On March 30, 1996, Casey Folks and Best in the Desert hosted the inaugural Vegas to Reno. The 506-miler, the longest off-road race in the history of the United States, was won by Ty Davis and Paul Krause on their Kawasaki KX500 in 8 hours and 45 minutes.

On August 14, 2026, the American Off-Road Racing Championship hosted the 30th Casey Folks Vegas to Reno. Krause’s son Brandon took the start, one of many who injected some rally raid flavor to one of the States’ most iconic desert races. While desert racing is a different discipline from raids, the 2026 Dakar Rally rookie—set to return in 2027—was joined by a star-studded cast from the other side that included Preston Campbell and Skyler Howes, Mitch Guthrie, Brian Baragwanath and Mathieu Serradori, Brock Heger, Ciaran Naran, and Ryan Nariño. (Yes, Bryce Menzies and Robby Gordon count too.)

If only he could’ve made it back to Vegas with them as brake and sensor failures on his bike knocked him out of the race.

Wait, “back to Vegas”? Isn’t this the “Vegas to Reno”?

Correctamundo on both accounts, my friend. To celebrate the race’s pearl anniversary, the AORC set up the course in reverse starting in Dayton, 42 miles away from Reno, and finishing 505 miles south in Crystal, a stone’s throw away from Las Vegas. It’s such a change-up from usual that the V2R Legends Rally, a fun run that doubles as pre-running, was held in July with the goal of acclimating everyone to the opposite direction. Rain up north added another element to where Howes remarked it was “probably the first time in V2R history that you didn’t want to start first” because of the mud.

The festivities were, as expected, plentiful. The Reno Arch hosted the Off-Road Festival and Jeremy Renner waved the green flag as grand marshal. Meanwhile, Ford and Century Racing decided the anniversary would be the perfect time and place to see how their Dakar-hardened Raptor T1+ and CR6-T fare in the American desert.

They did more than that. Although both arrived in rally trim and assigned to separate classes from everyone else, they each finished in the top five overall. Heck, Ford nearly won the whole damn thing.

The Raptor’s V8 was capped at 170 km/h since it still fully complied with FIA regulations. On the other hand, the CR6-T’s V6 engine was not restricted, which allowed Baragwanath to hit top speeds of 224 km/h, quicker than the car has ever gone in a rally. NTD Racing, who specializes in Trophy Truck builds, served as Century’s partner while M-Sport conducted testing for the Raptor with its other W2RC drivers Mattias Ekström, Nani Roma, and Carlos Sainz in the week leading up to the race.

With Guthrie in the Raptor and Baragwanth in the Century, the duo were the fastest cars in Group 2 qualifying.

The rally setup kept the Raptor from hitting its full potential, but that might have been the better move in hindsight. Many had been let down when they learned the Raptor wouldn’t go toe-to-toe with the 4WD Unlimited Trucks. The latter, as powerful as they are, struggled on Friday. Menzies was taken out when he tried to nerf Nic Whetstone, but the contact ended up splitting the transmission cooler in two. RJ Anderson had a strong truck yet he could only finish runner-up in class due to an early flat and getting lost. AORC points leader Robby and Max Gordon were stopped for a while too.

Class victors Tracy Graf and Justin Bean Smith had their share of trouble from the beginning. Smith started the race in the #58, only to discover the tracker and push-to-pass system were not working properly. The latter meant he and Graf couldn’t sound the accompanying siren to ask the bikes ahead to yield, meaning they had to slow down and hope the rider turned around and noticed them. Anderson had a similar story in which he incredulously yelled at the rider to “get the fuck out of the way” as he passed by.

These cases raised discussion on whether the V2R should be split so that bikes and quads raced on one day followed by cars and trucks on the next, though opponents feel it would be a mess for track workers to pull double duty. A separate course a la NORRA might be a hassle in terms of securing land permits from the BLM too. Others suggested increasing the gap in start time between bikes and four-wheelers, an approach that SCORE takes to ensure the first trucks don’t encounter the last bikes until much later in the day; for the V2R, bikes hit the course at 5:45 AM followed by Unlimited drivers at 10 AM and Limited at noon. Another idea proposed is to change the tracking equipment to something like the Sentinel used in rallies.

Whatever choice is made by the Martellis and BITD, it’s obvious that action is likely needed in the name of safety. The auto–moto gap isn’t as it was in the 20th century, when the 932-strong field at the inaugural V2R included 600 bikes that could hang with most trucks and cars. Someone like Alex Kollitz—who showed up in 1996 on a Honda XR600 alongside Doug McKinnon and Ricardo Travassos, guys he never met but answered his request for teammates via email distribution list because they knew how to ride it, and was on pace to win his class despite doctor’s orders to stand down due to a broken ankle before the bike gave out—probably could’ve kept a safe distance that can’t be replicated today.

Besides the overtaking debacle, Graf also lost front-wheel drive for the final 80 miles. Still, he was able to finish the race in sixth overall and win Unlimited Truck 4WD. It’s his second straight V2R class win after Trick Truck in 2025, which was split into 2WD and 4WD following BITD’s merger with UNLTD to create the AORC.

Graf initially finished fourth overall, but was relegated to sixth when he received a five-minute penalty for speeding. Whetstone, the first truck to finish, got a minute added for the same infraction that dropped him from third to fourth. Dave Mason Jr. and Cameron Steele went from sixth to third in their new TSCO Gen-2 truck, along with runner-up for 2WD Unlimited Truck, thanks to a 3:33 time credit for helping a crashed rider.

With the shuffling, Baragwanath and Serradori found their CR6-T going from eighth overall all the way up to fifth. In a way, the V2R ended up being a repeat of January’s Dakar Rally. Like Dakar, the team had a logistical snag when the CR6 was offloaded by Turkish Airlines prematurely, so it was flown by cargo plane to Chicago before being shipped to Denver where the pallet of parts was waiting.

Serradori, who won Stage 10 at Dakar in the Century CR7, started the race with team manager Julien Hardy as navigator. However, they discovered their intercom and GPS map weren’t working just two minutes before the start, and it took some quick conversations on WhatsApp to reset them until they got on their ways. Serradori avoided trouble save for three tire punctures before trading off with Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer, who brought it home safely.

“It was quite something experiencing speeds of up to 225 km/h for the first time in a CR car,” said Baragwanath. “The terrain was a good mix of fast riverbeds and beautiful mountain passes. At some places, we were over 2000m of elevation and 38°C. A good test for the engine, turbos and cooling systems pushing it to the limit in some places.”

While the Raptor and Century are actual rally raid vehicles, their occupants weren’t the only V2R success stories with experience in the discipline. Most notably, the bike battle was one between raiders.

Ciaran Naran is a desert racer first and foremost, but has dabbled in cross-country rallies since 2024 and won the Sonora Rally in March. Opposite him was the #N3 Honda split between Campbell and Howes: Campbell is a Sonora winner who currently races for Honda’s W2RC outfit, while two-time V2R winner Howes recently departed the team but still maintains a close relationship with the brand and has teased doing the Baja 1000 on his 2002 Honda XR650R. Naran was joined on the #N2 Ducati by Cody Simpson and Callum Norton, the latter an Australian who finished third in class at the 50th-anniversary Finke Desert Race in June.

The Honda led the way early before falling to third behind the #N2 and defending V2R winner Shane Logan of Norman Racing. Naran had lost some time because of a closed gate and a “small mechanical issue” while pitting, but made up the difference soon after. A bike problem ultimately knocked the Norman Husqvarna out of contention and down to ninth overall, while Norton worked his way past Howes for the lead and eventual win. The #N2 won by just 33 seconds, with the final margin of victory being 1:33.478 after the #N3 was handed a 1:30 penalty.

“The battles with Preston Campbell, Skyler Howes, Shane Logan, and Daemon Woolslayer were absolutely epic,” Naran commented. “That’s what desert racing is all about—fast miles, tough competition, and fighting all the way to the finish.”

Nariño was a last-second entrant, deciding to do the V2R as extra prep for his Dakar debut next January. Riding solo in Ironman Expert as the closest conditions he’ll get to Malle Moto at Dakar, he suffered a broken fork seal 50 miles in that forced him to ride the rest of the way without front brakes. He “kept a nice cruise on to the finish” and was sixth in class.

Heger, like Naran, is a desert guy first who does Dakar every year but needs no introduction on either front. The twice reigning Dakar SSV winner retired from the 2025 V2R, ending his legendary UTV win streak at seven, but returned with a vengeance in 2026 as he beat Phil Blurton for the UTV and Limited outright win. All the more impressive, his Polaris RZR was seventh overall with Graf being the only 4WD Unlimited Truck in front of him, meaning he also beat every Spec truck.

Zach Lumsden and his father Craig respectively finished fourth and tenth in UTV Pro Turbo. The duo did the 2025 Dakar Rally, and their exploits there were covered in the documentary Driven by Dreams that premiered the same day as the V2R. Corbin Leaverton, another Dakarian, was 13th in UTV Pro while 2020 Dakar UTV winner Casey Currie was leading Class 1 Unlimited in his Trophy Jeep until a flat forced him to settle for third.

The youngest team in the field was the #317 consisting of 15-year-old Tanner Sutton, Jax Freeman (14), and Ryder Wermes (16) on a bike that’s even older than any of them: a 2006 Honda CRF450X. The teens finished 23rd overall and eighth in Open Expert.

But at the very front of the order was Eric Hardin. He looked as if he’d be battling with Brent Fox for both the 2WD and overall win until the latter DNF’d. Unlimited Truck Spec star Kyle Jergensen was attacked by mechanical gremlins that dropped him to 17th in class.

Hardin’s truck, on the other hand, blew by Whetstone for the class win and held off Guthrie for the overall; his nephew Cole joined in the fun too by taking the Spec victory. Although coming up just short for the overall win, Guthrie was still more than happy to score such a strong finish in what’s basically a rally car.

Former F1 team boss Gérard López, competing in the Legends class, had a tough day at the office as his SUV-bodied Brenthel struggled with fuel pump issues before rolling. Mike Marsal was taken out by a ditch, but salvaged a 19th for Spec even if he was all the way back in 124th.

With the V2R celebrating an anniversary, it was natural for old-school vehicles to show up. Alas, they had as much luck as their modern counterparts. William Hunter, the only driver in the Vintage class, retired as did Vintage Open’s Victor Borg. Cameron Becker and Nicholas Bradley, the two entrants in 1983–1995 Sportsman Motorcycle, exited too. Josh Bradfield’s 1979 Ford F-250 was the only one to complete the race.

“That’s my idea of off-road racing,” Baja UTV racer Jim Borden remarked on Bradfield’s team, which also includes Tyler Bradfield and Chance and Kraidon Lee. “Most everything else is like NASCAR. Cubic dollars and no relevance to the public as far as something they could build.”

Two bikes were disqualified. The #O19 of ironman rider Jordan Benz got popped because the chase crew went backward on the course, while the #F22 Family Expert team of Emil Ovrid was caught cutting the track.

Besides the Raptor T1+, Ford also supported the F-150 Raptor of eventual Stock Truck winner Brad Lovell, the Ranger Raptor of recently-crowned Pikes Peak Ultra4 winner Loren Healy and Vaughn Gittin Jr., F-150 Raptor R of John and Nate Williams, and Bronco Raptor 4600 of Bailey Campbell. The Ranger Raptor and Raptor R bowed out with mechanical failures.

“Off-road racing strikes again,” Gittin quipped.

Class winners

4-Wheel

Class	Overall	Number	Driver of Record	Total Time
Class 1/2-1600	140	1637	Sean Tuite	14:37:39.715
Class 1 Unlimited	25	183U	Raul Gomez	8:17:08.764
Class 7F	131	716F	Chris Forsberg	13:26:09.738
Class 10	48	1098	Dustin Miller	8:51:04.666
Class 11	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
Class 12	133	1210	Mark Walker	13:44:07.311
Class 1450	91	1499	Jordan Maxwell	10:33:22.000
Hybrid Production	137	H111	Skylar Watson	14:10:08.967
Jeepspeed Outlaws	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
Jeepspeed Trophy	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
Open Sportsman	130	8135	Nick Gust	13:25:20.619
Rally Raid 2WD	5	RR288	Brian Baragwanath	7:50:48.274
Rally Raid 4WD	2	RR228	Mitch Guthrie	7:43:49.379
Rock400 Unlimited	110	4417	Mark McCleerey	11:47:23.418
Rock600 Stock	100	4628	Alex Fleming	11:18:31.728
Rock800 Legends	102	4866	Eric Wikle	11:25:59.846
Rock900 Pro Open UTV	134	S4907	Payton Dumford	13:50:42.594
Stock Production Truck Full	83	888	Brad Lovell	10:08:47.397
Stock Production Truck Mini/Mid-Size	144	7368	Gregory Pheasant	15:29:43.389
TrophyLite	117	6064	Zak Ketcham	12:23:26.098
Unlimited Truck 2WD	1	79	Eric Hardin	7:37:55.986
Unlimited Truck 4WD	6	58	Tracy Graf	7:51:14.303
Unlimited Truck Legends	28	L15	David Ziegler	8:24:21.358
Unlimited Truck Spec	9	279	Cole Hardin	7:54:25.112
UTV Pro	7	T96	Brock Heger	7:51:29.311
UTV Pro Normally Aspirated	75	R6	Alexia Leaming	9:55:35.370
UTV Pro Stock	89	S1	Justin Von Metal	10:19:33.810
UTV Pro Stock Modified	72	Z930	Todd Zuccone	9:47:21.254
UTV Pro Turbo	80	B43	Steve Allen	10:05:32.345
UTV Sportsman	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
UTV Stock	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
UTV Stock Modified	104	UM18	Brian Fulcher	11:32:11.728
Vintage	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
Vintage Open	127	V276	Josh Bradfield	13:10:33.010

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider of Record	Total Time
1983–1995 Sportsman Motorcycle	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
399 Amateur Motorcycle	64	X267	Keenan Prechtel	12:38:19.128
399 Expert Motorcycle	42	X199	Joshua Newsom	10:54:43.447
Adventure Bike Sportsman Motorcycle	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
Expert Quad	59	407	Ryan Bunderson	12:07:40.295
Family Expert Motorcycle	49	F16	Payton Spracklin	11:25:48.795
Hooligan Sportsman Motorcycle	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
Ironman Amateur Motorcycle	46	O55	Joshua Ricciardi	11:03:12.211
Ironman Expert Motorcycle	18	O8	Matthew Fatino	9:29:03.448
Ironman Expert Quad	56	602	Daniel Pirrie	11:54:44.429
Ironman Pro Motorcycle	10	J12	Kane Hellberg	9:05:00.165
Open Amateur Motorcycle	35	393	Derek Marley	10:36:00.021
Open Expert Motorcycle	5	312	Caleb Tate	8:41:48.181
Open Pro Motorcycle	1	N2	Ciaran Naran	7:44:56.755
Over 30 Expert Motorcycle	7	M561	Jason Shakespeare	8:54:38.770
Over 30 Pro Motorcycle	14	P3	Jordan Graham	9:19:16.791
Over 40 Expert Motorcycle	26	M792	Michael Stephens	9:54:32.485
Over 40 Pro Motorcycle	19	C22	Dennis Belingheri	9:31:16.757
Over 50 Expert Motorcycle	41	M812	Eric Streich	10:54:05.145
Over 60 Expert Motorcycle	37	M916	Jeff Miller	10:41:50.680
Pro Quad	16	Q7	Dylan Walraven	9:24:07.838
Scrambler Sportsman Motorcycle	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF
Women’s Expert Motorcycle	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	DNF

Featured image credit: Best in the Desert