Inducted with the 2005
class of honorees into the
Off Road Motorsports Hall
of Fame (ORMHOF), Hall was
one of the founding fathers
of the sport.
Rod Hall began his racing
career in 1964 by winning
the Afton Canyon Jeep
Junket in the desert outside
of Riverside, California. He
then went on to race the
inaugural NORRA Mexican
1000 in 1967 before winning the event overall with
Larry Minor in 1969. By
1975, along with co-rider
and friend Jim Fricker, Hall
was assigned to a BillStoppe prepared factory
4WD Dodge. In 1977, the
duo began a winning streak
that lasted into the next
decade with an unbroken
string of 37 consecutive
SCORE and HDRA victories—an off-road racing
record.
Racing in overseas rallies
eventually earned Hall
a factory program with
HUMMER. Together with
son Chad, the team enjoyed
another era of remarkable
success and championships.
Hall is the ten-time winner
of the Mint 400, a ten-time
winner of the Parker 400,
the 12-time winner of the
Fireworks 250, 12-time winner of the Baja 500 and the
only 17-time winner of the
Baja 1000. Over the course
of his racing career, Hall has
won 14 major class points
championships.
“Let’s face it, Rod Hall is
one of the sport’s true originals, and we are pleased
and proud to have him join
us for the 2014 NORRA
Mexican 1000,” explained
NORRA President Mike
Pearlman. “It’s great to add
a legend like Rod Hall to a
rally that’s shaping up to be
the best Mexican 1000 yet!”
38
April 2014
Beginning in 2010, the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA) began promoting
a rebirth of the NORRA Mexican 1000 rally. The unique off-road rally was co-created by
promoter Mike Pearlman to consist of special stages (unlimited speed timed stages in
the dirt) linked together by controlled speed liaison / transit sections (highway). The
one-of-a-kind, once-a-year, four-day rally includes vintage off-road vehicles and motorcycles, rally cars, a limited group of modern desert racecars and classes for prerunner
trucks and buggies.
Pearlman’s late father Ed and others established the first running of the NORRA Mexican 1000 off-road rally in November of 1967, which eventually became internationally
recognized and evolved into the Baja 1000 in the mid-1970s.
The General Tire NORRA Mexican 1000 is supported by General Tire, American Racing
Wheel, South Point Hotel Casino, Walker Evans Racing, Azunia Tequila, KC HiLites, Bilstein Shock Absorbers and Mastercraft/Impact Safety.