Vegas to Reno ULTRA4 Coverage

[Charlene]

4471: is on the trailer and headed to early morning test session with Bilstein.
After that we will be headed directly to Sunset Station in Henderson, NV.

I will be on that bus ride...so the updates will change a bit tomorrow....
Gotta get packin!

[Charlene]

5:50am team 4471 texted in leaving the house...and headed to pick me up! Here we go! We are already through Victorville and trying to get through the pass before they close if for blasting this morning. Stopping somewhere near stateline for testing....
"On the road again...." dodadodado

My buddy Crowdog is leaving Nor-Cal in a couple hours and hopes to make the whole trip by tonight. If you are into UTV's aka SXS's also watch for coverage of that class on UTVWeekly.com

[Charlene]

Beauty Shots 4454: Finally got some pics of Dave's car...not the best but here is a sneak peak. I will get some better ones when they show up.
They were just starting their dyno pulls at noon. Haven't heard how it went yet....

[Charlene]

Update 4471: Just jumped back on the 15.... Testing went great. Only 2 hours...Joel helped out a lot getting it to ride perfect. Got some good action shots that I will grab for tonights post... walking around out in the middle of the desert by myself in flip flops I figured that it was better than the forest...at least I eliminated bear attacks

[Charlene]

Update 4454: Dave Cole just sent me this video of their testing over the weekend at Barstow. They are calling this mid speed pass.

YouTube - BITD Vegas to Reno Pre Run King of the Hammers Dave Cole #4454

[Charlene]

Headed out to the pits to get a couple of pics before the sun goes down...then I got this special invite picture that I think I may just have to go and check out....

[Charlene]

All kinds of action happening here at the Sunset Station! Went and checked out contingency and the camping area then headed into the air conditioned casino...think it got down to 97 or so around 10pm tonight. Whew! The heat is going to be an issue for sure!

Got to hang out with more of the crew from the #4471 team tonight...great group! Crowdog from UTVWeekly.com showed up to join the fun and eventually we all headed back out to the parking lot to remember that it is still HOT in vegas even at night!

UPDATE #4454: Dave Cole checked in at 7:30 to say he was leaving in an hour...so we expect to see him "sometime"

MORE TESTING FOR 4411: Lance from Dean Bullocks crew checked in saying that they hadn't had enough testing or driving opportunity, so they grabbed some go-carts and had a ball!

[Charlene]

Vegas To Reno “Live” Coverage of Ultra4 King of the Hammers Qualifier

JOHNSON VALLEY, CA, August 17, 2009: Full coverage of the Best In The Desert (BITD) “Vegas to Reno the Long Way” Ultra4 Class will be featured on KingOfTheHammers.com starting Wednesday August 19th from contingency, Thursday-Saturday from the course, and wrapping up Sunday August 23rd at the awards ceremony.

Vegas to Reno the Long Way is the longest off-road point-to-point race in the United States. Hammerking Productions approached BITD about the addition of King of the Hammers style rock crawlers, which are now branded as the Ultra4 class. “Our type of racing is all about the harsh environment and brutal terrain, and we felt this would continue that test of man and machine,” said Hammerking Productions Dave Cole.

Hammerking Productions has attached this event to its widely popular Griffin King of the Hammers series of regional qualifiers. “Our approach this year has been to force our teams out of their comfort zone and introduce them to multiple forms of off-road genres,” says Jeff Knoll of Hammerking Productions. The top ten that start day three and potentially finish will earn a starting position and a chance at being the next King of the Hammers in February 2010.

There will be a live link to coverage of the Ultra4 class (and all other classes) on KingOfTheHammers.com. “Our goal is to cover the entire event as live as our electronics will permit in the middle of the Nevada desert,” says Charlene Bower. Coverage will start at contingency Wednesday morning from the Sunset Station Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, NV talking to drivers and industry representatives. We will chase the first running of the Ultra4 class through multiple pits during the day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with nightly updates. Coverage will wrap up on Sunday at the 11am Awards Ceremony in Reno, NV at Terrible’s Sands Regency Hotel & Casino.

Please bookmark kingofthehammers.com for live coverage and future King of the Hammers updates.

More information about the BITD Vegas to Reno the Long Way race is available at Home - Best in the Desert Racing Association

[Charlene]

WOW What a GREAT day on the 120 degree asphalt of the Sunset Station Hotel!! I hope that you all had a chance to check out the live coverage... there are some great audio threads interviewing all of the Ultra4 teams and some special guests including Ivan Stewart!

Check out the live coverage, and stay tuned ... there is a lot more to come!
King of the Hammers -> click on the HERE in the post

Thanks for all your nice comments on the threads and coverage...I know how it is to not make it to a race that you want to be at...it sucks...I will do the best I can with the internet access that I have over the next 3 days to take you with us on this awesome adventure.

[Charlene]

The morning started at 4:45am lol

Everyone finished up the last minute preps, and we hit the road at 6:05 am...only a 5 minute penalty assessed. Not too bad for 30 people, 3 race cars, 4 motorhomes and a slew of trucks.

On the road now to Beatty. Staging starts at 8:45. 9:30 start at :30second intervals. See ya there!