Jeep Racing: America's Favorite 4x4 in Off Road Competition

In 1940, the American Bantam Car Company delivered the first Command Reconnaissance Vehicle to the US Army. More than 600,000 units were built during the war years, which led to a surplus sale in 1946, when veterans with firsthand knowledge of their capability bought them. When off-road racing began, Jeep was there, and when the first sanctioned race was run in 1967 down the Baja peninsula, Jeep was in the winner’s circle.

Jeep vehicles dominated the off-road-racing scene and captured coveted titles in the Mint 400, Baja 500, and desert racing’s crowning achievement: the Mexican 1000/Baja 1000. As the first-generation CJ gave way to the second-generation machine, racing Jeeps found success in competition and continue to do so to this day.

Not only will you read about Jeeps greatest achievements in off-road racing but you also will hear the tales of their wranglers, including Brain Chuchua, Larry Minor, Roger Mears, Rod Hall, Sherman Balch, J. M. Bragg, Ray Russell, the Randall family, David Bryan, and more. The famous Jeeps that are covered include the Budweiser Jeep Honcho, celebrity CJ-7s, Holy Toledo, Don Adams’s CJ-7, and more.

Written by off-road racing historian John Elkin, this book is the most comprehensive collection of content that has ever been produced on this subject. Learn why Jeep is the most successful off-road racing brand with Jeep Racing: America’s Toughest 4x4 in Off-Road Competition 1965–1989!

John Elkin has been an off-road enthusiast for his entire life. Born into a family of avid off-roaders, his vacations were spent exploring the deserts of the Southwest. A chance encounter with Mickey Thompson exposed John to off-road racing, and he began working as a journalist and photographer. In addition, he competed in off-road and rally events. Elkin previously wrote Bronco Racing: Ford's Legendary 4x4 in Off-road Competition for CarTech.