DIXON BROS. CHASE DOWN COMPETITION TO WIN VEGAS TO RENO

dixonbrosracing.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
George R. Thompson
Dixon Brothers Racing
grt@dixonbrosracing.com
661.823.0454
For Information Contact:
DIXON BROS. CHASE DOWN COMPETITION TO WIN VEGAS TO RENO
To learn more about Dixon Bros. Racing visit our website at www.dixonbrosracing.com. For more information about Ford vehicles, go to www.ford.com.
Reno, NV - August 23, 2008: Although environmental concerns shortened the Best in the
Desert ‘Vegas to Reno’ race by almost 100 miles, the change in length did nothing to make the
course any easier for the competitors. If anything, it was more difficult. Aaron Dixon behind the
wheel of The Dixon Bros. #7101 Ford Ranger started ninth in the gaggle of Class 7100 trucks and
ran a conservative pace, early on, threading his way through the race traffic. About 40 miles into
the race Aaron got caught up in a traffic jam at a steep and silty hill where a number of production
class vehicles were stuck. Those that were not stuck were each forced to wait their turn in line for
20-30 minutes to take a run up the steep hill and get on with their race. Had the race been started
in Johnnie, as originally scheduled, this hill would have been at race-mile 150 and would probably
have been clear since the slower and weaker vehicles would have fallen off the pace by then.
After finally getting past the “hill climb” as Aaron called it, he was moving through some
really extreme braking bumps when the #7101 Ford lost the power steering. “Once we loose
power steering pressure, the feedback from the steering wheel is INSANE and it is impossible to
hold,” said team owner Aaron Dixon. “We pulled off the road to survey the damage and found
that the rack was cracked on the pressure side. We use a factory part, per the rules and were 20
miles from the next pit so we decided to limp it in rather than try to fix it ourselves.”
While trying to get back on the course, they got stuck trying to cross a ditch, which turned
out to be deeper than it looked. “Without the superior traction of the Goodyear MTR tires and our
Radflo Hydra Jack, we might still be stuck!” Aaron commented. Back on level ground, Aaron
with co-rider, Ed Ramirez, continued on their way to pit #2 with no further issues. The steering
was changed in the pit and they were back in the race and running in seventh place after losing
about an hour and a half to repairs. He passed a few broken Class 7100 trucks on the way to
Tonopah at race-mile 150 where Ian Dixon and Phil Ramirez were scheduled to take over.
The Dixon Bros. #7101 Ford Ranger had moved into third place when Ian got behind the
wheel, about 25 miles off the pace set by the #7114 Ford, who had held the lead all day. As
darkness fell, Ian had some trouble working the adjustable actuator on the new light rack but the
headlights and bumper mounted KC HiLites HID’s turned out to be more than enough to light the
way to the next driver change in Hawthorne at race-mile 300.
Along the way Ian had reeled in the leaders and when Aaron took over for the final 155-mile
stretch to the finish, he was in the lead. The Dixon Bros. #7101 Ford Ranger had a flawless ride
to the finish in Dayton, winning the BitD ‘Vegas to Reno’ by 40 minutes over the #7102 Ford,
who had passed the #7114 truck for the second place finish in the final 50 miles of the race.
“We want to thank Robby Woolworth for opening up his shop the night before the race until
midnight” Aaron said.. “We heard some loud gear noise coming from the rear end while loading
up the truck after tech and decided to change out the ring and pinion. I called up Robby and he
said, ‘No problem, I’ll wait for you to get here’. We ended up using our spare 3rd member with a
gear set that had 5 races on it.”
At the finish team owner Aaron Dixon said, “This is how the Vegas to Reno race always
turns out, everyone has problems. Sitting at Pit #2 fixing the steering rack, I really couldn’t
imagine winning this race, but we’ll take it!”
- grt -