Rod Hall Racing Extreme Outlaws 250 Recap

June 21, 2010 (Reno, NV) - The Xtreme Outlaws took over Reno, Nevada and the Grand Sierra Resort for a weekend of motorsports ranging from Freestyle Moto, Supermoto and a hair-raising 250-mile off-road race designed by Northern Nevada local and racing legend Rod Hall.  The course covered four sixty-mile laps in the mountains east of the city.  Last minute course changes took the racers through severe climbs and descents with spectacular views of the Sierra Mountain Range. 


Rod Hall Racing fielded two teams for the first year event.  Hall drove a vintage 1970 442 Olds formerly owned and raced by television star James Garner,  most famously known as “Rockford.”  Hall and the car were a highlight of the event as he led the field with police escort from the Grand Sierra Resort to the official start at the famous Mustang Ranch.  Hall raced the car until he lost an alternator.  A committed fan raced to a local parts store and bought a replacement.  The fix was made and he continued on course to showcase and shakedown the vehicle with media and sponsors taking the co-driver seat.


Emily Miller piloted the HUMMER H3 inline-5 with co-drivers Damien Michelin and Rob Henderson.  The four-wheel drive race truck was well suited to the course, however, she lost a brake line early on the third lap and ran over 60 miles through the mountains without stopping power.  After a final fix of the brakes, they ran hard, narrowly missing the Class 7 win by a mere 2 seconds.

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.

Chad Hall Racing the Silver State 300

This weekend - Saturday the 24th - Chad Hall will jump back into the Torchmate 7200 Ford Ranger - #7231 - to compete in the annual BITD Silver State 300. While race headquarters are in Las Vegas, the race promises to be not only a great course but a scenic one.  The route runs trhough the Pahroc Summit, Dalamar Valley, Cathedral Gorge and Caliente.  Although these names will be unknown to most of us, these are sites of amazing rock formations and serious mining history form the 1800's. As off-road racers, we race on the most beautiful course.


But enough about the scenery.  There are 15 trucks in the 7200 class alone this year and the competition will be tough.  However, Chad noted the truck was ready to race and he feels it is capable of the win. Since Parker, the front suspension has been reworked and the truck has a new engine with 500hp @ 7000 rpm.


You can follow the action live via Iritrack by clicking HERE.

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.

Chad Hall Racing BITD'S Parker 425

Chad Hall will race the Parker 425 in the 7200 class. Last year, Chad competed in the Speed Technologies Class 10 car.  7200 is an exciting class - unlimited mini / mid sized trucks, also known as mini-trick trucks.  While suspension is unlimited, engines are limited to six cylinders and Hall noted the Torchmate Ford Ranger puts out 500hp.


Jake Povey who has been with Rod Hall Racing for many years is now managing prep of the truck at Torchmate Racing.  To learn more about Torchmate, click here.