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Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame wreath

2007 Inductee

Walter Lott
OFF-ROAD RACING

Walter Lott

Walt Lott, is one of the founding fathers of off-road racing. A man of great vision, perhaps his single, most important contribution was his dream and successful effort to extend off-road racing beyond the regional level and gain “greater national recognition and corporate involvement” through sponsorships and, ultimately, television coverage. In July of 1969 Walt joined with a group of friends and founded the Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts (SNORE), a non-profit association of off-road racers who have organized races in the southern Nevada area for the past 38 years.

Walt served as President of SNORE in 1973 and again an 1975 and also served as the chief race steward and eventually organizer for Del Webb’s Mint 400 Desert Race (1971-1988), which grew into the richest, largest and most successful off-road race in the country. In 1976 he founded the High Desert Racing Association (HDRA) and promoted a half dozen races each year around the southwest. In 1985, Walt joined with Sal Fish to combine the HDRA series (four events) and the SCORE International series (4 events) to create one major points series competing under one set of rules. The HDRA/SCORE Desert Series brought increased entries and sponsorships to both organizations and made it possible for Walt to realize his dream.

CLASS OF 2007