08/25/2024
2024 Casey Folks Vegas to Reno Race recap.
What a promotion! What a race! The organization, course layout, and ex*****on from Best in the Desert is something all promoters can learn from. Humble and to the point! Done almost seamlessly as the race travels 555 miles from point to point!
Bright and early on Thursday morning, Brian and Aaron pick me up and onto a flight we go. We land in Vegas mid morning and Uber right to tech and registration. We get our bands and transponders meanwhile the TWC Racing crew get the cars thru the tech line. We finish out the day, and head back to the hotel to rest up for the race.
Race day is upon us as we scramble to get all of the trucks, trailers and race cars out to the desert to stage for take off. Gavin Andreoni and I assess getting my foot into a race suit, and like any good fabricator, he cut chopped and fit until I was suited up and ready go! I could hardly wait in anticipation for remote pit 7, when I would get my opportunity to mingle with the desert!
Aaron and Brian took off at around 11:30 am and we were off in the chase truck to beat them to remote pit 1. They came in to rp 1 with overheating issues. It would run at 80 percent but would boil beyond that. We headed on to rp 2 and when they got there, the engine was cutting power down as they were overheated but still moving. We took the time, to get the car cooled down, but noticed that the radiator wasn’t quite as hot as it should have been, and we knew there was either an air bubble in the system or the head gasket had let go. Gary sacrificed his hand to pull the radiator cap, and the car took more than a gallon of water! We got them going again, and they reported back that the car was moving great at 💯 and everyone’s optimism was back up! We went to rp 3 and waited but there were no comms or cell reception, and after the pit closed, the safety team came and talked to us and were able to communicate to them with a cell phone booster and we were informed that the engine had let go at race mile 80. Disappointing? Absolutely! However,
Trent Roberts is still racing in the 4Runner so our focus shifts as Gavin falls back to recover the can am and we start to chase Trent. We get to rp 4 and hang out for about an hour before we hear that the 4Runner is out of the race! Double bummer!!
We figure out the extraction point and we head that way to go recover Trent. The 4 runner gets loaded up around midninght and we are on our way the 3 hours to Reno where the next hotel room is. Wiped out, Gavin and I make our way up to the room and can finally catch some much needed rest!
Although, the outcome wasn’t what anyone would have hoped for with this race, there was so much that was learned, so many new friends and connections made, and figuring out the logistics of a real race team! For the last week, I have been fixated on strategies and efficiencies to help improve an Offroad team moving forward! A race can be lost in so many different ways, and understanding that from the opposite perspective can help us figure out how not fail on something simple or easily overlooked.
Huge thanks to Trent and Kent Jones for giving me the opportunity! I’ll never forget Kent asking me twice with a straight face if I was completely insane, and me just smiling and saying yep, and then him nodding and saying well alright! That’s the confidence and inspiration that will live in my heart and fuel my passion.
Also huge thanks my friend Don and X Comp Tires!
They went out on a limb for me and I’m looking forward to helping to promote such an awesome all around tire. Even though we didn’t finish, the car had no flat tires and the sidewalls still look new. They will go on to be used at the next race!!
Huge thank you to my Dad, my wife, and my kiddo!
The support, the patience, the frustrations, the missed family functions. I love you guys!
Also huge thank you to everyone else who has made this season possible•
