BAJA 1000 : Stewart Goes It Alone, Wins the Off-Road Grand Slam

MEXICALI, Mexico —  Ivan Stewart won the Baja 1000 overall title in a Toyota V-6 truck Saturday, scoring the first sweep of the off-road grand slam.

Stewart, of Alpine, earlier had won the Parker 400, the Ultra Wheel (formerly Mint) 400 and the Baja 500.

The 762.4-mile route ran south from Mexicali, skirting the Laguna Salada, through Borrego to the Matoml Wash, then north to San Felipe, Borrego and past the Laguna Salada to Mexicali.

A total of 182 cars and 78 motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles were in competition.

Stewart, 47, who won the race in 1976, drove solo and was unofficially timed in 13 hours 29 minutes 11 seconds. The second overall four-wheel vehicle finisher, the team of Bob Gordon and Frank Arciero Jr., was 1 hour 11 minutes behind. Stewart beat the fastest two-wheel entry, the Larry Roeseler-Danny Hamel-Ty Davis Kawasaki KX500 by 28 minutes 12 seconds.

“I’ve been wanting to beat the bikes here for 20 years,” Stewart said.

About 145 miles into the race, Stewart passed Gordon, 45, of Orange, in his Volkswagen-powered-Chenowth buggy, reaching about 115 m.p.h. on Diablo Dry Lake. “I miscalculated,” said Gordon, a two-time overall car Baja 1000 champion.

Roeseler had a trouble-free ride, but his teammates had survived some close encounters sharing the two middle loops run in the southern part of the course with slower cars.

“I pulled out of the pits and tried to get in front of Roger Mears’ truck,” Ty Davis said. “But he was catching a slower truck and I got caught in his dust in a truck sandwich. I backed out of there. I didn’t want to get run over.”

Stewart said that the course was fast but rough. “I really nursed it--this course can chew up (drive) trains,” he said.

Said Roeseler, 36: “I love it here, but unfortunately, our playing field is like Russian roulette.”