Photo: Polaris/HighRev Photography
Imagine a standard sports prototype endurance race. You know the kind, a circuit race spread out over hundreds of laps over 12 hours or more. A race like that, even on asphalt, can burn even a competent driver to a crisp. Now take that same race, replace the circuit with a nearly 550-mile sprint across Nevada, and you have the Casey Folks Las Vegas-Reno race from Best in the Desert.
At this year’s event, autoevolution was happy to be a media addition to the Polaris Factory Racing team, which made its first appearance at a race that features big-name race teams and OEMs across the 4×4 spectrum. From Honda, Kawasaki, Red Bull, and Monster to Polaris and their longtime rivals at Can-Am, North America’s longest-running and most prestigious off-road endurance race may not have the media appeal of Dakar or Baja, but trust us when we say it’s much more accessible and just as intense.
But none of this would have been possible if it weren’t for an extraordinarily skilled dirt bike racer and general racing enthusiast named Casey Folks. Born in 1944, there wasn’t a single major off-road racing event in the Western United States that Folks hadn’t conquered in his time. Additionally, Folks was among the first Americans to travel overseas to compete in prestigious races like Baja and Tunisia. After founding the governing body Best in the Desert in 1984 with a focus on dirt bike racing, it was Folk’s idea to add four-wheelers of all sizes to an existing bike race from Las Vegas to Reno in 1996 that created the modern phenomenon as we know it today.
Although Folks sadly passed away in 2017, the spirit and essence of the innovations he brought to the Vegas to Reno remain at the heart of the 2024 race. Vehicle categories at the event range from small UTVs to dirt bikes, V8 rock monsters, and even trophy trucks, creating an eclectic mix of racers that nearly rivals more popular off-road races like the Mint 400. But this time around, it was clear that Polaris’ Factory Racing Team was the new kid on the block that the competition should be paying attention to.
From top to bottom, the Polaris Factory Racing team was loaded with talent. A team backed by Brock Heger’s 150-plus podium experience in the yellow racer, Maxy Eddy Jr.’s five-time Baja 1000 winner in blue, team leader Craig Scanlon’s decades of experience in red, and the DNA of a true 4×4 racing legend in 22-year-old Cayden MacCachren, son of American off-road racing royalty and multi-discipline world champion Rob MacCachren, who raced in the purple racer. With LED headlights that matched their racing colors, the Polaris Factory Team RZR side-by-sides were among the best-looking racers at this year’s race.
Photo: Polaris/HighRev Photography
Our job that afternoon was simple in theory but infinitely complicated in practice: follow the Polaris Factory team from the race’s starting point about 50 miles north of Las Vegas to the finish point 50 miles south of Reno in Carson City, Nevada, snapping photos at every pit stop along the way. For the media and chase cars involved, the whole thing is almost as taxing on mind and body as the race itself. Especially for me, a person who had never had a race-driver’s physique or even a lean one in any way. If nothing else, it made the day’s menu of hot dogs, pizza, and gas-station chicken nuggets all the more familiar.
At each point along the route to 13 custom-built pit stops, teams of Polaris Racing Team personnel dedicated to each pit stop have gathered with fuel pumps, welding equipment and all the spare parts and gear the vehicle needs to maintain pace in a sprint across the Nevada desert. Once the car is fueled and checked by the pit crew, the driver heads to the next pit stop. At this point, the finished pit crew packs up and heads back to California or Mexico, depending on which part of the Polaris Racing operation is on site at any given time during the race. Unlike the barely controlled chaos of Baja, teams are forced to pick up all of their trash, including blown tires that must be hauled with the vehicle to the finish line.
But amid all the hustle and bustle of the pit crew, one permanent fixture was Cayden MacCachren’s father, Rob. As part of Cayden’s personal pursuit team, Rob spoke constantly to his son via racing communications hardware first augmented by SpaceX’s Starlink. He was also in the pits every step of the way, with a canteen of ice water at the ready whenever Cayden stopped for fuel and maintenance. If that’s not the healthiest thing we’ve ever seen in motorsports coverage, we don’t know what is.
As drivers of all stripes hurtled across the sand, kicking up 500-foot walls of dust in their wake, our path alongside them took us through a handful of towns showcasing Nevada’s ultimate weirdness. Places like Goldfield, Tonopah, and the ghost town of Coaldale, sprawling with abandoned classic cars, derelict mining equipment, and a world-famous haunted clown motel, would have been phenomenal and entertaining in and of themselves. Sadly, that will have to wait. While the media in our pursuit Off-road As we gorged on greasy junk food, the setting sun heralded the most grueling part of the race for the participants.
Photo: Polaris/HighRev Photography
Polaris Factory riders Brock Heger and leader Craig Scanlon raced bravely all afternoon, overcoming their fair share of mechanical issues. While both undoubtedly fought like lions, both men dropped out of the race, avoiding further damage to their already battered machines. With well over 425 miles of boulders, crater-like dips, and endless wild sand behind them, lesser-quality riders would have given up much sooner. Had fate been even slightly different, both men could have easily made it to the podium. Meanwhile, teammates Cayden MacCachren and Max Eddy Jr. continued to battle.
Tackling the final portions of the race in near-total darkness save for headlights makes the finish line even more debilitating. But with a little luck and more talent in one finger than most people have in their entire body, the two remaining Polaris Factory Racing drivers crossed the finish line in Carson City with pride and distinction. Cayden MacCachren and co-driver Hailey Hein finished eighth in the UTV Open class and 11th overall, while Max Eddy Jr. and co-driver Austin Eddy finished second in class with a third overall finish.
It may not have been an outright victory for the Polaris Factory Team, but with such an impressive showing in their first-time Vegas to Reno appearance, it’s likely that the Polaris vs. Can-Am rivalry will keep fans coming back for years to come. Plus, the Polaris Factory Racing Team had won their previous eight races prior to this race. You can’t win them all, especially when you have a winning streak of that caliber under your belt. For us in the media pursuit vehicle, this was an experience unlike any race we’ve covered before. It was such a blast that we’re ready to bring the Baja 1000 to November. Stay tuned for that very soon.