2020 AMA HARE & HOUND CHAMPION DALTON SHIREY
P108
Interview
BAJA?
Looking to the future as an
off-road racer, of course, Shirey
admits, "I want to try to get my-
self in a Trophy truck one day."
Trophy trucks, of course, were
practically invented for SCORE's
Baja races, and to that end,
Shirey admittedly has little ex-
perience there—one Baja race a
few years back and pre-running
for the 1000 this year. For any
die-hard desert racer, if there's
one race to win, it's the Baja
1000 and Shirey remembers his
first race experience there well.
"In 2017, I think, I went down
there to be on a Chris Haines-
sponsored team. I raced it once
and I did 200 miles for my sec-
tion. It was really good; I made
up a lot of time on the 1X—made
up, like, five minutes in 80 miles
or something.
"I had an opportunity to pass
the 1X. I slid out in a corner
when I was right next to him and
messed up my opportunity and
had to sit in his dust for the next
100 miles until I got off the bike.
"It kind of sucked, but it was
good to go down there and learn,
see what it's all about, what type
of racing it is. It's definitely way
different; it's a different animal
than what we do up here. Hare
and hounds are more like a fast
trail ride. Most of the time it's
single-track or maybe quad-width
or you're going flat-out across
the desert valleys where it opens
up. It's more technical, fun, it's
shorter, not as high-speed, you're
not on two-track roads forever.
"The big difference between
the two is the roughness be-
cause I think hare and hounds
are not that rough compared to
what Baja has, like San Felipe.
San Felipe's just horrible be-
cause of those trucks.
"You can't ride 100 percent
Though he's best known as a desert racer,
Shirey has steadily improved in the sprinting
required in NGPC and WORCS races. One
goal he has is to win both H&H and WORCS or
NGPC championships in the same year.
For sure I want
to back up my
hare and hound
championship
and make sure no
one says it was a
fluke deal.
