There are few things that mean more to an athlete than to be honored and immortalized by the sport they love. In the world of off-road racing, this means being inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (ORMHOF) alongside such greats as Parnelli Jones, Steve McQueen, and James Garner.
Today Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc., a leading manufacturer of off-road and street performance tires, is proud to announce that Team Nitto driver Shannon Campbell has been chosen to be inducted into this prestigious group and has the distinction of being the first-ever rocksports competitor to be inducted into it.
ORMHOF was created by NORRA/Mexican 1000 founder Ed Pearlman in 1978 to honor athletes that have more than 15 years of significant contributions to off-road motorsports above and beyond race wins. As one of the few members of the off-road community who excels as a driver, a technological innovator and an ambassador for motorized off-pavement recreation, Shannon Campbell was an obvious selection and received a unanimous vote from the selection committee.
“I was surprised and honored to be selected for ORMHOF,” Shannon Campbell said. “Until recently, most of the rock events were under the radar, compared to other forms of racing. This honor is a career highlight, one that I consider a shared win with all of the rock-racing organizations that have helped us get where we currently are: Ultra4, W.E. Rock, ARCA, UROC, XORRA, and Best In The Desert. Without them, their competitors, and the fans, this recognition wouldn’t have happened.”
Nitto Tire Events & Motorsports Manager Chris Corbett added, “Shannon Campbell is largely responsible for putting King of the Hammers-style rock-racing on the map. In addition to being one of the world’s best off-road drivers, Shannon has consistently been a step ahead of other competitors with his technological innovations. He is also a great spokesperson for the off-road community, and the fact that his kids – Wayland and Bailey – are now racing at an elite level demonstrates the family-oriented nature of off-road motorsports. Nitto Tire congratulates Shannon and Tammy Campbell and is proud to have the Campbell family and their expertise as part of Team Nitto.”
Shannon Campbell’s career began accidentally, when he won the 1996 Four Wheeler Top Truck Challenge in his highly modified pink flatfender Jeep. As organized “extreme” rock-crawling events emerged, Shannon entered and often won. One of the few two-time King of the Hammers “Kings” (2008, 2011), Shannon has also been W.E. Rock Champion (2006, 2007, 2008), XORRA Champion (2006, 2008, 2009), Ultra4 Series Champion (2011, 2013), and JCRA (Japan) Champion (2011). His other honors include DirtSports Magazine Driver of the Year (2005), DirtSports Rockracer of the Year (2013), and Ultra4 Sportsman of the Year (2013).
Technologically, Shannon Campbell and Campbell Enterprises are best known for introducing the IFS buggy to rock-racing, in 2002. Campbell Enterprises also pioneered the single-seat buggy when Shannon chose to drive solo and be his own spotter/winch-cable-puller about a decade ago. Additionally, Campbell Enterprises builds the race vehicles for Bailey and Wayland Campbell as well as for other Ultra4 and BITD competitors.
