Dirt (1979) - full transcript
Footage captured between 1976 -1978 by Producer Roger Riddell provides a "Viewer Friendly for Families" collection of varied types of off-road competition throughout the U.S. and Baja California; with some trending Pop Culture music of its time, viewers will enjoy the gregarious narration, the vibrant momentum and will walk away at the end, thinking: "Those folks really had some good old fashioned fun!"
[music dramatically increasing]
[soft mysterious music]
[disco music]
[music continues]
[motorcycles buzzing]
[Fred] Sometimes
you'll be surprised
how close it is to you.
I found out,
but that was only later.
Every day for 22 years
I drove past this dry wash
in the way to my shop.
In all those years,
I didn't once take the time
to look or even listen
to the sounds that roared
at me from behind
that standard scrub.
It was here a lot of the kids
in the neighborhood
got to racing around
in their go-karts, making
a lot of dust and noise.
But when I retired,
I started looking a lot at it
and learning
about this world
they call off-road.
[screams]
Here's how you get there.
On three wheels,
four, six wheels or two.
[motorcycle revving]
You can make
that world for yourself
on any steep hill.
Especially the kind of ditch
to spit out the dust
and keep coming back at her.
Wide open is
the only way to the top.
Sometimes, the spectator
takes his chances
along with the driver.
Well, you're right:
dirt is dirt no matter
where you find it.
What made it different for me,
though, was the kind of people
that moved around in it.
I'm gonna...
I want to get to know
better, you know?
How they think
and how they feel and...
Well, you know,
the highs and
that kind of thing.
I got a lot of time
on my hands and...
Well, I thought this would be
a good way to spend it.
Well, here we go.
[grunts]
[soft piano music]
One of the first things
I learned was
that the off-road world
is a family affair.
You take bikes,
for instance,
You'll find machines
that match up
with the size and weight
for every member
of the family.
And when the kids
start going head-to-head,
they bring along
the fiercest rooters
in the world.
[motorcycles revving]
Now, there everybody's
a future Joelle O'Leary,
Malcolm Smith
or Roger Decoster.
Like the man says:
sometimes you eat the bear,
sometimes the bear eats you.
[funk music]
[disco music]
A few more pounds,
a few more years,
they're ready for motocross.
Men and machine and dirt.
Kidney-shaking bumps.
Grimes and a guy
who'll stop at nothing to win.
Or at least beat you out.
Where did it all begin?
Well, in this country
we haven't exactly been
strangers to the automobile.
[ragtime music]
Even back
when they called them
horseless carriages,
all it took was one vehicle,
one man behind the wheel
who wouldn't settle
for the ordinary,
and a love affair
between dirt
and driver began.
The movie people
are always ready
to get in on a good thing.
And they gave us
this thrilling tale.
In this early Hollywood saga,
we see the story
of a young man
out for a quiet spin
in the country.
Suddenly, he decided
he'd had enough
of the ordinary. Off he goes.
Off, looking for adventure.
And danger.
[ragtime music continues]
[chicken clucking]
[horses neighing]
[gunshots]
Looks like he found
the danger.
When I was a boy,
we had our heroes.
Big names
like Barney Oldfield,
or Eddie Rickenbacker.
They went to work on the cars:
strip the body,
tore off the fenders,
beefed up the engines.
Challenged not only
each other,
but the limits of their rigs.
Would you believe you can get
up to 14 horsepower
in one of these bombs?
These early road racers
challenged a strongly held
scientific concept.
The experts told us
we'd never be able to drive
faster than 50 miles an hour.
A human wouldn't be able
to breathe going that fast.
Nowadays, progress
has come so far,
we all breath air like this.
And the cars got faster,
the crowds bigger ,
Speeding over
100 miles an hour.
They can only push so far.
Drivers learn to live
or die with danger.
And with dirt.
Out of that,
came the sprint car.
1600 pounds
of handcrafted racer.
O pen cockpit.
The call for constant
over steering .
Power sliding turns.
[instrumental music]
Squanomie falls,
Pittsbourough,
Ascot.
Just names for you?
Well, 40 or 50 years ago,
they were the tracks
where men like Rick Furcall,
Jan Opperman,
Smokey Snowpack
put it all on the line
85 times a year.
To they, the world of dirt
is pushed way past
the oval track
of a sprint car.
You find all kinds
of machines.
[funky techno music]
Like these dragsters.
Digging into the dirt,
these dragsters explode
from a standing
starting speed
of 120 mph
in three seconds or less.
[funk music]
Well, sir, I got
my first taste
of the world of dirt
here in the national sand drags
in Bakersfield, California.
It's a mighty nice
place to be.
[country music]
And it was here I met
Tommy Robertson,
top national
drag racing competitor.
Bakersfield's got it all.
I'll tell you, Fred.
Here in Bakersfield
we got the best cars running.
We got modified Jeep classic,
we got dune buggies,
we got hot dragsters.
We got... Fred?
-Fred?
-Yeah?
Did you come here
to see the cars
or... something else?
Well, I guess I came
to see everything.
Well, you came
to the right place.
Listen, Fred,
here at Bakersfield,
we got just about everything.
[Tommy]
Modified class, Jeeps,
Chevy Blazers...
[engine srevving]
[Tommy] But for my money,
the superstars
of the fuel-burning dragsters
and those babies
are pushed by as much
as a thousand horsepower.
[disco music]
And that's a flameout, Fred.
Somebody just kissed
$15,000 goodbye.
[Fred] Tommy sent me on
to Pismo Beach, California,
and another kind
of sand drag competition.
And I met another inhabitant
of this world of dirt:
Randy Gardner.
You're not kidding.
I come every day,
Pismo Beach is
where it's at.
You're going
to see it all here.
I mean, we got classes
for more kind of buggies
than you can ever believe.
[jazz music]
And not just drag races,
but the meanest, baddest
dune climbs you ever saw.
[rock music]
[Fred] A dune climb is
like a hill climb
in one respect:
you have to make it
to the top.
[Randy]
[laughs]
If you say so.
Hey, go get them!
Here at Pismo, they got
so many different kinds
of machines entering,
-they keep inventing
new classes.
-[Fred laughs]
[upbeat piano music]
[Randy] Sometimes,
you just can't keep up
with everybody.
[jazz music]
That's a buddy of mine
on a '46 Ford hood.
He kind of forgot
something called
the law of friction.
[laughs]
That's called flying
by the seat of your pants.
[Fred] From Labor Day
to the 4th of July
is 10 months.
And from the ocean due
to Pismo beach to the base
of Pikes Peak
is 1,300 miles
and 5,400 feet of elevation.
[soft instrumental music]
Some will tell you
that this is the granddaddy
of off-road racing.
Since 1916,
a Pikes Peak hill climb
has taken its toll of cars.
And of motorcycles.
[motorcycles buzzing]
[engine revving]
This 14-mile course is
still as dangerous
and as much of a challenge
to racing driver Rick Meyers.
He and his brother Roger
have been daring
the tight turns
and sheer drops
of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb
since 1972.
It's also a family tradition
for young Bobby Unser Jr.
The Unser have been
putting this one away
for the last eight years.
[indistinct chatter]
[laughs]
Louis Unser builds engines.
His machines have been
some of the fastest
on the market.
Bobby Unser is here today
in the unfamiliar role
of spectator.
Along with Parnelli Jones.
Rick Meyers
and Peter Firestone
check out Rick's tires.
They've taken sprint tires
and re grooved them
so, the tread can cut
through the loose gravel
to grab onto solid ground
and find traction.
Well, it's all
about cutting it.
It's just a step.
-That's right.
-By cutting it,
it'll soften it but give it
a little more pressure
in the center part
of the tire.
That's right.
Make the hold thing
hold a little more.
-I guess I'll find out.
-I agree.
We'll both find out.
It's not gonna hurt you.
[engine revving]
[Fred] There goes
Bobby Unser Jr.
[commentator] It looks
like he's making
a pretty good time...
[Fred] The family
follows his progress.
[commentator]
We can see him
in there, he's really moving.
The crowd
is appreciating
a good race.
He's on a curve. His tail
is moving a little sideways
going out of those curves.
Apparently, the road
is a little loosy,
skating just a little bit.
[Fred] Bobby Jr.'s time?
12 minutes, 52 seconds.
[engine purring]
Something for Rick Mears
to beat.
That and 14 miles
of switchback road,
156 turns,
and a climb
of 9,392 ft.
[engine revving]
[disco music]
The sun's your enemy.
first it's behind you,
then it owns your windshield
on a snaky left-hander.
Now, for a high right-hander,
coming at 100 mph,
stand on the break,
throw your car sideways.
[music continues]
Then flat-out
through the esses.
Now for a blue-sky turn,
nothing for markers
but blue sky.
At this speed, Rick turns
his wheel right to go left
and left to go right.
The racers call this
opposite lock.
And the dirt
takes all opposite lock.
[music continues]
It's 6,000 ft. down.
A lot less, if you're lucky.
[engine revving]
After eight years
of Unser domination,
today is a new winner.
Rick Mears puts
Bobby Unser
on second place
by over 40 seconds.
[soft instrumental music]
I got down to earth in a hurry
at the Indian Dunes
cycle park,
some 40 miles or so
north of Los Angeles,
where I took in the national
women's motocross
championships.
I met a great young gal.
Dee Williams, 17.
But when it comes
to motocross racing,
no longer a novice.
-Hi, Fred.
-Dee has been racing
competitively
for... three years?
Well, a little more
than two and a half.
Almost three.
You know, that's really great.
A lot of women
get into motorcycles
because of their family.
That's my friend
Nani Evans over there,
with her dad, Walker.
He's part of Parnelli Jones'
racing team.
[man speaking
indistinctly in microphone]
[Fred] Tell me, Dee,
is racing something you can do
on a full-time basis?
[Dee] We're getting there.
The prize money is
coming along.
This race has prices
of over $1000.
[Fred]
Well, that's respectable.
[Dee] It sure can help.
But when you look
at the equipment
a racer has to wear,
to say nothing of the cost of,
you know,
of keeping up a bike,
you take all the help
you can get, including
tips on strategy.
Just before you turn
the sideway, go ahead
and get in there.
- All right.
-All right?
Good luck, sweety.
[Fred] Every year, you see
more and more young women
turning up for races
here at Indian Dunes
and other tracks
along the country.
[Dee] I like the motocross.
It's a short race,
so, a lot of whoop-de-doos
and tight turns.
In fact, I think motocross
can make you a better driver.
[Fred]
If you're last
out the course.
[Dee laughs] Yeah,
that's part of it, too.
[motorcycles revving]
[motorcycles revving]
[motorcycles buzzing]
[disco music]
[Fred] Women's motocross,
I see, is beginning to make
its own name:
Sue Fish,
Jan Thornton,
Jean Cazar,
and a lot of others,
trying to prove
their own thing.
[Dee] Let me tell you,
when you weigh 95 pounds
a 175-pound bike
can be one big mother.
[engine revving]
[music continues]
[ukulele music]
[Fred] It's a hell
of a big difference
between the beauties
of the women's motocross
to the beast's
juicy plow on their way
to the swamp buggy races
here in Naples, Florida.
[music continues]
Did you come all the way
down here to see these races?
Well, we've been down here
for a couple months,
we just happen to know them.
We heard of them
and we decided
we'd come and see them.
-All the way back
in Indiana you heard them?
-Oh, yes.
I see. I'll tell you what,
you really enjoy it.
This is your fist race, is...
something that's really
a sight to behold.
It's like Daytona
and Indianapolis
all in one.
["Swamp buggy"
by Johnny Talon playing]
Driving my swap buggy
You know it is
A strange machine
Drive the alligators crazy
'Cause
It's the strangest creature
That they've seen
Swamp buggy
Swamp buggy boogie
Swamp buggy
Swamp buggy
Showing the extreme
[music ends]
Down here, in the Florida,
Bayou Country,
they've been running
a competition
over the Maples mile of mud
for over 30 years.
And a fella that's figured
in most of those races
is Swamp Rat Pickering.
Swamp Rat, I got to say
that those are
funny-looking critters.
Yeah, we build them
to get the job done, Fred.
High and tall,
and thin wheels
so you work your way
through these back waters
and shoals
of the Florida Everglades.
[Fred] Yeah.
[engine revving]
We're gonna see
seven different classes
of races today.
Well, I got to say
that's a mighty
mean looking course.
Yeah, we got
in front of zero,
figure eight trench,
very exact.
The main feature
is Sippy's hole.
-[Fred] Sippy's hole?
-[Swamp Rat] Yeah, named
after Sippy Morris.
He never seemed to miss
all them bumps
he put on that pile of water.
[Fred laughs]
[Swamp Rat]
They got extra heavy
rear axles and wheels.
Even water filled
tractor tires.
They give me the extra traction
you need to work your way
out of Sippy's hole.
I knew we're
gonna get along, Fred.
[both laugh]
[Fred]
The ideal swamp buggy
has a center of gravity
high enough
so you won't sink
to the bottom,
but low enough
so the sucker
don't turn over.
Sometimes, you just
can't figure.
["Swamp buggy" playing]
[commentator speaking
indistinctly on speakers]
[commentator speaking
indistinctly on speakers]
Say, cousin.
Thank you, Fred.
Look at them go, Fred.
Swamp buggy
Swamp buggy boogie
Swamp buggy
It's like a spaceship
With wheels
Turn and take a look behind me
No, that
I don't believe I said
Swamp buggies
By the dozen
The swamp got them
Just like me
[commentator speaking
indistinctly on speakers]
[public cheering]
[Swamp Rat]
With all that water
out there,
you got to coat
your power plant
with a whole lot
of plastic cement
to seal electric systems.
Then, you spray away
with a garden hose
and if you don't miss none,
you're ready.
This is a good, clean sport.
It really builds character.
And safe. Hell, I can't even
remember the last time
we lost a contestant
to a water moccasin.
Much less an alligator.
So, you folks don't pay
no attention to me.
Y'all come.
You hear?
[Fred] The swamp buggy people
hid the pitfalls
of air race underwater.
There's no such modesty
here at riverside raceway
on the edge
of the California desert.
This motocross circuit
is designed to turn
$10,000 or $12,000
worth of racing car
into instant junk.
[disco music]
Today, there are
40,000 spectators
at this event,
which tried to jam the perils
and rigors of a 100-mile
desert race into 1.7 miles.
[engines revving]
[music continues]
The winner today
was Rick Mears
but this is one race
where survival pays off.
Anything goes for jeeps,
dune buggies.
It's self-destruction
carried into a high art.
If you can finish,
you made it
to a very select group.
[soft instrumental music]
Park City, Utah,
home of Utah's
Skyline Snow Rally,
a fierce competition
putting man and machine
against the side of this hill.
[rock music]
Here's where it happens.
310 feet high
on a 58-degree incline.
A large number of people
turned out today.
Drawn primarily
by their interests
in the scientific
and engineering ramifications
of this event.
The hill started
as a ski jump,
when too many ski jumpers
dropped dead,
the Park City people
had to find
another use for it.
[jazz music]
In ski country,
no hill ever goes to waste.
And today,
certainly not this one.
[music continues]
In the years
of the Skyline Rally,
no one has ever
made it to the top.
But a lot of them sure try.
[man speaking on radio]
[man] All right.
-[man] Up the hill.
-Let's have some heat.
[man] Surprising.
All the way.
[engine revving]
[commentator speaking
indistinctly]
[man 1] You got it, Billy!
[man 2] Good shot.
You know what?
You can't tell
where you're at.
Almost there,
you had it, man,
but all you can see
is snow every time it hits.
I would just like
to get that hill,
I would love to go over.
["Snow Climb"
by Alan Oldfield playing]
Help me make it to the top
Help me make it to the top
Going up, me and you
Spread it out
You better give me room
'Cause I'm fuming, zooming
Going crazy out of control
Well, I've ridden all this way
For all my friends
To be able to say
I saw him reach the top
But I had to walk
Help me make it to the top
Help me make it to the top
[engine revving]
[men shouting]
[man] You still have to go!
[Fred] The race
comes down to a contest
between two brothers:
Mike Brown
and Randy Brown.
As far as we're concerned ,
we won the class
because it was light for,
to begin with.
[Fred] There seems to be
some sort of disagreement.
Yeah, he's run
the same engine.
The machine weighs
under 1000 pounds,
I'm way 1140.
It just doesn't qualify
for the class.
My brother drove the same rail,
in the same class last year.
Now he's protesting me
for driving it
because I beat him.
We got a little family feud
between brothers.
Now he's got to run
against me,
now I can't handle losing.
You gotta be a good loser
as long as you've been
winner, it's tough.
I know what it weighs.
Where's your weight slip,
bigmouth?
I'm about to have fun
and not even worry.
If they want to protest,
let them protest.
[Fred] To settle
this family feud,
the brothers each get
one more run at the hill.
Mike goes first.
[engine revving]
Now it's Randy's turn.
[engine revving]
The family will be fighting
this one up for another year.
Until the next
Skyline Snow Rally.
[soft instrumental music]
Ever since I first moved
into the world of dirt
and off-road racing,
I began to hear a few names.
Races like the Parker,
the Mint 400 and always,
the Baja 1000.
And when you hear
about the Baja,
you also hear the name
Parnelli Jones.
I think it was time I looked
into the family's race shop
where Parnelli Jones
builds his famous
Formula 1 race cars,
stock racers, Indy cars
and off-road racers.
But when I was there, Parnelli
and his chief mechanic,
Dick Russell,
were looking to the Mint 400.
And, beyond that,
the Baja.
[Dick] We build a lot of cars.
And we've built
Indianapolis cars
and we've course built
our off-road cars
and stuff like that.
And as far as I'm concerned,
building cars is
like having a baby.
[Fred] Working
on this special Chevy Blazer,
they struggle to increase
independent axle travel
from eight inches to eighteen.
That'll let the Blazer
maintain higher speeds
over rougher courses
without bottoming out.
[Dick] The car is very much
a personality, so to speak.
It is enjoyable, building
and putting your own ideas
into these cars.
[Fred] Every nut,
every bolt in the Blazer
has been refined
to make it stronger, lighter,
fasters, to meet the challenge
of the Nevada desert.
And after that, the Baja.
[disco music]
But first, Las Vegas
and the Mint 400.
Three months straight,
today has been turned
into an off-road version
of Indy's Gasoline Alley,
with cars
from all over the country
moving in
for technical inspection.
Equipment and accessory
manufacturers set up
on Fremont Street
to display their product.
The new racing car owner
can get himself
quite a collection of decals.
-Hey, give me a UNI sticker
to put it right there.
-Oh, sure, man.
Look at that decal.
I'll tell you what, you know,
you're just slick.
Well, good luck to you
in the race.
-Hey, Dennis,
how are you?
-Hey!
Oh, I see you switched
to Pennzoil.
Well, no,
that was my co-driver.
At the last race he...
Look, if you've got
those big decals?
We can cover that up.
But have you got
a couple of cases?
-A couple of cases?
-Yeah, it's been burning
a lot of oil.
Oh, yeah, I got
a couple decals
that will cover
that decal up real good.
That's good.
Thank you, Dennis.
You're welcome, Phil.
Phil, I see you're ready
for racing, I see,
but with the wrong spark plugs.
Let's get these Champions
in this thing.
I've been thinking
about Champion,
Arnold, you know,
and if I can get some
for my tow car...
I think I can just put
those decals on here,
you know?
I need a few boxes
for my tow car.
Let's get these on first
and I'll get some pugs for you.
[Phil] I'll get them
right in here.
[Arnold] And then,
we'll fix up your truck.
-It's gonna look great, Arnold.
-[Arnold] Good enough.
[disco music]
[Fred] But most,
everybody else
is here for racing.
To get ready for the Baja.
[music continues]
There were big names.
Parnelli Jones, ready
to take his crack
at the desert,
to see if this Blazer
is ready for the Baja.
[engine revving]
It's 400 miles
of rugged desert,
sagebrush and hard rock.
Parnelli's new axle travel
holds up, the Blazer
hits 130 mph
and doesn't bottom out.
[music continues]
Parnelli never did like
to use his horn.
[music continues]
Other racers are ready
to go on the course.
The team of Rick Mears
and Doc Sauers.
That's a big one.
[car revving]
[music continues]
[Fred]
Malcolm Smith,
the motorcycle champion,
is moving
in on the four-wheelers
[music continues]
Malcolm and his partner,
Bud Feldkamp are
already thinking past the Mint
to the Baja 1000.
Hollywood stunt driver,
Bobby Ferro in his sand
master dune buggy.
there are seven checkpoints
along the course
and every racer knows
he's going to make pit stops.
[ragtime piano music]
Hello, boss.
[Fred]
Walker Evans is
the other half
of the Parnelli Jones'
racing team.
[engine revving]
[disco music]
When the dust settles again
in the Nevada desert,
there's a new winner:
Bobby Ferro.
[people screaming]
But the others will have
their crack at him again
at the Baja 1000.
[clapping]
I had a couple of places
I wanted to see
before I hit the Baja.
[country music]
For one, Terre Haute, Indiana,
and the national
Tractor Pull contest.
with over a million dollars
in prize money every year,
when they aren't plowing,
they're pulling.
[music continues]
Everybody knows
a tractor is for off-road work.
But if anyone thinks that
these farmers in the Midwest
can't be competitive
with those big rigs of theirs,
they got to talk
to Janice Hoffer here.
You bet they are,
Mr. Gordon.
Terre Haute is just one
of the number of competitions
we go to every year.
They're not gonna race
around the course, are they?
Oh, hardly. The idea is
to see who can pull
a predetermined weight
the farthest.
[Janice]
Big ideas to get
the most traction they can.
Some farmers have ballast
to get up to the last ounce
of allowable weight
Here's how it works.
A sled is attached
to the rear of the tractor.
Then, when the tractor
starts up, an artificial
weight of 5,000 pounds
is mechanically transported
in the rear of the sled
to the front,
at full transfer. This builds
up to a dead weight
of 50,000 pounds.
[engine revving]
-[explosion]
- Some poor man
just burned $15,000
worth of tractor engine.
[engine revving]
[engine revving]
[Fred] These machines
don't look like any tractors
I've ever seen.
[Janice] Oh, you're right.
A lot of invention
goes into these tractors.
Some people put thousands
and thousands of dollars
into their machines.
[man] We don't have too much
in this because it came out
of a junkyard.
And we did all the work.
I take a lot of the guys
take them somewhere.
And some other guys spend
$10,000 just to get
their engines working.
[man speaking indistinctly
on microphone]
[engine starting]
[Janice] Oh, here's a friend
of my dad's who built
his tractor for under $300.
[metal clanking]
[Fred] This guy may have
built a $300 tractor,
but those tires,
they got to be
$1,000 a throw.
[engine revving]
[explosion]
[commentator] That's it!
We took off and went
about 30-40 foot.
And... if you run lean on fuel,
it sets the fuel up
the intake and boom.
[bluegrass music]
[Janice] You'll see
all kind of propulsion today.
Diesels, dune buggy engines,
even blown engines
that burn nitromethane
to develop
up to 2,000 horsepower.
Recognize that? It's a jet
that turns out
10,000 horsepower.
[commentator speaking
on microphone]
[Fred] Terre Haute is just one
of the many stops
in the tractor pull circuit
from Connecticut to Colorado.
From Ontario to Florida.
Today, it's this man
with the trophy.
Tomorrow? Well,
tomorrow is another day
and another fairground.
For me, tomorrow was
Yakima, Washington,
where the Yakima Ridgerunners
hold their annual Jeep Rodeo.
[engine purring]
It's sort of like
a private war.
You know, Bob? You could
probably consume just
as much beer without the race.
But here in the northwest,
they go for strong motivation.
They like to spice up
that drinking with a little
organized mayhem.
-I wouldn't say this is mayhem.
-Oh, you wouldn't?
-That's not what I heard.
-Okay, it's not mayhem
but it is the meanest,
filthiest race you can find
on God's green earth.
We race modified carts.
[Fred laughs] You mean
modified engines?
[Bob] Well, we play a little
with the front ends,
turn them into battering rams
to eliminate the competition.
When the race starts,
you want all the protection
you can get.
Most of the course
is underwater,
except in the dry season,
when it's hip-deep in mud.
-[engines revving]
-[bluegrass music]
When we remember,
we run four hits in each
of four classes.
["Jeep Ridge Runners"
by Alan Oldfield playing]
You got to be alert
and quick up there.
If you ain't,
you're gonna know it
pretty damn soon enough.
[laughs] Somebody
oughta throw water on them.
[music continues]
We adapt
all the tricks in racing:
Stirling Moss called
this thing tailgating.
We do it one better.
[music continues]
The only real equipment
you need here is
a strong stomach
and a real deep
streak of meanness.
You know what I mean?
[laughs]
Hey, come on up and show us.
[Fred]
It's almost half a continent
from Yakima to Ensenada,
and a whole world
of attitudes.
But this was the place
where I knew I had to be.
By the time I got there,
the impound area
was filling up
with over 500 vehicles
ready for inspection
before they took off
on what many think is
the toughest
off-road course
in the world.
The last few days, thousands
of men and women will be
a part of this race
and the vehicles
around the course
have been pouring into town.
[mariachi music]
[motorcycle revving]
[singing in Spanish]
You can't get everybody,
much less anybody,
to agree just when
this race was first held.
But it was in 1966-67
that of a bunch of the boys
got gassed, decided to dare
each other to drive
the length of Baja,
from Tijuana to La Paz.
But progress
caught up
with the racers.
The Mexican government
paved the road.
Now, every year
they have to follow
a different course.
Now,
Now, they start here
and they cut over here
and come down through here,
through Mike's Sky Ranch,
up through the mountains
a first time,
down to San Felipe.
And they cut straight up
through the desert,
swing over here,
come through the mountains
a second time
before they come back.
If they get back.
[engine revving]
Now, the fun
and games are over.
You've driven
the course
for the last time.
There's nothing more
you can do to your machine
in the impound area.
[harmonica music]
By nightfall, there are
probably 20,000 people
at the various checkpoints
spread over
a 1000-mile course.
It's a long hard day ahead.
It's a time
for contemplation,
for quiet, for rest.
[people whistling and laughing]
And if you're lucky,
you can get close enough
to the bar
and who songs
for some last-minute
bench racing.
[people clapping and cheering]
6:00 a.m.
The motorcycles take off
and the Baja is underway.
[funk music]
[motorcycle revving]
Now, it's the cars turn.
[engine revving]
Bobby Ferro. His win
at Las Vegas makes him
the man to beat.
The team of Doc Sauers
and Rick Mears.
Doc drives the first leg
and Rick will pick up
halfway through.
[engine revving]
Mickey Thompson
is driving today
with a broken back.
A special air hose
to his helmet let's Mickey
breathe filtered air.
Parnelli Jones starts 45th.
[engine buzzing]
Walker Evans starts
right behind Parnelli.
They leave
in one-minute intervals.
[engine revving]
[tires screeching]
[engine revving]
[car accelerating]
[engine revving]
[disco music]
[engine revving]
[music continues]
[engine revving]
Part of the tradition
of the Baja is
local participation.
Here some Ensenada kids
add an extra bump
to the course
just beyond
a blind right-hand corner.
Parnelli knows the kids,
he's driven too many
of these races.
S o, he gives them a show.
[music continues]
Around the course
are seven checkpoints.
As a driver goes
through these positions,
his progress is radioed
to race headquarters.
And the data fed
into a special computer,
so, they can figure
a lapse time.
He's a dog .
-[man] Fred, any news?
-Yeah?
Yes, they're the hell
down there. God knows
when they'll be here.
The information comes down
the various checkpoints.
Right now, we're
at Tres Hermanas,
one of the last checkpoints.
By the time the racing cars
get here, there will be
fewer of them.
All we can do is to listen
for names that we know.
And wonder what it's
really like out there
under that hot
baking desert sun.
[music continues]
[David] There's a lot
of times out there in a race
where you say to yourself
"What am I doing?
I have holes in my hip.
I mean, this is not fun."
But when you're able
to hit a stretch
that doesn't have
too many rocks and you can
swipe the car around
and do a little driving
or something, then you get
your thrill out of it.
[ music continues]
[Fred] Another racer
has his own ideas.
[Malcom]
Some guys will tell you
the worst is the sun.
For my money, the damn dust.
You just can't tell
where you are
or what's ahead of you.
[music continues]
[music continues]
[Mickey]
You know, you head
starts wondering.
You think "Am I
on the course?"
Did I miss a marker.
And then, you see somebody
broken down and you know
you're still on the race.
[music continues]
[Al] The rush is when
the guy comes up behind
and you can't see him
or hear him and he comes
crossing into you.
[laughs]
That will shake you up.
[Fred] We try to listen.
it's early but already we know
the Baja is taking its toll.
[man speaking on the radio]
You wonder how many of them
will ever get here
to use this gas.
[music continues]
[Malcom] You want to know
what you do if your tire
goes flat or you lose one?
You got no choice.
Three wheels
is better than two.
Well, I'll tell you
what they look like.
About four hours
into the race,
all those cars
start looking like a bunch
of wounded insects.
Oh, I must have been crazed.
I mean, well,
I come around the corner
and I see my engine is
on fire, right?
Well, I get so wild,
I forgot completely
I bought this new
fire extinguisher.
Thing set me back $300.
And I'm out there,
on my hands and knees
trying to blow out the fire.
[music slows down]
[music resumes]
[men speaking indistinctly]
Watch it, watch it. Here.
[crackling]
[men speaking indistinctly]
[mechanical noises]
Okay.
[man]
We need a carburetor.
[engine revving]
[music continues]
[Fred] Report comes in
from Mike's Sky Ranch
Ferro is out in front
and pushing hard,
but Parnelli is
closing on him fast
[music continues]
[music slows down]
[Malcom]
You gotta look out
for each other out there.
One mechanic, one look out.
You can get yourself
wiped out in one big hurry.
There are some guys
who just going nuts out there.
The Baja really gets them.
[Mickey] Well, I tell you,
you gotta keep going.
I caught a flat,
had to scrounge
a spare from a guy.
It was the wrong size,
but it beats sitting down
on that mountain side.
[music resumes]
[David] Every now and then,
you see something
really shakeshit.
Well, it helps to get back
where you ought to be .
[donkey braying]
[music continues]
[Al] You really feel great
when you hit the dry lake.
I mean you can cook
130-140, flat out.
[man speaking on radio]
It was easy to figure.
Guys like Bobby Ferro
and Walker Evans
were on the dry lake
and making time.
[music continues]
[music continues]
We get the word Parnelli's out.
Then, word flashed
along the course.
Bobby Ferro crosses
the finish line
with a new record.
[people cheering]
[man speaking indistinctly]
[whistling]
You had any trouble
besides that?
[men speaking indistinctly]
[Fred] But in the Baja,
you race against the clock.
Walker Evans still has
a chance to take it all.
Walker is pushing all the way,
but it's not good enough
by four minutes.
[man] Watch out!
Come on!
He settles
for a second overall,
but first in his class.
[people whistling and clapping]
[man] How is it going?
[man] A lot of people
broken down
out there, Walker?
Yeah, just cars everywhere.
Just about four miles
or five miles back,
I missed a turn.
I don't have a bit of brakes.
[men speaking indistinctly]
-[women laughing]
-[man] My hero!
-It's pretty hot, huh?
-Yeah.
Thirty five years old, huh?
Gave me a lot of trouble
out there.
Hi there, man!
[laughs]
-I told you I'd do it,
didn't I?
-[laughs]
Didn't I tell you?
-[man] Pretty tired?
-Yes!
[music continues]
[soft instrumental music]
[Fred]
There are a lot of guys
still out on the course.
Still racing.
Will be till 3:00 or 4:00
in the morning.
[music continues]
[Mickey] When the sun
goes down, it's...
It's pretty easy to get
lost down there.
I know most guys are
just wandering around,
half of them just looking
for the course.
It gets pretty hairy
out there.
[music continues]
[motorcycle revving]
[Malcom] Well, I tell you
I don't like it
when it starts getting dark.
Well, there I was,
up in the hills.
And it's dark, and it's cold
and I'm freezing.
Jesus, it's murder
in the dark.
You're so tired, it's painful.
your eyes ache,
your hands are numb
around the steering wheel.
But you know
you gotta keep going
and if anybody ever asked me
why, I'll coldcock them.
[woman screaming] All right!
That's Mickey!
[man] Who knows
what happened to them.
[woman speaking indistinctly]
[men speaking indistinctly]
-I'm so proud of you!
-[laughs] Thank you very much.
-What?
-[man] How does it feel?
You have it all over with.
-Betcha.
-[laughing]
I've never been so glad
to get to a place
in my whole life.
-Hey, Darryl!
You made it!
-Hey!
[women laughing]
[exclaims]
-No top.
-Yeah.
[people screaming]
[cheering and whistling]
[people cheering]
-How are you guys?
-I'm ahead everybody,
I think.
[people cheering]
[clapping]
[woman] Oh, my God!
You did it! You did it!
[shrieks]
[soft instrumental music]
[man] Would you do it again?
Oh, for sure.
-[Spanish] Ora!
-Thank you!
-[men laughing]
- Gracias.
[men laughing]
-My face's dirty?
-[man] Just a little.
Well, this is a mudpack.
I'm going to be
gorgeous tomorrow.
[birds singing]
[Fred] You hang around
the finish line until dawn,
the second day.
If the driver of a team
hasn't made it home by then,
you know another piece
of machinery
is gonna be a part
of the desert landscape.
Most of these guys
will be back next year .
And there'll be
some other fellows
that try it for the first time.
Whatever the course is,
it's still a Baja.
They'll be back,
and I'll be back.
Because this is my people.
This is my world.
[jazz music]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[music stops]
[lion roaring]
[soft mysterious music]
[disco music]
[music continues]
[motorcycles buzzing]
[Fred] Sometimes
you'll be surprised
how close it is to you.
I found out,
but that was only later.
Every day for 22 years
I drove past this dry wash
in the way to my shop.
In all those years,
I didn't once take the time
to look or even listen
to the sounds that roared
at me from behind
that standard scrub.
It was here a lot of the kids
in the neighborhood
got to racing around
in their go-karts, making
a lot of dust and noise.
But when I retired,
I started looking a lot at it
and learning
about this world
they call off-road.
[screams]
Here's how you get there.
On three wheels,
four, six wheels or two.
[motorcycle revving]
You can make
that world for yourself
on any steep hill.
Especially the kind of ditch
to spit out the dust
and keep coming back at her.
Wide open is
the only way to the top.
Sometimes, the spectator
takes his chances
along with the driver.
Well, you're right:
dirt is dirt no matter
where you find it.
What made it different for me,
though, was the kind of people
that moved around in it.
I'm gonna...
I want to get to know
better, you know?
How they think
and how they feel and...
Well, you know,
the highs and
that kind of thing.
I got a lot of time
on my hands and...
Well, I thought this would be
a good way to spend it.
Well, here we go.
[grunts]
[soft piano music]
One of the first things
I learned was
that the off-road world
is a family affair.
You take bikes,
for instance,
You'll find machines
that match up
with the size and weight
for every member
of the family.
And when the kids
start going head-to-head,
they bring along
the fiercest rooters
in the world.
[motorcycles revving]
Now, there everybody's
a future Joelle O'Leary,
Malcolm Smith
or Roger Decoster.
Like the man says:
sometimes you eat the bear,
sometimes the bear eats you.
[funk music]
[disco music]
A few more pounds,
a few more years,
they're ready for motocross.
Men and machine and dirt.
Kidney-shaking bumps.
Grimes and a guy
who'll stop at nothing to win.
Or at least beat you out.
Where did it all begin?
Well, in this country
we haven't exactly been
strangers to the automobile.
[ragtime music]
Even back
when they called them
horseless carriages,
all it took was one vehicle,
one man behind the wheel
who wouldn't settle
for the ordinary,
and a love affair
between dirt
and driver began.
The movie people
are always ready
to get in on a good thing.
And they gave us
this thrilling tale.
In this early Hollywood saga,
we see the story
of a young man
out for a quiet spin
in the country.
Suddenly, he decided
he'd had enough
of the ordinary. Off he goes.
Off, looking for adventure.
And danger.
[ragtime music continues]
[chicken clucking]
[horses neighing]
[gunshots]
Looks like he found
the danger.
When I was a boy,
we had our heroes.
Big names
like Barney Oldfield,
or Eddie Rickenbacker.
They went to work on the cars:
strip the body,
tore off the fenders,
beefed up the engines.
Challenged not only
each other,
but the limits of their rigs.
Would you believe you can get
up to 14 horsepower
in one of these bombs?
These early road racers
challenged a strongly held
scientific concept.
The experts told us
we'd never be able to drive
faster than 50 miles an hour.
A human wouldn't be able
to breathe going that fast.
Nowadays, progress
has come so far,
we all breath air like this.
And the cars got faster,
the crowds bigger ,
Speeding over
100 miles an hour.
They can only push so far.
Drivers learn to live
or die with danger.
And with dirt.
Out of that,
came the sprint car.
1600 pounds
of handcrafted racer.
O pen cockpit.
The call for constant
over steering .
Power sliding turns.
[instrumental music]
Squanomie falls,
Pittsbourough,
Ascot.
Just names for you?
Well, 40 or 50 years ago,
they were the tracks
where men like Rick Furcall,
Jan Opperman,
Smokey Snowpack
put it all on the line
85 times a year.
To they, the world of dirt
is pushed way past
the oval track
of a sprint car.
You find all kinds
of machines.
[funky techno music]
Like these dragsters.
Digging into the dirt,
these dragsters explode
from a standing
starting speed
of 120 mph
in three seconds or less.
[funk music]
Well, sir, I got
my first taste
of the world of dirt
here in the national sand drags
in Bakersfield, California.
It's a mighty nice
place to be.
[country music]
And it was here I met
Tommy Robertson,
top national
drag racing competitor.
Bakersfield's got it all.
I'll tell you, Fred.
Here in Bakersfield
we got the best cars running.
We got modified Jeep classic,
we got dune buggies,
we got hot dragsters.
We got... Fred?
-Fred?
-Yeah?
Did you come here
to see the cars
or... something else?
Well, I guess I came
to see everything.
Well, you came
to the right place.
Listen, Fred,
here at Bakersfield,
we got just about everything.
[Tommy]
Modified class, Jeeps,
Chevy Blazers...
[engine srevving]
[Tommy] But for my money,
the superstars
of the fuel-burning dragsters
and those babies
are pushed by as much
as a thousand horsepower.
[disco music]
And that's a flameout, Fred.
Somebody just kissed
$15,000 goodbye.
[Fred] Tommy sent me on
to Pismo Beach, California,
and another kind
of sand drag competition.
And I met another inhabitant
of this world of dirt:
Randy Gardner.
You're not kidding.
I come every day,
Pismo Beach is
where it's at.
You're going
to see it all here.
I mean, we got classes
for more kind of buggies
than you can ever believe.
[jazz music]
And not just drag races,
but the meanest, baddest
dune climbs you ever saw.
[rock music]
[Fred] A dune climb is
like a hill climb
in one respect:
you have to make it
to the top.
[Randy]
[laughs]
If you say so.
Hey, go get them!
Here at Pismo, they got
so many different kinds
of machines entering,
-they keep inventing
new classes.
-[Fred laughs]
[upbeat piano music]
[Randy] Sometimes,
you just can't keep up
with everybody.
[jazz music]
That's a buddy of mine
on a '46 Ford hood.
He kind of forgot
something called
the law of friction.
[laughs]
That's called flying
by the seat of your pants.
[Fred] From Labor Day
to the 4th of July
is 10 months.
And from the ocean due
to Pismo beach to the base
of Pikes Peak
is 1,300 miles
and 5,400 feet of elevation.
[soft instrumental music]
Some will tell you
that this is the granddaddy
of off-road racing.
Since 1916,
a Pikes Peak hill climb
has taken its toll of cars.
And of motorcycles.
[motorcycles buzzing]
[engine revving]
This 14-mile course is
still as dangerous
and as much of a challenge
to racing driver Rick Meyers.
He and his brother Roger
have been daring
the tight turns
and sheer drops
of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb
since 1972.
It's also a family tradition
for young Bobby Unser Jr.
The Unser have been
putting this one away
for the last eight years.
[indistinct chatter]
[laughs]
Louis Unser builds engines.
His machines have been
some of the fastest
on the market.
Bobby Unser is here today
in the unfamiliar role
of spectator.
Along with Parnelli Jones.
Rick Meyers
and Peter Firestone
check out Rick's tires.
They've taken sprint tires
and re grooved them
so, the tread can cut
through the loose gravel
to grab onto solid ground
and find traction.
Well, it's all
about cutting it.
It's just a step.
-That's right.
-By cutting it,
it'll soften it but give it
a little more pressure
in the center part
of the tire.
That's right.
Make the hold thing
hold a little more.
-I guess I'll find out.
-I agree.
We'll both find out.
It's not gonna hurt you.
[engine revving]
[Fred] There goes
Bobby Unser Jr.
[commentator] It looks
like he's making
a pretty good time...
[Fred] The family
follows his progress.
[commentator]
We can see him
in there, he's really moving.
The crowd
is appreciating
a good race.
He's on a curve. His tail
is moving a little sideways
going out of those curves.
Apparently, the road
is a little loosy,
skating just a little bit.
[Fred] Bobby Jr.'s time?
12 minutes, 52 seconds.
[engine purring]
Something for Rick Mears
to beat.
That and 14 miles
of switchback road,
156 turns,
and a climb
of 9,392 ft.
[engine revving]
[disco music]
The sun's your enemy.
first it's behind you,
then it owns your windshield
on a snaky left-hander.
Now, for a high right-hander,
coming at 100 mph,
stand on the break,
throw your car sideways.
[music continues]
Then flat-out
through the esses.
Now for a blue-sky turn,
nothing for markers
but blue sky.
At this speed, Rick turns
his wheel right to go left
and left to go right.
The racers call this
opposite lock.
And the dirt
takes all opposite lock.
[music continues]
It's 6,000 ft. down.
A lot less, if you're lucky.
[engine revving]
After eight years
of Unser domination,
today is a new winner.
Rick Mears puts
Bobby Unser
on second place
by over 40 seconds.
[soft instrumental music]
I got down to earth in a hurry
at the Indian Dunes
cycle park,
some 40 miles or so
north of Los Angeles,
where I took in the national
women's motocross
championships.
I met a great young gal.
Dee Williams, 17.
But when it comes
to motocross racing,
no longer a novice.
-Hi, Fred.
-Dee has been racing
competitively
for... three years?
Well, a little more
than two and a half.
Almost three.
You know, that's really great.
A lot of women
get into motorcycles
because of their family.
That's my friend
Nani Evans over there,
with her dad, Walker.
He's part of Parnelli Jones'
racing team.
[man speaking
indistinctly in microphone]
[Fred] Tell me, Dee,
is racing something you can do
on a full-time basis?
[Dee] We're getting there.
The prize money is
coming along.
This race has prices
of over $1000.
[Fred]
Well, that's respectable.
[Dee] It sure can help.
But when you look
at the equipment
a racer has to wear,
to say nothing of the cost of,
you know,
of keeping up a bike,
you take all the help
you can get, including
tips on strategy.
Just before you turn
the sideway, go ahead
and get in there.
- All right.
-All right?
Good luck, sweety.
[Fred] Every year, you see
more and more young women
turning up for races
here at Indian Dunes
and other tracks
along the country.
[Dee] I like the motocross.
It's a short race,
so, a lot of whoop-de-doos
and tight turns.
In fact, I think motocross
can make you a better driver.
[Fred]
If you're last
out the course.
[Dee laughs] Yeah,
that's part of it, too.
[motorcycles revving]
[motorcycles revving]
[motorcycles buzzing]
[disco music]
[Fred] Women's motocross,
I see, is beginning to make
its own name:
Sue Fish,
Jan Thornton,
Jean Cazar,
and a lot of others,
trying to prove
their own thing.
[Dee] Let me tell you,
when you weigh 95 pounds
a 175-pound bike
can be one big mother.
[engine revving]
[music continues]
[ukulele music]
[Fred] It's a hell
of a big difference
between the beauties
of the women's motocross
to the beast's
juicy plow on their way
to the swamp buggy races
here in Naples, Florida.
[music continues]
Did you come all the way
down here to see these races?
Well, we've been down here
for a couple months,
we just happen to know them.
We heard of them
and we decided
we'd come and see them.
-All the way back
in Indiana you heard them?
-Oh, yes.
I see. I'll tell you what,
you really enjoy it.
This is your fist race, is...
something that's really
a sight to behold.
It's like Daytona
and Indianapolis
all in one.
["Swamp buggy"
by Johnny Talon playing]
Driving my swap buggy
You know it is
A strange machine
Drive the alligators crazy
'Cause
It's the strangest creature
That they've seen
Swamp buggy
Swamp buggy boogie
Swamp buggy
Swamp buggy
Showing the extreme
[music ends]
Down here, in the Florida,
Bayou Country,
they've been running
a competition
over the Maples mile of mud
for over 30 years.
And a fella that's figured
in most of those races
is Swamp Rat Pickering.
Swamp Rat, I got to say
that those are
funny-looking critters.
Yeah, we build them
to get the job done, Fred.
High and tall,
and thin wheels
so you work your way
through these back waters
and shoals
of the Florida Everglades.
[Fred] Yeah.
[engine revving]
We're gonna see
seven different classes
of races today.
Well, I got to say
that's a mighty
mean looking course.
Yeah, we got
in front of zero,
figure eight trench,
very exact.
The main feature
is Sippy's hole.
-[Fred] Sippy's hole?
-[Swamp Rat] Yeah, named
after Sippy Morris.
He never seemed to miss
all them bumps
he put on that pile of water.
[Fred laughs]
[Swamp Rat]
They got extra heavy
rear axles and wheels.
Even water filled
tractor tires.
They give me the extra traction
you need to work your way
out of Sippy's hole.
I knew we're
gonna get along, Fred.
[both laugh]
[Fred]
The ideal swamp buggy
has a center of gravity
high enough
so you won't sink
to the bottom,
but low enough
so the sucker
don't turn over.
Sometimes, you just
can't figure.
["Swamp buggy" playing]
[commentator speaking
indistinctly on speakers]
[commentator speaking
indistinctly on speakers]
Say, cousin.
Thank you, Fred.
Look at them go, Fred.
Swamp buggy
Swamp buggy boogie
Swamp buggy
It's like a spaceship
With wheels
Turn and take a look behind me
No, that
I don't believe I said
Swamp buggies
By the dozen
The swamp got them
Just like me
[commentator speaking
indistinctly on speakers]
[public cheering]
[Swamp Rat]
With all that water
out there,
you got to coat
your power plant
with a whole lot
of plastic cement
to seal electric systems.
Then, you spray away
with a garden hose
and if you don't miss none,
you're ready.
This is a good, clean sport.
It really builds character.
And safe. Hell, I can't even
remember the last time
we lost a contestant
to a water moccasin.
Much less an alligator.
So, you folks don't pay
no attention to me.
Y'all come.
You hear?
[Fred] The swamp buggy people
hid the pitfalls
of air race underwater.
There's no such modesty
here at riverside raceway
on the edge
of the California desert.
This motocross circuit
is designed to turn
$10,000 or $12,000
worth of racing car
into instant junk.
[disco music]
Today, there are
40,000 spectators
at this event,
which tried to jam the perils
and rigors of a 100-mile
desert race into 1.7 miles.
[engines revving]
[music continues]
The winner today
was Rick Mears
but this is one race
where survival pays off.
Anything goes for jeeps,
dune buggies.
It's self-destruction
carried into a high art.
If you can finish,
you made it
to a very select group.
[soft instrumental music]
Park City, Utah,
home of Utah's
Skyline Snow Rally,
a fierce competition
putting man and machine
against the side of this hill.
[rock music]
Here's where it happens.
310 feet high
on a 58-degree incline.
A large number of people
turned out today.
Drawn primarily
by their interests
in the scientific
and engineering ramifications
of this event.
The hill started
as a ski jump,
when too many ski jumpers
dropped dead,
the Park City people
had to find
another use for it.
[jazz music]
In ski country,
no hill ever goes to waste.
And today,
certainly not this one.
[music continues]
In the years
of the Skyline Rally,
no one has ever
made it to the top.
But a lot of them sure try.
[man speaking on radio]
[man] All right.
-[man] Up the hill.
-Let's have some heat.
[man] Surprising.
All the way.
[engine revving]
[commentator speaking
indistinctly]
[man 1] You got it, Billy!
[man 2] Good shot.
You know what?
You can't tell
where you're at.
Almost there,
you had it, man,
but all you can see
is snow every time it hits.
I would just like
to get that hill,
I would love to go over.
["Snow Climb"
by Alan Oldfield playing]
Help me make it to the top
Help me make it to the top
Going up, me and you
Spread it out
You better give me room
'Cause I'm fuming, zooming
Going crazy out of control
Well, I've ridden all this way
For all my friends
To be able to say
I saw him reach the top
But I had to walk
Help me make it to the top
Help me make it to the top
[engine revving]
[men shouting]
[man] You still have to go!
[Fred] The race
comes down to a contest
between two brothers:
Mike Brown
and Randy Brown.
As far as we're concerned ,
we won the class
because it was light for,
to begin with.
[Fred] There seems to be
some sort of disagreement.
Yeah, he's run
the same engine.
The machine weighs
under 1000 pounds,
I'm way 1140.
It just doesn't qualify
for the class.
My brother drove the same rail,
in the same class last year.
Now he's protesting me
for driving it
because I beat him.
We got a little family feud
between brothers.
Now he's got to run
against me,
now I can't handle losing.
You gotta be a good loser
as long as you've been
winner, it's tough.
I know what it weighs.
Where's your weight slip,
bigmouth?
I'm about to have fun
and not even worry.
If they want to protest,
let them protest.
[Fred] To settle
this family feud,
the brothers each get
one more run at the hill.
Mike goes first.
[engine revving]
Now it's Randy's turn.
[engine revving]
The family will be fighting
this one up for another year.
Until the next
Skyline Snow Rally.
[soft instrumental music]
Ever since I first moved
into the world of dirt
and off-road racing,
I began to hear a few names.
Races like the Parker,
the Mint 400 and always,
the Baja 1000.
And when you hear
about the Baja,
you also hear the name
Parnelli Jones.
I think it was time I looked
into the family's race shop
where Parnelli Jones
builds his famous
Formula 1 race cars,
stock racers, Indy cars
and off-road racers.
But when I was there, Parnelli
and his chief mechanic,
Dick Russell,
were looking to the Mint 400.
And, beyond that,
the Baja.
[Dick] We build a lot of cars.
And we've built
Indianapolis cars
and we've course built
our off-road cars
and stuff like that.
And as far as I'm concerned,
building cars is
like having a baby.
[Fred] Working
on this special Chevy Blazer,
they struggle to increase
independent axle travel
from eight inches to eighteen.
That'll let the Blazer
maintain higher speeds
over rougher courses
without bottoming out.
[Dick] The car is very much
a personality, so to speak.
It is enjoyable, building
and putting your own ideas
into these cars.
[Fred] Every nut,
every bolt in the Blazer
has been refined
to make it stronger, lighter,
fasters, to meet the challenge
of the Nevada desert.
And after that, the Baja.
[disco music]
But first, Las Vegas
and the Mint 400.
Three months straight,
today has been turned
into an off-road version
of Indy's Gasoline Alley,
with cars
from all over the country
moving in
for technical inspection.
Equipment and accessory
manufacturers set up
on Fremont Street
to display their product.
The new racing car owner
can get himself
quite a collection of decals.
-Hey, give me a UNI sticker
to put it right there.
-Oh, sure, man.
Look at that decal.
I'll tell you what, you know,
you're just slick.
Well, good luck to you
in the race.
-Hey, Dennis,
how are you?
-Hey!
Oh, I see you switched
to Pennzoil.
Well, no,
that was my co-driver.
At the last race he...
Look, if you've got
those big decals?
We can cover that up.
But have you got
a couple of cases?
-A couple of cases?
-Yeah, it's been burning
a lot of oil.
Oh, yeah, I got
a couple decals
that will cover
that decal up real good.
That's good.
Thank you, Dennis.
You're welcome, Phil.
Phil, I see you're ready
for racing, I see,
but with the wrong spark plugs.
Let's get these Champions
in this thing.
I've been thinking
about Champion,
Arnold, you know,
and if I can get some
for my tow car...
I think I can just put
those decals on here,
you know?
I need a few boxes
for my tow car.
Let's get these on first
and I'll get some pugs for you.
[Phil] I'll get them
right in here.
[Arnold] And then,
we'll fix up your truck.
-It's gonna look great, Arnold.
-[Arnold] Good enough.
[disco music]
[Fred] But most,
everybody else
is here for racing.
To get ready for the Baja.
[music continues]
There were big names.
Parnelli Jones, ready
to take his crack
at the desert,
to see if this Blazer
is ready for the Baja.
[engine revving]
It's 400 miles
of rugged desert,
sagebrush and hard rock.
Parnelli's new axle travel
holds up, the Blazer
hits 130 mph
and doesn't bottom out.
[music continues]
Parnelli never did like
to use his horn.
[music continues]
Other racers are ready
to go on the course.
The team of Rick Mears
and Doc Sauers.
That's a big one.
[car revving]
[music continues]
[Fred]
Malcolm Smith,
the motorcycle champion,
is moving
in on the four-wheelers
[music continues]
Malcolm and his partner,
Bud Feldkamp are
already thinking past the Mint
to the Baja 1000.
Hollywood stunt driver,
Bobby Ferro in his sand
master dune buggy.
there are seven checkpoints
along the course
and every racer knows
he's going to make pit stops.
[ragtime piano music]
Hello, boss.
[Fred]
Walker Evans is
the other half
of the Parnelli Jones'
racing team.
[engine revving]
[disco music]
When the dust settles again
in the Nevada desert,
there's a new winner:
Bobby Ferro.
[people screaming]
But the others will have
their crack at him again
at the Baja 1000.
[clapping]
I had a couple of places
I wanted to see
before I hit the Baja.
[country music]
For one, Terre Haute, Indiana,
and the national
Tractor Pull contest.
with over a million dollars
in prize money every year,
when they aren't plowing,
they're pulling.
[music continues]
Everybody knows
a tractor is for off-road work.
But if anyone thinks that
these farmers in the Midwest
can't be competitive
with those big rigs of theirs,
they got to talk
to Janice Hoffer here.
You bet they are,
Mr. Gordon.
Terre Haute is just one
of the number of competitions
we go to every year.
They're not gonna race
around the course, are they?
Oh, hardly. The idea is
to see who can pull
a predetermined weight
the farthest.
[Janice]
Big ideas to get
the most traction they can.
Some farmers have ballast
to get up to the last ounce
of allowable weight
Here's how it works.
A sled is attached
to the rear of the tractor.
Then, when the tractor
starts up, an artificial
weight of 5,000 pounds
is mechanically transported
in the rear of the sled
to the front,
at full transfer. This builds
up to a dead weight
of 50,000 pounds.
[engine revving]
-[explosion]
- Some poor man
just burned $15,000
worth of tractor engine.
[engine revving]
[engine revving]
[Fred] These machines
don't look like any tractors
I've ever seen.
[Janice] Oh, you're right.
A lot of invention
goes into these tractors.
Some people put thousands
and thousands of dollars
into their machines.
[man] We don't have too much
in this because it came out
of a junkyard.
And we did all the work.
I take a lot of the guys
take them somewhere.
And some other guys spend
$10,000 just to get
their engines working.
[man speaking indistinctly
on microphone]
[engine starting]
[Janice] Oh, here's a friend
of my dad's who built
his tractor for under $300.
[metal clanking]
[Fred] This guy may have
built a $300 tractor,
but those tires,
they got to be
$1,000 a throw.
[engine revving]
[explosion]
[commentator] That's it!
We took off and went
about 30-40 foot.
And... if you run lean on fuel,
it sets the fuel up
the intake and boom.
[bluegrass music]
[Janice] You'll see
all kind of propulsion today.
Diesels, dune buggy engines,
even blown engines
that burn nitromethane
to develop
up to 2,000 horsepower.
Recognize that? It's a jet
that turns out
10,000 horsepower.
[commentator speaking
on microphone]
[Fred] Terre Haute is just one
of the many stops
in the tractor pull circuit
from Connecticut to Colorado.
From Ontario to Florida.
Today, it's this man
with the trophy.
Tomorrow? Well,
tomorrow is another day
and another fairground.
For me, tomorrow was
Yakima, Washington,
where the Yakima Ridgerunners
hold their annual Jeep Rodeo.
[engine purring]
It's sort of like
a private war.
You know, Bob? You could
probably consume just
as much beer without the race.
But here in the northwest,
they go for strong motivation.
They like to spice up
that drinking with a little
organized mayhem.
-I wouldn't say this is mayhem.
-Oh, you wouldn't?
-That's not what I heard.
-Okay, it's not mayhem
but it is the meanest,
filthiest race you can find
on God's green earth.
We race modified carts.
[Fred laughs] You mean
modified engines?
[Bob] Well, we play a little
with the front ends,
turn them into battering rams
to eliminate the competition.
When the race starts,
you want all the protection
you can get.
Most of the course
is underwater,
except in the dry season,
when it's hip-deep in mud.
-[engines revving]
-[bluegrass music]
When we remember,
we run four hits in each
of four classes.
["Jeep Ridge Runners"
by Alan Oldfield playing]
You got to be alert
and quick up there.
If you ain't,
you're gonna know it
pretty damn soon enough.
[laughs] Somebody
oughta throw water on them.
[music continues]
We adapt
all the tricks in racing:
Stirling Moss called
this thing tailgating.
We do it one better.
[music continues]
The only real equipment
you need here is
a strong stomach
and a real deep
streak of meanness.
You know what I mean?
[laughs]
Hey, come on up and show us.
[Fred]
It's almost half a continent
from Yakima to Ensenada,
and a whole world
of attitudes.
But this was the place
where I knew I had to be.
By the time I got there,
the impound area
was filling up
with over 500 vehicles
ready for inspection
before they took off
on what many think is
the toughest
off-road course
in the world.
The last few days, thousands
of men and women will be
a part of this race
and the vehicles
around the course
have been pouring into town.
[mariachi music]
[motorcycle revving]
[singing in Spanish]
You can't get everybody,
much less anybody,
to agree just when
this race was first held.
But it was in 1966-67
that of a bunch of the boys
got gassed, decided to dare
each other to drive
the length of Baja,
from Tijuana to La Paz.
But progress
caught up
with the racers.
The Mexican government
paved the road.
Now, every year
they have to follow
a different course.
Now,
Now, they start here
and they cut over here
and come down through here,
through Mike's Sky Ranch,
up through the mountains
a first time,
down to San Felipe.
And they cut straight up
through the desert,
swing over here,
come through the mountains
a second time
before they come back.
If they get back.
[engine revving]
Now, the fun
and games are over.
You've driven
the course
for the last time.
There's nothing more
you can do to your machine
in the impound area.
[harmonica music]
By nightfall, there are
probably 20,000 people
at the various checkpoints
spread over
a 1000-mile course.
It's a long hard day ahead.
It's a time
for contemplation,
for quiet, for rest.
[people whistling and laughing]
And if you're lucky,
you can get close enough
to the bar
and who songs
for some last-minute
bench racing.
[people clapping and cheering]
6:00 a.m.
The motorcycles take off
and the Baja is underway.
[funk music]
[motorcycle revving]
Now, it's the cars turn.
[engine revving]
Bobby Ferro. His win
at Las Vegas makes him
the man to beat.
The team of Doc Sauers
and Rick Mears.
Doc drives the first leg
and Rick will pick up
halfway through.
[engine revving]
Mickey Thompson
is driving today
with a broken back.
A special air hose
to his helmet let's Mickey
breathe filtered air.
Parnelli Jones starts 45th.
[engine buzzing]
Walker Evans starts
right behind Parnelli.
They leave
in one-minute intervals.
[engine revving]
[tires screeching]
[engine revving]
[car accelerating]
[engine revving]
[disco music]
[engine revving]
[music continues]
[engine revving]
Part of the tradition
of the Baja is
local participation.
Here some Ensenada kids
add an extra bump
to the course
just beyond
a blind right-hand corner.
Parnelli knows the kids,
he's driven too many
of these races.
S o, he gives them a show.
[music continues]
Around the course
are seven checkpoints.
As a driver goes
through these positions,
his progress is radioed
to race headquarters.
And the data fed
into a special computer,
so, they can figure
a lapse time.
He's a dog .
-[man] Fred, any news?
-Yeah?
Yes, they're the hell
down there. God knows
when they'll be here.
The information comes down
the various checkpoints.
Right now, we're
at Tres Hermanas,
one of the last checkpoints.
By the time the racing cars
get here, there will be
fewer of them.
All we can do is to listen
for names that we know.
And wonder what it's
really like out there
under that hot
baking desert sun.
[music continues]
[David] There's a lot
of times out there in a race
where you say to yourself
"What am I doing?
I have holes in my hip.
I mean, this is not fun."
But when you're able
to hit a stretch
that doesn't have
too many rocks and you can
swipe the car around
and do a little driving
or something, then you get
your thrill out of it.
[ music continues]
[Fred] Another racer
has his own ideas.
[Malcom]
Some guys will tell you
the worst is the sun.
For my money, the damn dust.
You just can't tell
where you are
or what's ahead of you.
[music continues]
[music continues]
[Mickey]
You know, you head
starts wondering.
You think "Am I
on the course?"
Did I miss a marker.
And then, you see somebody
broken down and you know
you're still on the race.
[music continues]
[Al] The rush is when
the guy comes up behind
and you can't see him
or hear him and he comes
crossing into you.
[laughs]
That will shake you up.
[Fred] We try to listen.
it's early but already we know
the Baja is taking its toll.
[man speaking on the radio]
You wonder how many of them
will ever get here
to use this gas.
[music continues]
[Malcom] You want to know
what you do if your tire
goes flat or you lose one?
You got no choice.
Three wheels
is better than two.
Well, I'll tell you
what they look like.
About four hours
into the race,
all those cars
start looking like a bunch
of wounded insects.
Oh, I must have been crazed.
I mean, well,
I come around the corner
and I see my engine is
on fire, right?
Well, I get so wild,
I forgot completely
I bought this new
fire extinguisher.
Thing set me back $300.
And I'm out there,
on my hands and knees
trying to blow out the fire.
[music slows down]
[music resumes]
[men speaking indistinctly]
Watch it, watch it. Here.
[crackling]
[men speaking indistinctly]
[mechanical noises]
Okay.
[man]
We need a carburetor.
[engine revving]
[music continues]
[Fred] Report comes in
from Mike's Sky Ranch
Ferro is out in front
and pushing hard,
but Parnelli is
closing on him fast
[music continues]
[music slows down]
[Malcom]
You gotta look out
for each other out there.
One mechanic, one look out.
You can get yourself
wiped out in one big hurry.
There are some guys
who just going nuts out there.
The Baja really gets them.
[Mickey] Well, I tell you,
you gotta keep going.
I caught a flat,
had to scrounge
a spare from a guy.
It was the wrong size,
but it beats sitting down
on that mountain side.
[music resumes]
[David] Every now and then,
you see something
really shakeshit.
Well, it helps to get back
where you ought to be .
[donkey braying]
[music continues]
[Al] You really feel great
when you hit the dry lake.
I mean you can cook
130-140, flat out.
[man speaking on radio]
It was easy to figure.
Guys like Bobby Ferro
and Walker Evans
were on the dry lake
and making time.
[music continues]
[music continues]
We get the word Parnelli's out.
Then, word flashed
along the course.
Bobby Ferro crosses
the finish line
with a new record.
[people cheering]
[man speaking indistinctly]
[whistling]
You had any trouble
besides that?
[men speaking indistinctly]
[Fred] But in the Baja,
you race against the clock.
Walker Evans still has
a chance to take it all.
Walker is pushing all the way,
but it's not good enough
by four minutes.
[man] Watch out!
Come on!
He settles
for a second overall,
but first in his class.
[people whistling and clapping]
[man] How is it going?
[man] A lot of people
broken down
out there, Walker?
Yeah, just cars everywhere.
Just about four miles
or five miles back,
I missed a turn.
I don't have a bit of brakes.
[men speaking indistinctly]
-[women laughing]
-[man] My hero!
-It's pretty hot, huh?
-Yeah.
Thirty five years old, huh?
Gave me a lot of trouble
out there.
Hi there, man!
[laughs]
-I told you I'd do it,
didn't I?
-[laughs]
Didn't I tell you?
-[man] Pretty tired?
-Yes!
[music continues]
[soft instrumental music]
[Fred]
There are a lot of guys
still out on the course.
Still racing.
Will be till 3:00 or 4:00
in the morning.
[music continues]
[Mickey] When the sun
goes down, it's...
It's pretty easy to get
lost down there.
I know most guys are
just wandering around,
half of them just looking
for the course.
It gets pretty hairy
out there.
[music continues]
[motorcycle revving]
[Malcom] Well, I tell you
I don't like it
when it starts getting dark.
Well, there I was,
up in the hills.
And it's dark, and it's cold
and I'm freezing.
Jesus, it's murder
in the dark.
You're so tired, it's painful.
your eyes ache,
your hands are numb
around the steering wheel.
But you know
you gotta keep going
and if anybody ever asked me
why, I'll coldcock them.
[woman screaming] All right!
That's Mickey!
[man] Who knows
what happened to them.
[woman speaking indistinctly]
[men speaking indistinctly]
-I'm so proud of you!
-[laughs] Thank you very much.
-What?
-[man] How does it feel?
You have it all over with.
-Betcha.
-[laughing]
I've never been so glad
to get to a place
in my whole life.
-Hey, Darryl!
You made it!
-Hey!
[women laughing]
[exclaims]
-No top.
-Yeah.
[people screaming]
[cheering and whistling]
[people cheering]
-How are you guys?
-I'm ahead everybody,
I think.
[people cheering]
[clapping]
[woman] Oh, my God!
You did it! You did it!
[shrieks]
[soft instrumental music]
[man] Would you do it again?
Oh, for sure.
-[Spanish] Ora!
-Thank you!
-[men laughing]
- Gracias.
[men laughing]
-My face's dirty?
-[man] Just a little.
Well, this is a mudpack.
I'm going to be
gorgeous tomorrow.
[birds singing]
[Fred] You hang around
the finish line until dawn,
the second day.
If the driver of a team
hasn't made it home by then,
you know another piece
of machinery
is gonna be a part
of the desert landscape.
Most of these guys
will be back next year .
And there'll be
some other fellows
that try it for the first time.
Whatever the course is,
it's still a Baja.
They'll be back,
and I'll be back.
Because this is my people.
This is my world.
[jazz music]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[music stops]
[lion roaring]