CALIENTE, Nev. -- The Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts (SNORE) returns to the site of an all-time sentimental favorite on the 2012 Kartek schedule with the Dusty Times 250 Saturday north of Las Vegas.

After a one-year hiatus, the popular event will kick off its festivities with a meet and greet at Caliente Elementary Friday from at 8-9:30 a.m. The gathering has been a favorite of both the students and race teams since 2005.

The history of the event is equally as interesting based on the fact that it was originally was pioneered by legendary off road promoter and racer Bert Vaughan, who launched the race in the mid-1970s.

"We are very happy with the amount of entries," said SNORE Vice President John Pellissier, who doubles as a competitor in the Champ Car class. "There has been a surge in the past few weeks and we're expecting entries to continue through the rest of this week.
"We are hoping for 80 entries."

The 56 mile course will offer a long list of special challenges of terrain including four water crossings.

"The last of the crossings is about two feet deep," said Pellissier, 44. "If your engine is not water-proof, there's a chance that it could shut down. This is a very unusual characteristic that drivers normally don't face in off-road racing. If you have ever raced this event, you never want to miss another one."

In addition, a steep drop called "Oh My God Hill" heading back into Caliente provides incredible action in a twisty, but fast final mile.

Just as important is that this small town situated about 180 miles northeast of Las Vegas opens its arms to SNORE.

"The people of Caliente love the race," Pellissier said.

Saturday's race begins at 8 a.m. with the fastest professionals going four laps; others going three laps and the Class 11s will go two laps.

TJ Flores and his driving partner Las Vegas chiropractor Dr. Kevin Colan combined for the victory in the 2010 Caliente 250 in a Class 1 entry.

Class 10 competitor Roger Starkey leads the rich 2012 SNORE Kartek Championship Off Road Series points standings with 1,385 points followed by Class 9 driver Brian Caudill (1,292); Class 11 driver Robert Johnson (1,258); Pellissier (1,251) and 1600 driver Jason Coleman (1,251).

The top ten also includes Champ Car competitor Greg Crew (1,150), 3000 driver John Gauld, 1600 driver Jeff Bruner (1,075) and Champ Car competitor Michael Benedict (1,060).

The Sportsman standings are paced by Jordan Poole (1,411); Billy Shapley (1,247), Darren Parsons (1,222), Jeremy Smeltzer (1,121), Eric Trondie (1,067), Dan Defreze (934), Steve Olliges (835), Breanna Cloud (760), George Rosenbaum (708) and Mark Brister (691).

SNORE kicked off the 2012 season with the Dusty Times Battle at Primm Jan. 24-26 before running the PCI Radios 300 April 13-15 in Ridgecrest, Calif. Further information can be found by visiting www.snoreracing.net.