Chad Hord (born August 21, 1976) is a professional American

off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing Desert ...

driver from Felch, Michigan. As of 2012, he races a PRO 2 short course truck in the

Traxxas TORC Series TORC: The Off-Road Championship (TORC) was an American short course off-road racing series. It tours throughout the United States featuring professional four and two-wheel-drive Trophy Trucks along with a Pro Light class. TORC was founded by off ...

(TORC). In 1995, he began racing in

Short-course Off-road Drivers Association The Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (usually abbreviated as SODA) was a short course off-road racing sanctioning body in the United States. History SODA began as a Midwestern United States off-road racing series in the early 1970s. Mos ...

(SODA). The main sanctioning body for the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

changed several times throughout his career; he raced in Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR),

World Series of Off-Road Racing The Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) was an American off-road racing series. The series began in 2007 and it ended after the 2008 season. Classes WSORR sanctioned classes from Trophy Trucks down to grassroots racers. Feature cl ...

(WSORR) and

(TORC). Hord won a championship in Super Buggy before turning professional and winning two championships in Pro Light. In 2011, he became the third Pro 2 driver to win the

AMSOIL Cup AMSOIL Inc. is an American corporation based in Superior, Wisconsin that primarily formulates and packages synthetic lubricants, fuel additives, and filters. Company founder Albert J. Amatuzio developed several synthetic motor oil formulations t ...

, the world championship race in short course off-road racing. He also won the Electric Production class at the

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...

that year. As of the 2012 racing season, he had won three series championships, 31 races (25 in professional truck categories), four world championship races, and 125 top five races in 169 pro truck starts.

Background

Hord was born in

Iron Mountain, Michigan Iron Mountain is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,518 at the 2020 census, down from 7,624 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dickinson County, in the state's Upper Peninsula. Iron Mountain was named for the va ...

to Ron and Marsha Hord and was raised in nearby Felch with two brothers(Chris and Brian Hord) and one sister(Sarah Fleming). He played on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

teams at North Dickinson County School. After graduating from North Dickinson County School in 1994, he attended the

Bay de Noc Community College Bay de Noc Community College (Bay College) is a public community college in Escanaba, Michigan. Founded in 1962, the college has a main campus in Escanaba and another campus, Bay College West, in Iron Mountain, Michigan, serving Dickinson Count ...

. He received a degree in Machine Tool, CAD, and became a certified welder.

Racing career

1990s

As a child, Hord attended off-road races at nearby Bark River International Off-Road Raceway and he played on dirt bikes / snowmobiles / and

All-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

s. His parents bought him a SODA Super Buggy in 1995 and he continued to gain experience in the class as a hobby for the rest of the 1990s. He raced in the Class 9/10 class in 1995. To support his racing hobby, he worked at a machine tool shop, in the logging industry, and as a heavy equipment operator. Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) formed in 1998 and it immediately displayed SODA as the main sanctioning body in Midwestern off-road racing. Hord won his first race that season at Antigo, Wisconsin. He finished second in CORR Super Buggy, won the class world championship race at

Crandon International Off-Road Raceway The Crandon International Off-Road Raceway is a short course off-road racing racetrack, located near Crandon, Wisconsin, United States on U.S. Route 8. The course hosts the World Championship Off-Road Races, Red Bull World Cup, Forest County Po ...

. In the following season, he again finished second in CORR Super Buggy and won the Unlimited Buggy class world championship race at Crandon.

2000s

The owner of the heavy equipment company that he worked for also owned BOSS Snowplow. In 2000, BOSS began sponsoring Hord and the sponsorship ended up to be a long-term sponsorship agreement. Hord won his first championship in CORR Super Buggy by having consistent top five finishes that year. He moved to Pro Lite in 2001 after having six wins in 31 buggy races. In his Pro Lite rookie season, he finished fourth in season points with ten Top Five finishes in sixteen races. The following year he ended up third in season points with eleven Top Five finishes in fourteen races. For 2003, he picked up sponsorship from

Kumho Tires Kumho Tire (formerly known as Samyang Tire) is a South Korea, Korean tire manufacturer. It is a subsidiary of Chinese tire conglomerate . Kumho Tire was previously operated as a business unit of the Kumho Asiana Group. Operations An industrial C ...

finishing with nine Top Fives in 13 races and third in the points.

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

signed Hord Off-Road Racing as a

factory team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...

in 2004. Again he finished third in points with ten Top five finishes in thirteen starts. ChadHordProLiteTrophyTruckCrandon2009

Hord became a professional factory Nissan racing driver in 2005. Hord finished second in CORR Pro Lite by four points. In fourteen rounds, he had eight podium finishes and eleven Top 5s. Hord won the two rounds of the Nissan National Off Road Shootout. At Crandon he won the Pro Lite world championship race. Hord won his first Pro CORR Lite championship in 2006 by winning one race with thirteen podium finishes in sixteen races. He moved to the newly formed

(WSORR) in 2007. After winning five races and having ten podium finishes in thirteen rounds, he won the series' first Pro Light championship. For 2008 he raced in both WSORR and CORR winning twice in both series. Hord finished fifth in CORR points after the series folded with four remaining rounds. In seventeen starts, he finished twelve times in the Top Five.

AMSOIL AMSOIL Inc. is an American corporation based in Superior, Wisconsin that primarily formulates and packages synthetic lubricants, fuel additives, and filters. Company founder Albert J. Amatuzio developed several synthetic motor oil formulations t ...

began sponsoring the team in 2008. WSORR also folded after the 2008 season and the

took over sanction in the Midwest. He finished third in the 2009 Pro Light points after winning three races and having fourteen Top Fives. Hord attempted his first Pro 4WD

Trophy Truck A trophy truck, also known as a Baja truck or trick truck, is a vehicle used in high-speed off-road racing. This is an open production class and all components are considered legal unless specifically restricted. Although any truck that meets t ...

race at Crandon and he finished second with winning the Oakley Bomb Award for the fastest lap time in the race.

2010s

Hord moved up into Pro 2WD for the 2010 season. He had second and third places finishes to end up fourth in series points. His first podium finish was his third place finish at Bark River and the second place finish happened at

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...

. In fourteen starts, he finished nine times in the Top Five. Hord had his first Oakley Bomb Award in Pro 2WD making him the first driver to the win Oakley Bomb Award in all three professional truck classes. Nissan Leaf 2011 Pikes Peak Hillclimb Car for Chad Hord Electric Production Class Winner Photographed at Crandon 2012

Nissan Leaf 2011 Pikes Peak Hillclimb Car for Chad Hord Electric Production Class Winner Photographed at Crandon 2012

The Electric Production class debuted at the

in 2011. Hord entered a

Nissan Leaf The , stylized as LEAF, is a Compact car, compact five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle, battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufactured by Nissan. It was introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its second generation w ...

. He ascended the course in 14 minutes and 33 seconds to win the class. The interior of the car was removed and replaced with mandatory racing seats, safety harness, and a

roll cage A roll cage is a specially engineered and constructed frame built in (or sometimes around, in which case it is known as an exo cage) the passenger compartment of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured or killed in an accident, pa ...

. Hord was the third Pro 2 driver to win the

in 2011 after Scott Taylor won the event twice. The race pits the Pro 2 and Pro 4

s against each other for the world championship in short-course off-road racing. The Pro 2 trophy trucks started 20 seconds ahead of the Pro 4 trucks to make up their disadvantage of having only rear-wheel drive compared to four-wheel drive. Hord maintained the lead throughout the race and no one came close to passing him. For the season, he finished third in 2WD points. Hord's 2012 TORC Pro 2WD season started with five out of six podium finishes; he finished third in points for the year after five second-place finishes.

Philanthropy

In early 2011, Hord spent fourteen days visiting United States troops on the 2011 Armed Forces Entertainment Pro Off-Road Champions Tour.

Personal life

Hord married the former Amy Anderson in 2001 and they have two daughters. Amy works in Public Relations and hospitality for the team.

Images

File:Chad Hord Signing Autographs Before Winning 2011 AMSOIL World Championship.jpg, Signing autographs for a kid in 2011 File:Chad Hord Thumbs Up after winning 2011 AMSOIL Cup.jpg, Thumbs up after winning 2011 AMSOIL Cup File:Chad Hord pulls into pits after winning 2011 AMSOIL Cup.jpg, Pulling into the pits after winning 2011 AMSOIL Cup File:Crandon 2013 Pro 2 Chad Hord 9.jpg, Racing at Crandon in 2013

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hord, Chad 1976 births Living people Off-road racing drivers People from Dickinson County, Michigan Racing drivers from Michigan People from Iron Mountain, Michigan