Ivan Stewart and his Baja 500 birthday brilliance

The Ironman has turned 80.

For legions of fans from both sides of the Mexican/American border who cheered Ivan “Ironman” Stewart on during his racing prime, their superhero reaching that lifetime milestone on Wednesday is a reminder that time is truly fleeting. It has been 25 years since Ivan sat within the confines of his unique single seat office charging to victory by wringing the next out of his Toyota and the competition.

So many can recall the sound and the sight of the Ironman, well, being the Ironman. It seems like it, but it wasn’t yesterday.

Armed with the powerful might of Toyota and the impeccable attention and advanced engineering of Cal Wells’ Precision Preparation Incorporated (PPI), for decades Ivan Stewart remained off-road racing’s most recognizable star. His persona is the the stuff of legends, with chiseled good looks and engaging smile matched only by his fiercly competitive nature.

The Ironman aura was cast in stone via 84 race wins in both desert racing and short-course. But from humble racing roots stretching back to 1973 to his retirement from the sport in late 2000, Stewart spent almost all of his birthdays south of the border preparing for or racing in the annual BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 500.

For Ivan, it wasn’t a bite of a birthday cake that was the sweetest, but rather the taste of another dominating Baja 500 victory.

In fact, for Stewart the annual SCORE mid-season race was his most successful, and favorite, venue. He won his first Baja 500 in 1974, driving a VW-powered Class 2 buggy. He went on to repeat that performance a whopping 16 more times, with nine of those outright overall victories. The first Baja 500 win as a Toyota factory driver came in Class 7 for limited mini-trucks in 1984, with his last coming in 1999. Fittingly that win would prove to be his final off-road triumph as well.

“It was a combination of everything. We were in our groove, and that race just seemed to open up for us,” explained former PPI Off-Road Program Manager Tommy Morris. “It was a great length race with most of it in daylight, and our pit set ups worked. We had to work hard with the V6 trucks to keep up with the V8s, and our fuse has just long enough at 500 miles. And Ivan was just focused and relaxed. It seemed to suit him well.

Stewart en route to overall victory at Baja in 1977.

At just 28 years old, Stewart’s opportunity to take his off-road interest to the next level came when he was scheduled to co-drive the 1973 Ensenada 300 in a Class 2 buggy with his long-time friend Bill Hrynko. Prior to the race, Hrynko fell off a ladder and broke his leg. Stewart decided to drive the race solo. He won the race and continued racing solo and winning.

Three years later, Stewart completed the arduous Baja 1000 solo in a single-seat open wheel buggy. He won $500 and the first Valvoline Ironman Award. For Stewart, more Ironman Awards followed, along with his iconic nickname.

The link between Toyota and the Ironman remains to this day, as he serves as a brand ambassador and spokesman on many occasions. Stewart also helps promote Magnaflow exhausts and its sister company Camburg Engineering, an off-road suspension supplier and race truck builder.

Together with wife Linda, the Stewarts now enjoy time in Flagstaff, Arizona and their seaside home south of San Felipe, Baja, Mexico. It’s an admittedly quieter life now, but their loud and dirt filled past is never far from the surface.

“I never imagined 80 would come this fast, but I have loved every dusty mile of the journey so far,” Ivan posted to social media Wednesday. Thanks to my family, friends and every fan who’s ridden along.”