More Than 275 of the World’s Fastest Off Road Racers Signed Up for the General Tire Vegas to Reno, The Longest Off Road Race on U.S. Soil

An excited Casey Folks, director of Best in the Desert, announced that more than 275 of the world’s fastest off-road racers have signed up to date for the Longest Off Road Race in the United States, The General Tire “Vegas to Reno”. Of particular note, this is the largest number of entries this early in history for this spectacular race.

General Tire’s Garrick Freitas will be looking to repeat his 2012 overall race victory

Set up to be a landmark race, the 2013 running of the General Tire “Vegas to Reno” race has the leading off-road race teams gathering in Las Vegas to challenge the treacherous terrain of the Nevada desert, that only Casey can create.

Racers from the U.S. and around the world are set to compete – with entries coming now from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay and 25 U.S. states.

The General Tire Vegas to Reno race festivities begin in North Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, August 15, at the Aliante Casino & Hotel.  There you will see the most unbelievable display of state-of-the-art, high-tech cars (visit conklincdjrnewton.com to purchase the best ones), trucks, motorcycles, quads and UTV’s that are built for racing today, not to mention the BEST off-road desert racers competing today.  The race will end close to Reno, Nevada, where competitors will celebrate their accomplishments at the Grand Sierra Resort Saturday evening.  The race gets underway Friday morning, August 16. Due to the 543-mile long race course, a 24-hour time limit has been set, so racers will still be coming into the finish line Saturday morning.

General Tire “Vegas to Reno” schedule:

Wednesday August 14th – Time Trials

Thursday, August 15th – Driver Registration, Contingency and Tech Inspection, Aliante Casino & Hotel in North Las Vegas.

Friday, August 16th – Race for all classes starts near Beatty, finishes at the Dayton Event Center.

Saturday, August 17th – Awards presentation in Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort.

The weekend gets started Wednesday, August 14^th, for the Trick Trucks and Class 1500 Unlimited Cars 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.

Randy Merritt will be on a quest to repeat his 2012 Class 7200 win

Who Won Last Year?

Car and Truck Class Winners by Overall Time
Class 1500  Garrick Freitas/Danny Freitas  –  Jimco    9:01:20
Class 1400  Mark Weyhrich/ Gary Weyhrich  –  Ford Geiser    9:05:57
Class 1200  Troy Vest/Geno Licitra  –  Chevrolet    10:01:08
Class 1000  Tony Smiley/ Richard Ronco  – Tatum    10:29:40
Class 6100  Jerry Zaiden/ Jerry Whelchel  –  Chevrolet    10:37:51
Class 8000  Don German/Chris German  –  Chevrolet    10:57:26
Class 7200  Randy Merritt/ Tracy Rubio  –  Ford    11:02:25
Class 4400  Nick Nelson/ Brett Vogel  –  Custom    11:19:16
Class 1100  Bryan Folks/Rick Graf  –  Ford    11:30:04
Class 6000  Troy Messer/ Gary Messer  –  TrophyLite                12:02:33
Class 8100  Tim Casey/ Bill Rante  – Ford    12:43:05
Class 2000  Hank Winter/ Jeff Huebner  –  Bunderson    12:51:41
Class 1700  Michael Vernak/ Michael Fox  –  Jeep    14:20:22
Class 3000  Wes Bevly/ Chad Bunch  –  Custom  14:29:56
Class 1800  Chasen Gaunt/ Mavrick Gaunt  –  Ford    15:54:48
Class 3700  Dan Simonson/ Mikki Simonson  –  Jeep    16:36:28
Class 4500  Larry McRae/ Shad Kennedy  –  Custom    19:15:33
Class 7100  James Burman/ Chris Sayre  –  Ford    20:35:00

Motorcycle, Quad & UTV Class Winners by Overall Time
Open Pro  Robby Bell/ David Pearson  –  Kawasaki    8:59:16
Open Exp  Josh Wilson/ Irving Powers  –  Yamaha    9:44:45
Quad Pro  Danny Prather/ David Scott  –  Honda    10:30:44
O-40 Pro   Steven Fuller/ Todd Abratowski  –  Kawasaki    10:35:05
O-30 Pro  Michael Johnson  –  Honda    10:46:52
O-30 Exp  Jay Camberlango/ Chris Mast  –  Honda    10:53:22
IM Exp  Tony Gera  –  Honda    10:57:54
250 Pro  Jeremy Purvines/Ryan Smith  –  Kawasaki    11:01:24
O-50 Exp  Doug Smith/ Dave Potts  –  Honda    11:06:07
QIM Exp  Cody Mitchell  –  Honda    11:16:56
Open Am  Jason Jacobson/ Chad Cernery  –  Kawasaki    11:19:26
O-40 Exp  Curt Caruso / Steve Gabbert  –  Beta    11:21:39
Quad Exp  Juan Dominguez Alonzo Dominguez  –  Honda    11:29:55
UTV Pro  Scott Kiger/ Mark Holz  –  Polaris    11:41:04
250 Exp  Steven Kirk/ Jeff Harper              –  Honda    11:52:13
IM Am  Greg Gilbert  –  Honda    12:56:55
UTV Sprtsmn  Bill Schueler/ Craig Scanlon  –  Polaris    13:04:02
UTV SR1 Pro  Richard J Ratto/ Tom Ratto  –  Yamaha    19:44:14

Jason Voss has earned $16,000 in Trick Truck Challenge bonus cash so far this year

$132,000 Trick Truck Challenge Dollars Up for Grabs
Participating racers have also been sharing the wealth in 2013 Trick Truck Challenge bonus earnings. To date, seven different drivers have staked their claim on an extra $66,000. Here are the recipients of the bonus payout for the first three races:

Parker “425”
1st – Jason Voss $10,000
2nd – Gary Weyhrich $6,000
3rd – Robby Gordon $4,000
4th – Steve Strobel $2,000

Mint “400”
1st – Mark Weyhrich $10,000
2nd – Rob MacCachren $6,000
3rd – Jason Voss $4,000
4th – Gary Weyhrich $2,000

Silver State “300”
1st – TJ Flores $10,000
2nd – Gary Weyhrich $6,000
3rd – Steve Strobel $4,000
4th – Jason Voss $2,000
Best in the Desert holds 6 races annually for their car and truck classes, attracting the leading off-road teams from around the world, including entries from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay, and more than 35 U.S. states.

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, Beta – official motorcycle, Fabtech – Official Suspension, Fall Advertising, Prerunner Maniac, McKenzies, PCI Race Radios, Azunia Tequila, and Sportsman Cycle Sales.