Full Throttle

No, I know what you’re thinking. You haven’t experienced a flash back to Slick Willie’s time in the White House.

The GM type Hummers are in the news. HUMMER Division and Robby Gordon Motorsports have joined together to take on the Dakar Rally, widely considered to be the most grueling off-road race in the world due to its brutal terrain and extreme environmental conditions. Gordon will lead his Team Dakar USA from behind the wheel of a HUMMER H3 race truck. His relationship with HUMMER will also include driving an H3 in the 2006 Baja 1000 and Baja 500 desert races.

The race truck will pair an H3 body with a tube-frame custom chassis and suspension, similar to the Trophy Trucks raced in the Baja desert races, but with the addition of a fully enclosed, air conditioned cockpit. A production-based GM V8 will provide the motivation.

Gordon previously ran a similar truck in the Dakar, winning two stages.

The 2006 Dakar begins on December 31 in Lisbon, Portugal and runs through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, and Guinea before finishing in the capital city of Dakar, in Senegal . The race covers all types of terrain, from mountains to sea level and farmland to desert. Competitors can encounter snow and sub-zero temperatures as well as sandstorms and searing heat in the desert.

The second HUMMER story concerns NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points leader Tony Stewart. Taking a break from the Chase pressure Smoke was at the Tuesday opening day of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

His visit to Las Vegas started a few hours after he finished Sunday’s race, and Monday was filled with craps, blackjack and poker. “Monday was a relaxing day and today is busy, but it’s fun,” he said during a brief break between autograph sessions and photo shoots.