TANNER HOLMES CLAIMS RICHEST OUTLAW KART PURSE WITH $10,000 HIGH DESERT HUSTLE TRIUMPH
RENO, NEVADA (February 3, 2024) – Jacksonville, Oregon’s Tanner Holmes survived a last-lap assault from 13-year-old Aiden Larimer to claim Saturday’s $10,000-to-win High Desert Hustle for Open 500 Outlaw Karts in Reno, Nevada. The richest night in Outlaw Kart history saw six different winners at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center temporary dirt track. Photo by Morgan McFarland
“It means a lot. We put so much into this. You’re racing against a lot of the same guys that we race with for a $1000 to win or $500 or even nothing. Those races mean a lot to me because when it comes to the kart racing stuff, I’ve been doing it so long I want to be the best,” Holmes said. “Tonight we had a great start, never got too aggressive or too patient. We did just enough to be first car to cross the line.”
“New building, new facility. I think it was a big success. Everyone is stoked. You could see the emotion. You don’t get to race for $10,000 too often in an Outlaw Kart. This is definitely the biggest pay day of my life.”
Colby Copeland followed up his sensational three wins on Thursday night with two dash wins on Saturday afternoon, marching to the Open 500 and Non-Wing 500 poles. Eric Botelho of Kerman, Calif. starred in lower main action, running the alphabet soup from the E-Main into the championship feature.
Copeland shared the front row with Friday night winner Landon Brooks for the 40-lap Open 500 finale. Brooks drove into the lead on the opening circuit. On lap ten, he bobbled into turn four and fell to third. Brooks fought back past Holmes and turned his attention to Copeland. Brooks slid Copeland for the lead on lap 16 into turn one. Brooks slid to a stop while Copeland bicycled to a stop as well. Both were relegated to restarting at the rear of the field.
Holmes took over the point with clear track ahead of him. Tenth starting Aiden Larimer marched through the pack and grabbed second on a lap 26 restart. Homes approached a pair of slower cars on the final circuit. Larimer dove inside in turn four and the pair collided for the lead, with Holmes narrowly sneaking through for a .179-second win. Casey McClain, Evan Goularte, and Jesse Colwell rounded out the top-five.
In 250cc Outlaw Kart action, Braxton Foster of Redding, Calif. prevailed in the 30-lap contest for a $3,000 payday. Friday night winner Logan Reeves engaged in furious battling with Landon Henry and Brody Reinolds for the second spot. Reinolds used a crossover to take the spot on lap 16. A caution on lap 27 erased Foster’s 1.9 second lead. Foster pulled ahead on the restart for the coveted victory, followed by Reinolds, Reeves, Kayden Williams, and 13th starting Mikie Mora.
The $2,000 to win Non-Wing feature saw the closest finish of the night when Preston Carr held off Colby Copeland by just .014 seconds after 30-laps of racing. Copeland lost the lead when avoiding a slow car in turn four racing back to a caution flag.
Carr was hounded by Copeland throughout the rest of the 30-lap race. Copeland looked inside of Carr as they raced back to the checkered flag but Carr prevailed by just inches. Friday winner Eric Gannon, Jayce Hudson, and Chase Bolf were the balance of the top-five.
Clone Karts had a nearly equally as close of a finish with their wingless machines with Clovis’ Dominic Gorden narrowly prevailing in the 30-lap feature. Copeland and Elijah Jones collided notably for the second position in turn four on lap 15. Gorden drove towards lapped traffic on lap 25. The traffic allowed Justin Reinolds to dive inside of Gorden, missing out on the victory by just half a car length. Gorden topped Reinolds, Brian Hubert, Sarah Kavert, and Frank Benuzzi for the top-five finishers.
Deakon Kamisky of Cottonwood, Calif. followed up his Friday night win with a $2,000 Box Stock victory. Bentley Nelson moved into the second position by lap 12 but never found a way past Kamisky. Tyce Domingos finished third ahead of Forrest Vanpool and Maci Smith.
Bentley Nelson’s younger brother Bryce won the Beginner Box Stock feature for a $1,000 haul. Sawyer Vanpool ran within lockstep of Bryce Nelson during the first half of the 25-lap race. Nelson accumulated a 3.144 second advantage at the checkered flag followed by Vanpool, Knox Reeves, Ashton Lynch, and Parker Pedrotti.
Complete results can be found on MyRacePass.
The High Desert Hustle was presented by Michael’s Reno Powersports, FTR, ShopRico.com, Shop Kyle Larson, Swimming Pool Perfections, Tubit Forest Management, Victory Fuel, NLG Printing Company, Salco Better Energy, Rush Race Gear, K1 Race Gear, QRC, M&L Plumbing, Dodge City Raceway Park, Pochop Trucking, Pedrotti Materials, SRT, Ignite, Mittry Construction, Silver Dollar Speedway, TSi Top Speed Innovations, Eddie Boyd Racing, Hammer Down Trucking, Fast Four Media, and Ji Apparel.
