Legendary off-road racer Walker Evans recently passed away at the ripe age of 86, leaving behind a monstrous legacy. An inductee to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, he has been called one of the best off-road racing drivers of all time. In fact, that’s how he was given his nickname, “The Legend.”
Cadillac shows off an odd off-road concept car.
During his 35 years of professional racing, Evans racked up142 victories and 21 championship titles, all of them in short-course and desert racing events. That puts him in an elite class of drivers, and as they say, the proof is in the pudding.
Evans got his start in off-road racing back in 1969. He was hired by actor James Garner’s American Motors Team to drive a Rambler sedan in the Baja 500 down in Mexico. Before that, he had only raced on a motorcycle. After finishing third in the endurance desert event, he was bit by the bug.
He went on to build his own desert racer, competing not only in the Baja 500 but also the Mint 400, Parker 400, Fireworks 250, and the mighty Baja 1000.
In fact, he won the Baja 1000 multiple times, including becoming the first person to claim overall victory while driving a truck. Before, only racers in purpose-built machines had achieved such a thing, including him.
Many remember Evans as one of the original competitors in the NASCAR Truck Racing Series back in 1994, driving a Dodge that inaugural season.
But he was a pioneer in many other ways. Teaming up with Dodge, he helped design shocks and other components which could withstand the torture of high-speed off-road racing. Some have called him the grandfather of the modern trophy truck.
He also competed in the Mickey Thompson Stadium Series, COOR Series (Championship Off-Road Racing), and SODA Series (Short-Course Off-Road Drivers Association).
Many remember Evans for being a down-to-earth gentleman. He was also famous for always wearing a white cowboy hat when he wasn’t inside a vehicle racing.
Images via Walker Evans Racing
Comments