Billed by the Best in the Desert
Racing Association as the "Showdown in the Desert," the October
14, Las Vegas 300 lived up to its name for Team HUMMER. For Team
HUMMER owner and #3111 H3 driver Rod Hall, Saturday's showdown
proved once again why the H3 continues to be the vehicle to beat
in the pure stock-mini SUV class.
Photo: GM
The race, originally planned to
finish after three, 89-mile laps around the grueling Las Vegas
desert was changed on Saturday morning following torrential
downpours that forced race organizers to re-route the race
course, and to adopt a "Grand Prix" style finish, whereby every
classes' last lap would occur once the first overall finisher
crossed the finish line.
As a result of the course changes,
every team's race strategy changed and the racers treated every
lap like it might be the last.
"In most races, you pace yourself
to have a little bit of your truck left for the finish," said
Hall. "But in Saturday's race, we had to push the truck like
every lap was going to be the last. The H3 proved it could take
the abuse of running full-out for the length of the race."
Hall brought the Team HUMMER H3
across the finish line first in its class, after 5:16:14 hours
of intense racing and nearly 45-minutes faster than the nearest
mini-stock SUV competitor. Hall's victory in the 178-mile race
marked the 15th consecutive race in which the team has placed a
HUMMER on the podium.
.
For Team HUMMER's other
vehicles and drivers, the showdown proved to be both a
blessing and a curse.
Team HUMMER driver Chad
Hall piloted the new #8102 H1 Alpha to a well-deserved
second place finish in the pure stock - full size truck
class. The H1 Alpha, appearing in its first-ever Las
Vegas 300, proved to be a worthy competitor, crossing
the finish line less than 10-minutes behind the class
winner.
"Given that this only the third
race the H1 Alpha has ever entered, I'm really pleased with the
results. The Team HUMMER crew did an amazing job getting the
truck ready to be competitive in this race," said Chad Hall.
For Team HUMMER's other entry, the #4101
H2, the showdown proved to be with the clock, rather than any
competitors on the course. Piloted by team driver, Josh Hall and fresh
off a dominating victory at the "Vegas to Reno," the three-year old H2
experienced a flex-plate failure 26-miles into the second lap of the
race. The failure took the H2 out of the lead and ended its race day
short of the finish.
"The H2 was running really well prior to
this problem," said Josh Hall. "We'll figure out what happened and get
the truck ready to be competitive again at the upcoming Baja 1000."
Team HUMMER's next appearance will be at
the internationally renowned SCORE International Tecate Baja 1000,
November 15-18, where the H3 and H2 are defending class champions.
