I’ve featured some cool off-road race trucks here that have competed in SCORE and BITD races, but for those trucks to actually have a chance at winning or even finishing those long-distance off-road races, they will have to have a good chase truck.
A chase truck is a highly modified truck that carries the crew, tools, and spare parts in support of a race truck. Chase trucks must be highly capable off road both in strength and power. They must be able to handle the terrain of the racecourse while being loaded down with spare parts and tools capable of fixing anything on the race truck or itself.
These trucks are often the tow rigs that brings the race truck to the event and then must traverse the course to the series of pit areas. Once the event has concluded they are packed up for the long haul back to the shop. We’re not talking about your typical pre-runner here; these behemoths are every bit as important as the race truck itself.
SDHQ (Superduty Headquarters) Off-Road out of Gilbert, Arizona has not only been a major resource for people building off-road vehicles but has also built some amazing off-road vehicles for their customers. And yes, they even build chase trucks like the Ford F-350 Superduty you see here.
According to SDHQ, this chase truck is equipped with an Icon Vehicle Dynamics coilover conversion system, Icon Alloys Rebound Wheels, Toyo M/T Tires, Baja Designs lighting, Switch Pros SP-9100, Warn Winch and SDHQ custom chase rack.
When you really study the truck, you can see that it’s designed to be able to carry the parts and tools you would need to fix a race truck out in the desert and provide ample lighting around the sides of the truck to work at night.
When you think about the spare parts and tools you could possibly need as well as an air compressor and welder, you can quickly imagine how heavy this truck would become. A quality suspension and off-road tires is needed to be able to get this beast out into the desert and to not only be able to repair or recover a race truck, but to be able to tow it back to the pits if necessary.
These trucks are the unsung heroes of desert racing and probably have their very own unique stories that they could share.
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