Throughout our sports history there have been many teams and families that have impacted off road racing in such a way that one might think it’s impossible to accomplish anymore than what has already been done. The Herbst name has always been synonymous with deep racing history and multiple major race wins and championships. Although the Herbst brothers have held the majority of those titles, Jerry Herbst (father to Tim, Troy and Ed Herbst) set out to make history of his own at the NORRA Mexican 1000.

Jerry Herbst hasn’t seen the driver seat of a racecar since 1970 when he campaigned an off road racecar with Mart Collins (Brian Collins Sr’s father). Jerry is no stranger to Mexico or the Mexican 1000. Although Jerry Herbst was never able to take home the top honors of the Mexican 1000 back in the day, he was in fact able to win the Mexican 500 in class 2.

Herbst entered the 2012 NORRA Mexican 1000 in his Terrible Herbst Monster Energy Drink Mike Smith built 1994 Chevrolet 1500 where he took on names such as: Mike Gaughan, Walker Evans, Bob Gordon, Malcolm Smith, and even his old teammate; Brian Collins. The Terrible Herbst Motorsports team had a nearly flawless run for the entire three days of racing competition due to stellar navigation by Jerry’s lifelong friend, Bob Brian. Although the team did swap out a transmission for the third day of racing, it was only to ensure that the Terrible Herbst Motorsports Monster Energy Drink Chevy got to the finish line without any hiccups. Jerry Herbst remarked, “It was a great run, nobody had to get out of the truck the entire rally – not even for a flat.”

“This was really a great event. I enjoyed the fact that the rally stopped every day and it really helped ease the pain of doing 1000 miles in one shot,” Jerry Herbst stated regarding the not so traditional race format.
Jerry Herbst finished first in class and third overall, missing the second place position by a mere five seconds! “This was an amazing experience for all of us, but the best part was being able to share this experience with two of my three boys, I really had a great time,” Jerry Herbst remarked.

Time will only tell what’s in store for next years NORRA Mexican 1000, but one thing is for certain, no matter what the Terrible Herbst Motorsports crew does, you can expect history to be made.
*All photos and info provided by Mad Media.