A local team plans on racing a historic vehicle in a famous off road race.
Today Shelby Hall-Baker and I appeared on Teresa’s Garage radio show here in Reno, Nevada. Unlike her other starts Hall will be heading the team when they compete in this year’s Mint 400, the 50th anniversary of this class off-road race.
Shelby Hall on Teresa’s Garage Radio Show here in Reno.
She and her teammate will be driving the same Ford Bronco her grandfather Rod Hall to victory in first Mexican 1000 race and it’s the only 4-wheel driver racer to have accomplished that feat.
Shelby Hall stands by the historic Ford Bronco her grandfather drove to victory in the 1969 Mexican 1000. Now she’ll drive it in the Mint 400. Here’s its being prepared at SamCo Fabrication.
For her it marks another chapter as she carves her own career in off road racing. And she’ll be teamed with her co-driver/navigator Amy Lerner from last October’s Rebelle Rally, an all female event.
Shelby Hall (left) and Amy Lerner before this past October’s Rebelle Rally. They will team up again in the Mint 400.
Photo courtesy RodHallDrive.com.
“I feel really good, we have a good marketing team, we have Sue Mead and Chris Collard and Amy Learner has a lot of off-road relationships so she’s bringing on the table everyone that has supported her,” she said. “So I feel like we have a really good organizational team; we have me who is very familiar with the logistics of the race, we have Mead and Collard that are extremely familiar with the media and Amy that is bringing to the table her relationships.
Asked about sponsors she explained that the team could always use a few more. This has been a challenge because all the sponsors her grandfather Rod Hall had don’t necessarily relate to her.
“So it’s a whole new world for me to be branching out and creating those relationships for myself,” she said.
With a month to go before the event Hall explained she’s extremely optimistic.
“I am so excited, it’s going to be a lot of fun, I know it will be nerve wracking but I’m looking forward having fun, showing Amy the ropes showing how the off road racing goes and making my grandfather proud.”
The following is the press release sent out by Team Hall Drive.
Shelby Hall Starts New Chapter in Off-Road Racing Career
Shelby Hall, of Legendary 4WD Racing Family, to Race with Amy Lerner in the 2017 Mint 400 in’68 Ford Bronco
When the green flag waves off the Vintage Class of the 2017 Mint 400, a new era will begin for a family revered for its longevity and accomplishments in the off-road racing world. As Shelby Hall, of Reno, Nevada, takes the start of The Great American Off-Road Race, it will mark the beginning of her racing career as the Driver of Record and, for the first time, without any members of her famed family on her team.
Her grandfather, the legendary Rod Hall, who has been awaiting this day for many years, will be at the Mint to cheer her on.
Driving in the dirt isn’t new to Shelby Hall. She began when she was old enough to hold a steering wheel, sitting on the lap of Rod Hall, the winningest off-road racer in North America. Her father Josh Hall and uncle Chad Hall, both well-known 4WD racers and driving trainers, have also been teachers and mentors for Shelby.
The third-generation 4 x 4 fanatic has turned her passion into a career, racing with Rod and her family on the Rod Hall Racing Team since 2012. She has proven her skills as a driver by competing in endurance races like the famed Baja 1000 and successfully piloting a diverse mixture of vehicles to podium finishes, ranging from a vintage ’68 Bronco, a ’81 Dodge D50 to a Hummer H1 and Hummer H3, and a nearly-stock Jeep Wrangler.
She and off-road rally racer Amy Lerner recently placed 4th in the country’s first, all-female navigation rally, the 7-day-long 2016 Rebelle Rally.
Hall will pair with Lerner, of Bergen, NJ, an accomplished international 4WD racer, with podium finishes in Morocco’s Gazelle Rally and the Australian Safari Rally. The teammates will champion the restored ’68 Bronco that carried Rod Hall to victory in the 1969 Mexican 1000; owned by Rod Hall, it is on loan from its most recent home on display at the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.
“I am thrilled to be back at the Mint 400 for my second time competing in the Vintage Class and, for the first time, sharing the driving responsibilities with my talented Rebelle Rally navigator Amy Lerner,” said Hall. “Although this is Amy’s first race in the U.S., I am confident in her driving skills and know she will be in good hands with the Rod Hall Racing Bronco Team’s Crew Chief, Alex Baker, who is also the lead mechanic and co-driver/navigator.”
“My love for the Bronco began in 2015, when we pulled it out of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame display to restore it to compete in the NORRA Mexican 1000,” explained Hall. “Thanks to SamCo Fabrication, Ford Racing, and an impressive collection of supporters, the Bronco is not only fast, dependable, and fun-to-drive, but it holds an emotional place in my heart, as it was an integral part of my grandfather’s career; it is the only 4WD vehicle to win overall in the Baja 1000.” His mantra “to finish first, you must first finish” is ingrained in my mind, especially for a race like the Mint- the course is rough and the ride is rough, so it’s important for us to remember to take care of the vehicle, and it will take care of us.”
“I am thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to race with Shelby Hall at the 2017 Mint 400, in Rod Hall’s Baja 1000 winning ’68 Ford Bronco,” said Lerner. “I got up-close-and-personal with the Bronco while filming Rod and Shelby racing in the 2016 NORRA Mexican 1000, for my documentary film on Rod’s racing career. It is a priceless piece of four-wheel-drive racing history. The Mint 400 will be the first time I’ve raced in the U.S. and I eagerly anticipate being part of the Great American Off-Road Race. I met Rod while learning how to drive for a 4WD rally in Morocco, seven years ago. He’s given me a tremendous amount of advice and guidance that has helped as I competed in races and rallies. Shelby and I paired for a strong finish at the inaugural Rebelle Rally; I think we will make a great team at the Mint 400, as well. Shelby has the driving and leadership skills to run a successful team.”
The first Mint 400 Off-Road Rally was organized by Norm Johnson in 1967 to promote The Mint Hotel, in Las Vegas. His initial effort garnered national media coverage and drew a following from race teams and enthusiasts and it became known as The Great American Off-Road Race. It has a rich and storied history-like the Hall family-and has drawn an impressive roster of industry greats and entrants from around the globe, as well as film and television stars. The race is also known in popular culture through Hunter S. Thompson’s novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas that depicts the 1971 race in one of the earliest and best known instances of gonzo journalism.
The 2017 Mint 400 celebrates its 50th anniversary, with events running March 2-5, including a parade that will showcase 10 million dollars of race cars.
* One of the most significant and widely-watched off-road races in the world, with 330 teams and television coverage to over 80 million homes nationwide on NBC Sports
*Part of Red Bull’s Signature Series on NBC prime time that reaches an additional 140 million homes, with an online and social media impact that spans 100 million impressions, making it the most visible and documented 4 x 4 event on the planet.
Shelby Hall-Bio:In 2012, Shelby joined Rod and her family on the Rod Hall Racing Team and has honed her skills driving in famed and rigorous distance races like the Baja 1000.
*Shelby and teammate Amy Lerner drove a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited to a 4th place finish in the first, all-female navigation rally in the U.S.-the 7-day, 1,200-mile-long 2016 Rebelle Rally.
*Shelby was the Administrator of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame for 7 years
*Shelby is the CEO and Event Director of Rod Hall DRIVE, organizing dynamic 4_4 events to clients around the world.
Amy Lerner:
After a career on Wall Street and being a stay-at-home mom, Amy dove headfirst into Morocco’s Rallye Aicha des Gazelles, an all-female endurance rally in the Sahara Desert that attracts teams from around the globe. Her first time four-wheeling was at that event’s training session, with the legendary Rod Hall.
During her four participations in the Gazelles, Amy was part of the first American team to place in the top 10 overall and on the only American team to compete in the demanding Expert class, as well as winning the Eco-Driving Challenge. In 2013, she shipped her Jeep to Australia to compete in the 2500 km grueling Australasian Safari Rally and found success. She won the Overall Production class and became the first woman to win the Dakar Challenge in her class.
*Amy has driven Jay Leno off-road in a Jeep concept vehicle on CNBC’s ”Jay Leno’s Garage” and will be appearing in “Cars that Rock” with Brian Johnson.
*Amy is currently producing a documentary on the extraordinary racing career of off-road legend Rod Hall and will be chronicling the road to his 50th Baja 1000 race in November, 2017.
**Shelby Hall and Amy Lerner were recently featured in Off Road Adventures magazine, JP magazine, Motor Matters Syndicate, Shebuyscars.com, and on more than a dozen radio shows.
** Sponsors have included BF Goodrich, Samco Fabrication, Bestop, XPEL, Fox Shocks, AEV, Bilstein, ARB, MAXTRAX, KC HiLites, and Currie Enterprises.
*** The Hall/Lerner Team will be filmed during the Mint 400 for footage that will be used in the upcoming Rod Hall Documentary
Media/Marketing Contact:
Sue Mead 413-652-4840
(suemead@aol.com)
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