Who is This Ironman Ivan Stewart?

For off-road race fanatics, Ironman holds a meaning far beyond Stan Lee (creator of the Ironman comic) and Robert Downey, Jr (who portrayed the comic book hero). You could say the nickname was given to Ivan Stewart, whose career is the stuff of legend, but more accurately, Stewart laid claim to the nickname "Ironman" fair and square.

Stewart's first big break was at the 1973 Ensenada 300. His co-driver broke his leg before the race, so Stewart found mechanic Earl Stah to drive shotgun, and powered through 300 miles of rough terrain in the Class 2 buggy to win the race.

Nearly 30 wins and 10 years later, Stewart joined forces with the Toyota factory-sponsored team. In those 10 years, he moved up from Class 2, won the Baja 1000, the Baja 500 twice and was named SCORE Driver of the Year twice.

Stewart kept his winning tradition behind the wheel of Toyota-powered, Precision Preparation Inc. Motorsports-built race trucks, where he won six class victories, including two SCORE World Championships. By the 1980s, the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) had moved its events from the desert into the stadium, meaning new venues for Stewart/Toyota triumphs, and making off-road racing more popular and accessible than ever. With 17 wins, Stewart is the record holder for all-time MTEG wins.

1990 was the seventh year of Stewart's partnership with Toyota, and it was a lucky one. He won a pile of titles, including: SCORE and High Desert Racing Association (HDRA) Driver of the Year; Overall Driver`s Champion; Unlimited Class Driver`s Champion; and Grand National Sport Truck Driver`s Champion. Along the way, he also picked up a total of 11 wins. A mere three years later, Stewart repeated his SCORE Overall and Unlimited Class championships, and helped earn Toyota its first Baja 1000 win. Stewart and Team Toyota made history during the 1993 season, when they won the Crown Jewels of desert racing - the Baja 500, Baja 1000 and the Nevada 400. It was the first time one manufacturer had won all three.

Moving up to the Trophy-Truck Class in 1994, Stewart took home the gold in the San Felipe 250, another Baja 500 and the Fireworks 250. The following year he was named Trophy-Truck Class Driver's Champion and added the Laughlin Challenge and Parker 400 to his list of victories. In the last three years of his racing career, he chalked up three more Baja 500 wins for a career total of 17 and one more Baja 1000 (his third). After 26 years in the dirt, the Ironman's victories totalled 84, with 10 driver's championships thrown in for good measure.

Stewart is now retired from racing, but he has maintained a high profile in the sport on two levels. First is as founder of the Protruck Racing Organization, a special class of spec trucks that participates at off-road events including the "Best in the Desert" Vegas to Reno run, the Baja 500, and the Pikes Peak hill climb. The series is a true driver's challenge with all the Protrucks incorporating the same components, and engine size limited to 360 cubic inches. Next, Stewart moved from real dirt to virtual dirt with his Super Off-Road arcade game developed for Nintendo and Sega and the Off-Road Challenge, released by Midway Home Entertainment and based on the SCORE desert series. All hail the Ironman - the greatest Toyota Tundra driver ever!

Article Source: ArticlesMaker.com

About the Author: Author Jason Lancaster operates TundraHeadquarters.com, a website with information, news, and reviews of Toyota Tundra parts and Tundra accessories. 

Next and Previous Articles

Next Article - Trying To Find A 1958 Chevy Impala?
Previous Article - A Toyota Engine From Abroad

Article Statistics

ArticlesMaker.com » Automotive » Cars » Who is This Ironman Ivan Stewart?

Author: JasonLancaster  |  Total views: 39  |  Word Count: 560