During its inaugural race in 2005, the Team HUMMER H3 earned a respectable second-place finish -- and never looked back. It has since won every race entered, redefining the performance expectations in the stock classes in which it competes.

The 2006 Team HUMMER H3 competes in the challenging Best In the Desert (BITD) and SCORE off-road racing series, including the prestigious Baja 1000 race in Mexico, where it runs in the BITD 3100 and SCORE STOCK Mini classes. The racing H3 is driven by off-road racer Rod Hall, who forged Team HUMMER's racing reputation more than a decade ago. It follows on the heels of the successful H2 racing vehicle, which won every race entered during 2005.

"The H3 has been a phenomenal performer, right out of the gate," said Thad Stump, engineering liaison for Team HUMMER. "It's rare that a stock-based vehicle adapts so quickly to the requirements of racing, but it says a lot about the production vehicle's underlying strength and off-road acumen."

Following the rules of BITD and SCORE stock classes, the H3 racing vehicle is based on a regular production model and altered only in ways to make it conform to safety regulations and other open areas of the rules, such as shocks, springs, and tires -- items that don't alter the fundamental layout, design, or performance of the vehicle, but enable it to withstand the rigors of racing long distances at high speed.

"The rules are quite strict, but that's an advantage for the H3, because so many of its factory-installed parts are suited to the demands of racing," said Stump. "In fact, we retained many factory parts that even the rules permit to be changed -- the factory parts simply perform better."

The racing H3 began life as a regular production model, before being taken off the street and pressed into racing service. The deviations from stock, whether in the interior, under the hood, or on the chassis, are designed to help the racing H3 conform to the standards and requirements for the racing classes.

The Team HUMMER H3 looks like a production model, but outfitted with graphics and decals. The body is stock. The windshield and other window glass are removed -- allowing increased frontal ventilation during a race and an easy exit in case of a crash. Side door windows have Plexiglas inserts. Reinforcements are . . . to read the rest of the story, click here.

Websites to visit:

Rod Hall Racing
Team HUMMER cars
Rod Hall Sponsors
HUMMERS