BRONCOFACTS Trail guide · 1966–present

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Racing history

From the 1969 Baja 1000 outright victory and Big Oly to Bronco DR and modern King of the Hammers competition.

1969

1969 Baja 1000: the outright win

Larry Minor and Rod Hall drove a Stroppe-prepared Bronco to the overall victory—the result behind the carefully bounded ‘only 4x4’ claim.

  • Drivers: Larry Minor and Rod Hall
  • Vehicle: Ford Bronco, number 71
  • Result: overall victory
The "Big Oly" Vel's Parnelli Jones/Bill Stroppe Ford Bronco race truck (Olympia Beer/Firestone/FMC livery, "It's the Water," race number 1), on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles
The "Big Oly" Vel's Parnelli Jones/Bill Stroppe Ford Bronco race truck (Olympia Beer/Firestone/FMC livery, "It's the Water," race number 1), on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles Photo by zombieite, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1971–1972

Big Oly changed the silhouette

Parnelli Jones and Bill Stroppe's purpose-built desert racer wore a Bronco identity over a tube-frame competition machine.

  • Purpose-built race chassis
  • Olympia Beer sponsorship
  • Baja 1000 victories in 1971 and 1972
Ford Performance/Multimatic Bronco DR desert racer studio image
Ford Performance/Multimatic Bronco DR desert racer studio image Image courtesy Ford Motor Company

2021–present

Bronco DR

Ford Performance and Multimatic developed the desert-racing-only Bronco DR as a modern competition program rather than a street trim.

  • Competition-only vehicle
  • Ford Performance and Multimatic program
Ford Bronco Raptor 4600 race truck (Lovell livery), 2026 King of the Hammers, on public auto-show display
Ford Bronco Raptor 4600 race truck (Lovell livery), 2026 King of the Hammers, on public auto-show display Photo by Charles, CC0/public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (no attribution legally required)

Modern

King of the Hammers

Modern Bronco racing connects factory-backed development with production-derived off-road competition classes.

  • Bronco Raptor 4600 program
  • Off-road competition and development feedback