Vegas to Reno Rocks Nevada – ‘BEBO’ aka Andy McMillin Leads Off Road Racers in the #31 McMillin Homes Truck
Tonopah, Nevada – The first day of the BITD Vegas to Reno 3-day desert race is in the books and the Nevada desert handed out severe punishment to a host of the off road racing nation. In fact, as of 6:30 p.m. less than 50 cars and trucks had finished the first 333-miles of the 2009 BITD Vegas to Reno race.
Leading the field in his #31 McMillin Homes/BFGoodrich/FOX Racing Shox trophy truck was Baja 1000 champion, Andy McMillin and his co-driver, FOX Racing Shox Race Support Manager, Todd Tenbroek. On Tuesday afternoon in Primm, Nevada, the San Diego off road racer set the fast time of the day taking the pole in Thursday’s first of three combined days of racing.
McMillin charged off the line in clean air and by race mile 99 at checkpoint 3 he had a solid 5-minute lead over the entire car and truck classes. McMillin had no problems all day long as he and Tenbroek ran a clean and strategic race from the beginning.
Andy McMillin has set the bar high and is no doubt the one to beat here at this epic race.
However, the day was filled with intense carnage all along the race course as mile after mile of the challenging Nevada desert took its toll on the nation’s top racers. Early in the contest the Baja 1000 Class 1 winners, John Herder and Chuck Dempsey , suffered an electrical issue that forced them to swap out the entire engine harness before being able to get back in the contest and that problem have pushed them to the back of the finishing field.
Steve Stroebel suffered a broken third member before Pit 3 at racemile 99 and the Weyhrich Trophy Truck was sidelined at Pit 2 with mechanical failure that force them to put the truck on the trailer ending their run for this year’s Truck victory.
King of the Hammers Promoter, Dave Cole, put his just debuted rock racer into the Nevada silt and he ended up on a trailer early in the day.
It has been reported to Dirtnewz staffers that the reigning BITD Truck Champion, Jerry Whelchel/Chet Huffman’s truck was reportedly on a trailer after the halfway point of Thursday’s race.
The #52 Hummer trophy truck driven by Robert Everhart was on a trailer early as the US Army sponsored race truck succumbed to the rocks and dirt of Nevada.
Hot temperatures and dusty conditions barraged pit crews along the entire course and in the later afternoon near Tonopah, Nevada the temperatures declined at the higher elevation. The elevation in Tonopah, NV is approximately 6290 feet.
The 3-day format of this year’s Vegas to Reno race allowed racers to stage into a “free zone” after crossing the checkered flag but once they drove into the work area each time only had 1 hour to service/prep their race vehicles for tomorrow’s race.
While in the freezone only the driver and co-drivers could evaluate what needed to be done in the work zone and many teams had specific crew-members ready to work on different components of the race car. Any extra time spent working on their race vehicles is applied to Friday’s overall finishing time. So teams are using clear cut strategy in the work zone tonight. In fact, the work zone was so overloaded that teams waited in the free zone for others to finish.
The entire town of Tonopah, Nevada is filled with some 10,000 off road racing enthusiasts that have lined US 95 on both sides of the street with over 1000 motorhomes, trailers and race support vehicles.
The beer is flowing in Camp Adventure and the night is early as fans and race teams have come together under the clear night skies and beautiful evening temperatures in downtown Tonopah, Nevada.
Check out the photos and video galleries published on Dirtnewz throughout the next 5 days.
Andy McMillin RAILS #31 Trophy Truck First To Checkered Flag in Vegas to Reno Day 1 - 333 Miles
Tonopah —Andy McMillin drove his McMillin Homes #31 Trophy Truck to the checkered flag first in the 3-day desert race strewn out throughout Nevada. McMillin had a flawless day as he powered the Geiser Brothers built truck over Ballastic BJ Baldwin today. Other top finishers in physical finishing order are:
1. #31 Andy McMillin 2. #97 BJ Baldwin 3. TJ Flores 4. Harley Letner 5. Sam Berri 6. #35 Jason Voss 7. #1575 Pat Dean 8. #76 Jesse Jones/Alan Pflueger 9. #51 Cory Scheeler 10. #1588 Weyhrich 11. #71 Rick Johnson 12. #19 Tim Herbst 13. #5 Todd Jergersen
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Racers Fire Up Vegas in Preparation for Tomorrow's Day 1 of Race Action
LAS VEGAS — With Andy McMillin leading the pack at the start of tomorrow's race, racers are strategizing just how they are going to make their move on the young driver. McMillin has proved that he is no rookie here at BITD's Vegas to Reno and the hungry pack of Trick Truck drivers will have to keep their eyes open as Andy takes the clean air early tomorrow morning for the start of the three day staged event.
After speaking with many drivers in a multitude of classes it seems as the majority are looking forward to this race due to the fact that nobody has had the chance to spend endless hours prerunning the course. Casey Folks, BITD race promoter, has decided to run the race without allowing teams to prerun. Racers will get the GPS plot of the course and have to go out their blind.
Las Vegas veterans like Rob MacCachren, BJ Baldwin, Larry Job, and Steve Olligies will have a bit of an advantage as they treat this Nevada desert like their backyard. Along with a few other Las Vegas natives these drivers have grown up testing, racing and just having fun out here in the deserts of Nevada.
DIRTnewz staff spoke with Dan McMillin who mentioned that he will be letting his younger brother, Luke McMillin, start off the race in his 1600 and will then take over the driving duties for the remainder of the race as Luke will hop in to drive with a competing 1600 race team.
The 4100 class of Rock Crawlers turned racers is a full field as teams strived to get their Rock Racers ready for the longest race they have ever seen. Most of these Rock Racers are used to a less than 2 mile course of whoops combined with Rock Crawling obstacles and will be in for a big treat when the three day staged event comes to an end. Rock Crawling champion Dean Bulloch made his way through the contingency line as he prepares for a week long of fun. Most Rock Racers are here to qualify for the now famous King of the Hammers event which will take place for the third year in a row in Johnson Valley, California late in February 2010.
Stay tuned as we continue to bring you the latest action from here at contingency in Henderson, Nevada and then head to the Beatty for the start of tomorrow's race.
LAS VEGAS —Despite the scorching temperatures Andy McMilllin and co-driver Todd Tenbroek buckled into their newly painted #31 Trick Truck for what they hoped would be a top five qualifier to prepare for Thursday's start of the BITD Vegas 2 Reno Race. McMillin motored his truck to the pole position in front of the Class 1500 of Chuck Dempsey and John Herder. Chet Huffman, Pat Dean and Chuck Hovey rounded out the top five. Check out the full results HERE and stay tuned for our continuous coverage from the week long event continuing with contingency tomorrow, and the start of Day 1 in Beatty, Nevada on Thursday.
August 17, 2009 - DIRTnewz LIVE will be broadcasting every night beginning Thursday after the race to bring you the latest news and interviews with your favorite drivers as they make their way from Vegas to Reno at the 2009 Best in the Desert Vegas 2 Reno: The Long Way race this week!! DIRTnewz LIVE will begin our LIVE broadcast at 9pm nightly direct from BITD's Camp Adventure as teams and their crew work on their race vehicles, prepare for the next stage of the event and unwind with the day's race stories and adventures.
You can also tune in as DIRTnewz LIVE brings you BFG Radio. Listen to BFG Relay 12 LIVE as the race progresses throughout each stage with updates on team location, status checks and more directly from atop a descrete mountain, bringing you the updates LIVE from BITD's Vegas 2 Reno.
Stay tuned throughout the week for continuous videos, photo galleries and LIVE updates from the race.
FORT MILL, SC – (August 17, 2009) – Desert off-road racing fans can track the progress of their favorite Team General Tire drivers on Twitter and get tracking and daily updates and photos during this weekend’s epic Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno run August 19-21.
Beginning with the start of the event, race fans and followers can log onto www.twitter.com/teamgt for up-to-the-minute progress reports for all of the Team GT drivers.
August 13, 2009 - Sopwith Motorsports today announced enhancements to the program format for its popular television show, Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV, which returns to the air in December on several cable networks. The format changes are in response to fan feedback solicited by Sopwith earlier this year.
JOHNSON VALLEY, CA • AUGUST 13, 2009: Best In The Desert (BITD) is including a new class of cars for the first time ever at their 1000-mile Vegas to Reno three-day race August 20-22, 2009. Classified as Ultra4, the new King of the Hammers-style rock crawlers will be laying down all their cards.
