ATV Riders Message Board Articles Reviews Videos Photo Gallery wallpaper Links ATV SxS News Interviews Racing News Models Donations Quad of the Month Contact Us

Team Skat-Trak Stuart/Granlund Win Quad Pro ATV Class
2008 Best in the Desert (BITD) - Vegas to Reno

Greg Stuart ATV Racing

Congratulations from Casey Folks - “It’s all about the finishing pin”

Las Vegas, NV (8/29/2008) - The 12th annual TSCO – Best in the Desert “Vegas to Reno” off-road race was held on Friday, August 22, 2008. Billed as, “The Longest Off-Road race in the US”, racers from all over the country descended upon the 1,100 person town of Beatty, Nevada. With over 325 entries and up to 10 team members per entry, the race quadrupled the population of Beatty overnight. At 6:00 AM, motorcycle and quads lined up for what could be anywhere from 9 to 20 hours in the desert.

The ultimate destination was 455 miles north, just a few miles from Reno. More than 110 quads and motorcycles would start this race with 74 finishers. In desert racing they say first you have to finish to finish first. The pro team of Greg Stuart and Nic Granlund exemplify this statement. They have raced every Best in the Desert race together over the past two years on a custom built Laeger quad. They did not win every race and never finished lower than first. Do the math, if they finish, they win. The Stuart/Granlund team held true to form in the 2008 Vegas to Reno by finishing, synonymous to winning, the race. At just over 9 and ½ hours on the course, the Stuart/Granlund piloted ATV was the first quad across the finish line and gave them a 12th overall finish in a field that included the top desert motorcycle pros in the country.

The first quad off the line was Jeff Hancock, followed by Shaun Moore, Wayne Matlock, Scott, and Stuart. As Greg Stuart was approaching mile marker 5, he came upon a crashed Wayne Matlock. Greg noticed that Wayne was down and still lying in the middle of the track. Casey Folks, Director of BITD, takes pride that he stresses sportsmanship at every riders meeting. Greg followed suit and immediately got off his quad to check on Wayne. Mr. Matlock, you’ll agree with the Mr. part in a minute, told Greg he was ok and that Greg should get back to the race. Greg tactfully reminded Mr. Matlock that he was lying in the middle of the track and that he should allow Greg to help him off the track. Once he gained composure, Wayne got back on the quad and rode 27 miles with 5 broken ribs and a broken collarbone to hand the quad off to his now ironman partner, Goodman. Hence, the Mr. designation. After stopping to help Wayne, the Stuart/Granlund team had some ground to make up on a very fast and determined Hancock team. Greg handed that quad off to Nic at Pit 1 in second place.

There were 11 pits from start to finish. By Pit 7, the Stuart team was only a couple minutes behind the leader. As Greg Stuart was starting to reel in Hancock, Greg came around a corner and up a hill to find the Hancock quad stopped at a check point with a blown motor. Unfortunately, the team of Cody Team Skat-Trak Stuart/Granlund Win Quad Pro Class 2008 Best in the Desert - Vegas to Reno

Mitchell and Shaun Moore suffered the same fate blowing a motor around Pit 3, changing it and then blowing another at Pit 5 to end their day. The treacherous, Casey Folks designed course was brutal and demanding. The Stuart/Granlund quad suffered 8 flat tires over the 450 mile course. During one stretch around Pit 2, Nic Granlund rode more than 25 miles, and passed several riders, with two rear flats. The course was a mix of long stretches of silt, winding mountain paths, and of course, a couple Casey Folks signature rock gardens. The “super quad” underneath Stuart and Granlund was built for this type of race. Granlund was able to keep the powerful Honda 650 motor wide open through the open desert for five straight miles without letting up a hair. The Fox Shox setup provided unrivaled suspension and combined with a dialed-in Laeger front end kep the quad rubber side down and very, very, fast. Once Greg Stuart captured the lead, they never looked back. Well, sort of… The Stuart team estimated a 30 minute lead over the next pro quad around pit 8 and decided on an extended pit stop to change oil and filters and a front flat. Wrenches hit all bolts to assure that everything was tight. The estimated lead time was off by 20 minutes…on top of that, Nic Granlund, with adrenaline pumping, beat the chase truck carrying Greg Stuart to the pit. The Stuart team was surprised to see the team of David Scott and Jeremy Sanchez, riding Q2, pulling into the pits minutes after Stewart took off for two long legs of the race. The lead was now cut to less than 3 minutes and the Stuart/Granlund team had to pin it to win it.

BITD ATV Race

Nic on the quad and Greg getting interviewed on the podium

Greg had two flats but he navigated his way and held the lead from Pit 8 to 10 and handed off the quad in great shape to Nic. The Stuart Granlund pit crew was made up of Scott Taylor from Laeger, Allen Knowles, founder and motor guru at CT Racing, and Ken Stuart, founder of Skat-Trak along with 7 others and all gave Nic the same advice – Ride Smart and No Flats!! The team knew that the equipment was superior and that the quad had fresh oil, filters and tires. The crew hoped it was enough for the ultra aggressive Nic Granlund and the punishment his 6’4” frame could dish out. Confidence was high and the team decided not to install the lights on the quad for the last 80 miles.

The sun was still high when Nic pulled up to the finish line with a winning course time of 9 hours and 34 minutes. In second place by 3 minutes was the team of Scott and Sanchez. Pulling into the finish line almost three hours later was the Matlock quad with Harold Goodman bringing it home with a course time of 12 hours and 36 minutes and a third place finish in the pro class. Stuart and Granlund brought world class equipment and years of experience in one of the toughest forms of ATV racing to this event. It takes a small army to compete at this level and the Skat-Trak, Laeger, CT Racing teaming proved to be
a winning combination in the longest off-road race in the country.

The Stuart/Granlund team sends it thanks to Casey Folks and everyone at Best in the Desert for putting on this massive race. They would also like to thank their sponsors. Skat-Trak, CT Racing, Fox Shox, Laeger, Maxxis, Hinson, Fullbore, WebCam, IMS, Quad, Tech, DWT, Torco, NGR, Fasst, Steamline, Eibach Springs. Lastly, best wishes and a quick recovery to Wayne Matlock. Tom Embrogno – 2008 Vegas to Reno


www.skat-trak.com

654 Avenue K
Calimesa, CA 92320

Discuss this in ATVriders.com Forum

Copyright 2002-2022, ATV Riders All Rights Reserved - ATV Riders Forum - Message Board - Archive