Trucks clamored into the Alamo Truck Stop early Saturday morning awaiting the Bilek Silver State 300. After a long drive from the shop in Henderson that morning, the crew stopped for breakfast. Ira Conn, the co-driver, shoveled down the biscuit and gravy supreme breakfast at the Windmill Ridge Restaurant. Confident and full, they finished up and met with Rick Geiser and his Geiser Bros crew to begin the pre-race prep in the staging area.

Vehicles lined up behind the station for what proved to be an anti-climatic start. The trucks were escorted six miles out through an environmentally sensitive area to a remote start area. The Riot team wished them good luck and set off to their designated pits.

The first sighting of the truck was at pit one. Riot blew through the straightaway casting a could of dust over the crowd. At pit two, two cars pitted ahead of the truck, so the pit chief instructed #68 to head straight through and plan to stop at Pit 3 and 4 to splash gas. Everyone knew how critical pit strategy was in this 300 mile point to point race.

“Pit wise we were just playing it by ear where to pit for track position,” Rick Geisier, the stand-in driver for Marc Ewing said. “That all worked out really good for our pit strategy.”

The truck held strong through pits three and four and the crew was gathering at 5 for the full-service stop. They anxiously awaited Riot’s roll into Caliente. Riot was spotted along the tree line. “Here they come!” Tools in hand, the crew members got into position. The truck rolled to a stop and the guys pounced on the truck at full force, changing out the two rear tires and filling it up with gas. Before they knew it all hands were up and the truck was off in 34 seconds.

“I didn’t even know they changed rear tires because they changed so fast and it seemed like everything went so smooth,” Geiser said.

Geiser believes that the pit strategy gave Riot an edge at this race.

“It was a textbook day. All our pits were right on. We got quick splashes. The fuel pit was awesome,” said Sammy Zaranti, a Riot mechanic.

At that point the crew calculated that Riot was in third place and 10th overall. The truck was running well and they began counting down the miles to the finish.

Meanwhile, Rick Geiser and Ira Conn said they were having a blast together in the #68. “When you’re racing out there your going 100 miles plus and Ira pops up, ‘This is beautiful scenery. Look at this look this at that.’ That keeps a little of the fun in it,” Geiser said. “We kept on cruisin’ and movin’ forward and made it to the pits and did what we had to do.”
“The imagination shown in creating the course was great, and the diversity of the surroundings was unlike any other event,” Ira Conn, co-driver said. “I really look forward to doing that race again.”

This was Ira’s first time co-driving for Rick in a race. “Riding with Rick was a blast, I learned a lot riding with him,” Conn said.

In addition, Rick said not only was this a learning experience for the co-driver, but for him as well. “Nobody’s ever read a GPS like that before riding with me… I would have never thought that me being in this for 30 years (that) this guy’s going to help me on the GPS,” Geiser said. “It put me up one more level, him riding with me.”

After peeling out of Pit 5 it was the final stretch to the finish and everyone was eager to beat the truck there and witness the finale. Pedal to the floor, streaming down the hills, the crew watched as the truck’s speed hit the high 90s on the IonEarth tracking PDA. Hopes perked as the finish was in reach and a strong one at that. Riot chase vehicles pulled into the finish just in time. Crew members trekked up a hill where you could see the truck squeeze through the mountains. Riot came hurling down the hill and around the final corner, the tail end spilling out just enough to kick up some celebratory dust before blowing through the finish.

The crowd of spectators screamed with excitement, and a sigh of relief came over the crew as Riot passed under the Best in the Desert banner and the checkered flag. The truck drove up onto the podium and everyone’s smiles grew as Riot’s second place finish in the trophy truck class became a reality.

“I think it’s exciting for everybody, not only for us driving, but the team, the car, owner the guys that prepped it, the guys that gave it gas and on and on,” Geiser said.

Steve Sourapas, Andy McMillin, Rick Johnson and Clyde Stout all congratulated Rick on the great race. The Riot crew was very proud of Rick and Ira’s finish and the truck’s performance overall.

“I’d call the truck flawless,” Zaranti said. “We could have washed it off and done another 1,000 miles. No issues at all, no problems with the tires, no flats. You couldn’t ask for much more.”

This was Zaranti’s first race as a part of the Riot Racing crew along with a few other new faces, including Mike Lucey, Jerry Walker, and Steve Sloan, who have all worked together for the last month prepping Riot’s new vehicle for this vital race.

“I think you have a top notch team with good people (who) are excited about racing,” Geiser said.

“We got a great team and a great group of guys and everybody puts in their effort and it shows,” Zaranti added.

Now with a strong finish in the books for the Riot team, they are already gearing up for their next race venture.

“Second place was a good confidence booster. Now you look forward,” Jordan Poole, a Riot crew member said.

The next Best in the Desert Race for Riot will be Vegas to Reno, which will be another chase race. Hopefully the lessons Team Riot has learned in the Silver State 300 will contribute to successful chemistry for the next race in the series this August. Keep up with the latest Riot news and watch videos from Silver State 300 at http://www.riotracing.com.

Fans can watch the preview video for the Silver State 300 here.