CN
III ARCHIVES
BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU
S
ometimes, legends—whether
racers, races or racing
venues—meet sad, untimely
ends. Prosperous futures that
lay ahead are often cut down
in a single, swift instant, when
nobody sees it coming. That was
hardly the case at the 17th and
final Barstow-to-Vegas Hare &
Hound, held in Southern Califor-
nia's Mojave Desert on Novem-
ber 25, 1989.
From its inception in 1964, B-
to-V instantly became the biggest
desert race in the world, typically
drawing over 1000 entries, mak-
ing it a Thanksgiving Weekend
classic. Regardless, environmen-
P100
FAREWELL, B-TO-V
The 1988 event was delayed at
the last minute when it was dis-
covered that someone had placed
a wall of railroad ties in one of the
dark culverts used by racers to
cross under I-15; if the barricade
had not been found, the results
could have been deadly.
Despite the threat of similar
terrorism (a "dummy" course was
found near the start, containing
tire-flattening spikes, and three
suspicious people were found on
the course the night before the
race), the show would go on again
in 1989, though the B-to-V officials
were clearly weary of the organiza-
tional hassles at that point.
tal pressures caused a prema-
ture end to B-to-V after the 1974
running of the event, and the race
would remain shut down for nine
years before race proponents suc-
cessfully battled their way through
legal wrangling's and bureaucratic
red tape to resurrect it in 1983.
Despite its immediate return to
popularity, the race's continued
survival was a constant uphill battle
with each passing year, as the
BLM practiced a bend-but-don't-
break policy under the weight of
"pro-environmental" factions, such
as the Sierra Club and Earth First!
who tried everything to stop the
race, including out-right sabotage.
Racers begin their near 150-
mile blitz across the Mojave
Desert at the very last
Barstow-to-Vegas desert
race in 1989.
