Heber, Calif. (August 22, 2006) – They’ve won the Baja 1000 and the Protruck championship in both SCORE and The Best in the Desert Series. Now, the SMD Motorsports team has its sights set on winning this weekend’s 10 th annual TSCO Vegas-to-Reno race, the longest off-road race held in the United States and the third of five truck events on the 2006 Best in the Desert schedule. SMD Motorsports fields the No. 27 Ford F-150 truck, owned by Steve Scaroni and piloted by his sons, Matt and David.

“Qualifying is going to be crucial, because the dust is going to make passing almost non-existent unless the truck in front of you has a mechanical issue,” said David Scaroni, the youngest son. “I don’t foresee anyone outside of the top 15 having a chance of winning the race. There will be a fine line between pushing the truck to get a good qualifying spot and not hurting it by overdriving it. Fast pit stops may be the difference between winning and losing.”

The Vegas-to-Reno race is a 600-mile adventure that starts Friday, August 25, 2006, approximately 70 miles north of Las Vegas. The race, much of which will follow a new course, will head north through Ely and then turn west/southwest to the finish in Dayton, about an hour outside of Reno. Motorcycles and Quads start at approximately 5:45 a.m. Cars and Trucks will start at approximately 9:30 a.m.

Approximately 275 racers, a race record, are expected to compete in this year’s event.

Matt Scaroni, the oldest son, will start the race with Tom Geviss as navigator. David will take over with Mark Cowan as navigator approximately halfway through the race.

“The track is one of the fastest we have ever raced on, but our truck is built for it,” said David. “The first section is extremely fast with very few bumps or treacherous terrain. The second part of the course is nasty with a lot of ditches and rocks, as well as telephone poles that we will have to dodge. Coupled with the dust, it will be nasty. The last part of the race is extremely rocky and full of cliffs to fall off of. It will be a tough race, but it is just another step in our overall plan of becoming the best off-road Trophy Truck racing team that we can be. With all of our preparation and planning, we feel confident heading into the race, and we are looking for great results in Nevada.”

Besides the Vegas-to-Reno event, SMD Motorsports has its sites set on the 2006 Best in the Desert championship. The team currently sits in 7 th place, with 134 points, only 24 points behind leader Pete Sohren.

SMD Motorsports (www.smdmotorsports.com) won the 2003 SCORE Baja 1000 in the Protruck division. They captured three wins in 2004, as well as the Protruck championship and the points championship in both the SCORE and Best in the Desert series – an unprecedented Triple Crown! Last year SMD Motorsports advanced from the Protruck division to the elite Trophy Truck class – the premier division in off-road racing recording two wins and two runner-up Class 12 finishes.