Even with the thermometer hitting triple digits in the Nevada desert, racers were coming in hotter.

Qualifying for the Vegas to Reno took place Wednesday. While smooth sailing for the likes of Preston Campbell and Joe Terrana, others were flying through the air instead. The rash of rollovers got so bad (the sight lap alone had three) that the session ended up running behind schedule, though everyone managed to get their times in eventually.

Trey Gibbs, who qualified 14th in Group 3 for Trick and 6100 Spec Trucks, pointed out the course was especially soft and “chewed up” such that his focus was more on ensuring the truck was still in “one piece” by the time he finished.

Hunter Miller hit a rut just a hundred yards before the finish, causing him to roll. While his brother Cody’s initial impression was that he “wadded it pretty bad,” a deeper dive by Hunter and co-driver Andrew Short found the damage was mostly to parts that were bolted on and could be easily swapped out.

Even the bikes weren’t safe from trouble. A bump in the ground launched Trevor Hunter off his bike and flipping into the sand, where he laid until Axel Pearson and Bryce Stavron came to help him. Hunter was sharing the #N57 bike with Hayden Hintz.

As for those with a bit more luck, defending two-wheel winner Campbell topped the bikes in convincing fashion alongside SCORE Pro Moto points leader Tyler Lynn. Pearson, winner of the Silver State 300 in May, was second and narrowly head of the #N1 with SCORE stars Shane Logan, Arturo Salas Jr., and Ciaran Naran.

V2R bike star Ricky Brabec qualified 20th in Group 3 in his race debut on four wheels. Due to the delays, he was unable to join the sight lap.

In Group 2 for UTVs, Terrana and his Can-Am Maverick R beat back a convoy of Polaris RZRs in Brock Heger, Cayden MacCachren, and Mitch Guthrie. 2024 V2R UTV winner Josh Row’s teammate and Driver of Record Preston Axford set the 13th quickest time.

Ryan Parrette topped Group 4 of Class 4400 Ultra4 cars ahead of Casey Currie. Currie, while satisfied with his effort, was hampered somewhat by brake issues that caused the transmission to suddenly go into neutral.

“By the time I figured out what was going on, I got lost in time,” Currie commented. “But race day is a long race, so she’s good.”

The Vegas to Reno will commence on Friday.

Qualifying leaders

Group	Number	Competitor of Record	Total Time
Group 1	N304	Preston Campbell	5:17.502
Group 2	T898	Joe Terrana	4:58.639
Group 3	38	Mitchell Johnson	4:53.518
Group 4	4840	Ryan Parrette	5:16.000

Featured image credit: Hunter Miller