Hummer H3 Alpha and H3 first stock class vehicles to finish Baja

Racing legend Rod Hall earns record-breaking 18th career win in 40th Anniversary race

DETROIT - Off-road racing legend and Team HUMMER owner Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., entered the record books once again as he earned his record-breaking 18th career Baja 500 win in the 2008 SCORE International Baja 500. Hall and Mike Winkel, also of Reno, piloted his Rod Hall Racing HUMMER H3 to first place in the Stock Mini class in a time of 14:42:54.

Hall, 70, finished an hour and a half after his youngest son Chad Hall, also of Reno, won the Stock Full class in the #862 H3 Alpha for Team Hummer in 13:09:53 for his first win in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and second class win this season. The H3 Alpha was the first production vehicle to cross the finish line.

“The entire team did a fantastic job preparing these trucks for this race and it showed in the results,” said Rod Hall. “It was an honor to earn my 18th Baja 500 win behind the wheel of the H3 and with the members of Team HUMMER.”

The 2008 Baja 500 was the third consecutive Baja 500 Hall has won the stock mini class and is the 7th consecutive SCORE International race that Hall has piloted the H3 to a class win.

The 2008 Baja 500 marked the 40th anniversary of the grueling off-road race and covered 441.15 miles around Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, May 31, 2008. It also was the second Baja race that the H3 Alpha and H3 were the first production class vehicles to finish the race. The Team HUMMER H3 Alpha and H3 were the first production class vehicles to finish in the 2007 40th Anniversary Baja 1000.

“It was a great course this year and the H3 really excelled in the rugged terrain,” said Chad Hall. “We ran the entire race without any problems and the Alpha really gives us an edge on the competition.”

Team HUMMER races in the SCORE International full and mini stock classes which feature production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension designs and production-based engines. With 18 entries, the 2007 race boasted the most stock class vehicles in the history of the 1000 and included models from seven different automakers.

Two other HUMMER entries did not fare as well, as the Team HUMMER stock full H2 SUT and the Robby Gordon Off-Road HUMMER trophy truck ended their races early due to electrical and mechanical part failures.

Team HUMMER’s next race is the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno, August 21-23, 2008.