BAJA 1000 - #61 Update

At 8:08 pm Friday November 19th, Rod Hall crossed the finish line at the 43rd Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 and continued his streak as the only person to compete in each and every edition of the legendary off-road race. 



 The 2010 Baja marked a new era for Rod Hall Racing, as Rod, Josh and Chad Hall, the most winning family in Baja with 33 wins, debuted the #61 HALL USA in the premier Trophy Truck class.  The team has spent their successful career behind the wheels of production four-wheel drive vehicles and made the decision in 2009 to take their experience across the globe in search of overall wins in the top cross-country rally raids. 



The new 4WD #61 Trophy Truck was completed a mere three weeks prior to the Baja 1000 and the team felt the demands of the race to La Paz would serve as an excellent proving ground for the vehicle.  “We encountered issues that we fully expected, given limited testing before the race,” noted Chad Hall, eight-time Baja 1000 class winner.  “We have additional tuning and work to do, but our goal was to reach the finish line, and we accomplished that.”

Rod Hall Racing and BFGoodrich Celebrate the Career of Off-Road Legend Rod Hall

As the 43rd Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 quickly approaches, Rod Hall Racing and BFGoodrich will celebrate the history of off-road racing legend Rod Hall through a photo and story tribute during the month of October. 



To date, Hall is the most winning driver in Baja, has raced every Baja 1000 since it’s inception in 1967 – winning it 21 times in his class.  His records are impressive and span the globe.  Hall is known for more than the Baja – for his consistency, an impressive finish record and the longest unbroken string of wins – at 35.  To date, he has captured over 220 wins, and two years ago at the age of 71 he took home the SCORE Championships, the BITD Championships and the Toyota Milestone Award. 



With the help of photographer and journalist David Vowell, the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and BFGoodrich, we are able to present an impressive collection of historical photos from his entire racing career highlighted with his tales unique only to the colorful world of off-road.  Throughout October, we invite you to www.rodhallracing.com where a new photo will be posted daily, along with facts and stories.

1970 '442 James Garner Olds

Today, Rod Hall is in Mexicali for the start of the NORRA Mexican 1000.   The competition is a tribute to the original edition that took place in 1967.  This year’s race is a fully supported on and off-road rally open to vintage and alternative fueled vehicles. 


Hall is teamed up with Ron Johnson of Tacoma, Washington and as going to be driving the 1970 442 Olds that was originally built for James Garner.  Johnson acquired the car in 2007 and began restoration on what he described as a “incredibly beat up body.”  Today the car is in show-worthy condition and even has the original race engine found by Mondello Racing.  However, that is where the catch is.  Although an "original race motor" sounds great in theory, the team encountered a major setback when taking it for it's final test before loading it on the transporter.  They lost the race motor, forcing them to pull out of the race.  So as of today, people will have to be content to just see the car at tech and contingency where it is on display.   The 442 Olds will be on display next at the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame located inside the famed National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.   The tentative plan is the team will then enter the Extreme Outlaws 250 race in Reno on June 19th for a shakedown run.

Parker 425 - Recap

The Parker 425 was a three lap race this year and Chad Hall described it as surprisingly rough.  The youngest Hall was running Torchmate's 7200 class Ford Ranger in a field of 24 trucks.  Hall was 9th off the line, but was running in third when he passed the truck off to DOR Greg Jones at the midway point through the second lap.  Approximately 30 miles into Greg's run, the truck lost oil pressure and they lost the engine.  Chad believed the connecting rod broke.


Hall had tested the truck last week and is eager to work with the Torchmate crew to continue shock testing and tuning which he believes will make the Ranger a true top competitor.  The next race for Hall and the Torchmate mini-trick truck will be the Mint 400 - March 27th in Las Vegas.

Baja 1000 Pre-Running Begins for Rod Hall Racing Team

It's hard to believe it is already November and we are headed back to Mex. Saturday morning, Rod, Josh, Chad, Mike Winkel and Emily head to pre-run the course. This year marks the 42nd Baja 1000 and Rod's 42nd running of the race. He's making history again, but this year he'll be backing up his winning sons who are fielding the two H3 HUMMERS.

Chad Hall is Driver of Record of his silver H3 Alpha. He will be racing for his 8th class win and his 3rd win in this particular truck. The truck was built and debuted in 2007. Since then Chad has captured the 2007 1000 win, 2008 Baja 500 and Baja 1000 wins. Chad said that he's been wanting to get the suspension dialed in perfectly and finally after the Vegas to Reno (win), they were able to spend some time testing and tuning. "We made slight changes but they made significant impact and we are able to run a couple mph faster." The youngest Hall is tough to beat, consistent, fast and incredibly experienced in Baja. He'll be running against the diesel Dodge and the Lexus.

Josh Hall is Driver of Record on the blue i5 in the Stock Mini class. Josh sold the H2SUT this year to Greg Knowles of Perth, Australia and said "goodbye" to his truck in style by grabbing several selective stage wins at the Australasian Safari Rally - seven days through the Outback of Australia. Josh raced in the blue truck at the 40th Anniversary race and in an exciting run against the Millen's FJ, he was able to help his father capture the meaningful win. Josh was humble when talking to him, but make no mistake, he's known for his speed, skill and incredible focus. "I see it the same way again this year, I'm here to help Pops get his 20th win. But we have great, experienced competition, and we know it is a tough race to just get to the finish line."

Rod Hall, Emily Miller and Mike Winkel will also be driving the event. Thad Stump, Sam Cothrun and Dana Morris will be taking the navigator's seats.

We will be posting BLOGs throughout next week and constantly throughout the race as information from the team is available. We will also be posting Twitter updates and YouTube videos.