It’s been some time since the area around Pahrump has awoken to the sound of off-road vehicles revving their engines, nine years to be exact.
The Pahrump Nugget 250, presented by Supercross.com is back in its newest form. For many in town this may be a new event, but if you have been a longtime resident of Pahrump, then you will remember Vegas to Reno and the 250 used to start here in town. The races to this day are put on by Best in the Desert and organized by Casey Folks. Folks says it’s back by popular demand and announced this event last year at the Vegas to Reno Race.
“Our racers want to go back to Pahrump,” Folks said. “There will be seven pits, with a police escort to the start line but you’ll be finishing the race in the Pahrump Nugget parking lot.”
It’s hard to say why racing stopped in Pahrump. Rumors said it was stopped because the desert tortoise regulations put an end to racing in the area. Folks had a conversation with the PVT several years ago and said the regulations regarding the tortoise had nothing to do with it. He said the population of Pahrump limited his course and it was getting too expensive to hold races around the town, so he went elsewhere. At the time of that interview, though, he was planning a return to Pahrump.
The last Best in the Desert race to be held in this town was in 2007, which was called the Terrible’s 250. According to Best in the Desert, the racers that take part in this race won’t even begin to recognize the racecourse this time around.
“This racecourse is absolutely awesome,” Folks said. “It’s rough and tough and will be a true off-road test for the racers that take on the challenge.”
He said the last time some of this racecourse route was used by Best in the Desert was 1998. This year’s course he promises is deep with history, mixed in with new and exciting challenges to provide racers with a memorable adventure.
The race begins Saturday morning, Dec. 3 at 7 a.m., with a nearly 16-mile-long police escort from the Pahrump Nugget parking lot north to the official starting line in Johnnie. From there the race starts out on its 255-mile single-loop style course. This is a “chase race” featuring a total of seven pit stops.
Russ Turner of Fall Advertising and marketing spokesperson for BITD defines a chase race.
“A chase race is usually a long distance point-to-point, like Vegas to Reno, or a long single-loop race, like the Pahrump race will be, as opposed to a short, multi-lap race, like the recent Blue Water Desert Challenge race in Parker,” Turner said.
“It refers to the race support crew being able to follow, or ‘chase’ their entered race vehicle from pit stop to pit stop. That offers the race team an option to having a stationary pit crew at each pit.”
Folks said much of the racecourse was used 20 years ago as part of the original Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno Race of 1996. He said there are also sections of it that racers traversed during the first ever running of the Mint 400 in 1968.
The late Walt Lott’s inaugural HDRA “Frontier 500” included many of the same trails back in 1981.
The course then travels through part of Amargosa Valley and comes within a quarter of a mile of famed Yucca Mountain.
Folks said much of this area was formed millions of years ago from dense clouds of volcanic ash and compacted rock fragments. Racers will cross Crater Flat, another road comprised of volcanic ash.
They will also encounter the towering “Windy Gap.” He calls this part a “wild and thrilling one-way extreme downhill ride.”
Folks said a point of interest will be the Alamo Fireworks, which will be used as a pit stop during the race. The store is located at 2641 E. Highway 95 and will give special discounts to all race fans and racers.
“I guess years ago, this was a pit stop,” Alamo Fireworks Manager Patrick James said. “We will open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day and will be giving free firecrackers to everyone that comes to this store during that time. Obviously, we are hoping this will be a positive thing for the store and get our name out there.”
Folks said that racers should buy fireworks for their families but he cautioned them, “But be sure to send them home with your pit crews and not carry them in the race vehicles.”
Best in the Desert is providing three spectator viewing areas for fans. There will be one at the starting line and at Pit 7, both on private property in Johnnie.
The third one will be on BLM land adjacent to the racecourse.
Another exciting aspect of this race will be the finish, which will be in the parking lot of the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino. To celebrate this finish, the Nugget will have a beer garden in the parking lot from noon until 7 p.m.