Are you ready for some BIG NEWS about a BIG SHOW coming to Reno?!
The Reno Air Racing Association is thrilled to announce that the US Navy Blue Angels, the Canadian Snowbirds and the USAF F-16 Viper Demonstration Team will all be coming to Reno on October 4-6, 2024!
So mark it on your calendar, and then keep an eye out for more details on the event and ticket release coming soon, as we celebrate 60 years of aviation excitement in Reno!
Today is a special day for all charitable organizations around the world, when a simple ask of support is highlighted a little extra through the creation of Giving Tuesday.
The Reno Air Racing Association’s Scholarship Program has a long standing history of success in helping young people get their feet (and planes) off the ground, and begin their trajectory toward a career in aviation.
So if you’re looking to be a part of something special on this global day of giving, we hope you’ll consider donating to this wonderful program. Then you can even follow along through social media and email as we highlight pilots making progress toward their future, thanks to the support you offered.
Learn more and make a donation by clicking below.
With so much to be thankful for this holiday season, we’re hoping to help spread the love around. Giving Tuesday offers a special opportunity to do just that through our Scholarship Program.
The Reno Air Racing Association’s Scholarship Program has a long standing history of success in helping young people get their feet (and planes) off the ground, and begin their trajectory toward a career
in aviation.
2023 saw several new pilots take their first solo flight thanks to the wonderful donations of our many supporters. We aim to make 2024 our best year yet, and the effort toward that begins now.
While we accept donations any time of the year, Tuesday, November 28th is #GivingTuesday. So if you’re looking to be a part of something special on this global day of giving, we hope you’ll consider donating to the Reno Air Racing Association’s Scholarship Program.
Reno, Nev. – Over fifteen hundred pages of supporting documents have been submitted by six cities vying to become the new home of the National Championship Air Races (NCAR) after responding to a request for proposal distributed by the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) earlier this year. RARA is looking for a new venue for the event after announcing its departure from Reno following the final race in September. The world-renowned event has contributed over $100 million annually in economic impact to the region, while also establishing itself as the global standard for air racing. The National Championship Air Races is the only event in the world to feature seven classes of exciting air racing action in one incredible venue. Six closed-course pylon contests and the immensely popular and entertaining STOL Drag combine to create a motorsport experience like no other.
“Seeing the interest to host the National Championship Air Races at each of these unique venues gives me great hope for the future of air racing,” said Fred Telling, CEO and chairman of the board for the Reno Air Racing Association. “We’re looking for our next home, somewhere we can celebrate many more anniversaries, so we’ve assembled an expert committee that is putting an extreme amount of care and diligence into choosing our next location.”
The bidders that responded to the request for proposals include:
The National Championship Air Races is a unique event that has called northern Nevada home since its founding in 1964, nearly 60 years ago. In the past 10 years alone, the event has attracted more than one million visitors to the region, generated more than $750 million for the economy and contributed significant aviation related education and outreach to schools and non-profits all around the area.
The committee researching the bid submissions is made up of RARA personnel from all areas, including operations, safety, security, business development and more. The race classes are also represented in the group and will continue to be an integral part of the selection process. At this point, the selection committee is thoroughly vetting the different proposals and will conduct site visits later this year. There are numerous factors to consider, but a few of the critical requirements for the event include considerable open landavailable for the racecourses, suitable runways, ramp and hangar space, administrative and security facilities, as well as proximity to hotels, commercial airports and restaurants.
“We only want to go through this process once and because of that, we’re going to make sure our next location is the best fit for the future of the air races,” said Terry Matter, board member and chairman of the selection committee. “Each of the bidders’ proposals were thoroughly prepared and completely addressed the RARA RFP requirements. We are so grateful for their initial attendance at the bidders’ conferences and at NCAR in September, and for the time and effort each one of them put into their proposal preparation. It is very exciting to know that our new home will be in one of these great cities. Soon our Site Selection Committee will visit these locations to further evaluate their ability to be the future host of the National Championship Air Races.” A final decision is expected to be announced early next year as the organization prepares for a final air show in Reno in 2024 before moving to the new location in 2025.
While we are mourning the sad ending to our last air races in Reno, we are also focused on the countless good memories created over a 60 year adventure that will live on in all our hearts forever. The incredible legacy of Reno Air Racing and our September Family that has grown and flourished from it is a certain kind of special that will never fade away.
On the last day of the event, we lost two beloved members of our air race family. Chris Rushing and Nick Macy were extraordinary pilots and pillars in the aviation community. As veteran gold winners in the T-6 class, they were truly champions on and off the race course. We share in the sorrow experienced by every person who knew Chris and Nick and extend our support to their friends, families, crew and fellow pilots.
Please join us in finding ways to honor these two great men in the coming days. We’d love to see your pictures and hear stories of how they impacted you, or how they helped to make this event special. These simple gestures keep the spirit of their passion for air racing alive, and are a meaningful way to honor their legacy.
UNLIMITED CLASS
GOLD
#3 Steve Hinton – Bardahl Special
#114 Stephen Koewler – Argonaut
#924 Joel Swager – 924
#64 Vicky Benzing – Plum Crazy
#31 Dan Vance – Speedball Alice
#19 John Maloney – Boise Bee
#44 Brant Seghetti – Sparky
SILVER
#43 Steven Coutches – 51
#81 Rob Patterson – Wee Willy II
#69 Jim Rust – Miss Marvel
#51 RT Dickson – Swamp Fox
#18 Jim Thomas – Sneak Attack
#27 John Maloney – Miss Trinidad
#11 Brent Hisey – Miss America
BRONZE
#4 Jeff Lavelle – Sweet & Lovely
#75 John Muszala II – Lady Jo
#63 Patrick Nightingale – Pretty Polly
#0 Mark Moodle – Spam Can
#62 Tom Nightingale – Bunny
#55 Ken Gottschall – Man O’ War
JET CLASS
GOLD
#5 Michael Steiger – American Spirit
#24 Joe “Face Punch” Swindel – Just Lucky
#8 Dave Sterling – Race 8
#11 Jerry “Jive” Kirby – Team Race 11
SILVER
#84 Scott Gusakov – Tumbling Goose
#12 Matt Guthmiller – Alpine Thunder
#55 Bob McCormack – Spirit of Freedom
#61 George Ryan – Miss Independence
#17 Al “Cool Breeze” Hoover – Texas Fouga
#555 Mark E Davis – Phoenix
SPORT CLASS
GOLD
#39 Jeff Lavelle – Race 39
#30 Andrew Findlay – One Moment
#3 Sean VanHatten – Mojo
#4 Tom McNerney – Too Much
#51 Mathias Haid – Clas Thunder One
#777 Matt Ramsey – Guardian Angel
#5 Conrad Huffstutler – Breathless
#15 Vicky Benzing – Lucky Girl
SILVER
#6 Joe Coraggio – Ramp Rat’s Ride
#67 Peter Balmer – Race 44
#56 George Catalano – Bad Dingo
#2 Vince Walker – Modo Mio
#10 Timothy Slater – Cruse Missile|
#34 John Flanagan – Screamin Mimi
#45 Doug Glover – KXP Racing
#7 Kevin Eldredge – Gryphone
BRONZE
#28 Pete Zaccagnino – Coming in Hot
#92 David Robinson – Top Shelf
#23 Bijan Victor Maleki – Reno Bear
#96 Chris McMillian – Sarah Smile
#49 Bob Mills – Rocket Six
#69 James Webb – Leading Edge
#21 Alan R. Crawford – Blackjack
#60 Dee Child – Miss’d Tuesday
MEDALLION
#88 Bob Wolstenholme – NA
#52 Colleen Sterling – Aquila
#130 Olivier Langeard – Zebulon
#55 Nick Biondo – Unleashed
#76 Jason Rovey – Race 76
#888 Neil Wischer – Triple Eight
#101 Lee Ulrich – General Lee
#22 Neil Parkinson – Greenstreak
FORMULA ONE CLASS
GOLD
#31 Josh Watson – Fraed Nought
#79 Justin Phillipson – No Strings Attached
#34 Justin Meaders – Limitless
#99 Tim Cone – What Airplane Honey?
#14 Matt Moore – ACME Special II
#81 Drew Keenan – Sleeper
#00 Chet Harris – Aught Nought
#85 Eric Dienst – Deja Vu
SILVER
#82 Austin Shaw – Cheap Thrills
#52 Trent Woodworth – Feisty
#39 JP O’Dell – Monkey Ninja
#26 Paul E. Newman – Fast and Easy
#48 Blaire Hamilton – The Atomic Pumpkin
#74 Shaun Milke – Phat Ass Cass
#73 Steve Temple – Never EZ
#21 Jen Watson – Black Jack
BRONZE
#37 Stephen Coleman – Slab Dog
#17 Pushkraj “Push” Wagh – Annie
#9 Scott Holmes – Outlaw
#6 Carl Robinson – Budde Special
#58 Todd A Rumsey – Sonic Boom
#72 Dominic Cacolici – The Sky Addict
T-6 CLASS
GOLD
#14 Chris Rushing – Baron’s Revenge
#6 Nick S. Macy – Six-Cat
#66 Vic McMann – Gunslinger
#88 John Lohmar – Radial Velocity
#50 Vitaly Pecherskyy – Abracadabra
#43 Joel B. Stinnett – Midnight Miss III
SILVER
#90 Greg Mcneely – Undecided
#5 Gordo Sanders – Big Red
#2 Chris LeFave – Bare Essentials
#388 Aaron Singer – EZ Six
#69 Lee Oman – Eros
#999 Job Savage – 999
BRONZE
#49 Bill Muszala – Miss Ellaneous
#25 Jason Karlin – Vicarious
#73 Loren Marburg – Miss Humboldt Hunny
#19 Michael Sisk – Redneck Fury
#48 Brian Reberry – The Other Woman
STOL CLASS
#44 Steve Henry – Yee Haw 8
#48 Eddy Sanches – Devil Girl
#73 Tim Shelhorn – Psycho Billy
#80 Bo Ellis – ECHO
#3 Hal Stockman – Lawn Mower III
#27 Harry Beaupre – Spirit of Louis
#221 Brian Steck – Scooter
#62 Austin Clemen
#4 Bryan Bowen – STOL Fox
#84 Aaron Greear – Moose Knuckle
#85 Cathy Page – LunaC
#21 Kevin Palmer – STOL 21
#11 Rod Hewitt – Angry Kitten
#46 Warren Grobbelaar – Cessna 180
#63 Tony Sanches – God Bless John Wayne
#22 Ty Ferkin – Evenrude
#20 Ty Berlingham – The Red Wagon
#11 David Kerley – 11
#7 Bruce Graham – Yellow Thunder
#22 Jeff Whitley – The Beast
#66 Jon Hakala – Big Tuna
#78 Brian Moore – Honey Badger
#18 Justin Tisdale – MooseStacheFlyer
We experienced an unprecedented demand for our merchandise commemorating the last year of air racing in Reno. We’re honored that so many are memorializing this event so passionately. In an effort to be certain that anyone who wants to grab a piece of this historical event has the opportunity, we have made our most popular sold-out merchandise available to order for a LIMITED TIME via the link below. The opportunity WILL CLOSE FRIDAY, September 29th, and orders will ship in 3-4 weeks.
On Sunday afternoon, around 2:15 p.m., veteran pilots of the T-6 class, Nick Macy and Chris Rushing passed after the T-6 Gold race had ended. Both individuals were longtime participants and staunch supporters of the event and we are heartbroken over this loss.
While the incident happened just outside of the race course, it did not involve any civilians or residential buildings. As is always the case, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are handling the investigation into the crash but we do know that this was not related to racing and happened in the course of landing. Though the families of both pilots wanted us to continue racing and the FAA and NTSB had cleared us to continue, we made the decision to cancel the rest of the event out of an abundance of caution and respect for all of our racers and families.
While there are inherent risks with any motorsport, we work diligently year around to mitigate these risks and safety is our foremost priority. Despite the sad way we have ended our storied tenure in northern Nevada, we want to express our appreciation to the countless fans and volunteers who have supported the event over the years. With the encouragement of our pilots, volunteers and entire air race family and the encouragement of both of these two pilots’ families, we will continue to work to identify a new location for the National Championship Air Races and hope to make that announcement in early 2024.
We want to express our heartfelt thank you to the countless individuals who work to put on an event of this magnitude. This was one of the biggest in the event’s history and we are incredibly grateful to all of the fans who show unconditional support through both the good and troubling times.