The Ondas, Esposito Team on their way to the overall win

Just 38 minutes behind the winning bike. Larry Roeseler takes the second big Desert Racing win in a matter of a few months.

After a goodly number of lean years, General Motors finally hit the jackpot in Beatty, in Mina, and in Fallon. The Proving Ground team’s litany of equipment problems was finally laid to rest at Reno when Larry Roeseler brought the #72 Big Mac Chevrolet into the winner’s circle at Best In The Desert’s "Vegas to Reno" point-to-point race. Make no mistake, this was a long time in coming, and it is a popular win for most off-road fans and competitors, alike. Well, OK … not for the other TT teams. Larry and Jerry beat the Herbst TT by 42 seconds. "LR" did the deed in 10:23:13 over the 531-mile race course. As Barry Beacham, riding mechanic for Ed and Tim, said in a telephone interview: "We just got beat!" No excuses, here.

Other notable performances were by Terrible Troy Herbst, the Third Overall in the Unlimited Class-winning SmithBuilt and Dave Westhem’s "8", finishing as Fourth Overall. Steve Barlow and Rob MacCachren showed just what a spec Protruck could do: 11:22:36 and Fifth. Barlow beat ten other Stewart Protrucks. Casey Jones and Ryan Arciero were the "1650" buggy winners in a Mike Monohan "Aceco", just behind restrictor class "1600" Kash Vessels … offspring of the famed "Scoop" Vessels.

"Twelfth-degree Mesan" Greg Foutz beat back a brace of concerted Hummers; Steve Olliges/Robert Hayley; the ever-popular W. David Sykes in the Andataco Ford … with renta-driver Ramsey Wardani suited up with no place to go …; and an Ace Uniformed Mark Stein … with Mike McComas … racing for the Stock Full crown. It was a full field of potential champions.

THE COURSE
After a late Contingency and Tech day at the swanky Mike Gaughan "Orleans Hotel and Casino" the racers had to trailer out to Pahrump for the o’dark thirty start. The bikes and the quads left at first light to get some breathing room before the "Trick Trucks" (a.k.a. "Trophy Trucks" … ) left at 0930 NDT. The Team Omboli were still in the parking lot at 0730: "We were out late," was the gruff explanation.

The course began with the worst sections: exposed limestone and pools of that calcium carbonate silt. This is a well-used portion of Nevada and much of the equipment damage occurred in this section: roll-overs, flats, and broken suspension components. And broken egos. The further the racers went … the less "Mint-ish" the situation became. The finish was outside of Sparks … the Mesa of Reno … at the "Patrick" exit … the Apache Junction of Nevada. The finish actually was on a mesa … the "Goodyear Mesa" platform.

The race was marred by the tragic death of a young girl … the daughter of a road crossing worker … who went down an abandoned mine shaft at the Beatty crossing. One of the quad riders halted for the lengthy rescue attempt was Shane Struck, who I spoke with at the Whiplash Point-to-Point. He said that he was next to the BitD vehicle and the word was that the girl had been jumping into the numerous shallow exploration "glory holes" that pepper that mountainous area. They are usually only a few feet deep, if that. She found one that was not. The BFG Relay radio noted that "they" put down a 200-foot rope which "did not reach bottom." BitD stopped the race at this RM98 point and kept a log of arrival times. After 30-45 minutes the vehicles were re-started in 30-second intervals. Thusly the poor "held" bikes and squids only got a half-minute breathing space before the Big Dogs were on them like stink. Scares me.

There were twelve formal pits, equally spaced, mas o menos, and no other supporting activity would be allowed out of these areas. In general they were all easily accessible from the Nevada Highway 95. No chasers were allowed on the course. Parts could ONLY be brought in via the race course and in a race vehicle. Apparently, nobody entered a chaser as a racer. The Tatras, which is a "Dakar" support type of rig did not apply. Race Director Casey Folks was not kidding about this … there were DQs for actions as seemingly trivial as rolling a tire in to a stricken car. Mark Hutchins’ mid-engine "10" Toyota won Class 1000 but did not. They rolled a new tire into the car on foot, were seen and they were DQ’d.

Casey is a tough guy … but then everyone was well-warned!

FACTORY FACTS
Casey has really dug up some big contingency dollars for the truck classes. Ford places a lot of emphasis upon this event and they went back to Dearborn with a load of winners and were much lighter in cash. Like $55,500 shelled out! Foutz took home ten thousand US dollars as did the cops in "7300" and Mike Falkosky in "3100"! Plus some $5,000 runner-up awards. "First Loser," my ass.

Check this pay-out. Even Toyota popped for a grand.

PRERUN FUN – as told by Curt LeDuc
At the rickety old bar in Goldfield, an incisor-defying, calendar-challenged lady confronts Curt LeDuc: "I just saw you on TV! You're 'Kert Lee Dook'! You were winnin'!" (Referring to a recent broadcast of a CORR race in the heartland)

She is on a roll: "We ain't towin’ no-buddy! Muh sister 'n' I, we're gona wait fer YOO!" LeDuc, never one to miss points with a true fan, goes out to the truck for T-shirts, but only has one remaining. "I gave it to her and told that I had only one," Curt recalled, " ... but she gave it to her sister so they were all happy."

Later, up at Hawthorne, in the casino, a woman approaches Curt and asks for his "ott-toe-graff." "Do you know who I am?, asks a puzzled Leduc. " Yep! You been leading this here race every time! You’re Curt LeDuc!" He signs the proffered bar napkin and Ivan Stewart who was standing nearby, asks her is she wants his, too.

"NO!", she relies emphatically. "Who are you? Have you ever led this race through here?!" Ivan slinks off ...

TRICK TRUCKS
Roeseler wins … finally. He figured that he was "in control of the race" when he was waiting in Second, physically, at the Beatty road crossing. "Dan Smith was in front of me (in the Duralast Ford) and I was ahead on time." Ever the racer, LR said that he "wanted to be in the physical lead, too." He and Dan were having a clean day … until a flat put Smith behind Larry.

Larry, who made Team Green the dominant force that it had become in the Baja, is still their fair-haired boy. He, and Destry Abbott, had to rush off to Kansas City for the annual Kaw dealer show. There is something about Kawasaki’s methods that produces more than good fast racers but also teaches them racecraft … how to be part of an aggressive, successful racing program. Mark Johnson was the spark plug in the team Green ranks and he is now with Cal Well’s CART team. He said that he was offered double his Kawasaki pay. James Degaines, once a rapid racer in his own right, is also with that revered PPI organization.

Both Larry and Jerry McDonald attribute the win to the hard work of the GM team. Unfortunately, Little Mac, the "S10" popped a transmission coming into Pit 2 necessitating a lengthy gearbox change, ending up Third behind the Carrolls and the Turners.

Now what the future holds is anybody’s guess. The end of the MacPherson/McDonald organization? Larry on to greener, or at least different, pastures?

Curt Leduc came to race Vegas … to prove a point. "Tom Wamberg has been racing Hummers. Only Hummers. He has nothing to compare them to. He did ‘Dakar" and was slow. Durable, sure. So I had him in this rally-style Grand Cherokee … with one of those four-liter straight sixes. Running pump gas."

Wamberg had never finished a 500-miler in a Hummer. It would be brutal. So we rotated the driving … Tom did two hundred and I did three." They ran in Trick Truck cuz the suspension mods made the Jeep unsuitable for Class 8100. It had a tube frame extensions front and back with "Sway-Aways." "It weighs half of a Hummer.

Curt LeDuc powering the Rallye, Grand Cherokee on the gas!    Click Image for Larger

Curt said that, on the clock, they put an hour on the Hummers by Hawthorne. "Tom was amazed … at the suspension … that the suspension was the answer, not more power. He is a lot more committed to racing after this. We raced to Reno then drove it back to Las Vegas, requiring only a light service! Tom’s weaned off Hummers! They ARE tough enough but not fast (enough). We talked during the race, pointing out pass points; something he had never considered … passing, that is."

LeDuc has a plan and that plan is racing Europe and Africa. Clive Skilton joined in the conversation pointing out how much his son Darren had done to "open up" Europe for American racers in his rally-style Kia. (Of course Larry Ragland (French-based Protruck)and Rod Hall (Hummer, of course)and now Curt have had good results over there.) Skilton … an ex-fuelie shoe … wants to develop a car to go to Europe. "We can win internationally," he swore. "Our focus is on Europe!"

Curt laughed about his race on Italy: "They (the Europeans) could not realize racing without a windscreen. When I would climb out the front window they would all rush over with video cameras. Of course, in Dakar, you would get sandblasted in no time." Curt told of disassembling a Saharan car and finding hundreds of pound hidden in the frame: "We have to weld closed off ALL the holes!"

Clive spoke of the rigors of Afrika: "Our Kia ran a ninety-gallon fuel cell with a two-litre engine! They required you to be able to go 500 miles plus 10% (for getting lost). We keep coming back so they know that we are serious." Their immediate goal is the 2000 "2000", from Casablanca to Cairo. Avoiding, no doubt, that perennial pain in side Mohomar Quadaffi, El Jefe de Libya.

The Second Herbstmobile tooled in at 3rd OA 4-wheeled vehicle making a 2-3 finish for team.    Click Image for Larger

CLASS 1500/UNLIMITED BUGGIES
The Herbsts dominated in their Mike Smith engineered "Truggy" … if dominated is the correct term for a twenty-seven minute victory over the Corky McMillin Porsche Chenowth. The other side of the San Diego family was son mark in a mid-motored Ford, struggling to Fourth in class, 20^th Overall. Mark had had to replace not one, but two, alternators. With the powerplant virtually buried within the close confines of the center of the car, what should have been a simple swap of a normally reliable component was a major production. A testy crew member averred that the team "would do some research" into this race-limiting problem.

Sam Berri had to do a George Seeley CV boot repair at Top Gun … which shop rag design IS the best? Berri was Third in class.

CLASS 1000/CLASS 10
The 1650cc buggies all were troubled, with the winner, Casey Jones, getting beaten by the winning "1600" car! As noted the winning car of Mark Hutchins was disqualified due to pit support infractions. Frank Omboli and Jim Cochran had the proverbial "Longest Day." They broke the rocker studs on one bank of their Type I and had to scour the bars of Goldfield … that they got any help, at all, was due, perhaps, to the fact that Curt Leduc had already passed the ghost town.

But wait, they had to get top the pit. The engine would run, sort, on two but they could not climb one hill. They were lucky … a mini-truck did them a big favor and pulled them to the top and they "made" the pit.

The guys went from house to hovel and found an old-timer who had a head, which they used for parts. After a lengthy Easy-Out session by the BFG crew … "We weren’t even pitting with them!," exclaimed an amazed Omboli … it was discovered that the back of the alternator was ripped apart and the fan shroud was junk. Back into town. This time they were not so lucky … until a new-found-friend’s wife drove up in a … (drum roll) … Beetle. Frank peeled of a $100 bill and they removed the sheet metal from Mom’s grocery getter. "I’ll send you a new one," yelled Omboli as they roared off back to the pit.

They had to real alternator clamp so they used hose clamps … which would last for a while then break up. That scenario was repeated more often than not. Finally, up near the Top Gun drag strip pit, the throttle cable broke and they had to clamp it short and fake it. This, too, would fail, but by this time Frank was in no mood for any more wrenching. He had passenger Bob Guthery stand on the Mendeola and work the gas by hand. "This was ‘The Race From Hell’," Frank laughed. They did finish and got Second Place.

The Stiles Brothers "1000" caught fire at the Cherry Patch road crossing due to what was, apparently, a self-destructing alternator and was on its way to total immolation when unexpected help arrived. "We had emptied our (on-board) fire bottle and the damn flames were still raging," wrote Jeff. "I just want to make sure that you give "Hero Status" to both Dan Nutt from Oregon and Troy Herbst. Both not only stopped but TURNED AROUND and gave us their fire extinguishers. They even offered to get out and help dump sand or spray. This kind of assistance is why desert off-road people are now, and always will be, the best kind of people!!!!!!!"

CLASS 8000
Where have all the Class 8s gone? Long time passing … Well, to New York City? Actually Dave Westhem lists his base as LVNV and how well he knows the terrain. He and Randy Salmont blasted the course to the win and Fourth overall.

Dave Westhem alone in the desert.........    Click Image for Larger

PROTRUCKS
The Protruck race was pretty damned bueno. Ten started and eight finished! And they were running hard. Steve Barlow signed on Rob "Will Race For ... Fun" MacCachren. A wise choice, indeed. Under the iron hand-in-a-velvet-glove methods of Nils Castillo the car was prepared within a gnats ass of perfection. Only a flat tire and a damaged right front brake caliper prevented a perfect score of "10." Rob and Tom Medina started in the back and were in the lead by Beatty. They were never threatened.

Jeff Hoskins, of Brawley, "Home of the Cattle Call" was Second but only after presenting a writ to correct an incorrect down-time logging at the Mine Shaft Incident. Larry Plank turned potential disaster into a "Good Guy Award." Plank caught a slow "sickle" rider who freaked then fell. The rider was a little banged up and Plank thought that he needed some care, therefore waited for a medcopter … which proved to be busy elsewhere. The biker wanted to go home so Larry stuck him in the right seat and Kevin Spieler rode the scooter to the pits. I’ll bet that that pumper helmet looked real cool on the bike.

Steve Barlow and Rob MacCachren took 5th OA 4-wheeled and first Protruck    Click Image for Larger

Scott Steinberger got caught in the Protruck "Spec" rules after readily admitting that he carried an extra five gallons of fuel. Where and in what? Protruck specifies a 37-gallon cell. No more, no how, no way. So the Weatherkid went from a close Third to Fourth. In fact, before the ruling, Scott was only six seconds behind Hoskins. Some Protruckers are arguing that the 37 gallons is often insufficient to allow them to reach each 100-mile BFG pit. Some also note that Hoskin’s dad is enough of a tuning wizard to change their 2.2-to-2.9 mpg truck to almost 5. Perhaps.

Steve Scaroni, the Imperial Valley Vegpacking King, was Fifth after performing a mission of mercy. When David Ashley stuck the Duralast Enduro racing Ford in the ditch, Steve was logged into the previous BFG pit as the next likely candidate for assistance. They loaded him up with a snatch strap and loaded him down with a new light bar. Steve said that it was not that tough to drag the Ford out. Then, when it was discovered that the Scaroni fuel supply had incorrectly gone to Pit 11 rather than the necessary Top Gun Pit 11, the appreciative Enduro dudes said, "¡No problema!" and gave Steve fuel from their supply. As Protruck rules require "pump gas" in the USA this might be construed as a violation. But since the Protruck tech organization also was lacking the chemical equipment to determine fuel types the question might be moot.

Rick Johnson, the Protruck series points leader, puked a transmission and he stood by while the crew found the tools, tranny and lube … and a willing racer (unknown at this time) to run the load into Johnson. Rick got the job done and kept his points lead after taking 21 hours to finish. Barlow was done in eleven.

Dwight Lunkley started the race with prosthetic arms … fitted after a disastrous fire. Dwight went two hundred hard miles before giving the controls to Dennis Dugan. Give that man a hand! Mike Griffiths was summarily DQ’d for walking batteries into his truck. Be advised! Casey was NOT kidding!

Gary Vosburg was using Checker? livery without written permission and Kevin McGillivray drove the lone Chevy-badged Protruck. Both retired from the event early in the day.

CLASS 2000/1600
The little buggies were lightly represented … BitD is traditionally a truck event. But this was another fine showing by the Kash Vessels crew. Even in spite of co-driver Jacob Chamness, who was listed as being "100" in the finish list. You may, or may not, remember Kash’s dad "Scoop" who was a Class 8 star in his own right and drove one of the ¾-scale "winged dammit" A-armed Broncos … a rare type also piloted by Bob Gordon and Malcolm Smith.

Brain Wilson and Yuman Being Greg Branch overcame the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to finish the event, albeit in Fourth. Only a few miles out of Pit 1 the engine broke both rock shaft studs on the right side. For you non-VW-oids, racing Bug engines usually hold on the valve cover via studs on the rocker pillow block. When the studs broke the engine lost the rockers, the shaft, and the valve cover. Of course power was somewhat lacking … running less than 50% … and the oil cut the dust for the following cars. Greg caught on fast and shut the little engine down before he smoked the internals.

Putting on this thinking cap … which actually fit under his helmet, Greg pulled the plugs and the push rods and made a valve cover out of duct tape. He popped in two quarts of racing motor oil and burbled to the pit. Where they actually fixed the car and finished.

Tom Geringer and Kurt Brewer came up from Mesa, what a place-a, to race-a. Tom won the event last year and had his eyes set on that again.

Unfortunately (Uh-oh … ) Brewer over-drove his lights near Mina and missed a right-hander at the end of a L O N G fourth-gear, ball bearing, straightaway. He and Bob Elio went ass-over-teakettle into the blackness … eighty feet, so they say. The car went into Challenger configuration as the wheel base shortened appreciably. It was a no-go from then on.

Geringer’s homebuilt sustained little other damage, he crowing the work of Jack Woods and Fob plus those "new BFG A/T T/A ‘KO’ rear tires with a new sidewall design … the same as the ‘Baja’ … with rim guards but without the aggressive tread design. That will save the tranny. They are made to combat the Yokohamas" … these also have a round profile. "They didn’t even go flat after that. You need a set!" Hmm, I checked the side yard and I couldn’t find any there, Tom.

CLASS 1600
Tatra time. Did you see this? What a tank. The six-wheel drive desert hauler stood fourteen hands high … or is that cubits. There has been no, none, nada, nichts attempt to save weight on this unit. The torque tube between the transfer case and the rear axle pair was about this big and had a full complement of multi-bolt circles connecting flanges. The wheels carried 14.00R20 XZL" Michelins – 400-ply, so I understand. Built to withstand a Kosavoian 9 mm round. To change a flat – like running over a KX500 – the jack er up on the hydraulic cylinders, break the beam and strip the wheel of the carcass. They actually had to do one of these changes, to the delight of the Pit lookie-lous.

The engine crankcase is reminiscent of a Cat … ¼-inch thick with a bolt every inch.

They use their turn signals in the desert. How thoughtful. Three Czech Recaro-rip-offs span the huge cab-over cab … with lots of elbow room for gobbling those black bread and weenie sandwiches. Washed down with huge goblets of Pilsner Urquell. "Ja ha ha!"

Wonder what a "1600" looks like from eight feet up and over? Flat, in a minute.

Dick Sasser’s long-suffering partner, Phil In-Albon, said that the thing does 28 miles and hour. All the time. Everywhere. And speaking of Dick Sasser … he got the ex-Curt Leduc Cherokee farther then ever before. Phil was muttering incantations at Pit 2 : "I told him. I told him. I told "Dick, at least 25 miles. For me." Not only did Dick get to 25; not only did Dick get to 36, where he rolled the Jeep but he made it to RM331 before a belching automatic transmission let go of all its fluid. That was that. "If I had " I had ninety cases," noted Sasser, "we could have finished." The car was beat up – cosmetically speaking. There wasn’t a good piece of fiberglass on the car. Dick had been having fun!

In between then and there, they broke the rear Uniball on the locating link. Aaron Dixon (7300 Pro) wrote: "We were … at about the 100 mile mark and out in the middle of nowhere. We came across the broken down Jeep of Dick Sasser with a "FEW" chase vehicles around him. This wasn't the only time we witnessed outside assistance on the course. Of course the Jeep passed us a hour later in a cloud of dust."

The Dixon brothers, Ian and Aaron, ran in their first race in their fine V6 Ranger. They swapped seats every other lap. "Uh, no thanks … I'm, uh, trying to quit. Thanks, anyway." Sounds like Bruce Conrad!! They had some tranny woes – lost the upper gear, got stuck, got out and just houred out. And learned a lot. And didn't damage the race truck. Good going.

CLASS 8100/STOCK FULL
The sorta-street-legal class is now at it hot and heavy. Ace driver Mark Stein, the 1998 and now 1999 SCORE class champion was up against a serious Rod Hall International Hummer assault. And Greg Foutz had his titanic F250 Super Duty Ford rigged for war. But make no mistake the AM General Hummers were ready to repeat the spanking they gave at Tonapah. But Foutz did the deed as niggling problems reduced the Hummer effort.

The Lowell, Lamson and Jackimowicz Honda 250 Quad took the Quad OA by almost an hour. Click Image for Larger

Stein broke a spring hanger early in the day and was "out of touch" from then on. Stein, a bon vivant, remarked that it was much easier on him in Vegas since the girls were girls rather than whatever at Anthony's Disco Bar in Ensenada. First time, shame on them, second time … shame on you!

Mark stopped to chat with psycho brother Sykes, who was out with a blown motor: "We weren’t going anywhere fast so why not?" He did finish Fourth, a half hour behind the Olliges/Hayley effort.

George R. Thompson … The Solomon Of the Sands … supplied a litany of this-s and that-s that affected the Hummer effort:

Josh/Chad Hall's Hummer blew a motor in final testing, moments before it was to go on the trailer for the trip south. Most of the crew remained behind to do a marathon engine replacement during the night. To replace the motor on a Hummer, the body has to be removed so under the best of circumstances this was a difficult job. What made it even more of a problem was the fact that the spare motor was also installed in yet another Hummer so it, too, had to be removed.

Along the way to Las Vegas a truck on the highway picked up a large stone and hurled it into the driver’s side windshield of the Henn’s Hummer, shattering it into a spider-web of glued silica. They did not have another windshield and without the support of even a broken one the roof would cave in, so the Henn’s left the line peeking through the cracks.

Twenty-four hours before the race, and the motor was finally swapped out and was ready to go. Josh sent part of the crew to the rental yard to pick up the two low-boy trailers the team had reserved for rental three weeks before. Naturally the reservation system at the rental yard, which is best described as a collection of greasy Post-It notes, failed to function at peak efficiency and the reserved low-boys were mistakenly rented to someone else.

As we approached the Hummers at Pahrump, something seemed out of place. During the night, all the spare tires and wheels had been stolen from the race cars and the tach had been violently removed from the dash of the Henn's truck. At this point no one was surprised anymore. Recovering from problems like these had become the rule and not the exception. Someone commented, "I don't know what else is going to happen but we're gonna run this race if we have to power these cars with hamster wheels."

On a hot and windless Nevada morning the race began and the ground exploded into a forbidding yellow dust-cloud which just hung over the course refusing to move in either direction. (Descriptive verbs and nouns provided by GRT-Ed.) The two Pro Hummers of Terry and Eric Henn (now tach-less and spider-webbed – Ed.) and Josh and Chad Hall left the start line along with the usual gaggle of Fords in pursuit. The two Hummers already had built up a slight lead over the pesky Fords (of Foutz, Stein, and Olliges).

As the cars sped out of Pahrump, through (ghost town) Johnnie and past Pit 1 into the Amargosa Valley, Eric Henn and Josh Hall were running One-Two in class but the V-10 Ford of Greg Foutz was not far behind.

Just south of the Goldfield Pit 6 at about RM200 the Henn's starter fell off, ripping out the alternator wire and putting them out of the lead. (They lost the bolts for the starter, too. They had none of the special bolts required to re-install another starter. Therein lies the time lost. – Ed.)

The Foutz V-10 Ford took over First while Josh Hall inherited a very close Second. It would take the Henn’s just over five hours to make the necessary repairs but they would cross the finish line in Reno Fifth in class after twenty hours on the course with a third of that time spent out of the car.

For the next 200 miles the dueling Fords of Foutz and Olliges swapped the lead continually with Josh Hall but Josh had managed to build up a fifteen minute advantage before pulling into Pit 9 for the driver change. Just before arriving at the pit the alternator had stopped charging and the onboard computer had forced the transmission into second gear, which is symptomatic of a low power condition on the Hummer. ("Limp Home" Mode – Ed.) After an agonizing twenty-minute troubleshooting session in the pits, a faulty wire was located and Chad Hall pulled out in Second Place chasing Foutz’ V-10 Ford, who was simply running trouble-free except for a flat tire. Again Chad reeled him in and regained the lead … when the driver’s compartment filled with steam from boiling anti-freeze just north of Rawhide. It turned out to be a loose block-off plate on the cylinder head but by the time they got going they were in Second once again and the Ford had taken a forty-five minute lead heading for the home stretch.

During the final 100 miles the Josh Hall Hummer ran trouble-free, picking up 28 minutes on the leader and finishing the race in just over 13 ½ hours. Vegas to Reno turned out to be about twenty-five miles too short as the big Ford’s diminishing lead turned out to be just seventeen minutes in front of Hall who crossed the line in 2^nd place.

We blew up the team box van

Rusty Hamlin reported that "Greg Foutz, in the F250 SD, had one of his best moments of the race when he finally got to nerf a Hummer for the first time. The crack in the front bumper wasn't caused by that, though; he found a ditch at 85 MPH, or so he told me."

Just before Pit 12 we had to cross over a railroad track. The rear end caught the front yoke on one of the tracks and we broke a u-joint and threw the drive line.

Steve and I jumped out and changed the drive line to the spare unit that we carry on the truck. We limped into Pit 12. There the crew finished the repairs and replaced a broken U-joint retainer. Now we only had about fifteen minutes on the second place Hummer and we pressed on to the finish which was only about thirty miles away. During the altercation with the railroad tracks the torque converter locked up and would stay locked for the duration. From here we cruised on to the finish line to take the win by twenty-two minutes over the (Henn) Hummer.

This victory so sweet with the new F250. With that only being the third race on the new truck, our whole team is still jumping up and down. We did however leave a substantial portion of our winnings at the local lounge in Reno, but the team deserved that....

Greg won TEN THOUSAND US DOLLARS from Ford! How much of that DID the Hilton get?

Three Fords and three Hummers finished … leaving the field open for another desert duel to resolve the tie.

Larkin Wight & Scott Anderson pulled a 4th in class and 36th Bike OA Click Image for Larger

EL CHISMOSO
Steve Barlow threw a celebration bash at the Reno Hilton. Larkin went.



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