On and off-road racing legend drove his V8-powered four-seat buggy in this month’s . This clip shot by a local fan gives you an idea of why he was the first car across the finish line.

To me, it looks like Gordon made an earnest attempt to avoid obliterating this old GMC Sonoma pickup. But whoever was driving that little truck really made the wrong call about which direction to veer.

Yes, Baja races are run on public roads. Yes, it’s also extremely obvious when race cars are coming. I feel pretty bad for the person in this pickup if they were just some hapless simpleton on their way to work, but it’s a lot more likely that they wanted to “get in the race” and cut Gordon off on purpose. After a few trips down the peninsula myself, I can attest that such shenanigans are pretty common.

Local or tourist, it doesn’t matter, if you’re in a race car’s path, . So, stay safe and make your way around in the long gaps between competitors! As any Baja spectator will tell you, there are plenty of opportunities when nothing’s happening at any given section of course.

Fun fact: I’ve actually ridden in this Speed Energy buggy, which is typically used for scouting a race course (“prerunning”), and still get traumatic flashbacks from the experience when I drive over speed bumps. I mean, in a good way.