Roger Walker Evans (born December 3, 1938) is an

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former professional

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 Dese ...

driver and member of the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was also a driver and owner in the NASCAR

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

. Nicknamed "The Legend", he is the father of off-road racer Evan Evans.Biography
at the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame He resides in Riverside, California.

Racing career

Off-road

Born in Cedar Lake, Michigan, Evans began his off-road career in cross-country events in SCORE International events, including the premier event: the Baja 500. His first sample of racing was in 1969, when he drove a

Rambler American The Rambler American is a compact car that was manufactured by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC forerunner Nash Motors' compact Rambler that was introduced in 1950 an ...

for the American Motors and actor James Garner sponsored team to a third-place finish in the Baja 500. His first purpose built race truck was Ford F-100 donated by Marion Beaver at Parker Motor Company and built by Bill Stroppe. The truck won 16 of 17 races. He won the

Baja 1000 The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearl ...

five times. He has 142 total victories and 21 championship titles in off-road desert and short course racing. He has multiple overall wins in the Baja 500,

Fireworks 250 Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...

, Mint 400, and

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. He added the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group Stadium Series events to his schedule to enhance his horizons. The series featured indoor races inside a stadium. The Walker Evans Racing Team won the MTEG Grand National Championship in 1999. He won his first SODA race in 1986 at the Lake Geneva Raceway in

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it is home to an estimated 8,105 people as of 2019, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Milwa ...

. He won the 1994 and 1995 Class-8 (two-wheel drive) championships in SODA. He met fellow competitor

Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American professional racing driver who has competed in off-road and stock cars. He is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. ...

during his SODA days. He moved to CORR when most of the SODA drivers switched series. He finished with his SODA career with three overall victories and 31 class wins. He was champion of CORR's highest division, Pro-4, in 1999. He won three races and the CORR Pro-4 championship in 2000 in his final full-time season in CORR before retirement from short-track off-road racing. Around 1999 he began entering rock crawling events after a promotional trip to

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NASCAR

Racing

Evans decided to try his hand as a driver/owner in the newly formed NASCAR SuperTruck Series in 1995. He had one Top 10 finish in 18 races, and he finished 14th in the final points standings. He had three Top 10 finishes in 23 events in 1996, and he finished 17th in the overall points standings.

Team ownership

He continued his Walker Evans Racing team after his retirement. He hired former SODA and CORR competitor

to race for him in 2002. Gaughan won twice, on his way to the Rookie of the Year title. In 2003, Gaughan was the CTS points leader going into the final race, but was crashed out.

Halls of Fame

Evans was inducted in the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2015, he was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.Walker Evans
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America In 2022, he was inducted into the SEMA Hall Of Fame.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

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) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

¹ Ineligible for series points

References

External links

Official team website
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Walker 1938 births NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners Living people Racing drivers from Michigan Off-road racing drivers