Wacky races

American-bound travellers flying into Las Vegas this August can get a taste of true desert grit as the annual Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno race comes to town.

Proving that the Las Vegas isn't just bright lights and casinos, on August 24th anything up to 175 different teams of off-road trucks, cars and bikes will head out into the Nevada desert for a three day race to the city of Reno.

The longest off-road race in the United States, the Best in the Desert is a 500 mile race north through the rugged terrain of the Silver State, which takes drivers through historic mining towns and the Silver Peak mountains before finishing up in Reno.

Tourists staying on the Las Vegas strip can take time out from the casino and watch as the one of the nation's top races heads north from the Suncoast Hotel, where formal registration takes place, out of town and takes to the desert.

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