San Luis Obispo, CA – The Canidae Off Road Racing team qualified in 34th place out of more than 270 entries at this year’s Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno offroad race. The 34th place starting position put them 19th off the starting line in their Trophy Truck class. Driving hard and powering through the rugged terrain, co-drivers Scott Whipple and Scott Gailey kept pushing the truck throughout the race to finish a strong 5th in their class, only 21 seconds off 4th place, and only 7 minutes shy of a podium finish. The Vegas to Reno race is over 500 miles long and the Canidae Team turned in a 10 hour, 19 minute and 10 second time on course.

The event was blogged live at the team’s website and Facebook fan page and attracted more visits and comments then any other race in the team’s history. “Reports and pictures kept coming in from Canidae as we watched the live tracking at Best in the Desert. We saw them making their way forward through the pack, doing better and better as the race went on. They even lost a cylinder part way through and just kept right on making great time and passing other teams. It was exciting and we’re all really happy for the crew,” said Marlon Coffman, long time supporter of the team.

Driver Whipple started the race with navigator Patrick Gailey. They managed to turn in a smooth and consistent performance, battling through the pack and gaining on the leaders despite a flat fire. At mile 289 co-driver Scott Gailey took over for Whipple and despite a dead cylinder on the team’s 800 HP 454 Dougan small block, he managed to push the truck hard and claim a top 10 finish and a 5th place in class.

Gailey found himself battling not only the course and the other drivers, but also the sun as the team made the decision earlier to not take the additional pit time to attach their normal night-time lighting. As the sun drew closer to the horizon, the team wasn’t sure Gailey would be able to cross the finish line before the lack of proper lighting became an issue. Fortunately, he beat the sun and crossed with time to spare.

At the end of race day, Whipple commented, “What an awesome day. We have the best crew who worked together as a team flawlessly. Interviews are over and we’re loading up so we can celebrate! Thanks to all of you who support us and cheered us on!”
Next up for Canidae Racing is the BlueWater Desert Challenge on October 14 to 16 in Parker, AZ.

Canidae Racing is supported by Canidae Pet Foods, Lucas Oil, BFGoodrich Tires, Magnaflow Exhaust, KC HiLites, Torco Race Fuels, Tap It Brewing, JE Pistons, Fox Race Shox, Geiser Bros. Design & Development, K&N Air Filters, Racepak, CalTex Freight, McKenzies, Specialty Fasteners, XRP Hoses and Fittings, Norco Tires, and GET Performance.

Photo credit Mike Wilson Photography.