The motorcycles may still have reign on the checkered flag in desert racing, but the big news is the big-buck trucks have taken a back seat to the prowess of the open-wheeled buggies, which have reemerged from a hiatus to dominate the fashionably tougher and tighter courses being carved by promoters.

Dale Ebberts drove his Fat Performance Toyota-powered Jimco through a pack of 17 starters ahead of him for an overall four-wheel victory in the 2001 Vegas to Reno with a time 10 hours 13 minutes and 6 seconds and an average speed of 51.48 MPH.

The Best in the Desert/Casey Folks-carved course was said to be the roughest in V2R history. "It's brutal - rocks everywhere. It's amazing that these tires could hold up to such abuse," said Ebberts in the cold of the Reno finish line. "I got to hand it to the B.F. Goodrich for this."

Ebberts never lifted from the left seat of his Jimco, powering through the dusty 526-mile course on a motor that had gone the entire length of the SCORE Baja 2000 as well the MDR Kartek 400 without a rebuild. He currently sits fourth in class points at 225.

Troy Herbst, in his Ford-powered Smith-built Truggy, finished second in the Unlimited Buggy Class with a time of 10:56:14 and now sits second in points at 435 going into the Las Vegas 200.

Mark Weyrich, fresh from a Tonopah 300 class win, is up front in points with 529 and finished fifth in class and a stale 51st overall.

To the disappointment to series sponsor, FoMoCo, and the race-favored Trophy Trucks, Kyle Taylor and "Shotgun Smokey" drove their Chevy Class 8 truck to an overall truck finish with a time of 10 hours 17 minutes and 44 seconds and an average speed of 51.09 MPH.

Among those engaged in the three-way tie for the championship, Rob MacCachren drove his Stock Mini Ford Ranger half way into the race only to hand it off to Las Vegas' Team Ford owner Steve Olliges to drive it to another victory. MacCachren jumped ship to hop in his SNORE 1600 car and drive it toward another win also another overall series championship.