America’s largest off-road race, Vegas to Reno, comes to a close and 534 miles later, Nick Nelson takes top honors in the 4400 class. From morning to next morning (yes, it spanned two days), we had the great honor and pleausre of chasing the race, caputring photos along the way as 19 Ultra4 4400 drivers battled it out in the Nevada desert. It was an amazing experience to say the least, and we’re exciting to go through our photos of which we’ll be posting throughtout the week.

We’re still waiting on official scores from Best in the Desert, the racing organization that puts on Vegas to Reno, but we can say unofficially Nick Nelson took first, followed by Jason Shipman, Kevin Sacalas, and Brad & Roger Lovell. We left shortly after the Lovells crossed the finish line (about 1am) so we can say with confidence those were the unofficial top four. We’re seeing Facebook posts of other Ultra4s crossing the finish after that, so we’ll be sure to get the updated times posted as soon as they come in.

And just like that, another solid weekend run for Brad Lovell and his Spider 9 powered Pro Light push him into 2nd place in Traxxas TORC series points. There’s just 4 short course races left, so the battle for 1st is officially on. Below is a press release direct from Lovell Racing, recapping their back to back 2nd place finishes from last weekends Bark River competition.

Also worth mentioning Lovell Racing is also competing in the 4400 Ultra4 class in today’s Vegas to Reno competition. At the time this blog post goes live, we should be at the Vegas to Reno start line where over 300 drivers will race from, you guessed it, Vegas to Reno in what is the largest US off-road race of it’s kind. If you’re looking to stay up on the action, especially from the point of view of Ultra4 drivers, head over to http://ultra4racing.com/live/ where we’ll be adding our own photos throughout the day.

Now, enter Lovell Racing.

TWO AND TWO FOR #44
LOVELL NOW ONE POINT OUT OF SERIES LEAD

Bark River, MI 8/14/12 – Two was Brad Lovell’s lucky number this weekend in Bark River, MI, for the latest rounds of the 2012 TORC season. The track, one of Lovell’s favorites, has not been kind to him in the past. This weekend, however, it highlighted the battle between him and Andrew Caddell for the pro-light championship.

Lovell made the first strike by qualifying 2nd and earning a series point thus closing the gap to 16. Traffic at the start put Lovell in 5th for the majority of the race. Caddell earned a point at the mandatory caution and was poised for a top finish but got a flat and rolled the truck in the moguls. This enabled Lovell to slingshot into 2nd and hold the position for a podium finish. Lovell stated, “We had a bit of luck today and drove a smart race. I worked on staying clean and the team put in a lot of extra effort to make sure we had a winning truck. We have worked really hard to finish every race.” The effort paid off as the team moved into a point leading tie with 2011 pro-light champion Andrew Caddell.

Never content with 2nd place, the team relentlessly worked on the #44 AMSOIL / Torchmate Nissan to squeeze out every last bit of speed. At the start of Sunday’s race, Lovell’s BFGoodrich tires found traction where others could not and gained him 3 positions. He chased down newcomer Matt Cook and put the slide job on him to take the lead in the race and points championship at the midway caution. It wasn’t long before the Caddell and Lovell bolted from the pack and began to battle. A bobble from Lovell on the last lap left the inside open allowing Caddell to bang through and send the #44 into the fluff. “It’s disappointing to loose a battle like this but the war is far from over,” added Lovell. “The next race is in Crandon where we took the track record from Caddell last spring. We’re on the attack and he knows it!” Lovell trails by a mere point with 4 races to go.

Before the ensuing battle at Crandon, however, Lovell will tackle the 530 mile route of BITD Vegas to Reno with his brother Roger. The pair will chase the Ultra 4 Pro Series Championship where they currently sit in 6th place. The race starts Friday, Aug 17th, and live tracking is available through racetheworld.net. Look for the #4432 AMSOIL rock racer of Brad Lovell.

Source: Lovell Racing.

Once again, Ultra4s take on one of the largest, if not THE largest, desert races of the year, Vegas to Reno. The legendary Vegas to Reno is exactly that, a 534 mile race from Las Vegas, NV to Reno, NV kicking off tomorrow morning (that’s Friday, August 17th). With over 300 registered drivers among the diverse set of racing classes, Vegas to Reno is not only one of the longest races milage wise, it happens to be one of the biggest in terms of driver turn out.

So, for those heading out or watching the action from home, here’s a few items worth knowing ahead of time, which should make following the race a little bit easier:

1) When again? Tech inspection is Thursday, August 16th, from 8am – 5pm PST. Race kicks off Friday, August 17th, with Motorcycles/Quads/UTVs staging at 5:15 AM PST. All vehicles should have left the start line by 9:30 AM PST. The official Schedule of Events can be found HERE.

2) So, who’s representing Ultra4s? A solid 19 Ultra4 drivers are currently registered for Vegas to Reno. While not the largest single class in the race, it’s far from the smallest. The Ultra4 drivers are listed under Class 4400, and the official Draw Order can be found HERE.

3) Coverage? In year’s past, Best in the Desert (the organization that runs Vegas to Reno) has an online live tracker which we’ve found to be the single best way to know where everyone is and if they’re still moving. As of the writing of this post, there isn’t a direct link for the tracker so keep an eye on their official website http://www.bitd.com for details. In addition, the Ultra4 live chat will be up at http://ultra4racing.com/live/ which, when combined with the live tracker, makes for a great way to follow at home. We’ll be at the race in person, capturing the action as it happens as well as posting up photos in the Ultra4 live chat where cell reception will allow, so keep an eye for our updates as well.

So, there you have it. For those heading out, we’ll see in the desert. For those that can’t make the trip, we’ll see you online!

HeavyMetalConcepts recently posted a video from Crandon’s TORC Rounds 5 & 6, where Ultra4s were invited to run with the PROs. For those just cathing up on this event, be sure to check out the photos we came back with HERE as well as the official Ultra4 scores of the weekend HERE.

This is it, the last day of the Save the Hammer’s seven day campaign to save Johnson Valley. If you’re just catching up,  better late then never so no worries. Just be sure to read all about the campaign HERE.  For those ready for the last day of calls & faxes, here’s today’s representative:

Tuesday August 14th, 2012 Please Call: 
Rep. David Drier (R-CA 26) or 
District Director Mark Harmsen 
San Dimas 909-575-6226 fax 909-575-6266

From what we were told, the outreach so far has been great so thanks a million to everyone who got involved.