Las Vegas, Nevada - The 2001 "Vegas to Reno" off-road race took place Friday, September 28, 2001, and the last vehicle finished Saturday morning around 8 am. The winners started to come across the finish line in 9 hours and 21 minutes and some of the less fortunate needed the entire 20 hours. It was an adventure for all, every racer had a story of how they raced across the State of Nevada and how they made it to the finish line. Sam Berri, racing a Mirage in the 1500 Class had one of the most inventive ways of making it, his transmission drive flange broke at Pit #6, mile marker 201, and they used a bungee cord to hold the drive flange and transmission together, 326 miles with a bungee cord. Who says you need to spend a lot of money on a drive flange! The racers were exhausted when they finished, but also very proud! When Casey Folks asked the racers at the finish line if they got their money's worth they said, "You bet, that was unbelievable!" Of the 226 race vehicles that left the line, 146 finished! That's a great finishing rate for a long, endurance race of this magnitude!

Top Car & Truck Winners

1500 Class - Unlimited Car
1st Place and 1st Overall - Dale Ebberts (Canyon Lake, CA), Ernie Castro Sr. (Newport Beach, CA), Louie Ortiz (Fullerton, CA), Ernie Castro Jr. (Orange, CA) driving a Jimco, finished in 10:13:06.

2nd Place and 3rd Overall - Troy Herbst, Ed Herbst, Tim Herbst (Las Vegas, NV), Todd Gorsch (Huntington Beach, CA), driving a Ford Powered Smith-Built Truggy, finished in 10:23:09.

1400 Class - Trick Truck
1st Place and 4th Overall - Damen Jefferies, Casey Jefferies, Lee Perfect (Oak Hills, CA), John Jernagen (Apple Valley, CA), driving a Ford, finished in 10:56:14.

2nd Place and 6th Overall - Brian Collins, Bill Goerke (Las Vegas, NV), Larry Ragland (Phoenix, AZ), driving a Chevrolet, finished in 11:01:01.

8000 Class -
1st Place and 2nd Overall - Kyle Taylor (San Jacinto, CA), Gordon "Smokey" McKiel (Palm Springs, CA), driving a Chevy, finished in 10:17:44.

2nd Place and 10th Overall - Mark Beeler, Richard Franklin, Tim Beeler (Phoenix, AZ), Brian Dugan (Camp Verde, AZ) driving a Ford, finished in11:48:58.

1200 Class - Protruck
1st Place and 7th Overall - Kevin McGillivray (Agua Dulce, CA), Nils Castillo (Westlake Village, CA), Don Angel (Mesa, AZ), Louis Navarro (Canyon Country, CA) driving a Chevrolet Protruck, finished in11:25:55.

2nd Place and 8th Overall - Scott Steinberger (Cyrpess, CA), Rick Johnson (Barstow, CA) Pat Bell (Lomita, CA), Barrie Thompson (Hesperia, CA) driving a Ford Protruck, finished in 11:28:46.

Top Motorcycle Winners

Open Pro Class
1st Place and 1st Overall - Johnny Campbell (San Clemente, CA), Tim Staab (San Diego, CA), riding a Honda, finished in 9:21:49.

2nd Place and 2nd Overall - Shane Esposito (Reno, NV), Andy Grider (Los Olivos, CA), riding a Kawasaki, finished in 9:22:20.

Over-30 Pro Class
1st Place and 5th Overall - The brother team of Darrol Brown (Yerington, NV), Kevin Brown (Reno, NV), riding a Honda, finished in 10:15:41.

250 Pro Class
1st Place and 6th Overall - Danny Cooper (Las Vegas, NV), David Pearson (Panaca, NV), riding a Yamaha, finished in 10:35:13.

4-Stroke Pro Class
1st Place and 8th Overall - Justin Drake (Yerington, NV), Todd Davis (Carson City, NV), riding a Yamaha, finished in 10:42:27.

Over-40 Pro Class
1st Place and 10th Overall - Ross Williams (Las Vegas, NV), Bill Maxim (Apple Valley, CA), riding a KTM, finished in 11:22:36.

Top Quad Winners

1st Place and 1st Overall - Steve Beilman (El Cajon, CA), Greg Stuart (Yucaipa, CA), riding a Yamaha, finished in 11:50:05.

2nd Place and 2nd Overall - William Yokley (Thompkinsville, KY), Michael Cafro (Murrieta, CA), riding a Roll Design, finish in 13:26:00.

3rd Place and 3rd Overall - Mike Johnson (San Diego, CA), Dwight Lowell (Tujunga, CA), riding a Honda, finished in 13:32:27.

Vegas to Reno:
[Results] [Press Release] [Photo Galleries]

For more information, call or write:
Best In The Desert Racing Association
3475 Boulder Highway
Las Vegas, NV 89121
(702) 457-5775, (702) 241-6431 fax
www.bitd.com