2013 Vegas to Reno Best in the Desert Race Recap

CarsonCindy

Administrator
Staff member
Last weekend, we headed out to the Nevada desert to help Mel Wade out as he took on the 2013 Vegas to Reno Best in the Desert Race in the Discount Tire/Off Road Evolution EVO 1 Jeep JK Wrangler Race Rig. At almost 550 miles long, it is by far the longest off road race in America and because of it, participants are allowed 24 hours to complete it. For our purposes, we would officially be Chase 7 and our job was to leap frog from pit to pit and assist in any way that we could. Here are some pics from our adventures following EVO 1 to the finish line, I hope you enjoy :cool:

Friday Morning - 4:30 am
Leaving South Lake Tahoe bright and early to head to the start of race in Beatty, NV and meet up with the EVO Crew
main.php


main.php


RubiCAT's shadow
main.php


Friday - 10:30 am
We arrive in Beatty just when EVO1 is starting to line up
main.php


main.php


Mel and co-driver Colin ready to go!
main.php


main.php


main.php


Crew Chief Kyle making sure everything is set
main.php


Getting closer to the start
main.php


main.php


EVO1 at the starting line
main.php


Friday - 11:10 am
And they are off!
main.php


Our first stop would be at Pit 3. Eddie and Brian putting on the Mastercraft/Impact fire suit to get ready for the fueling.
main.php


main.php


The fuel is ready.
main.php


Here comes EVO1
main.php


Friday - 2:11 pm
EVO1 arrives at Pit 3 with some electrical problems
main.php


Eddie and Brian begin fueling
main.php


Kyle works on the electrical issue and Lisa provides food and drinks - did I mention it is over 100 deg out! :shock:
main.php


Fueling done, wiring patched, helmets on
main.php


Friday - 2:21 pm
Time to head out!
main.php


Our next stop would be Pit 6
main.php


Discount Tire RESQ1 standing by at Pit 6
main.php


main.php


Hanging out at pit 6 as the sun goes down
main.php


Here comes EVO1
main.php


main.php


main.php


Friday - 7:13 pm
EVO1 arrives at Pit 6 and fueling begins
main.php


main.php


Dan performs a visual inspection
main.php


Colin cutting an old piece of scrap metal found laying around on the ground to use as a heat shield for the fuel pump
main.php


Getting ready for night racing
main.php


Little Mel getting ready for his turn as co-driver
main.php


Harley helping her dad get suited up
main.php


Loading up
main.php


Almost ready to roll out
main.php


Friday - 7:35 pm
And they're off
main.php


Next stop, Pit 10
main.php


Friday - 11:45 pm
EVO1 arrives at Pit 10
main.php


Fueling
main.php


Changing out a low tire as a precautionary measure
main.php


Visual inspection and a co-driver change - Kyle's turn
main.php


Friday - 11:50 pm
Time to head out
main.php


At Pit 13, Chris gets suited up for fueling
main.php


Saturday - 2:56 am
EVO1 arrives at Pit 13
main.php


main.php


Little Mel gets back in the co-driver seat after Kyle
main.php


main.php


Almost ready to take off
main.php


Father and son getting ready to head for the finish line
main.php


Saturday - 3:06 am
Off they go!
main.php


FINISH LINE - Saturday - 5:22 am - 18 hours and 11 minutes
And they made it! WooHoo! Congratulations EVO!
main.php


main.php


main.php


main.php


Mel and co-drivers Colin, Little Mel and Kyle
main.php


EVO and Pit Crew
main.php


EVO1 loaded up.
main.php


The sun is just beginning to come up. After being up for more than 24 hours, it's time to go get some sleep!
main.php
 
Great photos! Congrats to Mel and team!

Really bummed I missed this. Stupid work! :grayno:
 
From one photog to the next great job on the low light shots.
Seeing these gave me the feeling I was there experiencing the moment first hand.
What a great team effort, all those buggies, but only one EVO 1.
 
So sweet!

Great job by the whole team, beautiful photos too Cindy and Eddie :rock: I'm really proud of everyone's effort and dedication!
 
Are you guys still using the Nex5 camera, by chance? Great pictures.
Also fueling is the toughest/scariest job out there! I get "suckered" in because of my height.
:thinking:
 
Thanks everyone, we're so glad that you like the pics. :cool:

Are you guys still using the Nex5 camera, by chance? Great pictures.
Also fueling is the toughest/scariest job out there! I get "suckered" in because of my height.
:thinking:

Actually, no. I beat ours to the point where it's having focusing problems. For this, Cindy resorted to using her old a700.

As far as fueling goes, it is a scary job but, having the right protective gear for it helped make it feel safer :yup:
 
Thanks everyone, we're so glad that you like the pics. :cool:



Actually, no. I beat ours to the point where it's having focusing problems. For this, Cindy resorted to using her old a700.

As far as fueling goes, it is a scary job but, having the right protective gear for it helped make it feel safer :yup:


Ha! I just traded mine with Ryan, mine was beat too!!!
Also the ULTRA4 team added fire suits AFTER this year's KOH, my "suit" this year was a PSC rain poncho. Good times, good times... :icon_crazy:
 
Ha! I just traded mine with Ryan, mine was beat too!!!
Also the ULTRA4 team added fire suits AFTER this year's KOH, my "suit" this year was a PSC rain poncho. Good times, good times... :icon_crazy:

:cheesy: I can just see it now....

emergencyponcho.jpg

Glad to hear you now have something a bit more substantial to wear :thumb:
 
Top Bottom