Todd Walter of The Dalles doesn’t have a mechanical background, but he acquired advanced skills by modifying his stock 2007 Toyota Tacoma to hold its own in a grueling off-road race across the Nevada desert.
“I am self-taught,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from friends and other people.”
By day, Walter is a UPS driver, covering the area between Condon and Arlington.
His off-time for the past three years has been spent working on the computer to design a roll-cage and front and rear suspension systems that could withstand a brutal race course.
He spent over 100 hours just on the front control arms and uprights. Adjustments were made for the perfect placement of the exhaust, steering, engine mounts, cooling systems, fuel supply system, dash, lighting, all wiring and GM Turbo 400 transmission.
Walter, who was born and raised in The Dalles, has had a lifelong fascination with motorsports. He was so inspired by Ivan Ironman Stewart, who raced for Toyota, that he wanted to follow suit.
“The Toyota is a more reliable truck with a higher horsepower stock motor, and I’ve always been a big fan,” said Walter.
This is the third year he has raced and Walter is gratified to have his home-built rig holding its own against models that are custom made at great expense.
“I know exactly what’s going on with my truck and what parts last, and which need to be stronger,” he said.
Walter and his wife, Melisa, and their race team collaborated on the truck modifications. Their hard work paid off when Walter was the only one of his series class to cross the finish line in the annual “Vegas to Reno” race that covers 530 miles as part of the Best in the Desert circuit.
“It felt pretty awesome,” said Todd of the victory. “It was definitely a teamwork thing.”
There were no breakdowns and no flats. All parts were accounted for except for a couple of bolts in the bed of the truck.
“So many of us have a dream or a bucket list; in this case, it was a dream that required a long list and lots of labor to come true,” said Melisa of the achievement.
Walter placed 134th out of 274 car/truck entries.
There was a total of 367 entries with the inclusion of bikes and quads in the trek over boulders, deep ruts, drop offs and silt beds that were two to three feet deep, and other challenges.
In addition to the race distance, Walter’s crew had travelled 1,000 miles to reach the starting point near Las Vegas. They were sponsored by Mid-Columbia Producers, The Dalles Iron Works, Rage Graphics and Design and Perez Collision. Tom Watson with Watson Performance helped tune the suspension prior to the race.
Joining the Walters at the event was Dan Myers, secondary driver, and co-drivers Josh Fullenwider and JD Richman. The pit crew chief was Larry Hardie, and he oversaw the work of Katie Kemmerer and Starla Pearl.
Shortly after noon on Friday, Aug. 17, local team Adrenaline Motorsports Racing, with entry number 7122, left the start line in temperatures that topped 90 degrees. Walters and Myers were in the Toyota.
The pit crew spent the next 14 hours in two chase trucks and a flat bed trailer trying to stay ahead of the race truck and anticipate water, fuel, and other maintenance needs.
Refueling took place in moments and spare tires were taken off the Toyota when weight had to be reduced for some obstalce and put back on when the extra weight would make the suspension easier to handle.
Whoever was driving the Toyota pushed the throttle and trusted the co-driver to monitor the GPS tracker and call out corners and other dangers.
One of the biggest challenges was the dust, said Walter, because it reduced visibility enough to hide potential threats and make it easier to veer off-course.
“Sometimes you couldn’t see anything beyond the windshield, and that got pretty intense,” he said.
Walter wasn’t worried about crashing and getting hurt because he felt insulated with the beefed-up exterior, but he was concerned about damaging his truck enough to be eliminated from the race.
“I was worried about hitting something because I put a lot of time and money into it — that made me nervous,” he said.
Myers drove 180 miles of the race with Walter taking the wheel for the other 350 miles. Their speed ranged from 40 to 90 miles per hour dependent upon the challenges they faced.
“We were definitely tired; it was a 14-hour adrenaline rush,” said Walter.
He crossed the finish line at 2:41 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18.
“This wasn’t some pre-made kit Todd put together. He spent hours designing, welding and fabricating this machine — the machine that brought home a win after miles and hours,” said Melisa.
“We all rallied to make this the best experience. It seemed like forever but it also went so fast. It’s surreal really. Now that we’re home, it’s all sinking in. It was a big deal. It takes a real team to accomplish this. AMR brought home a win that started with a dream and a guy just building a truck in his garage.”
Todd said the sacrifices are worth it when his team overcomes an endurance contest and gets to experience victory.
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