Dust to Glory Page #8

is to visit a little community

just outside of Trinidad.

He and his son Alex

bring their bikes and buggies

and give the local kids a thrill.

How can I give back to Baja

some of the enjoyment I've had?

We started donating time

and effort and money

about eight years ago here.

They only had a little bit of one house done

when we first started here.

No, it's really fun.

We come down here every year

and I've been seeing kids here

for eight years now.

And it's kind of nice to come down here

and see 'em over and over again.

Two days after we filmed this,

Malcolm, Alex,

and a dozen of Alex's classmates

poured the foundation for a library

to be built right there on turn four.

The kids truly appreciate the time

and attention the Smiths give them.

Being orphans,

They know it's not always available.

They are all from Mexicali,

Tijuana, Ensenada.

And we have a few

from the local town, Valle de Trinidad.

It brings tears to my eyes

thinking of these kids being abandoned

on the streets of Mexico,

and now to think what they have here

and what opportunities they have here.

To me that's the most important thing

about Malcolm.

He wants to be here.

He wants to feel

what it's to be with our kids

and, you know, spend some times

and, you know, give them some joy,

not only the bunk beds they receive,

not only the water pump they receive,

or all the things they have

because of Malcolm Smith.

I learned lessons from 'em,

like you can never quit down here

'cause if you do,

it's a major problem for you.

You can never quit on any race,

'cause then, I mean, somebody else

might have the same problem you do

and they might quit.

But if you don't quit, you might win.

Among the original Baja racers,

giving back is an unspoken tradition.

Baja has a magic to me.

I can be kind of sick

and have a backache and come down here

and ride my motorcycle and be free,

and I feel better right away.

I mean, the farther you get away

from the civilization

on these really back roads,

the more the magic is.

The back roads of Baja are endless.

And a beauty can be found

in the most unusual places.

Take Coco's Corner,

a kingdom built

from what's been left behind...

old beer cans

and bent motorcycle frames,

The unexplainable,

the bizarre, and the long-forgotten.

This is a place where a man's dream

only needs one leg to kick reality's rear.

Of course.

Coco wouldn't tell you anything like that.

Because for him. This is just his place.

and everybody is invited.

Okay, you can go inside

and camping, please.

Yes, this is free.

I no charge nobody.

Fifteen years ago,

Coco was a valet in Ensenada

when a car accident took his leg.

Soon after, bound to a wheelchair,

his supposed friends took his self-worth.

I wanna stay in Ensenada.

And everybody, he close.

He said, "You too old, you sick."

So that's why I come here.

That's why I open this place

13 years, seven...

So. Coco's Corner is

a ticked-off plan B.

Buy a little campground

just outside of nowhere

where the 1000 races past

every now and then,

and in time,

the pre-runners and pit crews stop by,

and Coco has 'em sign this book.

Write or draw,

as long as you make your mark.

Coco has created an off-road oasis,

a kingdom where nothing is disposable,

and the only thing that outnumber

the beer cans are his friends.

- How are you, my friend?

- Good to see you.

Thank you coming back again.

While he's never competed in the race,

Coco embodies the spirit

of the Baja 1000.

Good luck, everybody.

Baja has a wonderful way

of just grabbing ahold of you.

And you're just

lookin' around going, "Wow.

Where's all this coming from?"

You know?

Actually, we have stopped

just to look around.

They battle a peninsula,

A place between the old west

and the twilight zone.

They challenge it

not for money or fame,

but for simple bragging rights.

During the Second World War,

President Roosevelt turned

to the Mexican government

and said, "We want to put guns

along the coastline

"to protect ourselves from the Japanese.

Could we not put a little paved road

down the length of Baja?"

Well, Mexico is neutral,

so they said no.

So that was the end of that.

Just imagine if they'd put

in a paved road the length...

if they had said yes.

Maybe we wouldn't be sitting here.

There wouldn't be any off-road racing.

A little water for ya.

I ain't getting my truck all dirty

and scratched up.

What the hell's wrong

with these people?

They're getting all hot now.

They're getting splashed

all with water on their face.

It's a long, tough day.

Race for an afternoon in the Baja,

and you'll have

a year's worth of stories.

At least, that's the case

for Mike and Robby Groff

and Indy Car champion

Jimmy Vasser.

Vasser has a relationship

with the Groffs

a lot like Larry Fine had

with Moe and Curly Howard.

Twenty-five minutes,

and he said,

"For sure I knew

it was Robby Gordon, you know?"

And when he finally caught

and passed,

it was like a truck full of Mexicans

going, "Go! Go! Go!"

My earliest memory

of the Groff brothers

was in Columbus, Ohio,

at the Grand Nationals in 1974.

At eight years old,

he was already a stud,

and he has this leather racing jacket,

and he has this patch with Wile E. Coyote

holding the Roadrunner by his neck,

and it said "Beep-beep my ass."

And I said, "I gotta know this guy."

And here we are.

Last year's 1000

was their debut as a team.

A series of problems led to Vasser

getting in the car at sunset

while the light bar was

still a hundred miles away.

And I jumped in the car with no lights,

and the sun was going down,

no moon or nothing.

You know, like a Toyota pickup...

looked like they were inebriated...

were honking their horn at me

trying to go around.

That's how slow I was going.

And I'm in the race, right?

And eventually, we found a stop,

and I borrowed two lights

off of the paraplegic Israeli team,

I swear to you.

But he said, "I'll give you that one

and that one."

So I got 'em

and I rigged 'em on the front.

I had two lights

to go like a hundred miles,

and with no front brakes, I might add.

I had to have a Lear jet pick me up.

I had to abandon the race.

I had a Lear jet pick me up

in the bay of L.A. On a dirt strip

'cause I had to get back

to this cart banquet.

They wouldn't let me get out of it.

Otherwise, they wasn't gonna

give me the prize money for the season.

It was a nightmare.

I slept in the runway

and in, you know, the desert.

I started reminiscing.

I started looking back,

thinking about it

and started telling stories

to my friends, what happened.

I thought, "I had a great time."

You know?

I finally realized.

Took a couple months

for me to figure it out... I had a great time.

Unfortunately, this 1000 would give

the Groffs and Vasser many more stories.

Electrical problems ended their day

before the sun set.

Others had problems, too,

like Mouse McCoy who got a flat tire

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