7 Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja
If you're a fan of Dodge trucks and off-road racing, you're already familiar with the challenge of the famous Baja 1000 in Mexico. The race is a true test of a driver's mettle, and their machine's metal down the Baja California Peninsula. It shouldn't be surprising that Dodge has managed to ride above the competition time and again!
1. RPM Offroad 2006 Ram 2500
If there was ever a picture that made it look like a truck was having fun, this would be it. The fact that a factory brand new stock Ram 2500 can make it through such a high-stakes race attests to the strength of the Ram. Sure, RPM Offroad may have gone over the entire truck with a fine tooth comb and blueprinted and optimized everything, but the truck was pretty much just a tuned stock truck. Even if you never take your Ram 2500 offroad, it is comforting to know that it is basically unstoppable, as delivered from the factory with its Cummings turbodiesel and Dana axles.
>>Join the conversation about Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja right here in the Dodge Forum!
2. Big Dog Performance 2004 Ram 2500
If you consider that a stock model of the Ram 2500 can succeed in the Baja 1000, just imagine when the truck is modified to better suit the desert race! Enter this 4x4 Ram 2500 built by the Canadians at Big Dog Performance, and currently being readied to race in 2017 out of Texa. Keeping a mostly stock gas burning Hemi powertrain allows them to save money on pump gas and use readily available spare parts, though the suspension has had substantial improvements from stock. You can follow along as they prep for the next race on this build thread by Nomad Racing.
>>Join the conversation about Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja right here in the Dodge Forum!
3. Kroeker Off Road Engineering 2010 Ram Race Truck
This particular Ram earned its glory by winning the Baja 500 in the class 8 truck category, then managed to catch 2nd at the next year's Baja 1000. As evidenced by the picture here, the truck comes perfectly well-equipped to race through the night off road. Despite their blistering pace and podium finish, they some how found time while pre-running to save a traffic accident victims life and help authorities extract him from the wreckage. You can read all about K.O.R.E. and their adventures in Baja here on their website. Later, in 2011, they won their class at the 1000 with essentially the same truck, now powered by a Mopar V10.
>>Join the conversation about Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja right here in the Dodge Forum!
4. Kroeker Off Road Engineering 2015 Ram Minotaur Race Truck
After their Baja 500 and 1000 success in the 2010 Ram, K.O.R.E. decided to build up a new stronger faster truck, based on the Prefix Ram Minotaur. With a tuned V8 making nearly 1000 hp, and suspension that is practically Trophy Truck level of travel, the MInotaur could blast across the desert at speeds over 140 mph. Over the course of the race, they managed to best 21 teams in the unlimited and Trophy Truck classes, even though their truck is production based and competes in Class 8. You can get all the details here.
>>Join the conversation about Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja right here in the Dodge Forum!
5. Rod Hall 1977 Dodge D150
Rod Hall is the only person to have competed in every Baja 1000 race since the first in 1967, and he plans on racing the 50th anniversary one in 2017 too. He has driven almost every major brand of truck, and is the only person to have won the even outright in a 4x4. The truck pictured above is one of the first Dodges he ever raced, back in the late 1970s. Compared to modern Baja trucks, these had no suspension travel, hardly any traction, but probably comparable power, using everything learned from NASCAR and drag racing to make a Mopar purr.
>>Join the conversation about Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja right here in the Dodge Forum!
6. Walker Evans 1979 Dodge D150 and 1982 D50 Trucks
Walker Evans is one of the names that goes all the way back to the beginning of racing offroad at Baja. In the early 1980s, then the D50 and minitrucks in general were hugely popular, his team fielded not just a full sized truck, but a mini me version as well. Walker had driven the full sized version to an overall victory, the first ever for a truck, in 1979. Walker is still active, even after being officially enshrined into the hall of fame, and his shop is a popular go to place for all sorts of offroad parts.
>>Join the conversation about Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja right here in the Dodge Forum!
7. Valvoline Cummins 1989 Dodge Ram 150
Take one (actually two) 1989 Dodge Ram regular cab short bed trucks, swap in crate motors from the Cummins repower program, add roll cages, lights and the rest of the Baja gear, and strap in your drivers. This is exactly what Valvoline and Cummins did recently and attacked the 1000. There were no power figures available, but the motors reportedly produced over 1000 lb-ft of torque. You can watch all the videos they produced as they built the two trucks and raced them here.
>>Join the conversation about Dodge/Ram Trucks that Raced at Baja right here in the Dodge Forum!
For help with service and maintenance of your truck, check out the how to section of DodgeForum.com