Ted Nugent, '80s rocker and outdoor enthusiast, will have a trip to Fallon on his calendar for June if Rick Gray, executive director of the Fallon Convention and Tourism Authority, gets his wish.
As Fallon gears up for its 100th birthday celebrations, the city will introduce Octane Fest, a weeklong series of motor sports-related events, on June 10-15. The goal: To boost the city's tourism sector with 10,000 or more out-of-town visitors.
A concert to be headlined by the outspoken long-haired bow hunter from Detroit would be but one of five main events.
The package developed by Gray to lure Nugent would include an elk hunt, and perhaps even a flight with a Top Gun pilot from the Fallon Naval Air Station.
"Our chances of acquiring Ted are probably small," Gray admits, "but hopefully a more-personalized proposal will get him out here. If not him, we'll get someone of his caliber so that we have a major music festival."
The four other scheduled main events include:
* The Octane Fest's anchor event, a National Hot Rod Association series points race June 14-15 at Top Gun Raceway.
* An International Motor Contest Association race on the dirt oval at Rattlesnake Raceway.
* Tentative plans for a king-of-the-hill ATV climb at Sand Mountain.
* An appearance by a noted NASCAR driver or NHRA drag racer.
Gray says event organizers are working with the Bureau of Land Management to incorporate popular Sand Mountain which annually draws 60,000 visitors into the event while still protecting the area's sensitive environment.
Fallon's long motor-sports history makes the Octane Fest a great fit for the area, Gray says. The event is expected to draw between 10,000 and 15,000 tourists from northern Nevada and California.
The NHRA race alone typically draws more than 500 racers, and support teams, family members and race crew push their number into the thousands.
Gray says the Octane Fest has a budget of more than $180,000, with Jetway Chevrolet already onboard as one of the first of its corporate sponsors.
Octane Fest organizers recently received an $8,000 grant to market the event from the Nevada Commission on Tourism, part of $595,000 awarded in late December by the NCOT to communities around the state for marketing and tourism initiatives.
