M
uch has been
written about Bill
Stroppe and his
accomplishments
in motorsports.
His resume was
already solid for his reputation
for building reliable and strong
vehicles for road racing, drag
racing, rally, stock car, the Pikes
Peak Hill Climb, and more. In
fact, the list goes on dating all
the way back to 1947. This was
long before Stroppe got into off-
road racing in the mid-1960's.
After managing the Ford Motor
Company's West Coast Racing
operations for many years, with
several hiccups along the way,
Ford's Mercury division scrapped
their stock car involvement for
good in 1964. In another deal,
however, Ford had partnered with
the Holman-Moody organization
of which Stroppe joined the
program to race the Ford GT-
40 in the LeMans races and the
Pikes Peak Hill Climb projects.
Adversity knocked again
when Stroppe got some
A SHORT
HISTORY
ABOUT
THE MAN
BEHIND THE
MACHINES AS
TOLD BY OFF-
ROAD HALL
OF FAME
INDUCTEE
ROD HALL
BILL
STROPPE
OFF-ROAD RACING
PIONEER
BY RICK SHANDLEY
PHOTO COURTESY FORD
MOTOR ARCHIVES.
BILL STROPPE (L) WITH
PARNELLI JONES (R)
038
SCORE JOURNAL
