Manoli Katakis 
The mighty Mint 400 has come and gone. And while there were several highlights (former UFC champions Chuck Liddell and Cain Velasquez teaming up in a Zero 1 prepped Oak Grove Technologies Polaris RZ is my personal favorite), the Chevrolet faithful have something to brag about. Despite suffering bent frame, the Chad Hall Racing 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 managed to secure another W for the Bowtie Brand, further validating the brand’s off-road prowess in the faces of Jeep, Ford, and Toyota. The image, posted by the_xcalibur, below shows the truck post-race:
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Here’s the official statement from Chevrolet:
“The Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 ran a flawless race and took first place at The Mint 400 for 2023. Despite having some rear-end damage on the pre-production frame, the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 also finished and took first place in its class. The Mint 400 is notoriously one of the most grueling off-road races in the world. Chevy competes in racing to help develop, test, and prove the durability of its products in conditions far beyond what most customers would experience.
7330 – Chad Hall (driver) Waqas Shafi (Co-driver) – Stock Production Truck Mini/Mid
Finished 1st in class – 6:39 min elapsed time. Colorado ran 2.6 mph faster for the 1st lap compared to 2022 (32.1 mph vs 29.5 mph last year). 7309 (Jeep) Finished 2nd, and 7319 (Toyota Tacoma) DNF. The team continues its streak of completing every mile of 38 consecutive off-road races.“
In other words: not a good look if you’re a Toyota Tacoma fan.
The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado is reaching dealers now, with the Colorado WT, LT, Trail Boss and Z71 all in production. You can read our impressions of the new Chevrolet Colorado family here. The Colorado ZR2 is following up shortly, and serves as the range-topper of the lineup. That is, until the new Colorado ZR2 Bison shows up. Pricing for the new Colorado starts at just over $30,000 for a WT trim with 2WD. The 2023 Colorado ZR2 starts at over $48,000, which is more than a Camaro SS. And if you want the limited-edition Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss, that’ll set you back another $10-grand more, if you can even order one.
Each and every 2023 Chevrolet Colorado is powered by some version of a 2.7L turbocharged engine, which in the case of the ZR2, features 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque – a significant power boost from the last-gen Colorado ZR2 that Chad Hall Racing won a championship with. And if we ask enough times, Chevrolet may soon offer that same championship-winning product to anybody who wants to go off-road racing.
