One year later, Riot remembers Tony Sorensen at Vegas to Reno race

The stars still lingered over Beatty at sunrise where the Riot camp was bustling with anticipation and surprise. Tony Sorensen was suiting up as he normally would, but this race morning held greater meaning than any other. This was the first time Tony was destined for the driver's seat of a trophy truck. He was starting one of the grandest events in off-road racing, Vegas to Reno, The Long Way, a 1,000-mile race, and his son, T.J. was to be his co-pilot.

Up to this point, Tony had always been the co-driver for Marc Ewing's 68 Riot Racing trophy truck. "He loved the co-driving and he loved guiding people," Tony's older brother Derral Sorensen said. "But to get a chance to get out there on his own with his son by his side, it just seemed so natural and awe inspiring to watch him climb into that truck and get ready to go. He told me, 'This is what I've been waiting for.'"

A slow rumble was building in the staging area as the engines revved and the trucks lined up single file that Thursday morning, Aug. 20, 2009. The Riot Racing team had spent months rebuilding and prepping their first trophy truck from the ground up with a brand new race team.

At the end of 2008, Ewing, who was from Chicago and new to the sport, called upon Tony who had years of off-road experience to help him start a trophy truck race team. This was an opportunity Tony had always dreamed of. Riot's first race was the 2009 Parker 425 where they finished in an astonishing seventh place. The team continued to grow and progress under Tony's guidance.

Derral recalled Tony talking about starting the team. "‘This is what I've been looking for all my life, to be a part of a team like that and race that quality of a truck.' You couldn't stop him from talking and grinning from ear to ear."

With their feet wet from the first few races of the year, the Riot team looked at Vegas to Reno as a chance to make their presence known. Tony's family and friends from Salt Lake City joined together around the start with Ewing's crew from Chicago— a mesh of East and West that was quickly shaping into a team. The Riot truck pulled underneath the Red Bull arch, shielded from the 100-plus degree heat for a few brief moments before it peeled off the start line. Tony's wife Wendy and his daughter Kristin jumped with excitement and flung their arms in the air, cameras dangling by the straps around their wrists as the truck accelerated up the straightaway. The helicopter overhead followed them off into the distance and the truck vanished beyond the ridgeline.

"I was almost in tears just watching him do it," Derral said. "I knew this was exactly what he wanted to do."

The truck was running extremely well and Tony was making progress. At midday Derral recalled hearing a report that the Riot truck was running in seventh position after starting 26th— a great accomplishment. He is certain Tony was having the time of his life.

"I can't imagine being in the middle of that dry lake bed and going 120 mph, the scenery... and your son next to you. You're in heaven already," Derral said.

The truck had stopped earlier for fuel and was heading toward pit seven for a driver change. Not long after a quick stop at pit six horrifying news came over the radio. T.J. was reporting that Tony had blacked out and wasn't breathing.

"In that moment every single one of us who heard that message was frozen in time. It's every team's worst nightmare," recalled Harvey Knapp, Tony's long-time friend. Moments before Tony became unconscious he was able to steer the truck off course to a safe location. Riot's helicopter and crew members quickly arrived to his aid. Everyone present gave him the best possible care until he was transported to the hospital in Tonopah, Nevada. There, it became clear that nothing more could be done for him. Tony Sorensen, 46 years of age, had passed away of a massive heart attack.

"The impact of Tony's passing on everyone was just devastating, and a hundred times more so for his family. It's the kind of moment that no one wants to bear witness to," Knapp, Riot's development coordinator said.

With his family, many friends and the crew present, everyone drew together to say goodbye to an exceptional man. As difficult of a time as it was, the fact that his life ended while racing has given the Sorensens some comfort.

"I know the whole family feels that he passed away doing exactly what he loved and he passed away at the top of his game and the height of his life. I think that's helped all of us cope and deal with it," Derral said.

"For him to get to drive that truck in that race in many ways was a dream come true, and it's tragic. The whole thing was tragic," said Ira Conn, Riot's co-driver who has been with Tony from the team's inception.

Tony played a critical role in bringing the team to where it is today.

"Without Tony there would be no Riot Racing," Ewing said.

Before Riot, Ewing had never driven on a dirt road. But he had talent and a relentless desire to succeed. Tony helped wield Ewing's ambition, giving it wheels and direction.

"A lot of people started from scratch," Derral said. "I think Tony taught (them) the fine art of getting dirty and racing in the desert."

There was more than Tony's off-road knowledge and his experience as a former race team owner in Salt Lake City. His cheerful, heartfelt personality and a long-time friendship with Knapp is what initially inspired him to bring Tony into the picture.

"Tony was always full of positive energy and had a smile on his face, and was just an all-around good guy. I think that and his enthusiasm for off-road racing was what sealed the deal for me as I was looking into racing. How could you not want to launch into the desert and kick up dust with this guy?" Ewing said.

His personality was instrumental in developing a team.

"Tony's infectious optimism was key in the initial growth of Riot Racing, and his love for off-road racing was undeniable," Conn said.

More than that, "the passion that he had for racing was contagious," Knapp added.

The love for the sport that he instilled in the team members remains a driving force in Riot Racing. And as they return to Beatty, Nevada in a few days with new crew members, a new attitude and even a new look, Tony's memory is still vibrant in their hearts and minds.

"Going into this race you can't help but be flooded with memories," Conn said. He will be co-driving at Vegas to Reno for Ewing. "I really feel for Tony's family."

Tony's brother Derral and Tony's children plan to attend the race and watch the Riot truck leave the start line once more.

"I want to go to honor Tony and cheer on the team that's continued on," Derral said. "I really felt like that was Tony's race and now it's Marc and Ira's turn to kick some butt and win, and I know Tony's gonna be with them in spirit."

Even though it has only been a year since Tony's passing, the team has transformed in many ways, and Riot is currently in a points chase for the Best in the Desert Series.

"It's a new chapter of Riot," Derral said.

As new pages are written, Riot hopes to honor its past.

"The best way that we can pay tribute to Tony is for the race team to do well at Vegas to Reno. Everyone on the team is determined to do just that," Knapp said.

When the truck rolls off the line Friday morning, on the anniversary of his passing, Tony will be in everyone's thoughts.

"We all love and miss him so much," T.J. Sorensen said, "but we know he is in a better place, the great desert in the sky, still mashing the pedal on the right."

"Let's give 'em hell." — Tony Sorensen, 1962-2009

Riot Remembers

On Thursday August 20, 2009 tragedy struck as Tony Sorensen passed away while driving the #68 Riot truck on the first day of the Vegas to Reno race.

Riot Racing came to be as a result of Tony’s passion and dedication to off-road racing. It was his vision that helped guide Riot Racing from its inception to what it is now. It is fair to say that everything I know about off-road racing, I learned from Tony.

We can console ourselves knowing that Tony passed doing something he loved and dreamed about his whole life – racing a trophy truck in the desert.

Our condolences go out to the Sorensen family and friends. The entire Riot Racing family and all who knew Tony are deeply saddened by his passing. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Marc Ewing

Other tributes to Tony