Ford Racing Sends Five Factory Raptors Into Vegas to Reno's 30th Anniversary

Ford Racing has come out swinging for the August 12-16 Casey Folks Vegas to Reno, fielding five factory-backed Raptors across multiple classes -- and the race itself is running in reverse for the first time, from Reno toward Las Vegas.

Ford Racing Goes All-In for the 30th

Best in the Desert announced that Ford Racing will serve as the headline sponsor for the 30th Anniversary Casey Folks Vegas to Reno, titled 'The Other Way' and presented by Camburg and MagnaFlow. Ford's involvement goes well beyond a logo on the banner. The company is fielding five factory-backed drivers across multiple competitive classes, representing one of the most comprehensive factory commitments Ford has made to a single Best in the Desert event.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Ford articulated its motivation clearly: desert off-road racing functions as the company's ultimate real-world testing ground for its truck and off-road product lines. The brand has deep roots in desert racing through the F-150 Raptor platform, and the 30th anniversary Vegas to Reno represents a high-profile stage for demonstrating that commitment with factory hardware under race conditions.

The five-driver factory effort spans three distinct classes. In Stock Production Truck, Ford enters three Raptor-platform vehicles: Brad Lovell in a 3.5L F-150 Raptor, Loren Healy piloting a Bronco Raptor, and John Williams driving an F-150 Raptor R. The 4600 class entry is Bailey Campbell in a Bronco Raptor. And in the 4400 class, Vaughn Gittin Jr. -- widely known for his drifting career but increasingly active in desert racing -- brings a Raptor 4400.

The Reverse Route: Reno to Las Vegas for the First Time

The 30th anniversary race earns its subtitle 'The Other Way' from the biggest change in its history: the course runs in reverse. Rather than launching from the Las Vegas area and finishing in Reno as the race has done since Casey Folks created it, the 2026 edition starts in Reno and finishes near Las Vegas. The reverse route covers more than 500 miles of Nevada desert terrain, passing through the same remote corridors that made the race famous but from the opposite direction, presenting the terrain in conditions and at time-of-day sequences that competitors have never experienced on this course.

Reversing a point-to-point desert course is not a trivial change. Terrain characteristics shift -- sections that favored acceleration one direction may require braking strategy from the other. Water crossings, ridge crests, and whooped-out sections all present differently when approached from the opposite heading. Course notes built up over decades of running Reno-to-Las Vegas become a starting point rather than a playbook, giving more preparation time in pre-running to teams who do the most thorough work.

The reverse route also shapes the race strategically. Fueling, chase access points, and spectator zones all need to be resequenced along the new direction. Teams that have detailed local knowledge of the northern Nevada terrain may find early sections more familiar, while the stretch approaching Las Vegas will close the race in a new way.

The Inaugural Reno Off-Road Festival and What Else Is on the Calendar

The 30th anniversary is being framed as more than a race. Best in the Desert is launching an inaugural Reno Off-Road Festival in downtown Reno near the J Resort to surround the race start. The festival will bring together competitors, manufacturers, industry partners, and thousands of fans for a celebration of desert racing culture that the organization has not previously staged at the Vegas to Reno start location. BITD has called the combined race and festival the largest milestone celebration the organization has staged in its history.

For teams still prepping, the Vegas to Reno Legends Rally -- July 22-25 -- offered a final chance to pre-run sections of the reverse course and build updated course notes before the August race. That Legends Rally provided racers a community-driven way to see the course direction firsthand and fine-tune preparation in the weeks between now and the start flag.

The full Vegas to Reno entry list, hotel accommodations at the J Resort, and spectator information are available through the Best in the Desert website. The race runs under the unified American Off-Road Racing Championship umbrella that emerged from the Best in the Desert and UNLTD merger. Whether you watch from a course-access spectator zone or follow timing and scoring live online, August 12-16 is the biggest date on the Nevada desert racing calendar this year. Get out there.

The 5 Ford Factory Entries to Watch at Vegas to Reno 2026

Ford Racing's factory effort spans three classes and five drivers. Here is who is running what and what to watch for in each entry.

1. Brad Lovell -- 3.5L F-150 Raptor (Stock Production Truck): Lovell is one of Ford's most consistent desert-racing representatives. His 3.5L Raptor is the core production-truck platform running in near-stock configuration, a true test of the F-150 Raptor's desert capability.
2. Loren Healy -- Bronco Raptor (Stock Production Truck): Healy brings the Bronco Raptor into the Stock Production class, showcasing the off-road SUV platform's desert-racing credentials alongside the traditional pickup truck entries.
3. John Williams -- F-150 Raptor R (Stock Production Truck): The Raptor R's supercharged V8 makes it the most powerful factory truck in the Stock Production class. Williams is tasked with showing what the flagship Raptor platform can do over 500-plus miles.
4. Bailey Campbell -- Bronco Raptor 4600 (4600 class): Campbell runs a Bronco Raptor in the 4600 class, a category that allows more modification than Stock Production but keeps the competition closely contested with production-based platforms.
5. Vaughn Gittin Jr. -- Raptor 4400 (4400 class): Best known for Formula Drift, Gittin has expanded his motorsports program aggressively into desert racing. His Raptor 4400 entry in one of the most competitive open-wheel-adjacent desert classes is the high-risk, high-profile move of the factory effort.

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