatever the terrain threw at them walked away with trophies, and the ones chasing a single strength got exposed somewhere on course.
What It Sets Up Next
With both Joker races in the books, teams now carry their best result into the rest of the national points chase, which means the pressure shifts toward the bigger, marquee rounds still on the calendar. For UTV racers especially, Crossbar and Big Sky doubled as a proving ground, a chance to test setups on genuinely different terrain before the stakes climb higher later in the year.
For fans who mostly track the desert side of things out here in Nevada, it's worth keeping an eye on how these Ultra4 results ripple outward. A lot of the same names, sponsors, and rig builders cross over between rock racing and desert racing, and a strong Joker Race run has a way of showing up again months later at events a lot closer to home.
Crossbar Class Winners At A Glance
A quick rundown of who topped each class at Cross Bar Ranch, because with eight different winners, it's easy to lose track.
- Tad Dowker, 4400 Unlimited: Took the marquee unlimited buggy win over Chris Branton on a layout that punished any car built for only one kind of terrain.
- Jeff Martin, 4800: Beat Greg Neff to the line in the 4800 class.
- Alan Burton, 4900 UTV Open: Topped Nick Anderson in one of the more closely watched UTV fields of the weekend.
- Scott Farley, 4900 UTV Stock: Held off Jeremy Blackburn to take the stock UTV win.
- Phil Straatmann, 4900 UTV Modified: Got past Adam Kinnett for the modified UTV crown.
- Cory Day, 4600: Edged Chris Mefford in a tight 4600 class battle.
- Westin Kelley, UTV 170 Stock: Won the entry-level 170 stock class over Alvin Straatmann.
- Michael Farley, UTV Youth 1000: Claimed the Youth 1000 win over Peanut Fulcher, keeping the next wave of racers in the spotlight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Clash at Crossbar?
It's Ultra4 USA's rock and speed race held at Cross Bar Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma, and in 2026 it served as the second and final Joker Race on the national calendar.
Where is Cross Bar Ranch?
It's an off-road park in the Arbuckle Mountains near Davis, Oklahoma, covering roughly 6,500 acres with more than 200 miles of trail mixing wide-open sections with technical rock.
What is a Joker Race in Ultra4?
Racers only have to finish one of the season's two Joker races to stay eligible for national points, and if they run both, their better result is the one that counts.
Why should desert racing fans out here care about an Oklahoma rock race?
A lot of the same rigs, sponsors, and drivers move between rock racing and desert racing, so strong results at events like Crossbar often surface again later at races closer to home.
Sources
- All Thingz UTV Clash at Crossbar — Ultra4 USA
- FR8 Factory Big Sky 200 — Ultra4 USA
- Ultra4 Big Sky 200 UTV Race Results and Analysis — UTV Guide