77 cars and trucks; 62 motorcycles, 35 quads. A total of 174 vehicles are registered, signed in, cleared tech and headed for their trailers for a good night's sleep. The Las Vegas 200 has come into town in a big way for 2003!
Walking the aisles in the SunCoast Casino parking lot, we came across a lot of familiar faces, some new paint jobs, and the most familiar new decal for the day - "For Sale!" As the season wraps up, stories abound of drivers and riders moving up and moving on. After racing for 30 years, including every BITD event since 1996, Malcolm Vinge is retiring. Johnson Motorsports is selling out a couple Honda Quads, Team ORC will put the Raptor on the market, KoolGuys classic Bronco is sporting a For Sale sign too. 2004 could potentially have a very large showing of new faces, driving already familiar and proven rigs.
So what's the news:
William Yokely has come out west, with plans to run the day solo.
Riders stumbled in from Oklahoma, Florida and Texas as well, for virgin runs on the famous Las Vegas dry lake beds and rocky desert trails.
Last year's Champions Destry Abbott/Shane Esposito are back to defend their class title, as are Mark & Gary Weyrich, and Doug Eichner after a stellar performance in the Baja 1000 just weeks ago on a brand new Honda TRX450R.
Ford Motor Co will finish the year as strong as they started, bringing $57,750 in contingency checks to award Saturday night for day money alone. More than 70 teams have benefited from Ford money this year, sending checks home to 8 different Western states. The great news is that YES, they will be back on board with BITD in 2004, and contingency money will now be paid down to 3rd place.
The Outdoor Channel had an excellent kick-off
season with BITD, and Mike St Amand is proud to announce it will continue in 2004. In fact, look for more prime scheduling of race coverage, with Speedzone moving in July to a 9:00 pm (central) time slot, immediately following World of Outlaws action each week. Many thanks to Greg Foutz, who has made a personal commitment that has made this coverage possible. All teams are benefiting from the exposure, and hopefully the response and viewers of the show itself will drive the show forward.
2004 does have some new action in store for racers and fans. For example, the first race of the season, the Parker 425 in January, will feature the "Parker Python", a winding GP course within the Main Pit area that will make for great viewing and really fun riding. Truck/car event several weeks later will see some TT action, run on Indian Reservation property. Casey announced just enough to let us all know there will be more to announce soon - look for additional races to be added to the schedule in 2005!
So, all the exciting news swirling in our heads, it's back to the ORC Casita to study Casey's "Danger" list, pack the trailer, and watch the latest MONSTERMOTO video from San Felipe.... tomorrow morning we're on the line at 6:30 am. Will bring it to you in 24 hours.
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