Veteran Hall takes shot at another win

Thursday, Nov. 4, 1999 | 2:20 a.m.

ENSENADA, Mexico--When it comes to the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 100 desert race in Mexico, nobody knows it better than venerable 16-time class winner Rod Hall.

Hall, who along with motorcycle racer Ron Bishop has raced all 31 previous SCORE "Baja Mils," will once again be at the starting line when the 32nd annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 is held Friday and Saturday in Baja California. The event is the final round of the six-race 1999 Laughlin SCORE Desert Series.

Hall, the 62-year old legend from Reno, will be racing in the Stock Full class in an AM General Hummer during this year's 32nd Baja California renewal of the granddaddy of all desert races. He earned his 16th class win in another Hummer in the same class last year. Bishop will race this year in Class 50, the class for motorcycle riders 50 years and older.

"For me it's a tradition, I just hope it never ends," Hall said on the eve of his record-breaking adventure.

While pre-race festivities will be in Ensenada, the race will start and officially finish for the first time in the tiny spot on the map, Ojos Negros, 30-miles east of Ensenada. The total race distance is 672.6 miles. For the first time, the race will be a multi-lap event, covering two laps of a 336.3-mile loop.

Motorcycles and ATVs will begin the race at 7 a.m. Friday, followed by the cars and trucks starting at 9 a.m. One vehicle will start each 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race.

The featured Trophy-Truck division will be the first 4-wheel class to leave the start line and the first starter will be the Ford F-150 of Mark Post of Laguna Hills, Calif., and Jerry Whelchel of Foothill Ranch, Calif.

The Ford F-150 the pair will drive in the 672.6-mile race was originally built and driven by CART Champ Car racer Robby Gordon, who himself has entered his only desert race of the season. The event is the final round in the six-race 1999 Laughlin SCORE Desert Series.

Competing as the only driver/owner in the Trophy-Truck class, Gordon will race in a Toyota Tundra pickup.