When it comes to off-road racing, everyone has heard of Walker Evans. Walker has been involved in the sport since before it was a sport, and he has had an amazing career. In 1999, after deciding to retire from racing altogether, he finished up the year as World Champion. Of course, retiring from racing didn't mean that Walker was retiring from motorsports altogether. He's heavily involved in snowmobiling, flying, and now, rockcrawling.
Walker first discovered rockcrawling when he began representing Goodyear at events around the West. Intrigued, he decided to look into it a little more closely by going to Johnson Valley, Phoenix, and other hard-core areas to ride along with extreme four-wheelers in all kinds of 4x4s. Like us, Walker got bitten by the bug and decided to build a vehicle of his own.
The Goodyear/ARCA Extreme Rock Crawling Championship Series seemed like a good place to learn how to rockcrawl quickly, so Walker and his team built a Chevy Blazer. After competing a couple of times in the Blazer, they took what they learned and pulled out all the stops to build one of the most advanced 4x4s that rockcrawling has ever seen.
After observing, driving, and riding in many different vehicles, Walker decided on a Chevy S-10. The pickup offers the weight distribution that seems to work best in the backcountry. Certainly, our Toyota mini-truck project does some remarkable things in the rocks because of the way its weight is distributed. Of course, Walker's S-10 goes to greater extremes than any project we could build. The resources that Walker can draw on surpass those of most others in this sport.
Many don't realize that Walker's shop not only builds race vehicles for the Walker Evans team, but also fabricates and builds vehicles for many other racers in different venues. This fabrication experience stood Walker in good stead when the shop built a chrome alloy frame and rollcage for the S-10, as well as four-wheel hydraulics and rear steering. While we'll reserve judgment on whether all this is really necessary (most competitors say it is), the rear steering and hydraulics at all four corners definitely make it interesting to watch Walker drive. Combined with everything else that was employed in this buildup, the S-10 let Walker drive into a First Place finish at the Vernal ARCA event. Words don't do justice to this truck, so check out the photos and see just what Walker has created.
SpecificationsVehicle: Chevy S-10
Owner/hometown: Walker Evans/ Riverside, California
Engine: Chevrolet 4.3L Vortec V-6
Induction: Sequential multiport fuel injection
Transmission: Chevrolet 700-R4 four-speed automaticTransfer case: Atlas
Frontend: DynaTrac reverse-rotation Dana 60 with a Detroit Locker
Rearend: DynaTrac reverse-rotation Dana 60 with a Detroit Locker
Ring-and-pinion: 5.14:1
Suspension: Custom with King coilovers
Tires/wheels: 37x12.50R15-inch Goodyear Wrangler MTRs/15x8-inch Ultra aluminum wheels with Champion Grand National bead locks
Added features: Chrome alloy frame and rollcage; custom fuel cell; rear hydraulic steering; Saginaw power steering; Ramsey Platinum 9500 winch