BITD: Las Vegas: Season finale preview

2002 LAS VEGAS "200"
"Showdown in the Desert"

Las Vegas, Nevada - The Best In The Desert Racing Association is getting ready for the last race of the 2002 "Silver State Series." The Las Vegas "200" is almost here! Saturday, December 7, 2002, the off-road race community will have the opportunity to race on a loop course, the only loop race Best In The Desert promotes, the 3rd annual Las Vegas "200"! The Las Vegas "200" will also feature a separate racecourse for the Motorcycle & Quad community and a separate racecourse for the Car & Truck community! The Motorcycle & Quad race community will race a 65-mile loop three times and the Car & Truck community will race a 75-mile loop three times. This is a different format than the other "Silver State Series" races but Casey Folks always finds a way to create something new. "I like to create different racecourses and give the racers a variety of challenges. During my racing career I preferred long distance, endurance types of races, and that is what I have tried to create in Best In The Desert, but after the first Las Vegas "200" course change we ended up with a loop race with one central pit and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The racers loved it and the pit crews loved it. I got a lot of comments from everyone about how much they liked watching the Motorcycles & Quads race and also the Motorcycle & Quad community stayed around and watched the Car & Truck race! I try to offer a race series with variety and this has worked out for everyone," says Folks.

Last year's top winners in the Open Pro Motorcycle Class were Shane Esposito and Kellon Welch, in the Quad Pro Class, 1st Place winners were Doug Eichner and John Gregory. In the Car & Truck Division 1st place and overall winners were John Gaughan, and BJ Richardson, in the 1500 Unlimited Class and Damen Jefferies and Casey Jefferies in the 1400 Trick Truck Class.

Since this is the last race of the 2002 "Silver State Series" it also means that this race is critical as far as the year-end points contenders go; per race 1st place receives 225 points, 2nd place receives 210 points and 3rd place receives 196 points. Some of the close points races to watch are in the Open Pro Class between Destry Abbot/Shane Esposito (1306 pts), riding for Kawasaki Team Green and Ty Davis/Russell Pearson (1225 pts), riding for Yamaha, with 81 points between them. In the Quad Pro Class it is a close race between the Doug Eichner/William Yokley (1110 pts) and Jimmy Stephensen/Michael Cafro (1015 pts), 95 pts between them, but the race for 3rd Place is a bit closer between Mike Johnson (866 pts) and Allen White (838 pts), only 28 pts between these two Quad Teams; just remember, anything can happen to change these Championship Titles on Saturday, December 7, 2002!

In the Car & Truck Division the close races are in the 1000 Class between Steve Strobel (604 pts) and Jim Dizney (579 pts), only a 25 point difference. The 1400 Trick Truck Class is always exciting to watch and this year is no different. It will be a battle to the end with only a 69 point difference between Damen Jefferies (646 pts) and Kyle Taylor (577 pts), who has moved to the Trick Truck Class this year from a very successful Class 8000 Championship Win in 2001. Is Kyle going to take that #1 plate away from Damen? There is only a 92 point difference in the 1500 Class between Gary Weyhrich (539 pts) and Sam Berri (447 pts.) In the 4100 Class the battle is once again between Marc Stein (645 pts) Rod Hall (631 pts), John Sunderland (618 pts) and Steve Scaroni (604 pts) There is only 45 points between 1st Place and 4th position, anything can happen in this 4100 Class race! Another very tight race is in the 3100 Class, it's almost a 3-way tie for first, Anthony Napoleon (646 pts), Dave Turner (631 pts) and Mike Falkosky (631 pts), a mere 15-points. In the 8000 Class Curt LeDuc is leading (675 pts) and Michael Ortiz (616 pts), a 59 point difference. In the 8100 Class race for the Championship is Chad Hall (645 pts) and Manny Esquerra (633 pts), battling it out for 12 points! The Las Vegas "200" race not only means a lot to the racers vying for a Championship, but to all of the race teams that have raced the entire "Silver State Series" and fought with blood, sweat and tears just to get to the finish! It isn't an easy sport, but it is a sport that provides a great deal of pride when you see that checkered flag!

An exciting aspect of the Las Vegas "200" racecourse is that it is going to be "spectator" friendly! The racecourse is designed to have one central pit, and one alternate pit, easy for pitting and easy for spectating! Spectating has been approved by the Bureau of Land Management and it should be a fun day! Please get a Pit Pass at Registration on Friday, December 6, 2002, at the Suncoast Hotel.

The Host Hotel for the Las Vegas "200" is the beautiful Suncoast Hotel, off of US-95 at the Summerlin exit in Las Vegas. Registration, Technical Inspection and Contingency will be held Friday, December 6, 2002, from 10am to 6pm. On Saturday, the Las Vegas "200" starts and finishes near the Jean exit, off of I-15 South. The Motorcycles, Quads, Cars and Trucks all start at approximately 7 am. For more information, contact Diane DeLauer at the Best In The Desert office at (702) 457-5775, fax (702) 641-2431, or email bitd@worldnet.att.net and our web site is www.bitd.com

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