Hogs & Heifers Racing | From Vegas to Reno

For years, Hogs has been a proud sponsor of numerous racing teams from all over the country. With so many larger race events happening in and around the Las Vegas area, it’s only natural for us to be a part of this growing industry. Just before this year’s Mint 400, we decided to go all-in and create our own team, Hogs & Heifers Racing! We popped our cherry at the Mint, and have been participating in a races ever since. Now that we’ve broken in our a new ATV, the final results have been improving by the race. From Vegas to Reno is coming up in August – can we continue our momentum and finish this race up on the box? Fuck Yeah we can!

You may be wondering who in the fuck is driving our ride that’s competing against the best off-road racers in the world. Enter Lee O’Donnell – the leader of this crazy train, and long time friend of the saloon. Lee’s been racing for years, but can’t do this shit on his own. That’s where our bad-ass boss Michelle, and infamous bartender Tiffany come into play. If you’re smart enough to connect the dots, these two rotate as co-pilots! If you want to read more about Mich and Tiff, click on their highlighted names. To learn more about Lee, keep on reading…

Lee has been involved in off road racing since his early childhood when his parents raced their 53′ Jeep Willys throughout Pennsylvania. As soon as he was old enough, Lee was winning races following his parents footsteps. In 1997 Lee purchased a Prolite from the short course legend Johhny Greaves, and set his sights towards winning on a bigger stage. Over the next 10 years Lee had a very successful career winning numerous races in stadiums and short courses across the country. Meanwhile,  while his short-course and stadium career were booming, he was also hired by Monster Jam in 2000 and was known as the best hired “shoe” in the business. …basically when someone needed to win a specific event, Lee O’Donnell is who they called. When Ford called and needed a driver to fill in for their corporate driver Linsey Weenk, Lee got the call, and delivered big time winning one of the largest events of the year in the Georgia dome. When Marvel comics needed a driver to promote their new Ironman movie, Lee is who they called and was their driver for 7 years. Fast forward to 2016 when VP Racing Fuels came to Monster Jam and asked, “who’s your best racer?”… Lee gets the nod and man did he deliver. In 2017 Lee won the World Championship when he successfully performed the first FRONT FLIP in a monster truck – his stunt STILL garners millions of views on social media 2 years later. Just to prove a point, he went on to back that up with a series Championship in 2018.

Now that Lee is done with Monster Jam, he’s looking forward to delivering the same success in desert racing. Starting with 3 podium finishes in the world’s biggest desert races, with help from his good friend Michelle Dell and Hogs & Heifers Saloon, Lee is looking forward to continuing his winning ways!

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Sedona Tires

VP Racing Fuels

212 Performance Gloves

Mud Munchers

Hooker Harness

Armor Kote

Speed SXS

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Between hosting parties and sponsoring multiple racing teams, Hogs & Heifers Saloon Las Vegas has been involved in the motorsports industry for years.  CLICK ME to check out blogs and photo highlights from past racing events!   

The team behind Hogs & Heifers Saloon Racing:

Driver: Lee O’Donnell -Lee has been involved in off road racing since his early childhood when his parents raced their 53′ Jeep Willys throughout Pennsylvania. As soon as he was old enough Lee was winning races following his parents footsteps. In 1997 Lee purchased a Prolite from the short course legend Johnny Greaves and set his sights towards winning on a bigger stage. Over the next 10 years Lee had a very successful career winning numerous races in stadiums and short courses across the country. Meanwhile,  while his short-course and stadium career was booming, he was also hired by Monster Jam in 2000 and was known as the best hired “shoe” in the business. …basically when someone needed to win a specific event, Lee O’Donnell is who they called. When Ford called and needed a driver to fill in for their corporate driver Linsey Weenk, Lee got the call, and delivered big time winning one of the biggest events of the year in the Georgiadome. When Marvel comics needed a driver to promote their new Ironman movie, Lee is who they called and was their driver for 7 years. Fast forward to 2016 when VP Racing Fuels came to Monster Jam and asked, “who’s your best racer?”….Lee gets the nod and man did he deliver. In 2017 Lee won the World Championship when he successfully performed the first FRONTFLIP in a monster truck and his stunt STILL garners millions of views on social media 2 years later. Just to prove a point, he went on to back that up with a series Championship in 2018.

Now that Lee is done with Monster Jam, he is looking forward to delivering the same success in desert racing. Starting with 3 podium finishes in the world’s biggest desert races with help from his good friend Michelle Dell and Hogs & Heifers, Lee is looking forward to continuing his winning ways.

Driver: Damon Bradshaw – Bradshaw began racing at age 16. Winning Motocross races made Damon “the Beast from the East” Bradshaw a hero, but his aggressive style and gritty desire in both two-wheel and four-wheel racing forever established him as a legend. Bradshaw has won multiple AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) events, as well as international wins in Canada, Japan, Sweden and throughout Europe. Behind the wheel of the Monster Energy monster truck, Bradshaw won 53 races, 71 freestyle events, 7 Double Downs (both racing and freestyle event wins) and set a new track record as the fastest qualifier. Bradshaw remains the youngest rider ever to sign a factory team contract and the first rider to have 9 consecutive Supercross wins.

Established racers in their industries, Lee and Damon have built a close relationship with the owners of the Mint 400 (Matt and Joshua Martelli) and King of the Hammers (Dave Cole) solidifying our credibility as a race team. Lee and Damon bring a diverse audience due to their Off Road and Supercross backgrounds.

Co-Driver/Navigator: Michelle Dell – Owner/Proprietor of Hogs & Heifers Saloon, Inc.  Michelle and her late, first husband Allan Dell met in 1992 when Allan was building the bar that would just months later, open its doors as Hogs & Heifers Saloon.  The two fell in love immediately and the combination of their individual shared innate aura that drew people to them, brawn, beauty, brains and brazen spirits, proved to be a dive bar dream team.  On a shoestring budget, with no PR machine behind them, it was with sheer will, hard driven work ethic, and a flair for the outrageous that propelled Hogs & Heifers’ explosive entry onto the NYC nightlife scene.  Once there, they quickly became the front runner of the local, national and international bar industry, setting the new standard for an urban honky tonk, and etching Hogs & Heifers Saloon’s name permanently on the map of the greatest dive bars the world over.

Born and raised in NYC’s West Village by a single, working, bohemian mother of two, Michelle learned to navigate not just the urban landscape, but the vast turbulence of the socio-economic division and the inspiring, rebellious cultural and creative dynamism that was NYC in the late 60’s, 70’s & 80’s.  Working and earning money for herself, from an exceptionally young age, Michelle possessed a natural entrepreneurial spirit and when her mother raised enough money to open a small 20 seat restaurant it was then, at 8 years old that Michelle began her hands on education in what would become a life time of 42 years of experience in the service industry; from diners to fine dining and discos to dive bars, there is little Michelle does not know how to do.

In 2003 the City of Las Vegas came knocking looking for a seasoned diamond, purposely in the rough, to lend its edge and raw, outrageous spirit to help launch the City’s Downtown revitalization project.  Loving the odds, Michelle became THE first person to roll the dice on the vision for Downtown Las Vegas, opening H&H in Vegas in 2005. In 2015, Michelle was forced to close her beloved NYC location, after 23 years of successful operation, due to land development and increasing rents.  She now resides permanently in Las Vegas and continues to be the heart and soul behind her team of naughty do-gooders and the sheer magic of the originality, spontaneity and independence that is Hogs & Heifers Saloon.

Michelle had her first taste of sitting in the co-drivers seat in 2016 when good friends, Lee O’Donnell and Damon Bradshaw called her 3 weeks before the MINT 400 and told her that they had a car, they would be in town, they wanted to race and would she sponsor, with the one condition that, if she agreed, she had to be one of the co-drivers.  Michelle jumped at the chance and with Lee, Damon Tiffany and herself at the helm, they pulled together a winning team in record time, wrapped the Hogs & Heifers UTV and in their very first entry into the World’s Greatest Race in the Desert, took their place on “The Box” to accept their win of 2nd Place in the UTV SxS (Class 3000) and placing 52 overall out of hundreds of entrants, in multiple classes.   In late 2018, Lee sent Michelle a text message to say he found THE car and did she want to buy it and start an official Hogs & Heifers Racing Team. A trip to Vegas for Lee and a discussion with Michelle over steaks at Binion’s and it was a done deal!

Michelle’s unique ability to wear multiple hats and switch gears from engaging and compelling business woman, badass biker and thrill seeker to sophisticated and elegant world traveler, has shaped the 27 years of her established and world renowned brand, Hogs & Heifers Saloon.  Her status as a pioneer, community activist and benefactor of local charities has made her a highly respected member of her communities in both her home town of New York and Las Vegas. Without question Michelle is up for the challenge of exploding onto the next scene and recognizes the unique FIRST that this moment has delivered to both her, Hogs & Heifers and Hytiva.  The chance to be among the first handful of partnerships between off road racing and the CBD Industry at a time when both are exploding world wide, is a PR bonanza.  Her batteries are charged and propelled by rocket fuel, Michelle Dell and the Hogs & Heifers brand will be dedicated and determined pioneering partners, alongside Hytiva to lead the way for this new era of off-road automotive sports and the vastly diverse, booming CBD Industry.

Co-Driver/Navigator: Tiffany Bennett – Bartender Manager of Hogs & Heifers, motorcycle rider and overall daredevil.  Tiff is a Helicopter Pilot with 500-plus hours of flight time under her belt. From 2005 to present, Tiffany, AKA – Hover Lover, excelled from bartender, lead bartender to Bartender Manager and leads a team of 12-30 bartenders from full time staff to our part time special event crew.  

In 2016, the above team of four ran their first MINT 400 race as team Hogs & Heifers, coming in 2nd (class 3000) and 52 overall!

The Car: Our Textron Wildcat XXR is one of four SxS’s, built by legend Robby Gordon for his effort in the famous Dakar Rally.  Robby was delighted to have sold us one of his most formidable SxS’s, and stops to check it out and give pointers to our crew whenever he sees us.