The Foutz Motorsports team brings the “A” game to the 2009 Best in the Desert TSCO Vegas to Reno off-road race. This year the format was different then many in the past. Casey Folks, the  mad man behind the Best in the Desert race series cooked up a wild 3 day 1000 mile event for all of us to test our skills on. Test skills it did for sure.

Weeks before the race the Foutz Motorsports team was struggling to make the required budget to get this race done when Andy Waters stepped in and saved the day. Andy and Greg have been good friends for years but had never done any real racing together on the same team. Andy has been racing with John Swift in their Ford Ranger class 7200 truck that was originally built by Foutz and doing well over the last several years. The question was not if Andy could get the job done, it was more about the team pulling together and making it all happen. Andy’s support was the missing key to the race efforts. His financial support along with some much needed team chase help made it all work out.

The race started just outside of Beatty Nevada this year. Due to environmental challenges for land use the Best in the Desert crew was forced to move the start area much farther from Las Vegas then desired. The start of day 1 would be the beginning of a wild ride for the Foutz Motorsports team. A full race prep was done on the Fabtech Ford F-250 that Foutz has won the Vegas to Reno race with many times before. Racking up wins at this long event was one of the things Foutz took great pride in. With 6 wins and 3 second place finishes at this event Foutz has been a favorite to win here at the Vegas to Reno race. The team would start the race 2^nd of the 4 trucks entered with Foutz’s old F-250 driven by La-Paz Party Mix’s Tim Casey leading the field out first. Randy Merritt would be just behind and all followed by Kent Kroeker in his Dodge truck. The start would have Greg at the wheel and Andy Waters riding shotgun to get a feel for the truck. As things turned out Andy was unable to attend the test session before the race and had never driven the truck. “A good 300 mile co-ride should help him get the fell for things” commented Foutz.

As the race started the team went into action and everyone started doing their jobs flawlessly. Foutz and Waters immediately fell into a good pace and by mile 50 had passed several slower cars in front of them including Tim Casey in Greg’s old truck. With some clean air in front of them the Fabtech Ford F-250 set pace for the class and started putting time on the field. The truck was working flawlessly in every way. The BF Goodrich tires were carving through the silt beds and pushing rocks out of the way. The Dirt Logic shocks were soaking up all that the Nevada desert could dish out. The crew made it into position and at the first fuel stop the team in whole was right on the money getting the truck back on course in first place with a 10 minute lead on 2^nd place. The rest of the day followed the same suit and at the end of day one when the truck arrived in Tonopah for the night the truck was in the lead by over 20 minutes and was in great shape. A perfect run for the day…

The team would have 1 hour each night to perform any repairs needed to the truck and then the truck would have to be placed into the Best in the Desert impound area for safe keeping for the night. The team again did a great job and did the basic work needed on the truck in record time. Some new rear tires and some fuel were the primary needs for the day after over 300 miles of the Nevada desert.

Day 2 would start with Andy Waters at the wheel for the day and long time Foutz Motorsports team member Mike Mounts in the co-riders seat. Mike also does most of the prep work on the Fabtech Ford F-250 truck at the Foutz Motorsports shop in Chandler Arizona. Mike is one of the best co-riders in the sport and it shows in his calm help in the right seat. As the day started the team had moved up in the overall field and would now start in the 45^th overall spot. The team moved up substantially from the initial start of about 95^th overall at the beginning of day 1. Andy and Mike set out to have a clean run for the day and things started just as planned. Only stopping for fuel all day the team again had a great run. Andy ran perfect again all the way up to about 10 miles from the finish where some minor trouble cost them an extra 10 minutes on the clock. Even with this minor setback the team won stage 2 by about 20 minutes again. This would give Foutz a good 40 plus minute cushion setting into day 3 which would be the hardest of the 3 stages.  Andy did a great job especially since he had never driven the truck before the start of the day. He paced the field of Stock Full trucks all day and forced everyone else to try and keep up. That is the sign of a truly great driver….

The work area on Day 2 looked much worse than day 1. Many teams were doing major repairs now after nearly 700 miles of racing over the 2 days. The Fabtech Ford F-250 again needed only minor repairs. A new spare fuel pump would be installed, a torn front limit strap would be replaced and a suspension bushing would be changed as a preventative measure. Again the crew was flawless and the repairs were done in the 1 hour time limit.

Starting Day 3 Greg would be at the wheel again with Elliott Polack in the right seat. The last time Elliot rode with Greg was at this years Parker 425 in the very difficult rain. Greg and Elliot strapped in and would star about 35^th overall for the day. With the closest truck in class well back on the clock the team set out to run a good pace and not worry about where the other trucks were. Greg got into a solid pace right off the bat and started passing more cars…. Leading the pack all day Greg had another perfect run not stopping for anything but some Sunoco fuel all day. The team didn’t have to even look at any of the BF Goodrich tires making the race distance without a single flat again on day 3. With the clean run on day 3 the team easily won the day and the event. Vegas to Reno turned in to a big event  for the Foutz Motorsports crew, winning the class at the end by over 2 hours on 2^nd place Randy Merritt in his Ford F-150. The 23^rd overall finish shows the speed that the Fabtech Ford F-250 was able to carry through the 1000 miles of racing.

“Thank God for the race we had here. It’s about a miracle to run that clean, I am so thankful…. It feels so good to win this race, especially running clean like that. What a day Thank God….” Foutz said at the finish line. He also gave credit to Andy Waters for his assistance “Andy drove a great race on day 2 and that’s what made all of this possible. He is a great friend and a great driver. What an awesome job he did without ever driving the truck before.” Foutz said.

This would mark the 7^th time that the Foutz Motorsports team would win their class at the Vegas to Reno race. A true blessing for everyone involved. A special thanks to all of the sponsors that make it possible…. Andy Waters, Ford Motor Company, Fabtech, BF Goodrich, KC HiLites, www.TROPHYLITE.com , Dirt Logic shocks, Royal Purple, Deaver Springs, Optima Batteries, Earls, Hooker, Racers for Christ,  Kale’s Collision Center, Painless wiring, Glass Chiropractic, Howe Performance, McKenzies… And all of the crew that helps to make it all happen…..

 

Special Thanks to Michael DeHaas from KC HiLites for the picture.

 

For more information contact Greg Foutz www.FoutzMotorsports.com 480-633-9800