The 2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 made its race debut in this past weekend’s 2021 Best In The Desert King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic in Nevada.
The Chevy Silverado has been racing in the Best In The Desert Series since late 2019, when Chevy entered a partnership with the Hall Racing team to field a prototype version of the Silverado ZR2 in the series to help further the platform’s development. With the recent debut of the 2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2, Chevy decided it was time to have Hall Racing install 2022 Silverado ZR2 sheet metal on their truck. Since the race truck was a real-world testbed for the Silverado ZR2’s development, the rest of it was already up-to-spec with the new off-road model variant, featuring the same Multimatic DSSV dampers and front and rear e-lockers, among other equipment.
The truck is one of only a small number of entries that competes in the ‘1200’ category for mostly production pickups with minimal modifications. Hall Racing also fields a Chevy Colorado ZR2 in the series in the 7300 class, which is also for mostly stock trucks. Just like the Silverado ZR2 program, Hall Racing began competing with a prototype version of the Colorado ZR2 in 2017 prior to the production truck’s debut to help further its development.
Dom Lester, GM’s chief engineer for Performance Variants, Parts and Motorsports Engineering, said the efforts of Hall Racing in the Best In The Desert Series will ensure the Silverado ZR2 is ready for whatever Chevy customers can throw at it.
“At Chevrolet, our motorsports philosophy is sell what you race, and race what you sell,” he said. “Competing in off-road racing puts our trucks and performance parts through extreme levels of abuse that most trucks will never encounter. The Silverado ZR2 is a perfect example of how that strategy delivers. We applied what we learned with Chad Hall’s experience in the prototype race truck to the production truck customers buy in the showroom.”
In addition to the Multimatic shocks and e-lockers, the 2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 also benefits from 33-inch off-road tires, underbody skid plates and a repositioned dual exhaust system for added protection from rocks and debris. The only available engine is GM’s 6.2L L87 V8, which produces 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. A GM 10-speed automatic transmission sends power to all four wheels.
Check out the video below for a recap of the Silverado ZR2’s first official race weekend.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy Silverado ZR2 news, Chevy Silverado news, Chevy news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
“The truck is one of only a small number of entries that competes in the ‘1200’ category for mostly production pickups with minimal modifications.”
Literally check the competitions website, The Chevy Silverado ZR2 competed in TWO races Unofficial Saturday Race 2, and Sunday Race 2 both of which it was in its OWN 1200 class. Of course it’s going to win its class lol.
If you want a fair comparison, place a Ford Tremor with its Fox Shocks, and a Ram Rebel with Bilstiens. Then let’s see the race again
Based on the ZR2 Colorado multimatic DSSV dampers and suspension, they out performed the Fox shocks by the truck mags.
But, it would be better to see a much more competitive open road challenge to really see what happens.