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Chris

Durham

RMSHOF

Positive Representation

Competition

______________________________________________________________________________________To the Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame Committee,
It is with great honor that I write this letter in support of Chris Durham’s nomination into the Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame. While I may not be able to list every accolade or victory he’s achieved over the decades, I can confidently say this: when the legends of this industry speak, Chris Durham’s name is always among them—with reverence and respect.

Chris stands as one of the original pioneers of rock sports, not only for his fearless ability to read and conquer the most unforgiving terrain, but also for the unmatched innovation he brought to the sport. He wasn’t just a driver—he was a visionary. He designed and fabricated his own builds, pushing the limits of articulation and drive long before it was mainstream. His rigs were often a glimpse into the future of rock crawling, because he built what didn’t yet exist, but what was desperately needed.
He is a quiet force—not loud or boastful, but undeniably strong. Chris is the kind of person you want on the trail with you: capable, calm, and committed. And more than that, he’s the kind of person you want in your life: humble despite his accomplishments, generous with his knowledge, and grounded in character. He could brag. He never does. That speaks volumes.

His legacy in this sport is etched not just in wins or builds, but in the way he’s carried himself throughout it all. The Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame would be made stronger by the inclusion of someone like Chris Durham—a true original, a master craftsman, and a trailblazer in every sense of the word. He was a small town guy who made an industry wide difference.

Without knowing his entire rolodex of wins and placements, below are a few off hand.
• 3RD ARCCA EVENT IN CEDAR CITY UTAH 1ST PLACE
• FIRST SERIES ARCCA OVERALL POINTS WINNER
• FIRST SERIES EROCC EAST COAST OVERALL POINTS WINNER
• CAL ROC at DONNER SKI RANCH FIRST PLACE
• 18 TIME INVITE FOR ULTIMATE ADVENTURE (NOW UNREAL ADVENTURE) AND COUNTING
There are other first place finishes as well as numerous TOP FIVE finishes.

Our family’s passion for Rock Crawling started in the mid to late-nineties. This passion took off in 1997 when Jeep moved to a full front and rear coil suspension. This is the year that Rock Ready was born. This specific line opened doors for us into the rock crawling world. It was during this time that we were introduced to Chris. We competed against him for few a years in the sport until it made more sense for us as a company to become sponsors.

Chris Durham may come across as quiet and reserved, but those who know him understand that beneath that calm exterior is a guy with a sharp wit, a generous spirit, and a personality that draws people in. His authenticity and down-to-earth nature have earned him the respect—and genuine friendship—of some of the biggest names in the off-road world. It’s not just his talent that’s legendary; it’s the way he treats people, builds trust, and always shows up with integrity. We asked one of our 25+ year employees who spent a lot of time with Chris to give us a funny moment he remembered about Chris. He told us the story about on an Ultimate Adventure he stole Chris’s steering wheel out of his rig. Chris being chris, rigged it up with vice grips, and drove it home. he always suspected who it was, and even though he never had proof, it was always an inside funny story with the group. His long-standing relationships across the industry are a testament to who he is beyond the trail—genuine, loyal, and deeply valued. This is why I feel Chris will be the perfect member to be indicted into the Hall of Fame.

Thank you for your consideration,
Malerie Pike
Director of Marketing
Skyjacker Suspensions
______________________________________________________________________________________

Christian Hazel
Partner, Adventure Media, LLC
President, Christian Hazel Media, LLC
Automotive/Off-Road Journalist, Video, Event Host
Former Editor-in-Chief: Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road, Four Wheeler, Jp
christian.hazel@gmail.com

To:
Nomination Committee
Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame
521 North 1200 West
Orem, UT 84020

4/21/2025

It is my great pleasure to nominate Chris Durham to the Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame. Since the 1990s, Chris has been a shining ambassador for the sport of professional and recreational rockcrawling and off-roading whether behind the wheel on a competition circuit, donating his time and skills to myriad organized trail rides, or serving as the field-fix savior helping his fellow off-roaders make it back to civilization after a batch of bad luck.

I first met Chris while covering various rockcrawl competitions in the late 1990s for Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine. Back then, Chris was a fierce competitor who pushed the boundaries of technological innovation with his various competition rigs and always provided a crowd-pleasing, fearless driving display behind the wheel. Chris always gave it his all in those competitions, leaving nothing on the table in an action-packed spectacle that begged spectators’ belief a vehicle could do the things Chris made it do. In short, Chris was always one of the guys you wanted a front row to watch and was a key figure in helping build awareness and excitement for the sport. Remaining relevant and competitive at a high level isn’t an easy task but it’s one that Chris maintained through a strong work ethic and a mechanical genius that saw his vehicles always pushing the boundaries of chassis, suspension, and drivetrain advances. Chris was then, as he is now, a trend-setter whose designs trickle through the entire industry from the top down. Whether something absurdly simple, like running a backwards-mounted Quadrajet to prevent engine stumbling and loading during extreme climbs, becoming an early adopter of modifying factory fuel-injected engines to work in non-factory applications, or spearheading the trend of building lower, wider, and much more stable vehicles that work with very large tires, Chris was always one of the competitors that members of the media like myself paid extra-close attention so we could report to the off-road audience the latest emerging trends to keep an eye on. But despite his next-level driving skills and technological prowess, Chris has always been humble and soft-spoken off the trail, letting his talent and ability behind the wheel do the talking for him.

Along with his driving prowess, Chris displays a deep ingenuity for practical mechanical design and construction, and he is a walking encyclopedia of axle and drivetrain knowledge. He shares this knowledge freely and many aftermarket manufacturers have refined and/or brought new products to market based on his input, benefitting the industry as a whole. Chris also offers his own brand of unique off-road product through his company, Chris Durham Motorsports, which in addition to manufacturing highly survivable aluminum steering and suspension linkages, offers a line of high-clearance hoods and revised front clips for a wide array of Jeep vehicles. These not only allow off-roaders to personalize their vehicles with a cool retro look, as is the case with his Gladiator conversion hoods, but allow larger tires to be run with much lower and more stable suspensions, as is the case with his Rockcrawler hoods. Parts like these make off-roaders’ experience on the trail better through increasing enjoyment and performance as well as eliciting excitement and pride of ownership, retaining enthusiasm from existing off-roaders and piquing interest and drawing in new off-roaders to the hobby.

Chris is also always on the move, donating his time and skills to many major off-roading events all across the country each year. Not content to sit idly as an observer, Chris serves as trail leader, support staff, and helps organize many of these events as a gesture of good will and fellowship. When somebody is in need, Chris is the first one to jump in with tools and spare parts or a winch or especially a welder. As a long-time support-staff Crony for the former Ultimate Adventure and current Unreal Adventure event, we’ve come to dub Chris the “off-road Chuck Norris,” since there’s no mechanical issue or trail obstacle that can defeat him. If you’ve got Durham with you, then you can rest assured you have the absolute best person along no matter what your need: from spotting you through the worst terrain, welding a fragmented steering box sector shaft together to limp back to civilization, fabricating a suspension link rebuild press out of a couple bolts and a ratchet strap, or simply whipping up a gourmet trail dinner at the end of the day as a gesture of friendship. In over a quarter century of professional off-road journalism, there is literally nobody with whom I've ‘wheeled that so completely embodies all the elements we find best about this sport than Chris Durham. He is truly worthy of any accolade this community deems fit to bestow upon him and is well worthy of addition to the Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Sincerely,

Christian Hazel
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Letter of support for nominating Chris Durham for the Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame

As a former Magazine Tech Editor and Feature Editor since 2000 I’ve heard the name Chris Durham in the off-road and rock crawling world for decades. Over the past 16 years I have also had the opportunity to spend lots of time with Chris and call him a good friend. I first briefly met Chris in 2001 on a magazine shoot at the Tellico trail system in Western North Carolina. I was a new Magazine Feature Editor and Chris Durham was well into his career becoming the off-road legend that he is today. He may not remember that first meeting, but I do. Simply put, I looked up to Chris as someone who had made an impact in off-road, a lifestyle that would then fill the next 25 years of my life and become my career. We were both from the Southeastern US and I was inspired by his success. At that point I knew Chris was an accomplished driver in rock crawling competitions all over the country as well as a remarkable vehicle fabricator. In fact, Chris participated in his first competition, an ARCA event in Farmington, New Mexico, in 1999. He then placed first at his third event in Cedar City, Utah, and won the points series for that year. In 2002 Chris also won the first year of the ERoCC series (Eastern Rock Crawling Competition). Chris has competed in ARCA, UROC, WEROC, ERoCC, PROROC, ad CalROC with many finishes and many wins all over the US. At the same time as Chris was getting his feet wet in rock crawling, he started Chris Durham Motorsports (CDM) out of his hometown of Pickens, South Carolina (started September 1999), an off-road automotive business that is still thriving today thanks to Chris’ hard work, unique ideas, and intelligence. CDM has built many unique on- and off-road vehicles over the past 25 years as well as produces several parts that are ubiquitous within the off-road aftermarket space. Chris has a way of designing parts and vehicles that while unique, and aesthetically pleasing, are historically relevant, and based in pure off-road function. Many of his vehicle builds have been displayed at SEMA as well as other vehicle and trade shows for many companies. He has inspired countless industry and enthusiast vehicle builds as well. He tackles problems and challenges with an open mind, often solving a problem with a unique and sensible solution. Chris also has had a nearly 20-year impact on the Ultimate Adventure, the world’s longest running and first week-long off-road adventure (now known as the Unreal Adventure), first attending the event in 2004. Chris also attended UA in 2005 and has been on every UA since 2009 either representing off-road companies like GoodYear, Warn, Drivetrain Direct, Premier Power Welder, and more, or serving as one of the UA’s most indispensable Cronies, the guys who help everyone make it through the trip. That’s where I’ve truly gotten to know Chris. He’s stoic and thoughtful, sometimes reserved and quiet, unless something needs to be said. Everything he does in life and the off-road world is calculated and for a reason. Chris is always forming a plan of what’s to come, leaving little to chance. Chris may come across as quiet on first meeting to some, but he is truly humble and has a heart of gold, helping others at the drop of a hat with his decades of off-road experience. His many strong friendships throughout the industry are a testament to his intelligence, great personality, and dedication to off-road. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of trail-based vehicle repairs and shines when helping others help themselves with repairs or while trail spotting. Chris Durham has also participated in several other off-road events and competitions such as the JK Experience, 24-hours of Uwaharrie, Countless Easter Jeep Safari’s and many more trail rides around the country. He has also participated in several high-profile vehicle builds for the likes of Motor Trend TV. It is with great honor that I write this letter showing that I fully support the nomination of Chris Durham for the Rock Motorsports Hall of Fame. There are few if any who deserve this honor more than he.

Sincerely,

Verne Simons, Former Feature, then Tech Editor Jp Magazine, Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine, and Four Wheeler Magazine 2000-2023.
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Off-Road Motorsport Hall of Fame
Selection Committee
South Point Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV. 89183

Hello!

My name is Pat Gremillion, and I am writing you in support to inducting my long-time friend and fellow Rock Crawling competitor Chris Durham into the Offroad Motorsports Hall of Fame. At the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks for the opportunity to contact you in support of Chris, a person long overdue for this kind of recognition of his lifetime contribution to the Jeeping/Rock Crawling genre of Offroad Motorsports.

His Passion for the Sport! Few will ever match the enthusiasm and desire to bring his best that Chris adds to Jeep Sports and Rock Crawling alike. From his many years back country wheeling in his native South Carolina and surrounding states, to towing out to enter his first ever Rock Crawling event in New Mexico in 1998, Chris is just one who cannot ever seem to ever get enough! After driving over 2100 miles one way to the New Mexico event, Chris as an absolute first timer wheeled his homebuilt jeep over the tortuous obstacles as hard and as skillful as anyone had ever seen! He did so besting many of the most seasoned competitors and earning for himself an impressive finish and the notice of many rock crawling greats. This at a time when rock crawling as a sport was just emerging from infancy.
Over the decades that followed, Chris along with a few of his South Carolina buddies would make the long trips west to compete in the premier events of our sport.
On this storied journey chasing the best events the Sport of Rock Crawling has to offer, there have been hard luck circumstances and some injuries to Chris including a broken back at least two times in my memory. Most people would find something else to do after just one trip to the hospital, but not Chris! He has proven himself over and over to be as tough as they come. Moreover, his desire to continually be amongst the very best keeps him coming back despite the tremendous challenges of long-distance travel, the physical pain injuries.

His Technical Expertise! The mind of Chris Durham is blend of the complex and visionary mixed with a flair for practicality. Over the years the evolution of his home built machines has been flat out jaw dropping in impressiveness. Starting with developing driveline improvements, Chris was the first to fit his machines with modified front axle outer axleshafts that virtually eliminated breakage in this notoriously weak spot. Soon all of the top rock crawling machines were utilizing his unique solution to a frequently recurring failure point. Stonger axles overall meant the ability to be fitted with even larger diameter tires and therefore an increased size rock obstacle could be overcome. This advancing the technology would become a common theme for Chris as the sport became increasingly tougher for the competitors to master.
But the most prolific thing in my mind that Chris uniqely had the vision and perseverance to perfect was the "Big Tire/Low Center of Gravity" modified Jeep(s) he built. These machines defied the long set trend of raising the body on the frame and then adding lift to the suspension to give clearance for the monster sized forty inch tires that had come into the sport. Most guys built their own rigs in the vein of the higher the better, but not Chris. Deep down Chris knew that a vehicle with a lower center of gravity would perform better scalling the truck sized rocks and the sheer cliff faces being competed upon. To build this rig while retaining an unbelieveably low CG, he cleaverly developed a hood with itegral fenders, and a prescision method to modify the Jeep tub and it's suspension points to allow the biggest tires of the time and the most flex allowing suspension of the day to fit under a Jeep with a ride height that wasn't much higher than stock.
Not only did this rig look cooler than nearly all of it's competition, its performance out wheeling on the trail far exceeded that of it's "Jacked Up" counterparts. The workmanship on this machine was impecable as is the norm for Chris Durham. No one before had ever built anything like it! In performance, very few at it's Easter Jeep Safari debut could keep up as Chris effortlessly traversed the nastiest terrain that event has to offer. The offroad four wheeling community had once again been set on its proverbial head by the mind and the talents of Chris Durham.
Current offerings out of Chris' shop are no less spectacular as he once again has bucked the current trend of cookie, cutter "minimalist appearing" Jeeps to construct and ultimately offer in kit form that which is needed to turn an "everybody has got one" Jeep Gladiator into a throw back JT styled machine that not only improves the off road perfomance, but provides a style element that the purest of Jeep enthusiasts are going crazy over. Absolutely beautiful and again expertly constructed, yet another example of what have come to expect from the off road craftiness of Chris Durham.

His Incredible friendship to everyone in the Jeeping and Rock Crawling Community! Of all the things that Chris is to the Jeeping, Rock Crawling, and Off Roading community at large, this in particular is one thing about Chris I am most hearfelt about. In all the years I have been blessed with his friendship, I have never known Chris to be anything other than the kind, quiet and soft spoken person we all look forward to seeing and wheeling with on whatever trail or obstacle is chosen. Everyone in this sport whose opinion I have valued has nothing but the greatest of things to say about Chris.
In a game where the trails are tough, the obstacles extreme and the mostly home built rigs are given to breakage, Chris has always been amongst the first to jump in to expertly help repair a wounded machine so that everyone returns back safely to camp. Chris is the kind of guy who never ever leaves you stranded out on the trail! The number of times his own fun was in part cut short to help someone in real need is too numerous for me to count. His trail rescue stories from these many circumstances are both funny and entertaining as well.

I would be very remiss if I did not mention the number of people that Chris has afforded the opportunity to ride along and also participate where they otherwise would be unable to. Can't count them all, but it is a large number for sure!

As I close this out, I just want to share with you that Chris is just one of thise genuinely unique people you meet very few of in your life and one you always want to have with you when your way out there challenging yourself and your machine.
In a world of motorsports Chris Durham stands tall as the complete antithesis of this sort of thing. A quiet man with great skill who lets his tenacity, his skills and his treasured companionship speak for him, we would all be very well served by having Chris Durham inducted into the Offroad Motorsports Hall Of Fame as a stellar example of what is the true nature of our favorite sport.

Thank you for your consideration to inducting Chris Durham and for taking time to read my letter!

Best Regards,

Pat Gremillion
Pull Pal/Formerly Premier Power Welder
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