Herman Motorsports Sets Tone for Future
With Win at Las Vegas to Reno

October 8, 2001 -- Two wins in the past two races. Three podium appearances in the past three starts. One race away from taking the 2001 Best-In-The-Desert (BITD) Trophy Truck championship. All from a brand new truck and team that has only 1,300 miles of racing and testing under their belt. Somehow it seems all so easy...

Certainly, the recent Trophy Truck-class victory at the demanding BITD "Las Vegas to Reno" event is a good indication that Herman Motorsports is reaching for their pre-season objective of being a competitive force with their all-new, cutting-edge Ford F-150. After all, driver Damen Jefferies, with brother and co-driver Casey at his side, took the bright silver truck into the winner's circle in the longest point-to-point race in the United States. However, a closer look at the team's second consecutive desert victory reveals a more compelling tale of perseverance, bad luck and ultimate triumph.

Blessed with the very first four-wheel starting position, Jefferies outpaced the field for the first miles of the 526-mile desert endurance event. The first of several flats ensued - not normally a problem. However, the stop resulted in the team losing 12 positions. Then, just after Pit #2, the truck refused to downshift into 2nd or 1st gear - the big automatic suffering from a faulty shift module. This was not good news for Jefferies at that point in the event as the long, legendary Nevada silt beds lay just ahead.

Keeping in mind that the race still had many hours and hundreds of miles to go, the team forged on toward Reno. Trying to make up for lost time resulted in two more flats - very understandable considering the impact of the 5,250 lbs. Herman Motorsports truck hitting huge rocks and boulders at top speed.

"In truth, the special desert racing tires that BFGoodrich provides our team are more than incredible," said Jefferies after the event. "At first, you are amazed they would even last a mile under those circumstances. We were pushing really hard to make up time. Once those flats were behind us, we clicked off a nearly perfect 200 mile section in the middle of the race. Then, things got a little sideways again."

Hot in pursuit of the race leaders, Jefferies caught the Trophy Truck of Jason Baldwin. Aware of the impending pass, Baldwin clipped a boulder that severally damaged his truck's rear end - along with kicking the offending piece of Nevada landscape directly into the path of a hard charging Jefferies. The resulting collision broke two of Jefferies wheels, stranding him until fellow competitor Larry Roeseler drove by and provided the pleading driver with another spare. The Jefferies brothers took off for the final sprint to the finish line.

In the end, the duo overcame all of the obstacles to post their second consecutive BITD Trophy Truck victory. With the performance, Herman Motorsports moves one important step closer toward claiming the coveted 2001 BITD championship. Currently, the team enjoys an 80-point lead as it heads toward the final race of the year, the Las Vegas 200 scheduled for Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2001. The team is so focused that they've decided to forego their planned assault on the SCORE Baja 1000 in order to better prepare for the BITD season finale.

"Right after our team finished a well-deserved celebration in Reno, we collectively realized that there was still work we could do to raise our performance several notches higher," explained Rob Herman, president, Herman Motorsports. "All of us love going to Baja, but we must remain true to our original commitment of winning this championship for Ford, Ford Motorsports and the rest of our corporate partners. Putting anything less than our best effort into the Las Vegas 200 would be going against that very clear objective."

Herman Motorsports enjoys corporate support from Ford, BFGoodrich, Sway-A-Way and Off-Road.com. For additional team information and sponsorship information, please visit their new website at www.HermanMotorsports.com.