Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

Kicking off Monday with a shot of Erik Miller, taken during the 2012 Vegas to Reno competition.

While we told our story from Vegas to Reno thru our photo album, nothing beats a recap from the drivers themselves. Yesterday afternoon, we received the follow press release from Kevin Sacalas and his team, Big Ugly Racing. With permission, here’s that press release.

Enter Kevin Sacalas.

Sacalas Podiums for 2nd Time at Vegas to Reno Race

September 5th, 2012–Riverside, CA: It’s been three years since Ultra4 driver, Kevin Sacalas, began his racing career by winning the Ultra4 class in the 2009 Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno: The Long Way; a 3-day, 1000 mile version of last month’s race. On August 25th, Sacalas returned to Las Vegas, NV to once again compete in what has been dubbed by promoters as “the longest desert race on US soil.”

Sacalas was forced to rebuild his car mid-season after crashing and rolling at speeds of nearly 100 MPH during the 2012 Mint 400. Vegas to Reno was Sacalas’ first endurance-based desert race since the crash and his goal was to successfully finish the grueling race. A top 10 Ultra4 class finish would earn him a coveted spot in the 2013 King of The Hammers.

Not only did Sacalas successfully finish the race, he once again found himself on the podium at Vegas to Reno with a 3rd place finish. He started in 17th position and slowly worked his through the competitors throughout the 12+ hours of racing. At approximately 180 miles into the race, he GPS antenna signal to both of the car’s GPS systems causing him and his co-driver, Tim Carlson, to drive using only course markings as guidance. The drivers also lost all radio communication with their pit crew, forcing their team to be ready for whatever surprises Sacalas had in store for them in the pits.

When asked about the race, Sacalas had this to say, “Our goal was to successfully finish this race, keep the car running and hopefully qualify fast enough to earn a spot in King of the Hammers. Getting to podium again in the race where I started my racing career, with most of the same pit crew I had in 2009, was definitely a cherry on the sundae. It is a grueling race, but our STS Turbo held up great, and our Bilstein Shocks kept the car smooth for more than twelve hours.”

Sacalas’ next race will be defending his 2011 championship title at the 2012 Ultra4 American Rocksports Challenge in Tooele, UT. For more information on Kevin Sacalas and his Ultra4 car, affectionately named “Big Ugly” by fans, please visit the team at www.facebook.com/BigUglyRacing.

We’re wrapped up with our small Vegas to Reno photo set. Feel free to check out the high res versions of these photos, now available on Flickr. Hope you enjoy!

Here’s the last shot in our 2012 Vegas to Reno Ultra4 series, showing off Brad & Roger Lovell of Lovell Racing. Tomorrow, we’ll be uploading the high res versions of our V2R photos that were posted throughout the week. Till then, have a great night!

Another shot of Erik Miller at Vegas to Reno, ripping around a sharp turn shortly after Pit 6.