UNSUNG HEROES

[Music] Off-road racing is a tough, rugged, hard sport. It's a sport for the young at heart. They're the ones that really go for it. I'm 47 years old. I am now a professional race driver. And if anybody told me 15 years ago that I'd be doing this for a living, I mean, I just wouldn't believe it. Walker Evans, Rod Hall. They compete in a sport few ever get to see, let alone experience. And yet, it's the toughest, most physically demanding form of car racing today. Every year in the middle of nowhere, with no grand stands, no cheering crowds to root them on, Walker and Rod take whatever punishment the North American desert can dish out. They and their machines not only survive nature's torture test but win again and again. Rocker and the hundreds of men and women like them are the unsung heroes of automotive competition. The off-groth racers. [Music] This is where it all starts at Insanada Mexico. a seapport of 150,000 people. In6002, this 10mi wide harbor was Christian Baja Detos Los Santos, the bay of all saints, and today plays host to a thriving shipping industry and tourist trade. But on this second weekend in November, there's an expectancy in the air. The racers of the Baja are coming. Founded in 1967, the Baja 1000 is the most prestigious off-road race in the world. Starting at Ensanata, the drivers will struggle down the peninsula to Pa Prieta, then turn around and retrace their rocky path all over again. Expected finishing time should be about 20 hours non-stop, if you make it all the way. The Walker Evans. This spells the end of months of preparation, all leading to this one day and night. >> Well, I myself, of course, on the Baja 1000 is the longest and the toughest of the races in our series of races. After the pre-eruns, after the truck has been technical, inspected, and put away. The only thing you can do is wait for a while. First thing in the morning, you're up at about 5:30 in the morning, and you have a good hearty breakfast. And you take it a little easy on drinking all those liquids because you don't want to be out of that truck. So, you've got a long hard day ahead of you. You need as much nourishment as you can and you just get ready for a long hard day. [Music] Well, racing in Baja, you know, has a lot of memories for me because I started my off-road racing career in Baja. And boy, my first time to Mexico was really a thrill and adventure for me and learning the roads and the terrain and where we were going and not knowing where we were going and that sort of thing. I think Rodney Hall is one of the legends of Baja. After all, he's one of the originators of the first race. He was part of the first ones that ever came down here in 1967. He and Larry Miner have won the race overall, teamed up and run it and won it overall. Uh he has probably run more races in Baja than uh any of us together cuz I didn't start till 69. He has a winning record that'll just uh literally stop your watch, you might say. Uh he has tough competition in his class. He has a natural ability to be able to get over these rugged, rough terrains and still save the product and get it to the finish line. >> But Walker's no slouch himself. He and the Baja have tangled many times, and more times than not, he's come out on top. In fact, in 1979, Walker won the race overall in his truck. A remarkable achievement. The Baja and Walker are old friends, and he rides her back roads with a gate of a master. [Music] that we don't have a lot of smooth long sections here. So, I think you have to basically sum this course up is working for every foot that you get behind you. So, it's a long tough race. [Music] >> The dust hung in the air at checkpoint one as the racers marked the end of their first leg of their journey. Steve Kelly in the red and white truck was neck andneck with Walker. [Music] Rod led his class by three and a half minutes at the Valley to Trinidad pit stop. His main concern was the traffic ahead of him on the course. >> Tires and truck look good, Rod. Okay, you're about the fifth truck on the road. >> Not everyone was as fortunate as Rod. At Mike Sky Ranch, some drivers discovered it wasn't only rocks they had to watch out for. Like an oasis in the middle of the Sahara, the two-lane black top at Cameloo provided a brief respit for the aching bones of Walker and Steve Kelly. Walker used this breathing spell to his advantage. As soon as his path was clear of civilian traffic, he floored his Dodge and finally passed Kelly Chevy. Now his way was clear, but Kelly was not about to give up the chase. He jogged Walker's tracks throughout the twisting San Pedro Mountains. As Walker and Kelly wound their way through the dirt paths of Areronoso, their pace had slowed to a virtual crawl. This was one of the few spots in the course that the public could reach. So they had come in droves in their trailers and motor homes to cheer on the drivers in their lonely quest to finish this torturous course. over terrain like this. No matter how hard he tried, Walker couldn't shake Kelly, still nipping at his heels. And their pursuit went on for over a 100 miles. [Music] Rod Hall was minutes behind Walker and Kelly, leading his class, weaving his way through the eerie bouan forest. Unique to the Baja, these trees were dubbed the bougam in 1922 by desert ecologist Gotfrey Sykes. He took the name from the mythical beast in Lewis Carroll's Hunting of the Snark. [Music] But Steve Kelly was not about to pull a vanishing act for Walker Evans. At La Virgin checkpoint, Walker led Cali by only one minute and the sun was sinking on the horizon. >> Truck's running perfect. Really good. Really happy with it. You know, uh Steve Kelly's giving me one heck of a race, but uh we're not even halfway into this race yet. I really feel good about it. Everything's working perfect. >> No. >> Walker's crew worked feverishly prepping his car for the night to come. Highintensity running lights were installed, tires changed, the tank topped up. Nearby, Rod along with his co-driver Jim Tricker directed the crew in lastminute adjustments. They take the light covers off. [Music] >> Rod and Walker shot out of their pits knowing that they were both leading their classes. But Steve Kelly, however, the ball was less forgiving. This blowout cost him precious time. time that Walker Evans would never relinquish in his race to the finish line. >> I think anybody just finishes a race in Baja is actually a winner. Plenty of times the Baja's beat me, whether it been in a pre-run or a race. I've had lots of problems down here, but uh it's really gratifying when you come out of here, you've done good. It's just a pure thrill to be able to attack the Baja and say, "I beat the Baja." And once you've achieved that, you just got to keep coming back for more. And I think off-road racers have the most beautiful racetracks in the world. You know that they are mysterious places to go and a lot of us uncharted, you know, and and the general public never gets there from 7,000 ft to below sea level to rocks, you know, to pine forest. And so what the they all have in common is that sort of a adventure in the different terrains and the beautiful settings. I wouldn't trade it. After driving for over 19 hours across the most rugged and unforgiving landscape known to man, Walker Evans and Rod Hall were greeted with the sweetest sight any competitor could wish to see, the checkered flag. Their rendevous with a Baja was at an end. >> Oh boy. >> Well, I had three flat tires. Got stuck once. hit a branch, broke the windshield, >> left my uh pit too soon without all the fuel that I needed and had to go back. >> It hasn't been a perfect day, but it's ending up a perfect day because we've got first place in class 8 and >> I'm really happy. >> Well, I'll tell you what, that old Dodge ran pretty tough all day long. >> Fast enough to be the fastest truck, I think. That's all we wanted to do today. >> We wanted to win our class and >> be the first truck in >> you want some not that strength. >> Rod Hall Walker Evans, true champions in the sport of off-road racing. They had met the Baja and conquered it. But the desert is patient and is content to wait until the next time when these unsung heroes return to accept her challenge once again. [Music]