Dust to Glory Page #7

A lot of times you're

taken as a joke

until you go out and show

that you're not a joke.

You know, you're taken very lightly.

Call BCA

and tell them we're on their ass.

- I'll hit 'em when I have to.

- Okay.

The horn was my job. As soon

as we were getting close to someone,

that was my job, to hit the horn,

warn 'em,

and Bekki sure rammed 'em.

Okay.

- I think they must know I'm here.

- Oh, yeah.

We all have someone that we're

competing against that we're related to.

And I think that's pretty uncommon,

that a family can come together

and support each other

even though they're competing

against one another.

We started off bonding when they

were just that high by skiing together.

But what it really does

is that it makes you friends.

And if you're friends you have respect,

and that makes for a great family.

I've always had that competitive edge

to hopefully beat my husband

out there, so that'd be nice.

Actually having my wife compete

in the event this year

meant more than I ever thought it would.

She's happier, healthier,

she's more just full of herself.

Bob Sutton

putting together the girls' team

happens to be

one of the biggest moves

that I've had

in my little career down here.

Families compete as well as friends.

When the Honda helicopter

informed Steve Hengeveld

that his lead had been cut in half.

Steve didn't even ask why.

He knew his friend Andy Grider

had gotten on the bike.

Andy, Steve, and Johnny

had been teammates the previous year

on the Honda A Team.

He was one of

the defending champs.

It's probably the highest notch

on my wall right now,

besides being a father, you know.

It's right under being a father.

A corporate decision

bumped Andy from the A just two weeks before the race.

He and his father Neil

were headed home

when Chris Blaze asked if he wanted

to race on the Honda B Team.

It's not about the race.

It's about being down here,

having fun, being with your family.

When I say family, I mean

the whole community of off-road racing.

And once I figured it out,

everything started clicking

and the race just went

smooth from there.

It doesn't matter

if you're racing off-road

or playing the piano,

you try, you give your best to life.

And when you have a son that does

that, it brings me to tears sometimes.

I mean, I was so proud of him.

Andy and Neil had a plan...

prove the folly of leaving Andy

off the A Team.

They wanted to lead the race,

not just on time,

but physically, so they

would be making first dust.

Through checkpoint four,

Andy had been reeling Steve in.

The once four-minute lead

had shrank to 30 seconds.

It took me probably 50, 60 miles

for my arms to loosen up.

But in that time I was catching Steve.

I could see the helicopter

getting closer and closer

and then all of a sudden

I was in his dust.

"Okay, just take it easy.

Let the pit strategy get you in the lead

and see what happens after that."

If the rear tire holds,

the impossible can be achieved

and Andy will be at the front

of the entire Baja 1000 field.

It's 22 on the highway.

There's about a 30-second split

between 1-X and 11-X.

Knowing that Andy

had started behind him,

Steve has

no choice except to pin it.

And that's gonna tear his tire up,

which is okay with him

because he knows he's getting

a new tire at this pit.

What he didn't know was that we were

running a different tire compound.

- Front wheel okay, Steve?

- Yeah.

Gas only! Gas only!

Gas only! Gas only!

Go!

11-X, 1:
05:55.

30 seconds apart.

1-X is right behind him.

Andy didn't only wanna take the lead,

he wanted to keep it.

The first place he led

was the last place he wanted to...

the silt beds, where a motorcycle

can be swallowed whole.

He took a center line,

held it wide open, and prayed.

While Andy headed for the coast

as fast as he could go,

Johnny took the perfect line.

He knew where every nook was

and every cranny.

As luck would have it,

one of the few witnesses of this race

was the man who cut Andy

from the Honda A Team.

He's riding in that helicopter.

While the course is marked,

there is sometimes certain creativity,

although you do run the risk

of missing a checkpoint

because the checkpoints

are kept secret.

A lot of racing down here

is doing your homework.

Part of Baja

is a lot of free running.

I had some alternate ways

and lines and stuff,

and if I had to use them I would.

At the top of the screen

is Andy's dust cloud.

For Johnny,

it's like a red cape to a bull.

He's flat out

at 110 miles an hour.

One kelp pocket or tide washout,

and his day ends in a heartbeat.

Andy holds his lead.

Miles later, Johnny tries it again.

Coming up on the left-hand

side of the screen,

Andy Grider neck-and-neck

with Johnny Campbell.

Andy holds the lead

and will all the way to the highway.

Today is his day.

By this point in the race,

Andy had battled the 1-X bike

for over 200 miles.

It seemed beyond comprehension.

Neil had set up Andy's pit

12 miles down the road

from the Honda A Team.

For Johnny,

This was the end of the race.

Steve would ride

the next 350 miles to the finish.

Get Mark with the oil.

Tell Mark we need oil. Oil.

Andy was finished as well.

Chuck Dempsey would take over the bike.

We're probably gonna need

to patch it at both ends.

Hey, my radio ain't working.

I can't hear Bruce for some reason.

Steve was off.

He had 12 miles of pavement

before he hit new dust.

- Go!

- Let's go, let's go!

- Go!

- Good job, good job.

Make some dust!

Make some dust, buddy!

Make some dust, Chuck!

Clear it out, clear it out.

Go, go, go!

Steve Hengeveld, the best night racer

in the world, was flat out.

Trying valiantly.

Chuck Dempsey could not close the gap.

But it didn't matter.

Because for an afternoon,

Andy Grider had accomplished

the impossible.

I've had what I would consider

a few moments that I felt greatness

when I raced.

A lot of people, if you ask them...

if you say, "Okay, break it down.

What was your best race?"

And it might not be they won,

but they had a moment

that you're so present

in everything that's happening...

flawless and effortlessly.

And outside is utter chaos,

but that chaos is around 'em,

and they're sitting

in the middle of the tornado,

the eye of the storm.

You make a correction

before a reaction starts.

They're not scared, they're not afraid.

They don't think they can be hurt.

You don't have time to be afraid.

Afraid's afterward.

You know, it's like...

"Man, I just avoided death once again."

A father and his son.

An icon and his legacy.

A epic race witnessed

mostly by cactus.

No TV, no adoring crowds,

just the clarity of the moment.

A clarity that can give a racer a greater

appreciation of place and of people.

A awareness of the give and take,

The golden rule.

For six-time champion

Malcolm Smith,

giving back is more important

than any victory.

One of Malcolm's favorite things to do

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