Back to where it all began: In his early teens, Pete got his first taste of off-road competition racing on a three-wheeler. He was quite the underdog dressed in Levi jeans, Vans tennis shoes, and leather work gloves, but he pulled the hole-shot and finished the race. He was hooked.
Pete's first job was sweeping floors at Dirttrix. Soon after, the opportunity came for his first seat in a real race car. Throughout Pete’s 40-year racing career, he was known for being a competitive racer on a working man’s budget. He raced multiple classes throughout his life: Class 9, Class 5, Class 7s, Class 7, Class 3, Prolite, Pro 2, and Trophy Truck.
In 2004, while waiting to get his haircut, Pete read an article about the next big entertainment venue, indoor go-karting, and the vision for Speedway Raceway Indoor Karting was born. Most of his friends and family doubted his endeavor, but in true Pistol-fashion, he was confident it would work and believed in his idea. After a home-run opening day, he ordered a brand-new, Geiser Trophy Truck. Pete’s Trophy Truck was the third Geiser truck built, and the first three-seater. Speedway doubled as Pete’s race shop and his employees doubled as prep guys. It was the perfect pairing for Pistol’s race team.
Pete was a self-taught engineer and natural innovator, with a little hustle on the side. The three-seater configuration was the driver seat in the center, the navigator seat on the right and the gauge reader on the left. His idea was to provide the driver with better visibility on both sides of the course. It also allowed the navigator to stay focused on the GPS, and the gauge reader focused on the truck’s performance. The biggest benefit of the three-seat orientation was that two people could hop out for tire changes and neither of them was Pistol.
The extra left seat opened the opportunity for ‘dreamers’ to rent a ride in the greatest off-road adventure on Earth. The rental seat housed off-road fanatics, bucket-listers, A-list celebrities, and more. That seat was in part a springboard for Pistol’s next venture. Baja Racing Adventures was founded in 2009. The first “arrive-and-drive” off-road racing experience with a new customer behind the wheel every weekend. He designed, built, raced, and rented trucks called Bajalites. They were incredibly strong, entry-level, 4-cylinder trucks both lightweight, and durable. Even when piloted by inexperienced individuals, the trucks had impressive results, opening the sport up to new audiences.
In addition to the arrive-and-drive program, Pistol was the first to prove the reliability and performance of the underdrive in the deserts of off-road racing. Tubeworks designed the underdrive and Pete’s #2 Trophy Truck was the first to run it, the rest is history. After its initial debut in the early 2000s, nearly every Trophy Truck driver followed his lead. Today, every Trophy Truck and 6100/TT Spec have an underdrive. Pistol was also the first to demand 40” tires from the manufacturers. He theorized bigger tires would exponentially increase performance over the harsh desert terrain. Once again, he was right.
Pistol did not quite understand the power of social media, but people were drawn to him; he capped out the allowed number of followers on his personal digital media and kept people on a wait list. With his iconic wrap-around sunglasses, signature mullet, and unmistakable voice, fans, followers, and racers tuned in to hear what he would say or post next. His posts were famous for ALL CAPS and lots of dots…..to make his point ......all typed one finger at a time.
Early on, Pete had a presence in several race media environments. He ran a YouTube show called Pistol Vision TV where he interviewed racers and grilled them on the spot, in the pits, in between heats, and everywhere else. He co-hosted the podcast, Totally Off-Road Radio (TORR) which kept up to date on all things off-road and he was an original co-host of Fishgistics Race Recaps. As those projects ended for Pete, Race Dezert was only a click away. Pistol’s ongoing, opinionated dialogue on Race Dezert forums kept the fans and fellow racers on their toes. Once Pete was banned for life from the website, but due to low engagement after his expulsion, the site made an exception and brought him back; his username BANNED4LIFE became an iconic staple on the site and the familiar “grab your popcorn” post indicated a heated debate was going down. In 2015, Pete and his family were featured in a five-part off-road documentary produced by RedBullTV called Driving Dirty. The series followed him on a journey from prep to the finish line of the Baja 1000.
In 2017, Pistol got a casting call from the History Channel to host a new show, Truck Night in America. I doubt they had encountered someone with Pete’s negotiation style before. The last few contract details were in flux, so Pete informed the producers in New York he would not be boarding the plane going to the set the following morning. Let’s just say, the producers did not receive that news well, Pete’s response, “Hey, I got a million other things going on, this is just one more on the list.” The next morning, Pete’s terms were agreed to and he boarded the plane. The show was an enormous success and ran for two seasons. Pete was a natural on set, “helping” the producers, camera operators, and set designers and always willing to stay late and work hard to get the shot. After Pete’s passing the show was canceled, sadly we will never know how far he would have been able to take his television career.
Pete’s passion for racing was second to his love of Baja, the people, and the place that was the playground for his sport. He posted his favorite taco shop frequently, watched the owner’s daughter grow up and take over the restaurant, and happily signed his name in the cement outside the shop when requested. Pistol was also an avid advocate for Rancho Santa Marta located outside of San Vicente. Rancho Santa Marta has two foundational programs, a home for homeless, orphaned, or abused children and a school with a special education program for children with learning disabilities. Over the course of his career, he raised thousands of dollars and supplies for Rancho Santa Marta. It was his favorite place to stop when pre-running, bringing donations, supplies, and talking to the kids. During one such stop, Pete ran out of stickers and T-shirts to give away leaving one young man at the Ranch disappointed. Without thinking, Pete took off the shirt he was wearing and gave that away also.
Pete had a rare quality that drew people to him and words fail to describe. He fought for what he believed in, what was right for everyone. He stood up for those that had no voice, and fought passionately for his sport, the fans, the drivers, the rules, safety, and everything in between, the exact same way he lived all aspects of his life. Pete inspired and impacted thousands of people from all corners to dream big, live passionately, and to always ‘go for it’, simply by being himself. His impact and legendary stories live on.
VIVA PISTOLA
Pete Sohren's Hall of Fame induction video.
Pete Sohren's family took to the stage at the ORMHOF 2024 Induction & Awards Gala in tribute to him as he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
