Off-road adventure seeker Shelby Hall grew up in a family where motorsports were king: her grandfather – Rod Hall, father – Josh Hall and uncle – Chad Hall were professional off-road drivers, and her mother’s side of the family raced drag cars. From an early age Shelby herself got to drive on the dirt under the watchful eye of her grandfather, Rod Hall – her partner in crime and famed off-road pioneer and Hall of Fame inductee.
Some of Shelby’s earliest memories are of her riding shotgun next to her dad in his race truck, begging him to go faster! She leaned to drive at around the age of 8 while sitting on her grandfather’s knee behind the wheel of a H1 Hummer and she never felt scared doing so.
When Shelby became a teenager, she took a family business hiatus and decided to find her own path in non-car-related professions. But as a young adult, she felt her detour had hit a dead-end and Shelby turned to her grandfather, Rod, and shared with him how lost she felt. Rod invited Shelby back to the dirt, to partake in the family business again, and for the first time in many years, Shelby finally felt she was on the right track.
“My grandpa did a great job of teaching me what to do and what NOT to do, LOL, and although it took me a bit longer to learn what not to do, once the dust settled, the positive lessons were so clear,” Shelby shared with Driven Women Magazine.
Shelby didn’t know her grandfather during the height of his stellar off-road racing career, but they became two peas in a pod much later in his life. By then his goals had changed and he was ready to pass the torch, bringing forth the Rod Hall who Shelby got to know – humble, passionate, and experienced. Shelby still has a photograph of her sitting on her grandfather’s lap, which is next to her bed and that she looks at every morning.
“My grandfather’s most famous line was “to finish first, you must first finish” and that theory has and will always be in the back of my head anytime I’m on the race course. But his biggest inspiration to me was his passion for adventure – he always said yes to the adventure!” revealed Shelby.
The lessons her grandfather and her father taught Shelby are what helped shape the woman she is today, and the skills they passed down enabled Shelby not only to launch her own business, Shelby Hall Off Road (SHO), but to become a Ford Performance factory driver, setting records and blazing new paths.
Shelby started SHO in June of 2021, and has been growing it slowly and organically since then, often finding that being an entrepreneur in a high-risk, niche space is full of challenges. The role Shelby had created for herself was multi-faceted: 1) event creator/coordinator; 2) social media marketer; and 3) athlete (plus Shelby maintains she’s a dog mom, homemaker, girlfriend, daughter and friend). And at the end of 2023 Shelby felt exhausted.
“I felt like the reward to effort ratio was really unbalanced and like maybe I should quit while I was “ahead”. I shared my feelings of uncertainty with a close group of friends, who all had my back, and encouraged me not to give up.
Thankfully, through tired, weary eyes I was able to look at the business from a bird’s eye view, and make a new course of action. I have surrounded myself with an amazing team who bring strengths to outweigh my weaknesses and compliment me and SHO so perfectly!” said Shelby.
Currently, SHO workshops offer training in off-road driver coaching as well as map and compass reading and road book navigation like what is done in the Rebelle Rally – the first women’s off-road navigational rally and said to be the longest competitive endurance competition in the USA – of which Shelby is a 5x competitor. Shelby’s goal with SHO is to be the foundation for others to create community and to help people find their tribe. Shelby is excited to continue building out workshops with goals to teach first aid, mechanics, and other hand-crafted related courses.
Being outdoors is what Shelby loves the most, whether she’s walking the dog in the neighbourhood or making dust in the desert. The “unknown” factor about off-roading though means she never knows what adventure is around the next corner.
“I love hearing the roar of the engine, power hitting the ground when you squeeze the throttle, and finessing a 5,000-pound machine exactly where I want it to go. It’s so freeing and fun to be in control of a badass off-roading machine, chasing down your opponents. Plus, it’s so much fun to catch air, fling dirt and lose traction!” exclaimed Shelby.
The Baja 1000 is known to be the toughest race in North America. It’s man vs nature, and according to Shelby the Baja takes no prisoners and she has felt truly incredible, every single time she has taken victory at the event. Shelby’s team races in the stock classes and it takes them anywhere from 32-35 hours to complete the race. There’s a team of drivers to break up the time, but Shelby is still behind the wheel for 8-10 hours, driving at 100% and every second counts. Spending hours in the middle of nowhere, no radio comms, no chase team, just Shelby and the dirt, driving as hard as she can.
“There have been so many times 3/4 of the way through my stint that I’ve asked myself “good lord, whose ideas was this?!” But once you see dust up ahead, or you know you’re honing in on the finish line, that “this sucks” feeling passes and the “HOLY SHIT WE DID IT” feeling overwhelms your soul!” beamed Shelby.
Being the only female on the 2019/2020 Baja 1000 Ford Performance Bronco R race team is one of Shelby’s greatest career highlights so far. Other highlights include being the first female driver on the BFGoodrich Tires Performance Baja 1000 team in 2023, having a Lego ‘Shelby Hall’ made, and writing the forward for the new Bronco Book published this year.
Leading her all-female team to capture the first win for the new generation Bronco family in the Rebelle Rally 2020 was another highlight for Shelby. Navigational rallies, like the Rebelle Rally, are very different from desert racing. In the Rebelle Rally, there are only three main elements: the driver, in this case Shelby; her navigator, Rori; and her vehicle the Ford Bronco. This competition is not about how fast you drive the vehicle, but about navigation skills, precision driving, teamwork, compromise, and the ability to shift gears under pressure.
Desert racing on the other hand is focused on the driver driving the vehicle as fast as possible, yet as gingerly as possible to keep it together; the co-driver reads a GPS, and the crew who is part of the race team, including mechanics, fuelers, and team managers. Shelby loves them both and craves the competition from both, but admits she does love to go fast!
Women in motorsports is a small number, and women in off-road motorsports is even smaller, but the women who show up speak volumes. Shelby feels women are welcomed, especially by the younger generations.
“It’s our job as the minority to show up prepared and ready for battle. Because there are less of us, we are watched through a microscope, every mistake is amplified, but our victories are also applauded,” said Shelby.
Back in 2015, Shelby and her grandpa restored his 1968 Bronco to take to Baja and race together – back to where it all began. Then in 2021, Ford loaned Shelby an awesome 2021 Bronco, which she went on to name Rebelly, to compete in the Rebelle Rally. Their paint schemes are similar, and their body lines have a striking resemblance. Upon her grandfather’s passing, he gifted Shelby that ’68 and in 2023, Rebelly also became hers. Seeing the two vehicles next to each other tells a true generational story: honouring the past, and reinvigorating the future.
When Shelby lost her grandfather, Rod Hall, to a Parkinsonian disease in 2019, she lost a tremendous part of herself. So, when she learned about the charity foundation Drive Toward a Cure®, founded by Deb Pollack, she knew it was her chance to be the voice for her grandfather and family after the tragedy of losing him. In April this year, to honour her grandfather and Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Shelby hosted a “Tribute Trail Ride” which became Drive Toward a Cure’s very first off-road drive. The event exceeded their financial goal, and it was one “helluva day” for Shelby celebrating the life of Rod Hall the only way she knows how, making dust and creating community!
Later that month Shelby was also invited as a guest speaker during Drive Toward a Cure’s “Evening of Music & Motion” held at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV. During the event’s special ‘Conversations for a Cause’ presentation, Shelby joined panelists Rasheda Ali Walsh, Parkinson’s advocate and daughter of “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali; Dr. Deanna Brown, daughter of the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown; and globally renowned singer/actress and producer Vanessa Williams, where they shared stories from their legendary family members who were affected by Parkinsons disease.
“Although the struggle my family faced was heart wrenching, this is my opportunity to not only share our story and hopefully be a hand to hold for others in times of need, but spread awareness of the programs available to those living with Parkinson’s, while raising funds for research and patient care,” concluded Shelby.
Shelby Hall is a racer, adventurer and off-road event creator with gasoline running through her veins and dust on her heart. You can follow Shelby’s adventures on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube: @shelbyhalloffroad and on Facebook at Shelby Hall. Check out what’s next on the calendar, or take a peek at ‘What’s in my Garage’ at www.shelbyhalloffroad.com
Photographs Supplied.