I have always loved International Scouts. They are like the girl next door that is not as pretty or popular as the other girls, but surprises you by being just as good or better in bed than the more popular girls. The International Scout was never as popular as Jeeps or Broncos, but performed just as well on and off road as them. Frequent Off Road Action photo contributor Kevin posted some more photos on the Ultimate Class 3 Photo thread on Race Dezert. In September 1978, International Harvester sponsored the Coors Off Road Championship in Colorado, a 100-mile race held on a closed course near Indian Springs. The day before the race, the competitors were all invited to display their rigs at Colorado Springs Equipment Co. All these Scouts were on display there; one that wasn’t there was Sherman Balch’s green-and-white machine that won the race the next day.
Did you know that 4 time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears started his career as an off road racer? Mears, who also holds the record of 6 Indy 500 pole position starts, raced buggies with his off road racing star brother Roger Mears. There was a few other rides, such as the Parnelli Jones Chevrolet pictured above, but most fans remember the Mears brothers battling it out at Riverside Raceway. Do you have more photos or information about Rick Mears and his off road racing career?
Do you remember the old days of desert racing? Larry Minor, Rod Hall, James Garner, Walker Evans, Ray Russell? We have discussed the Old Off Road Pics thread on Race Dezert a few times. However, they have added a whole vintage section to the forum and a lot of previously unseen photos have been posted, so we thought we would mention it again.
For years, I had heard about Dirt: The Movie, but had never seen it. Now, we have the ablility to view the whole movie on You Tube. Follow Clarke Gordon as he travels across the states to learn more about this thing called off roading. Desert racing, sand drags, swamp buggies, hill climbs, Pikes Peak…this video has it all! It is a great collection of vintage off road racing!
Jerry McDonald drove a number of Chevrolet vehicles for MacPherson Chevrolet throughout the 70’s and 80’s. Does anyone have information or photos of this early 70’s Chevrolet Blazer? Did Jerry win any races with it?
Mickey Thompson was a true pioneer and icon of desert racing. His vehicles were always years ahead of their time and his flat out driving style always wowed the crowds. Check out the videos below to see what I am talking about. Mickey was the man!
Our good friend Doug Sutton posted some awesome vintage desert race photos on his facebook page. In the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s, Doug travelled all the way from Ontario, Canada to race in events all over the states and Mexico. Today, we have a look at his photos from the 1971 Mint 400. Enjoy! Do you have any vintage off road racing photos that you would like to share?
Lately, we have featured some posts with lots of vintage off road desert race Jeep photos. There has been lots of discussion about Ray Russell in this article, this one and this article, along with some photos that Kevin Vaughan sent of the desert race Jeep CJ-5 that his uncle used to race in the 70’s. Ed Bray from Tacoma, Wa lvoed the vintage desert racing photos and sent us some photos of the Jeeps that he used to race. The Willys is at Riverside and the Mint 400 in 1978, which the CJ-7 was at the 1982 Baja 1000. We love the photos Ed! Do you have old off road racing photos that you would like contribute? Contact us!
Last Jauary, we posted some photos that Kevin Vaughan sent us of the 1972 Jeep CJ-5 that his uncle used to desert race in the 70’s. After seeing the interest and discussion that the Jeep off road racer Ray Russell photos and article created here and here, he decided to send me some of the photos of Ray that his uncle had in his photo album. Two of the photos are from the 1976 SNORE 250 while the other two are from the 1976 WRA 300. Note that the WRA 300 photos must be of Ray and his co-driver prerunning as they are not wearing helmets. Also note that these photos are from before Goodyear sponsored Ray Russell. He is running Cooper tires. Do you have any more photos of Ray Russell or off road desert racers from the 70’s?
>#75Race has posted some more photos of off road race buggies and a Baja Bug that his dad was involved with or drove during the 70’s. The old school photos thread on Race Dezert has become epic in so many ways. Do you have any vintage desert racing photos that you would like to contribute?
