Chevrolet Tests Silverado Race Truck at Grueling Vegas to Reno Race

When it comes to off-road performance, most in the industry do not think about trucks first. Off-road racing is dominated by machines like the RZR or trophy trucks not a stock vehicle. Off-road or dirt racing remains one of the most raw forms of racing, where skill and a mechanical know how go further than having a great pit crew and you never leave the seat of the car.

While the Ford Raptor might be the most well known as an off road vehicle, what you might be missing in your thinking is what about Chevrolet?

Back in 2019, Chevy announced that it would take the full-size pickup and enter it on the Best in the Desert racing series along with the Colorado ZR2 that had been used in previous races. Since then, Hall Racing led by Chad Hall has been the proving grounds for Chevy Performance racing. From races like the BlueWater Desert Challenge, to the Mint 400 and most recently the Vegas to Reno race, all races that make up the Best in the Desert series.

Obviously, the main attraction of car and truck racing is the adrenaline-surging thrill of high speed, thunderous noise, and the shared experience with tens of thousands of like-minded fans of both vehicular sports.

But beyond the championships won through racing, comes one of the most important developments vehicle manufacturers could ever gain. The benefit to racing can be primarily centered on the extreme engineering insight such sports provide makers of everyday components for both types of vehicles. Racing a car, truck, UTV or even a motorcycle pushes the machine to its limit, and engineers then take that data, and the result is a better model machine for you the consumer. Most recently, the most well-known short course off-road race was run in Crandon, Wisconsin with Chevy taking home a third place win in the Pro2 versus Pro4 race. Chevy also shared footage (below) with us from the Vegas to Reno race a few weeks back, where both Silverado and Colorado ZR2 race trucks competed. In that race, Colorado ZR2 finished first in its class, ahead of the Jeep Gladiator. 

The Silverado is dual purpose for off-road racing. Racing for the win, but racing for the development. The Silverado will run with a new long-travel suspension, prototype Multimatic DSSV dampers, and front and rear jounce shocks. What does the jounce shock do? The Jounce Shock System enhances gross vehicle motion control, it also increases suspension bump capacity, and it provides exceptional bottoming protection for extreme off-road conditions.  

This isn’t the first time that you see the Multimatic DSSV dampers, however. They made their first appearance in an off-road truck application on the Colorado ZR2. Chevy has said that the prototype set is of a higher capacity. The dampers will help keep the bigger Silverado in check with a higher wheel, and overall it’ll have better control. 

The rear shock skids and the skid plates cover a lot of the underbody which rounds out the race-prepped Silverado’s upgrades. The world is deprived of cool sedans. Chevy should at least give customers a full-size performance truck as an option.   

Off-road racing is brutal –a single off-road race creates more wear-and-tear than most vehicles will experience in a year. This extreme testing help us shape our performance parts and accessories portfolio, our GM Defense projects and production-vehicle offerings.  Durability is the most important aspect of competing off-road. Most of the development info we collect is suspension related. Other than special safety equipment, the trucks are pretty much stock production. We’re always monitoring things like engine vitals, transmission performance, HVAC, etc. If you remember, we have the A/C on and windows up during the race – intentionally.

– Chevrolet