Chevy Silverado 1500 Departs to Laughlin Classic Desert Racing Series

With a variety of off-road races taking place on some of the toughest terrain in the nation, the U.S. Best in the Desert series offers up a long line of endlessly exciting events. The action takes place from October 10-13, when ATVs, trucks, and cars all forge their way on a 17-mile loop. Best in the Desert is now proud to have over 35 years of storied history within the racing community to its name. Legendary racing icon Casey Folks founded the series in 1984 and it soon grew to include 4-wheel vehicles and was recognized by the early 2000s as the world's premier off-road racing series.

Our beloved Chevy Silverado truck followed the Colorado ZR2 into the Best in the Desert Racing Series that kicked off at the Laughlin Desert Classic on the 10^th. The Silverado race truck that will brave the distance is based off an LT Trail Boss truck and is set to compete in Desert's 1200 Stock class. It will be backed for power by the 6.2-liter V-8 that's good for 420 horsepower and paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. To be properly prepared for the Baja-style challenge, the race truck sports a long-travel suspension, front and rear shocks, and set of prototype high-capacity Multimatic Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve off-road dampers.

Both The Colorado ZR2 and the Silverado scheduled to be driven by Frank D'Angelo can be spotted at the Tropicana Laughlin Hotel and Casino in Nevada. There are currently plans underway to race both trucks during 2020, and it's pretty safe to assume that we'll see these two up close and personal at SEMA in November. When it first began the Best in the Desert consisted of two events: the World Championship Hare and Hound and the Las Vegas 300.

In 1987, it was established as an organization with a full series featuring three races: the World Championship Hare and Hound, Las Vegas 300, and US Hare Scrambles Championship. During 1989 the series grew even further as it then saw the addition of the Mesquite Gran Prix. As ATV popularity grew nationwide, the Best in the Desert introduced 4-wheel vehicles with the Inaugural Vegas to Reno event. Between 1997 and 1999 the series began to get rid of motorcycle-only events, and introduced the 7-day “Race into the Millennium” during 2000.

5 years ago the various partnerships and success grew once again when Mad Media came on board to the series and it now includes the UTV World Championship. All of us here at O'Rielly Chevy of Tucson are going to be glued to our web browsers to see how these two durable and off-road-ready trucks fare during this test, and hope that everyone has fun watching this true test of outdoor driving prowess!