SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/704625
to me, that I always kept in mind, was that winning races is important, but we're also in show business, representing the Ford Motor Company." With all the big names of famed racers that Bill Stroppe built race cars for, including Parnelli Jones, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and James Garner, one might think he coached and treated everybody the same way. "I don't think so," said Hall. "He was like a second father to me because I had lost my own father when I was very young. I'm not sure if he had that same relationship with anyone else." Rod Hall raced for Bill Stroppe for approximately 20 years. Stroppe also built Hall's Dodge race trucks with the same care and diligence he had become legendary for. Hall is the one who knew that Bill Stroppe worked the business by day and built his trucks at night when he had to. Stroppe would fabricate parts like shock brackets and cage braces through trial and error, he had a ton of common sense and knew what he was trying to achieve to build a strong truck. It was a different era than today's computer- aided design (CAD) marvels that today's high-end race vehicles are, yet Stroppe's trucks worked. PIONEERING NEW INNOVATIONS In those early days of off- road racing, Bill Stroppe-built trucks, management style, and innovations were pretty much the state-of-the-art. "Stroppe pioneered the team concept in racing," said Hall. "He also came out with a way to adjust the lights from inside the vehicle. Back in the early days, we didn't have pencil beam lights or fog lights. You have to remember this was 50 years ago. He was also one of the first to use multiple shocks. He was a creator of ideas for the day. He made tough machines; you could say "Ford Tough." Bill Stroppe remained loyal to the Ford Motor Company and vice-versa. Rod Hall and Larry Minor continued their successes in desert racing with Stroppe- built Ford Broncos and trucks. There eventually came the day when Stroppe would build Hall's Dodge 4x4 race trucks. No drama with Ford. No Drama between Rod Hall and Bill Stroppe. It was an opportunity that was good for everyone as Stroppe wanted the best for his young friend, and Hall was making a living as a racer. "Class 8 was 2WD, we ran Class 3 or Class 4, 4WD," said Hall. "Dodge hadn't been in off-road racing. They wanted to build a Class 8 truck and had contacted John Baker, who recommended Bill Stroppe. Dodge also wanted to race a 4WD truck. They offered the 4WD truck to Walker Evans, but he wanted to stay in Class 8. Dodge contacted me next about the 4WD truck. I told Dodge, that I wasn't a car builder, but if you get Bill Stroppe to build it, I'll drive it. Only later did I find out that Dodge had also contacted Bill, who was strictly a Ford guy at the time, and he told them, that he would build them a truck if they got Rod Hall to drive it. Bill was more than just a car builder to me. He was a friend of mine." SJ ROD HALL IN HIS STROPPE-BUILT DODGE RUNNING THE 1986 SCORE BAJA 1000. CENTERLINE IMAGES 044 SCORE JOURNAL