Larry Webster takes the start at the Baja 500

Reno, NV - June 26, 2006: Team HUMMER arrived in Ensenada, Mexico on June 1st to run the Tecate/SCORE ‘Baja 500’ for the first time since 1994. We brought two trucks for this race: The #779 Team HUMMER H3 SUV to run in the Mini-Stock production class and the #861 Team HUMMER H2 SUV entered in the Full-Stock production class. We choose to leave the new H1 at home for budgetary reasons but H1 driver, Chad Hall joined us as one of a team of drivers scheduled to share driving time with team owner, Rod Hall in the H3. Rounding out the H3 team of drivers at this year’s ‘Baja 500’ were Larry Webster from Car & Driver magazine and Alan Taylor from Car & Driver Radio. Chief mechanic,
Sam Cothrun, brought down the Team HUMMER H2 SUV from Reno and Josh Hall planned to solo the entire race.

The largest Flag in Mexico flies in Ensenada

This year’s ‘Baja 500’ boasted a record 436 entries so Josh Hall, in the #861 H2 SUV, didn’t take the green flag until 11:18 AM on Saturday morning, followed by Car & Driver magazine’s Larry Webster behind the wheel of the #779 H3 SUV at 11:25 AM. The late start combined with the 425 mile race distance made it clear that we would be out on the course until the early morning hours. Josh Hall, with Sam Cothrun in the co-rider seat, got off to a good start in the H2 putting almost an hour on the competition by the time they arrived at a massive on-course traffic jam at racemile (RM) 108. Apparently a mini-pickup had gotten stuck in the mud of a narrow creek crossing in the pine forest, bringing the race to a halt while everyone waited for the mini-truck to free itself from the quagmire. Seeing that nothing was being done to get things moving, Cothrun got out of the H2 and orchestrated a work detail from the numerous co-riders in the 20 or so race vehicles that separated the H2 and the hapless mini-truck. After an effort to pull the mini-truck out by hand failed, Cothrun pursuaded everyone to pull off to the right so they could get the four-wheel drive H2 up to the front to tow the Ford Ranger out of the creek so everyone could continue racing. Cothrun took a tow strap from the driver of the Ford, attached it to the H2’s front bumper and yanked him out of the mud in no time. Once the way was cleared, he cut the tow strap, hopped back in the H2 and the pair sped off in front of the pack having delivered on their promise to clear the course and passed twenty race cars in the process.

There wasn’t much time to celebrate the fact that they had gotten through the traffic jam because just a few miles up the course the throttle on the H2 became unresponsive, bringing the truck to a stop with the engine idling but unable to accelerate. All Josh and Sam could do as they searched for the problem was to watch all the cars they just passed get by them and disappear in the distance. Normally, one might think that the H2 broke an accelerator cable and there was a time when that would have been the case with most vehicles. But the H2 does not have an accellerator cable but rather the gas pedal (throttle) is loaded electronically as part of an engine management system which is actuated by sensors located in various parts of the ignition and fuel systems. It was in the area of this system that Josh and Sam, logically,
concentrated their search to no avail. All of the sensors were replaced and the wiring and circuit boards seemed intact but a failure in one part can result in problems not easily diagnosed in the heat of a desert race. To make matters worse the radio in the H2 was not able to communicate through the dense growth which populated their location in the pine forest so Hall could not contact the H2 chase crew for help.

The H3 pits for fuel and a driver change

Larry Webster, with Thad Stump at his side, started in the #779 Team HUMMER H3 just seven minutes behind the H2. The first 30 miles were trouble-free but in the sand wash around Ojos Negros, the truck started to overheat. Once they got beyond this area and climbed into the pine forest, the H3 returned to normal operating temperatures and would not overheat again. At Checker pit #1 (El Rayo), Webster was replaced behind the wheel by Chad Hall and Stump remained in the truck. At this point, (RM 100) the two Team HUMMER trucks were already 45 minutes apart, so when Chad Hall finally pulled up next to the #861 H2 to check their status at RM 115, Josh Hall and Sam Cothrun had already determined that the problem was deeper than they could easily diagnose. It was clear they needed help! Chad was in a race of of his own in the H3 so he carried on however, once they cleared the forest, Stump was able to establish radio contact with the H2 chase crew, inform them of the problem and pinpoint the location of the stalled race truck.

Chad brought the #779 Team HUMMER H3 into Checker Pit #2 (Nuevo Junction)for fuel and a driver change at RM 148 with a half-hour lead in the mini-stock class. Thad got out, Chad moved into the second seat and Car and Driver Radio’s, Alan Taylor took over behind the wheel. After some adjustments Alan headed off to the BFG pit at San Matias Pass (RM 173) where he brought the H3 in with a 57 minute lead. Alan turned over control to Chad Hall, who slid over to once again take the wheel where he would remain until Tres Hermanos (RM 374).

Alan Taylor takes his turn at the wheel of the H3

Meanwhile, help had finally reached the H2 but the source of the problem continued to elude everyone and the Tech2 diagnostic computer was not providing the answers the team needed to sort out the problems. At this point
the H2 had so much downtime in pursuit of a solution for this problem that it became doubtful whether or not we could finish within the time limit. The decision was made to retire the H2 from the event and the problem has yet to be fully diagnosed. A faulty connection was found back at the shop which could have contributed to the problem although it falls short of a definitive diagnosis. The H2 has been sent to the Desert Proving Ground for a more thorough evaluation of the electrical systems.

H2 being loaded on the trailer

There were no problems with the H3 since the temporary overheating issue early in the race had fixed itself. Chad Hall had taken over at RM 170 and Thad Stump, who had co-ridden all but 30 miles of the race, was back in the second seat. Hall brought the #779 Team HUMMER H3 SUV into the BFG pit at RM 285 for fuel and sped off into the Baja night toward Erindera. Illuminated by a bank of LightForce HID Lights, the lonely trail along the beach was transformed into daylight when the transfer case suddenly began to mysteriously shift on it’s own. Thad had given the electronically actuated transfer case a workout during the race in an effort to keep up with the varied terrain of the mountainous course and it had performed flawlessly until they got on the flat beach area of Erindera. Chad stopped the truck briefly while Thad cycled the transfer case controls through it’s positions a few times and got underway once again. As with the overheating problem, the transfer case seemed to cure itself and offered no further problems.

H3 stops to work on transfer case shifter

Just south of Ojos Negros, Chad pulled into Checker Pit #7 to take on a splash of fuel and turn the truck over to Rod. Stump stayed with the truck, probably welded in the passenger seat by now, all of his bones locked in the sitting position. Certainly the Team HUMMER ‘Baja 500’ Ironman award goes to Thad for riding all but 30 miles of the toughest race in ‘Baja 500’ history. Obviously the custom made MasterCraft seats which we use in all the Team HUMMER trucks, made his long journey in the second seat possible.

Rod and SCORE CEO, Sal Fish at Finish

Fortunately the early morning ride into the finish line was trouble-free, which was a good thing because daylight was near and Rod was pushing the truck to finish within the time limit. If the H3 was able to take the Checkered flag before 5:22AM, this would not only be a record 16 ‘Baja 500’ wins for Hall but the H3 would be the first Mini-Stock class truck to finish this event since 1998. By now, we were so far in front of the Honda, Nissan and Fords, that are the competition, that they are not a factor. We knew from the start that it would not be the other trucks we had to beat but the desert itself and a time limit which allowed for almost no downtime.

Rod Hall and H3 take the checkered flag

Having accomplished the final driver change, the crew gathered at the finish line in downtown Ensenada to wait for the H3 to take the Checkered flag. The last 30 miles of the course was very rough and following all the previous race vehicles which had already covered the terrain had not made the course any more user-friendly. By 5:00AM, Rod had still not finished and the crew began to get anxious with every passing moment. Finally, at 5:09AM the H3 took the Checkered flag and the Class win with 13 minutes to spare before the 18 hour time limit expired.

A job of this magnitude is never accomplished without help from a lot of dedicated and talented people. John and Trisha would like to thank and
recognize all of those people whose contributions have helped make the successful completion of the Team HUMMER H1 Alpha race truck possible.

• Steve Alexander •
• Matt Crawford •
• John (Jack) Cumming II •
• Carl Geifing •
• Chad Hall •
• Rod Hall •
• Matt Hokanson •
• Paul Hyde •
• John Klatte •
• Fred Kutak •
• Matt Laramie •
• Doug Moore •
• SamCo Fabrication •
• Shan Smith •
• Vic Spurzem •
• Cort Stoskoph •
• Thad Stump •
• Bill Thompson•

The next race for Team HUMMER will be the Best in the Desert/TSCO ‘Vegas
to Reno’, August 24-27, 2006 starting in Las Vegas, NV.

• grt •