Chicken Ranch Racing Takes on Wind, Weddings, and Wild Challenges at the 2026 PCI Race Radios Rage at Ridgecrest

May 14-17, 2026 | Ridgecrest, California

If you want one word to describe the 2026 PCI Race Radios Rage at Ridgecrest, it’s simple: wind. Actually, that’s not enough. It was wind, weddings, a debut performance under pressure, and one of the most memorable race weekends we’ve had in a long time. This was the second two-day race of the SNORE season, and Ridgecrest delivered everything off-road racing is about.

A Brand New Venue Worth the Trip

SNORE added Ridgecrest to the 2026 schedule, and the city didn’t just host a race, it threw a full-on celebration. Friday started with the fun run giving teams their first look at the brand new course, followed by registration, tech inspection, and contingency. But then Ridgecrest did something you don’t always see at race venues. They transformed downtown into a massive street fair, with off-road race vehicles, food, drinks, live music, and activities for the whole family. More than 10,000 spectators packed the streets. It was a hell of a welcome to the SNORE family, and the city earned every bit of the crowd it drew.

Saturday: Brandon Meehan Steps Up and Delivers

Saturday’s race kicked off at 10:50 AM with five 13-mile laps on the schedule. Here’s the wrinkle: regular driver John Bohls was in Prescott, Arizona attending the wedding of a lifelong friend. That left Brandon Meehan behind the wheel of a car he had never driven beyond the 25 mph fun run the day before. Not exactly ideal seat time. Paired with veteran co-driver Mauro Diaz Jr., Brandon started sixth and had every reason to take it easy and just get through the day. He didn’t. He settled into fifth place and drove clean, consistent, and confident through a challenging course that was giving plenty of other teams fits. By the end of the day, Chicken Ranch Racing stood 7th out of 11 starters, with a minor CV bolt issue discovered overnight that the crew got to work on immediately.

Meanwhile, John Bohls and Vanessa MacCracken made the seven-hour drive back from Arizona immediately after the wedding reception so John could be ready for Sunday morning. You want to talk about dedication? That’s what it looks like.

Sunday: Wind, a Rollover, and Everything In Between

John was back in the driver’s seat Sunday alongside Mauro Diaz Jr., and the race launched again at 10:50 AM. Not long after the green flag, the wind showed up. And not a mild desert breeze, either. At its worst, visibility dropped so low that drivers were essentially navigating blind. Every team on course was dealing with the same conditions, and it was a genuine test of nerve and skill just to stay on the course.

The team started sixth and pushed up to fifth before lap two brought them to Road Crossing One, an obstacle that had already claimed several vehicles over the weekend. That’s where the car tipped onto its side. The crew got it back on four wheels, and John pushed hard to stay on the lead lap and keep the team in contention. They made it to lap three before the CV bolt issue that had been lurking since Saturday came back and ended the day early. Sometimes desert racing doesn’t give you the finish you wanted. What it does give you is a story, and this weekend had plenty of those.

A Weekend That Had Everything

New venue. New course. A substitute driver making his debut in unfamiliar equipment. A cross-state drive straight from a wedding ceremony. A rollover at the most notorious obstacle on the course. Mechanical gremlins hanging around from day one. And of course, the kind of wind that makes you question every life decision that led you to a desert race.

For John and Vanessa, for Brandon and Mauro, and for the entire Chicken Ranch Racing crew, this was a weekend that nobody is going to forget anytime soon. Not because everything went perfectly, but because when things didn’t, the team kept going. That’s what we do.

Big thanks to the crew, our sponsors, and our fans for the continued support. Special thanks to the World-Famous Chicken Ranch for backing this program, and to the city of Ridgecrest for putting on one of the most impressive off-road events we’ve seen. We’ll be back.

See you at the next race. Hopefully with a little less wind.