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Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame wreath

1979 Inductee

John Lawlor
PIONEER | JOURNALISM

John Lawlor

John Lawlor worked as a writer for the Hot Rodding magazines of the 1950-60s. He helped to publicize the birth of off-roading and off- road racing. He covered the sport and wrote about his experiences on some of the early Baja runs. He attended many of the first off-road races at Riverside, California and as a result of his writing the sport found new audiences.

In June of 1967 he joined Drino Miller in a Meyers Manx to take on the speed record through Baja set by the Ekins brothers. Lawlor’s job was to cover the attempt for the press. Ed Pearlman organized the run. Pearlman drove with Dick Cepek in a Landcrusier with a Chevy V-8 engine as did Claud Dozier and Ed Orr. The men did not break any records on their trip, however the trip is credited for giving Pearlman the idea of starting the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) and the Mexican 1000 race through Baja.

Sources: Interview with Pete Condos Fiolka, Marty. 2005. 1000 Miles to Glory, The History of the Baja 1000. Phoenix, AZ.: David Bull Publishing.

CLASS OF 1979