BREAKING NEWS: After lengthy discussions and the submission of a ground-breaking COVID-19 Safety Plan, the BLM is officially issuing the permit for the 24th Annual Maxxis Tires “Casey Folks” Vegas to Reno Presented by Fox. According to our insider at Best In The Desert’s Scot Harden, the race will run as originally scheduled Aug. 12 -15, 2020, featuring a record field of entries including all the top names from every segment of the sport. The 550 mile point-to-point race from Las Vegas to Reno, Nevada, the longest off-road race in the United States.
The BLM is granting the permit under the condition that Best In The Desert and its racers adhere to additional COVID-19 mitigation guidelines. These conditions will be spelled out in greater detail in an email to all racers entered in the event.
“We are happy to report the race will run as scheduled,” notes BITD CEO Daryl Folks. “We sincerely appreciate the work done by the Nevada BLM State Office and the Battle Mountain BLM District Office along with their hard-working team to help us arrive at this point. It’s only fitting that the race named after our father and the founder of Best In The Desert will be run after all. In the end, it came down to the fact that we were able to prove that our racers know how to follow rules and will comply with the special measures we have put in place to make sure we run a safe race and respect the special COVID-19 safety protocol we’ve established.”
“I too am very grateful for all the hard work and cooperation by the BLM,” adds BITD CMO Bryan Folks. “I cannot stress enough how crucial it is for the racing community to follow the new COVID-19 guidelines that will be set forth in the next announcement. The future of Best In The Desert depends on everyone putting aside their personal views and following what is being asked of us. I feel like this is an opportunity for the off-road community to come together and shine and prove that we can follow the rules. We want to thank our racers, sponsors, and staff for their support as we worked through this situation. Finally, we would like to thank our Nevada elected officials and for many other prominent voices for also supporting our event.”
Best In The Desert Race Operations Manager Donald Jackson added, “It has been challenging from all fronts to get the permit approved to run on the original date. There were many obstacles to overcome but ultimately it was a huge team effort that got us to this point. I want to especially thank all those that took time to write letters of support, make phone calls, give medical advice and help us put together a solid COVID-19 mitigation plan especially Medical Director Doc Lippmann, Silver State Offroad Alliance (SSORA), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Without all of us collectively working together, we wouldn’t be able to see all the best off-road racers go head to head in the ‘Longest Off-Road Race in the United States.’”