Las Vegas, Nevada, August 11, 2011
Best in the Desert’s Casey Folks announced today that more than 270 entries have already signed up to compete in the epic TSCO Vegas to Reno race on August 18-20. With more entries continuing to come in, close to 300 are expected by race day. The steadily growing field features big numbers in several classes. Three of the fastest classes have a total of 87 entries so far. There are 27 800+ horsepower Trick Trucks; 39 Class 1500 unlimited buggies, and 21 Class 7200 Mini Trick Trucks. On the powersports front, there are 15 UTVs, 22 quads, and 75 motorcycles registered.
The entry list reads like a “who’s who” of the world’s foremost off-road racers. B.J. Baldwin, Chad Ragland, brothers Tim and Troy Herbst, Larry Roeseler, Mark McMillin, John Swift, Steve Olliges, Jason Voss, Will Staats, Mastercraft’s Robbie Pierce, Steve Sourapas, Rick Geiser, Rick D. Johnson, Jerry Zaiden, Jesse Jones, Roger Norman, Mark Weyhrich, Steve Strobel and Scott Whipple are among the ranks of the Trick Truck racers. The long list of Class 1500 drivers include 2010 defending class champion Chris Kemp, Gary Weyhrich, Chuck Hovey, Sam Berri, Shannon Campbell, Mike Childress, Pat Dean, T.J. Flores and Steven Appleton.
At 549 miles in length, the Best In The Desert TSCO “Vegas to Reno” race is certifiably “The Longest Off-Road Race in the United States. It also marks the midway point for the five-race 2011 Best In The Desert season featuring the car and truck classes and is one of the most popular events on the schedule. The challenge and adventure of competing in such a long distance “point to point” race always brings out the top off-road race teams. Not only is this going to be a big event but it’s also the 15th running of TSCO “Vegas to Reno.”
Open to all Best In The Desert classes – cars, trucks, UTVs, quads and motorcycles, following is a list of the 2010 TSCO “Vegas to Reno” defending class winners:
2010 Car and Truck Class Winners by Overall Time
Class 1400 | Rick D Johnson/Brian Salee | Ford | 9:10:42 |
Class 1500 | Chris Kemp/Darron Moore | Jimco | 9:20:35 |
Class 1200 | Troy Vest/Geno Licitra | Chevrolet | 10:55:09 |
Class 1000 | Chad Giguiere/JJ Schnarr | Custom | 11:03:18 |
Class 7200 | Al Hogan/Pat Bell | Ford | 11:11:47 |
Class 8000 | Macrae Glass/Michael DeHaas | Ford | 11:35:12 |
Class 1100 | Lee Banning Sr/Lee Banning Jr | Banning | 11:36:59 |
Class 2000 | Kevin Smith/Brian Smith | Mirage | 11:50:50 |
Class 5500 | Earl Desiderio/Christian Hammerskjold | Custom | 12:14:48 |
Class 7300 | Jayson Strachan/James Burman | Ford | 13:11:12 |
Class 8100 | Tim Casey/Mike Tuba | Ford | 13:18:00 |
Class 4400 | Dave Cole/Jason Scherer | Custom | 13:30:51 |
Class 7100 | Steve Rose/Robbie Cockrell | Ford | 13:31:07 |
Class 1700 | Bob Standage/Kyle Standage | Jeep | 13:56:44 |
Class 1800 | David Kincaid/Mark Johnson | Custom | 14:41:16 |
Class 5000 | Todd Davis/Mark Bowman | Jimco | 16:12:08 |
Class 6000 | Louis Chamberland/Jim Riley | TrophyLite | 21:18:10 |
2010 Motorcycle, Quad & UTV Class Winners by Overall Time
Open Pro | Quinn Cody | Honda | 9:21:18 |
Open Exp |
Robert Patterson/Jesse Canepa/Clint Braun |
Yamaha | 9:56:37 |
O-30 Pro | Michael Johnson/Rex Cameron | Honda | 9:57:21 |
4-Stk Exp |
Robert Hunter/Kyle Hucklebridge/Max Eddy Jr |
Custom | 10:00:01 |
4-Stk Pro | Zach Watson/Rex Mike | Kawasaki | 10:21:58 |
Quad Pro | Greg Stuart/Nicholas Granlund | Custom | 10:26:30 |
O-30 Exp | Bill Witt/Kevin Johnson/Allan Ashely | Honda | 10:33:07 |
O-50 Exp | Doug Smith/Dave Potts/Bill Boyer | Honda | 11:04:43 |
250 Pro | Lucas Garcia/Justin Criner | KTM | 11:14:39 |
Ironman Exp | Leonard Baca | Kawasaki | 11:32:51 |
Open Am |
Donald Stark/Peter Marzano/F Buccovich |
Honda | 11:38:02 |
O-40 Exp | Larry Brown/Lance Horton | Honda | 11:41:34 |
Quad Exp | Ken George/Trent Kendall/Joe Ramos | Yamaha | 12:07:21 |
250 Am |
Scott Jacobson/Garrett Tolman/Eric Caudillo |
Honda | 12:16:01 |
QIM Exp | Gerald Nunes | Honda | 12:17:17 |
250 Exp |
Jeremy Purvines/Jason Trubey/Ron Purvines |
Honda | 12:18:43 |
Ironman Am | Sam Longson | Yamaha | 12:10:22 |
4 Stk Am |
William Banuelos/Matt Banuelos/Rigo Navarro |
Honda | 12:43:33 |
O-40 Am | Stephen Orton/Daniel Burkart | KTM | 13:25:04 |
O-40 Pro | John Intile/Brett Burkitt | Husaberg | 14:08:02 |
125 Exp | Larry Perkins/Thomas Flores | KTM | 15:39:31 |
Quad Am | Michael Zelenka/John Zelenka | Yamaha | 23:24:36 |
Class 1900 |
Brandon Schueler/Chad Riccio/West/VanDeLoo |
Polaris | 14:09:18 |
Class 1900S | Rocker Head/Gary Peterson | Kawasaki | 16:08:24 |
TSCO “Vegas to Reno” schedule:
Thursday, August 18th – Registration, Contingency and tech inspection, Aliante Station Hotel & Casino in North Las Vegas.
Friday, August 19th – Race for all classes starts near Beatty, finishes at the Dayton Event Center.
Saturday, August 20th – Awards presentation in Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort.
The weekend gets started Wednesday, August 17th, for Trick Truck and Class 1500 open class buggy racers as they qualify in the Time Trails to determine their starting positions and compete for the $1000 “Team Ford Pole Award”. Not relying simply on “the luck of the draw” for the starting order, Best In The Desert allows the two fastest classes to compete head-to-head for their chance to be first off the line and the best opportunity for the overall finishing spot.
TSCO “Vegas to Reno” marks the third race of the year for the 2011 Trick Truck Challenge. The Challenge features 23 of the world’s top Trick Truck race teams shooting for a share of the $134,000 in bonus cash and year end trophy. To date, $42,600 has been paid out for the Parker “425” and Silver State “300” top finishers.
Red Bull will be supporting contingency at the Aliante Station Resort & Casino in North Las Vegas, and also at the finish line at the Dayton, Nevada Event Center.
Best In The Desert official sponsors: Ford Motor Company – official truck, General Tire – official tire, Lucas Oil – official oil, VP Racing Fuels – official fuel, KC HiLiTES – official light, John Deere – official UTV, Husqvarna – official motorcycle, Fabtech – Official Suspension, Fall Advertising, Prerunner Maniac, McKenzies, PCI Race Radios, Azunia Tequila, and Sportsman Cycle Sales.
The American Off-Road Racing Series…Best In The Desert!
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