Stewart Holds Off Ragland to Win His Third Baja 1000

Ivan “Ironman” Stewart of Alpine, Calif., who won the Baja 500 off-road race last June, crossed the finish line at 4:08 a.m. Friday in La Paz, Mexico, to win the Baja 1000 for the third time.

The grueling point-to-point race started Thursday at 9 a.m. about 12 miles south of Ensenada.

Stewart, driving a Toyota trophy truck, won a spirited battle with Larry Ragland, who finished five minutes behind in a Chevrolet.

“The [truck] ran great all day--and night,” Stewart said. “The . . . crews did an excellent job of keeping me on the road.”

Stewart’s biggest challenge was a sticking throttle, caused by debris, in the last 150 miles. His crew spent 25 minutes trying to fix the problem before sending Stewart back out on the course when Ragland got close.

“During the last part of the race, I could only go about 85 mph and I had to use my foot to pull up and push down the throttle,” Stewart said. “Then I took a right turn toward the end of the race and everything amazingly seemed to get better. I always knew that Larry was right behind me. It was a close race, but it was my turn to win.”