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.