Poll: wonder if any class one cars would merge to the TT class after seeing the Hummer?

just a thought, after watching the success of the converted Hummer over the last couple years, how many 1 cars thought of switching over to some sort of full body in order to attract those precious sponsor dollars? Just a thought!

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Permalink Reply by SDuncan on June 11, 2011 at 10:42pm
Great Link!! Schwacofer's 55 Chevy was a legend!! Shoppe's Ford, Mears, Evans and all the rest were a blast to watch.
Permalink Reply by ScottM on June 12, 2011 at 11:57am
i have a rear fender from one of mears' trucks after he had a dustup in the old parker 400... scariest time i ever experienced racing was one year at the parker 400. we were camped at shea road for the race and were down in the wash right on the track. we saw a motorcycle enter the wash and he was flying. about half way down the wash (maybe a hundred yards or so from where we were), he got a little bit of the speed wobbles in the deeper sand and his front tire washed out and he was ass over elbows! scary in itself... we ran over to help him get all gathered up and make sure he was ok. we got to him and saw that he had one arm!!!! we thought that he lost his arm in the crash!!! scared the shit out of us... turns out, he was a one armed racer from there in parker. had a neat weight / counterweight setup on his bars that helped him out. ill never forget what he said to us ... "start my bike" .. we did, he hopped on, and drove off. crazy.......
Permalink Reply by Wesley Murrey on June 12, 2011 at 4:29am
I'm part of Class 1 race team and was at the 500 and everytime I saw Robby he was hauling ass. At the halfway point I had him leading or just behind the leader on time. The first 3 TT's were checked out by RM210 and in my opinion if Robby would have gotten a better starting position he probably would have won. I saw Robby right after the finish of the race at Cheespos getting ready to get tacos with his crew and asked him where he finished as I drove by, he put up his hands to show me five, but looked really bummed about it. Of course he might have heard about the accident on the road with RJ and his wife and been bummed about that too. Either way I don't blame him, like I said everytime I saw him he had the Hummer wide open and even though he was down about 500 HP to all the other TT's, he actually looked faster, even on the straight fast area through Borrego.

To answer the original question, the last time a Class 1 won the Baja 500 was 2003 and that was the Herbst Truggy which was a TT without the fenders. Trophy Trucks are for the really big money guys who love being a centerfolds of the off road community and possibly need to have somewhere to put there big sponsor. Class one is for the guys who want to be competively fast with the TT's with a possible chance at the overall, but without the break neck cost of a TT. Just as an example, unless you crash big time in your Class 1, you can go forever with the panels and hood, while in TT your lucky to get through a race without ripping a fender off the thing or a body part busting loose, and those fiberglass body parts aren't cheap. As far as working on the vehicles, one thing I do like about a TT compared to the Class 1 is that you can change a tranny during a race and still have a chance to get a good finish or even just finish for points, but in a class 1 if you have a tranny problem your day is over and your so is your chance at a Class 1 championship..

As far as Robby's Hummer goes, not counting the limited motor he has to run because of Dakar rules, I guarantee you that thing has more money into it than the top of the line TT (Geiser). So you can't really compare the Hummer to a top Class 1 car as far as cost. It would be cool if Robby would run or let someone run the Hummer for a whole season of SCORE just to see how it would finish in the end compared to all the TT's and Class 1 vehicles. It would be better reliability and gas mileage, against a lot more horsepower and longer suspension travel, which has been the argument between racers in off road forever. Let me be the first one to throw his name out there for a full series run in the Hummer if Robby's looking. Of course I would need to lose a lot of weight and get some serious practice in the car, but a guy can dream can't he. By the way, it was really cool seeing the florescent orange Hummer out their competing with TT, I was really hoping it was going to win. I think it would be a really good vehicle for the Baja 1000, especially if the course is for the full 1000 miles or longer.
Permalink Reply by Tooltime on June 12, 2011 at 11:03am
Rosane was the converted class 8 truck purchased from Frank "Scoop" Vessels until the kick ass new Valvoline TT arrived on scene.
Permalink Reply by Tooltime on June 12, 2011 at 11:16am
@ Wesley, that was the point. With the technology in the Hummer for the Dakar stuff, I bet alot more teams will begin looking at the races differently, and seeking some of the same technology to go for the win. Lets face it, the competition in all desert classes is probably the toughest I personnaly have seen in years. On any given raace day, there are many possible winners. Back in the 80's in class 8 while RG was just getting started in his dads awesome porsche powered class1, the guaranteed winners were usually Walker Evans,Steve Kelley, and once in a while Dave Shoppe. In Class 1 it was a little more open. You could always count on Bob Gordon, in his well prepared buggy, or even the RCR team of Bob Richey, or Stewart Chase, just to name a few. I just love the technology of todays race vehicles. But, using the Dakar prep, and race strategies lik RG, and Kellon did, if I had a class one car, I would certainly take a look at what RGM just did to the whole field...Just my .02
And yes thanks to MJ, we are old timers. Im getting fitted for my "depends" as we speak! lol
Permalink Reply by mj on June 12, 2011 at 1:22pm
As long as we ain't using those little blue pills I'd say were all ok 
Permalink Reply by NIKAL on June 13, 2011 at 11:17am
Yep the Coynes bought Rosanne off of RG prior to buying the Cingular sponsored mid engine TT.

Rosanne


First RG Mid engine TT sold to Coynes.
Permalink Reply by Tooltime on June 14, 2011 at 12:26pm
NIKAL, do you remember who built Roseanne originally? I watched that thing being built right here in Vegas. I remember the builder telling me the motor in that thing was a big block Ford powerplant.
Permalink Reply by NIKAL on June 14, 2011 at 3:50pm
I'm thinking? I want to say Russ but I dont think so. I cant remember the other guys name. Roseanne was originally built for Frank Vessels and Robby Gordon. Then Robby built the La Victoria TT for himself. The guy I'm thinking about built the Victoria truck. This will drive me crazy until I remember or call someone.
Permalink Reply by NIKAL on June 14, 2011 at 5:21pm
I think I was thinking of Trevor Harris! But now I am still not sure! Crap!
Permalink Reply by NIKAL on June 16, 2011 at 11:52am
Update: After checking around I got two answers. It was either Russ or Mike Smith who built Roseanne. And Mike Smith was who built the La Victoria truck, prior to going to Herbst. So my best guess is Mike built Roseanne?
Permalink Reply by mj on June 14, 2011 at 2:01pm
Found yet another classic Robby truck

Mark Cowan is restoring the infamous Robby Gordon 1966 F100 multi championship winning race truck. The truck, which was nicknamed the “Hay Hauler”, is one of the most memorable desert race trucks in my mind. The truck debuted at the 1987 and while it had old school looks, it was one of the wildest Class 8 trucks back then. Builder Jon Nelson introduced “elliptical rear springs” to the off road racing world. This thread on Race Dezert is full of old photos and memories by lots of people, including Bob Bower, who co drove the truck with Robby often



although ive heard about this truck many many times this is the 1st time ive actually seen a pic of it . You guys are telling me Robby won an overall championship in THIS thing ? Man i knew Robby was a great driver but wow !

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