BITD: Terrible's Town: Team Hummer race summary

Chad Hall and Team Hummer© make it three in a row at Terrible's Town.

Pahrump, NV - April 6, 2002: Team HUMMER's Chad Hall chalked up his third consecutive win earlier today at Best in the Desert Racing Association's Terrible's Town 250, the opening event in their `Silver State Points Series'. Billed as the "Richest Off-road Race in Nevada", the event is hosted by Terrible's Town Casino and is contested over a 260 mile course of unyielding desert north of the growing Southern Nevada community of Pahrump. Finishing the race in just over six hours, the Team of Chad Hall/Cort Stoskoph threaded their way over hostile terrain throughout the day before emerging victorious after head to head competition with a several different vehicles.

On a warm and partially cloudy spring morning, the #8103 Team HUMMER pick-up drew the first starting position in the Full-Stock production class and was able to hold that position until race mile 30, when they made an unscheduled stop in pit #1 to increase the nitrogen pressure on their new, Team HUMMER built 4" diameter shocks, hoping to firm-up the suspension. Although this dropped them to second, about two minutes behind Arizona's Greg Foutz, they were able to catch him again at the bottom of the grade leading north into the Armargosa Valley.

Just over eighty miles into the event, Hall had managed to stretch his lead out to eight minutes when they came into pit #3 to increase the shock pressure a bit more. This was a brief stop, however and the team resumed the race holding on to a five minute margin over arch-rival, Manny Esquerra. As they passed through Crater Flats and into the mountains on the way to a scheduled fuel stop in Springdale, the lead was still five minutes but Esquerra had lost his position to the #8106 truck of Randy Merritt who was now pushing Hall and had his sights set on passing the big HUMMER.

Shortly before arriving at pit #5, Hall could feel the suspension on the 7000 Lb. HUMMER turn into mush when the bolt on the driver's side upper A-Arm broke. As they pitted, at Mile 148, Rob Henderson was ready for them with fuel and a new A-Arm bolt assembly as the chase team of Brad Falin/John Klatte pulled up in time to flag them in. A flurry of organized activity took place as several service teams descended on the now wounded HUMMER like worker bees servicing their Queen. With NASCAR like precision, the fuel was dumped, the shocks recharged and the upper A-Arm bolt replaced even as the second place #8106 truck was making the turn to head up pit road and into the lead. Team HUMMER would have none of it, however, and Hall was back in the race hanging on to a ten second lead over Merritt when they turned south into the Armargosa Riverbed and the last hundred miles of the race!

As they passed within shouting distance of the Central Nevada settlements of Gold Bar, Rhyolite and Bullfrog, Hall and Merritt stalked each other through the riverbed in a dead heat, headed now for pit #6 at Big Dune, about 180 miles into the race. A brief stop to tie down the hood after a retaining strap had failed and Hall was back under power passing the #8106 truck, which was finished taking on fuel a bit further down pit road. Shortly, Merritt was back on-course and the pair headed into the Rock Valley Wash, where this was still anyone's race with both trucks too close to determine a leader.

At race mile 227, the road crossing in Crystal, Hall had managed to build up a four minute advantage over Merritt and passed through the dual pit at Johnnie clocked at 76 MPH with a radar gun. We waited to time Merritt at the same location but never got the opportunity as he broke something in the riverbed leading into Pit # 8 and was temporarily sidelined, giving Team HUMMER clear sailing to the finish line and victory in Best in the Desert's Terrible's Town 250!

- grt -