Chicken Ranch Racing Fourth Place at the SNORE Dirtshades Caliente 250

The SNORE Dirtshades Caliente 250 is known as one of the toughest off-road races in Nevada, and this year’s race in Caliente didn’t disappoint. Car #1659, driven by John Bohls, came through with a solid fourth-place finish in Class 1600 despite two flat tires, brutal terrain, and conditions that knocked several competitors out of contention.

Before the Green Flag

Before the green flag even dropped, the race taught us something. We arrived without all the fueling requirements SNORE updated this year, which meant scrambling to get our fire-retardant fuel mat positioned when we needed it. That’s the kind of detail you don’t miss twice. Racing is as much about pit prep as it is about what happens in the desert, and we’re already dialed in for the next one.

The Desert Doesn’t Give Breaks

Once we hit the course, the desert showed why it earns respect. Multiple competitors from several classes found themselves crashed, stranded, or upside down. John faced two flat tires throughout the race, but both times the call came to keep moving. There was one moment in particular where John was coming into a hairpin turn surrounded by dust and couldn’t see the road ahead. His co-driver made the call through the radio. John trusted it, hit the turn, and #1659 kept racing. That’s what driver and co-driver communication looks like at race speed.

Pit B Showed Us What Racing Really Means

When the second flat brought us into Pit B without our crew, racers from the entire pit area came running to help. They didn’t care whose car it was. A tire got changed, water got handed over, and people jumped in to get us back on track. After the race, we found out those racers told us how proud they were to have worked on the Chicken Ranch Racing car. That’s off-road racing. You compete hard, and when somebody needs help, you show up.

Class 1600 Showed Up for Each Other

Something significant happened with Class 1600 this weekend too. The drivers in our class came together in a way we haven’t seen before, showing real camaraderie and support. Several fellow competitors made a point to thank us for bringing attention to the class and helping fans understand what it takes to get these cars across the desert. That meant a lot more than the finishing position.

More Speed to Find

Fourth place is solid. But it also tells us there’s more in this car and more in this team. We know where to improve. Seat time, driver training, pushing through turns with more confidence, and understanding exactly how far #1659 can go. We also identified a small but important fix on our GPS course notes- smaller, cleaner lettering so Vanessa and Chato can read them at speed without getting buried in information. Small details matter when you’re racing at full throttle through dust and terrain.

The Proposal That Made This Weekend Unforgettable

And then there’s the story that’s going to stick with us forever.

During Friday’s Fun Run, John stopped #1659 out in the middle of the Nevada desert. Vanessa got out of the car. And right there beside the race car that’s been at the center of so many of their adventures together, John Bohls dropped to one knee and proposed.

She said yes.

No ballroom. No perfectly manicured backdrop. No fancy restaurant or carefully planned moment. Just two racers, a race car, dirt beneath their boots, and miles of Nevada desert around them. For John and Vanessa, there couldn’t have been a more perfect place.

The best part? They climbed back into #1659 the next day and went racing. Getting engaged apparently wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend.

Fourth Place, and So Much More

By the time #1659 came back into Caliente, the car looked like it had been through a war. Mud everywhere, dust everywhere, the team exhausted. But the car was still moving, and it finished. Fourth place, Class 1600. Not because everything went perfectly, but because when things went wrong, somebody found a way forward.

We came to Nevada as Chicken Ranch Racing. We left with a fourth-place finish, lessons that will make us faster, new friends, an even stronger Class 1600 community, and a future Mr. and Mrs. Bohls. Not a bad weekend in the desert.