BITD: Showdown in the desert in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada - The Best In The Desert Racing Association is getting ready for the last race of the 2003 "Silver State Series." The Las Vegas "200" is almost here! Saturday, December 6, 2003, the off-road race community will have the opportunity to race on a loop course, the 4th 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, people enjoy coming to Las Vegas and the Las Vegas "200" has become a very popular event," says Folks.

Last year's top winners in the Open Pro Motorcycle Class were Destry Abbott and Shane Esposito in 4:21:06, in the Quad Pro Class, 1st Place winners were Doug Eichner and William Yokley in 5:06:47. In the Car & Truck Division 1st place and overall winners were Damen Jefferies and Casey Jefferies in 4:14:40, and in the 1500 Unlimited Class the winners were Gary Weyhrich and Mark Weyhrich in 4:25:38.

Since this is the last race of the 2003 "Silver State Series" it also means that this race is critical as far as the year-end points championships go. Some of the close points races to watch are in the Open Pro Class between Destry Abbot/Shane Esposito (220 pts), riding for Kawasaki Team Green and Johnny Campbell/Steve Hengeveld, (204 pts), riding for American Honda. In the Quad Pro Class it is a close race between three teams, Wayne Matlock/Danny Prather (211 pts) and Doug Eichner/John Gregory (206 pts pts) and Jimmy Stephensen/Michael Cafro (199 pts), just remember, anything can happen to change these Championship Titles on Saturday, December 6, 2003!

In the Car & Truck Division the close races are in the 1400 Class between Kyle Taylor/Smokey McKeil (169 pts) and Darren Skilton (148 pts). The 1200 ProTruck Class is always exciting to watch and this year is no different. It will be a battle to the end with only a 3 point difference between Rick L. Johnson (140 pts) and John Becker (137 pts). There is only a 12 point difference in the 1500 Class between Mary Weyhrich/Gary Weyhrich (186 pts) and Chuck Hovey (174 pts.) In the 8000 Class Curt LeDuc is leading with a slight margin with (135 pts) and Keith Moore (129 pts), a 6 point difference. 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 for the racers when they 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 for MC/Q, and two alternate pits for C/T, easy for pitting and easy for spectating! Spectating has been approved by the Bureau of Land Management and it should be a fun day! Spectators will not need a Pit Pass to get in to the designated Pit Areas.

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 5, 2003, from 10am to 5pm. 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.

-www.bitd.com