BEATTY -- Vegas to Reno: The Long Way race -- a 1,000-mile off-road adventure scheduled for Aug. 20-22 will start in Beatty, according to Best of the Desert Racing Association Director Casey Folks, who addressed the town advisory board here June 10.

The race was originally planned to start at Lathrop Wells, but Folks said that protection of desert tortoise habitat had necessitated the change.

Racers and their crews will use the fenced Nevada Department of Transportation gravel yard adjacent to Flourspar Canyon Road as a staging and parking area, and the race will start near there and use what was formerly known as the low road up Flourspar Canyon.

The course will cross Highway 95 well north of Springdale.

As previously planned, the race will be held in three stages, with overnight stops in Tonopah and Hawthorne. Because those communities do not have enough hotel and motel rooms to accommodate all the race participants, crews and fans, Folks said there will be approximately 400 motor homes and campers following the race.

In addition to the state gravel yard, Folks said that they would be using Beatty's driving range and areas behind the Phoenix Inn and Stagecoach Hotel and Casino for additional parking, which he said would mainly be for "off-loading vehicles."

Folks said that the race would not use the Old China Road. He also said that crews and others associated with the race would not be allowed to use Fleur de Lis Road.

David Spicer said that Folks had already contracted with him to rehabilitate the roads in the Beatty area and the rest of Southern Nye County after the race. He would begin the work immediately after the race. He also said that they would be working on roads used by former race sponsors.

Folks presented a $1,000 check to Beatty High School Principal Nancy Hein, saying the only stipulation was that it "be used for something for the kids." He also presented Town Board Chairman Mike Lasorsa, a fireman, with a $500 check for the Beatty Volunteer Fire Department.

Folks also said that his association was paying to have a culvert installed where Flourspar Canyon Road crosses the Amargosa River, which he said should be of benefit in protecting Amargosa toad habitat.