Eric Hardin Wins 2026 Casey Folks Vegas to Reno “The Other Way” presented by Camburg/Magnaflow
Eric Hardin’s 2026 American Off-Road Racing Championship campaign took a long-awaited turn for the better on Friday, as he took the overall victory in the Casey Folks Vegas to Reno “The Other Way” presented by Camburg/Magnaflow. Coming from the back of the Unlimited Truck 2WD grid due to a flat tire suffered in qualifying, Hardin conquered 505 grueling miles in the Nevada desert in a blistering seven hours, 37 minutes, 55 seconds.
This year’s Vegas to Reno was fraught with drama from start to finish as racers attempted to adjust to running the course in reverse for the first time in the event’s 30-year history. Even the biggest names in the sport weren’t immune from early struggles; Unlimited Truck 4WD favorites Robby and Max Gordon and Unlimited Truck SPEC standout Kyle Jergensen would spend extended time down for repairs, while Bryce Menzies’ day would end early due to transmission issues.
At the physical front of the field all day long were the top qualifiers from both the 4WD and 2WD classes, RJ Anderson and Tracy Graf in the former and Nic Whetstone and Dave Mason Jr. in the latter. But when Cameron Steele, running the second half of the race in Mason’s truck, stopped to help an injured motorcycle racer, the battle would begin to take shape on corrected time.
As more corrected times rolled in, three other racers would make a case for the overall win: Hardin, Brent Fox in his full-power 2WD debut, and Mitch Guthrie in the Ford Raptor T1+, making its North American debut in the first-ever attempt at Vegas to Reno for a Rally Raid 4WD vehicle. Both Guthrie and 2WD racer Brian Baragwanath brought over the same machinery they use to compete in the Dakar Rally, and their respective builds would adapt well to the new challenge.
The race would end early for Fox, who would fall short of the Amargosa Valley pit, while multiple stops for flat tires would also set Anderson back. Graf and Whetstone would cross the finish line in quick succession to set the initial benchmarks, with Whetstone scored just under a minute faster for the overall, but Hardin’s rapid charge would see him come in more than seven minutes faster than Whetstone. Soon after, Guthrie would cross the finish line and grab the second overall spot, but he’d sit just under six minutes behind Hardin on the board, while Mason and Steele would jump to third overall after time credits and penalties were issued.
The excitement didn’t stop for the Hardin family from there. Cole Hardin, Eric’s nephew, came home with his long-awaited first win in the Unlimited Truck SPEC class, besting Conner McMullen by just over a minute. Title contender RJ Stidham would complete the podium with his third podium of the season, setting up a title showdown with Jergensen going into the finale.
All told, six different classes would have at least one racer in the overall top 10. Baragwanath would ensure that both Rally Raid entries would crack the ranks, while Brock Heger’s UTV Pro race-winning time was also good for seventh overall.
The overall top 10 from the 2026 Casey Folks Vegas to Reno “The Other Way” presented by Camburg/Magnaflow is as follows:

  1. #79 Eric Hardin, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 7:37:55.986
  2. #RR228 Mitch Guthrie, Rally Raid 4WD, 7:43:49.379
  3. #65 Dave Mason Jr., Unlimited Truck 2WD, 7:46:11.606
  4. #18 Nic Whetstone, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 7:46:23.088
  5. #RR288 Brian Baragwanath, Rally Raid 2WD, 7:50:48.274
  6. #58 Tracy Graf, Unlimited Truck 4WD, 7:51:14.303
  7. #T96 Brock Heger, UTV Pro, 7:51:29.311
  8. #78 Tracy Poole, Unlimited Truck 2WD, 7:53:14.089
  9. #279 Cole Hardin, Unlimited Truck SPEC, 7:54:25.112
  10. #T23 Cody Bradbury, UTV Pro, 7:55:26.405

FULL RESULTS: LINK

 

Source / Pictures: Off-Road Racing Championship, American Offroad Championship

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