Hummer 1st and 3rd at Baja 1000!

[Buckeye Hummer]

This article is courtesy of Allan Madar (who everyone flamed earlier) but is a Hummer guy and was nice enough to send me this info about the Baja 1000:

BAJA 1000 RACE REPORT
For Information Contact:
George R. Thompson
Rod Hall Team HUMMER
grt@sunrisegroup.com
661.245.5010
Ensenada, BC, Mexico - Nov 22, 2003: Earlier today, Chad and Josh Hall brought home the third
consecutive Tecate/Score 'Baja 1000' victory for Team HUMMER, taking the checkered flag in their
HUMMER H1 Pick-up after covering the 800 mile course in 22 hours, 41 minutes. In what many say was
the toughest ‘Baja 1000’ ever, the Reno, Nevada brothers dominated the “Stock-Full Sized production class”
finishing almost 3 1/2 hours in front of the second place entry of
San Diego’s, Mark Stein. This win marks the fourth ‘Baja 1000’
victory for Chad Hall, the third for brother, Josh and is the 7th
‘Baja 1000’ win for Team HUMMER since 1993, when HUMMER
first began competing in this internationally recognized off-road
race.
“We had some problems with the right, front shock reservoir”,
said Chad Hall, who started the race with co-rider Dr. Cort Stoskoph.
“Apparently, the piston travel in the reservoir was limited because
we had clamped it too tightly to the shock, restricting the movement
of the piston. As a result, when we charged the shocks, the right one didn’t get filled completely. Once we
figured out what was wrong and relocated the reservoir, it worked correctly but still did not have a full
charge. This caused us to take a more conservative line through the rough stuff, which was probably a good
thing since we were able to go the distance with no flats and no problems of any kind.”
Josh Hall took the wheel of the #861 HUMMER Pick-up at
race-mile 449 with chief mechanic, Brad Falin in the second seat.
At that point Team HUMMER had already built up a considerable
lead and Josh was able to add to that advantage when the second
place truck hit a rock around race-mile 730 and tore off a rear wheel,
causing them to suffer additional downtime. Josh kept his foot in
the big HUMMER crossing the finish line at 9:30 AM Saturday
morning. Not only did the Team HUMMER Pick-up dominate the
Stock-Full class but also finished in front of the winner of the heavily
modified Class 8 Pick-up class.
Meanwhile, team owner Rod Hall was having a good day in the new HUMMER H2 SUV but the race
was not without problems for the 17 time winner of the 'Baja 1000'.
The H2 had been performing well during the first 140 miles, running
within a minute of the leaders and moving between 2nd and 3rd
place. At one point he pulled out to pass his son, Chad, who was
not about to eat his father’s dust, whereupon he (Chad) picked up
the pace and assured himself, for the moment, that dad would remain
in second. Shortly after that, a ball joint on an upper control arm
failed in the H2 and Hall was forced to park it long enough to make
repairs in the field. Fortunately Hall had a spare on board and
teammate Thad Stump, project manager from the GM Proving
Grounds on the H2 racing project to make the necessary repairs,
which were accomplished in about 25 minutes.
TEAM HUMMER FINISHES FIRST AND THIRD AT TECATE/SCORE 'BAJA 1000'
Chad Taking on fuel at Pit #1
Hall/Stump on the course near race-mile 75
- more -
Josh Hall & Brad Falin at the Finish
BAJA 1000 RACE REPORT
For Information Contact:
George R. Thompson
Rod Hall Team HUMMER
grt@sunrisegroup.com
661.245.5010
Unfortunately, when the ball joint pulled out of the upper control arm assembly, one of the front brake
lines was ripped in half. Hall and Stump were able to crimp the brake line tight enough so they could
partially restore the braking system but this is not a repair that can
be properly accomplished on the course without specialized equipment.
So the H2 was driven cautiously across the mountain range
which stood between them and the next pit using only the rear
brakes. At the second BFGoodrich pit, 204 miles into the race,
they were able to make more permanent repairs and change drivers.
After a few minutes the brakes were restored and Mike Winkel
took the wheel with navigator Dave Cumming in the second seat,
as they began chasing the field, the last of which was now over
two hours in front of them. The #862 Team HUMMER SUV
drove through the night, before moving into third place just before
the Puertocitos BFG pit at race-mile 578. At 7:20 AM, after
fueling the truck, Hall/Stump again took over the controls of the H2 for the run to the finish and got back
onto the course with a 3 minute lead over Matt and Noah Pike in the #879 Ford Exhibition. Hall turned up
the wick and by the next BFG pit at race-mile 707, had tacked over an hour and a half onto that lead and was
solidly in third heading into the last 100 miles.
The distance between the H2 and second place was too great to overcome in only 100 miles. Hall
pushed the Team HUMMER SUV to a pace he was comfortable
with given his concerns about the Ball Joint and managed to make up
a few hours on the #863 Ford Exhibition but, in the end it was not
enough. Nonetheless, Team HUMMER was pleased with the performance
of the new H2 race truck. What seemed a steep learning
curve at the first race is now beginning to flatten out. After only our
second race on the new vehicle the H2 has proven itself to be a competitive
race truck. The drive train is totally reliable and with a few
minor suspension adjustments and an aggressive testing schedule,
Team HUMMER looks forward to winning our share of races with
the H2 in 2004.
Finishing First and Third at the 'Baja 1000' is an impressive accomplishment for Team HUMMER.
This level of success would simply not have been possible without the support we receive from our sponsors
and the hands on assistance from the BFGoodrich Pits and people
like John Klatte from AMGeneral and the H2 team of Thad Stump,
Doug Moore, Dave Cumming, Carl Perez and Jeff Hamm from the
GM Proving Ground in Mesa, AZ. Thank you all for helping out.
The final race of the 2003 season for Team HUMMER is the
Best in the Desert Las Vegas 200, Dec. 5-7, 2003 in Las Vegas, NV.
- grt -
The H2 coming into Santo Domingo for repairs
Rod Hall crossing the finish line in the H2
For more information on HUMMER vehicles, visit www.hummer.com and for more information on Rod Hall and
Team HUMMER visit www.rodhall.com
Rod and Mario Andretti talking before the race
Page Two

[Buckeye Hummer]

This article is courtesy of Allan Madar (who everyone flamed earlier) but is a Hummer guy and was nice enough to send me this info about the Baja 1000:

BAJA 1000 RACE REPORT
For Information Contact:
George R. Thompson
Rod Hall Team HUMMER
grt@sunrisegroup.com
661.245.5010
Ensenada, BC, Mexico - Nov 22, 2003: Earlier today, Chad and Josh Hall brought home the third
consecutive Tecate/Score 'Baja 1000' victory for Team HUMMER, taking the checkered flag in their
HUMMER H1 Pick-up after covering the 800 mile course in 22 hours, 41 minutes. In what many say was
the toughest ‘Baja 1000’ ever, the Reno, Nevada brothers dominated the “Stock-Full Sized production class”
finishing almost 3 1/2 hours in front of the second place entry of
San Diego’s, Mark Stein. This win marks the fourth ‘Baja 1000’
victory for Chad Hall, the third for brother, Josh and is the 7th
‘Baja 1000’ win for Team HUMMER since 1993, when HUMMER
first began competing in this internationally recognized off-road
race.
“We had some problems with the right, front shock reservoir”,
said Chad Hall, who started the race with co-rider Dr. Cort Stoskoph.
“Apparently, the piston travel in the reservoir was limited because
we had clamped it too tightly to the shock, restricting the movement
of the piston. As a result, when we charged the shocks, the right one didn’t get filled completely. Once we
figured out what was wrong and relocated the reservoir, it worked correctly but still did not have a full
charge. This caused us to take a more conservative line through the rough stuff, which was probably a good
thing since we were able to go the distance with no flats and no problems of any kind.”
Josh Hall took the wheel of the #861 HUMMER Pick-up at
race-mile 449 with chief mechanic, Brad Falin in the second seat.
At that point Team HUMMER had already built up a considerable
lead and Josh was able to add to that advantage when the second
place truck hit a rock around race-mile 730 and tore off a rear wheel,
causing them to suffer additional downtime. Josh kept his foot in
the big HUMMER crossing the finish line at 9:30 AM Saturday
morning. Not only did the Team HUMMER Pick-up dominate the
Stock-Full class but also finished in front of the winner of the heavily
modified Class 8 Pick-up class.
Meanwhile, team owner Rod Hall was having a good day in the new HUMMER H2 SUV but the race
was not without problems for the 17 time winner of the 'Baja 1000'.
The H2 had been performing well during the first 140 miles, running
within a minute of the leaders and moving between 2nd and 3rd
place. At one point he pulled out to pass his son, Chad, who was
not about to eat his father’s dust, whereupon he (Chad) picked up
the pace and assured himself, for the moment, that dad would remain
in second. Shortly after that, a ball joint on an upper control arm
failed in the H2 and Hall was forced to park it long enough to make
repairs in the field. Fortunately Hall had a spare on board and
teammate Thad Stump, project manager from the GM Proving
Grounds on the H2 racing project to make the necessary repairs,
which were accomplished in about 25 minutes.
TEAM HUMMER FINISHES FIRST AND THIRD AT TECATE/SCORE 'BAJA 1000'
Chad Taking on fuel at Pit #1
Hall/Stump on the course near race-mile 75
- more -
Josh Hall & Brad Falin at the Finish
BAJA 1000 RACE REPORT
For Information Contact:
George R. Thompson
Rod Hall Team HUMMER
grt@sunrisegroup.com
661.245.5010
Unfortunately, when the ball joint pulled out of the upper control arm assembly, one of the front brake
lines was ripped in half. Hall and Stump were able to crimp the brake line tight enough so they could
partially restore the braking system but this is not a repair that can
be properly accomplished on the course without specialized equipment.
So the H2 was driven cautiously across the mountain range
which stood between them and the next pit using only the rear
brakes. At the second BFGoodrich pit, 204 miles into the race,
they were able to make more permanent repairs and change drivers.
After a few minutes the brakes were restored and Mike Winkel
took the wheel with navigator Dave Cumming in the second seat,
as they began chasing the field, the last of which was now over
two hours in front of them. The #862 Team HUMMER SUV
drove through the night, before moving into third place just before
the Puertocitos BFG pit at race-mile 578. At 7:20 AM, after
fueling the truck, Hall/Stump again took over the controls of the H2 for the run to the finish and got back
onto the course with a 3 minute lead over Matt and Noah Pike in the #879 Ford Exhibition. Hall turned up
the wick and by the next BFG pit at race-mile 707, had tacked over an hour and a half onto that lead and was
solidly in third heading into the last 100 miles.
The distance between the H2 and second place was too great to overcome in only 100 miles. Hall
pushed the Team HUMMER SUV to a pace he was comfortable
with given his concerns about the Ball Joint and managed to make up
a few hours on the #863 Ford Exhibition but, in the end it was not
enough. Nonetheless, Team HUMMER was pleased with the performance
of the new H2 race truck. What seemed a steep learning
curve at the first race is now beginning to flatten out. After only our
second race on the new vehicle the H2 has proven itself to be a competitive
race truck. The drive train is totally reliable and with a few
minor suspension adjustments and an aggressive testing schedule,
Team HUMMER looks forward to winning our share of races with
the H2 in 2004.
Finishing First and Third at the 'Baja 1000' is an impressive accomplishment for Team HUMMER.
This level of success would simply not have been possible without the support we receive from our sponsors
and the hands on assistance from the BFGoodrich Pits and people
like John Klatte from AMGeneral and the H2 team of Thad Stump,
Doug Moore, Dave Cumming, Carl Perez and Jeff Hamm from the
GM Proving Ground in Mesa, AZ. Thank you all for helping out.
The final race of the 2003 season for Team HUMMER is the
Best in the Desert Las Vegas 200, Dec. 5-7, 2003 in Las Vegas, NV.
- grt -
The H2 coming into Santo Domingo for repairs
Rod Hall crossing the finish line in the H2
For more information on HUMMER vehicles, visit www.hummer.com and for more information on Rod Hall and
Team HUMMER visit www.rodhall.com
Rod and Mario Andretti talking before the race
Page Two