Action Sports Legends Cross Over to BFGoodrich Team for Baja 1000

LAS VEGAS – Oct. 31, 2006 – The sports of freestyle motocross and off-road racing share only dirt in common, but will collide this year in Baja, as some new faces join the BFGoodrich Tires team for the 39th running of the Baja 1000.  X Games stars Mike Metzger and “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram will team up with Baja veterans Tracy Jordan and Bud Brutsman for the grueling 1000-mile race from Ensenada to La Paz. 

Jordan, a champion rock crawler who took the 2004 and 2005 UROC SuperCrawl title, will team with Bartram, while The Learning Channel’s “Overhaulin’” creator and executive producer Brutsman drives with Metzger.  The teams of Brutsman-Metzger and Jordan-Bartram, second and third in the draw order respectively, will be competing in Baja Challenge Class buggies for the race. 

“Cowboy” Kenny Bartram, a Stillwater, Okla. native who earned his nickname with a signature cowboy hat and maverick style, has gained a reputation as one of the best freestyle riders in the world.  The 2005 Dew Tour champion has been competing on the freestyle motocross tour since 1998, but has never competed in a sanctioned off-road race before.  Metzger, a fellow freestyle motocross vet who recently completed a world record backflip over the fountains in front of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, is familiar with off-road racing, but this is his first experience with the challenges of Baja.

“I’ve done some cool events and wild freestyle maneuvers in my time on the bike, but nothing is going to compare to the Baja 1000,” said Metzger.  We’re going to be bouncing through the desert in the pitch dark at times, with only a map to lead us.  BFGoodrich has been generous enough to give us this once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we hope to make them proud.”

This year, BFGoodrich Tires will be looking for its 21st consecutive victory at the Baja 1000, an unprecedented winning record for off-road racing’s most famous and prestigious race.  The Brutsman-Metzger and Jordan-Bartram pairings will be among the many teams in Baja riding on BFGoodrich® Baja T/A® tires.

“The BFGoodrich Team is fortunate to have such talented athletes on our side down in Baja yet again,” said Joe Mazur, light-truck category manager, BFGoodrich Tires.  “With the teams of Brutsman-Metzger and Jordan-Bartram, combined with all the other teams competing in every other class, BFGoodrich should be well represented at the award ceremony.”

Nearly 400 entries from over 35 states and 11 countries, competing in 26 Pro and six Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs will take part in this year’s SCORE Baja 1000.  It’s the oldest and most well known of all desert races, and it remains the single most appealing accomplishment to a driver.  Since 1967, the mother of all desert races has been run over the mysterious Baja California peninsula every year except 1974 when the international fuel crisis forced a cancellation.

BFGoodrich Tires combines technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a high-performance tire for every type of vehicle from ultra-high performance tuner vehicles, sports cars and SUVs to the hottest sport trucks, pickups and rock-crawling rigs in the world.  For more than 30 years, BFGoodrich Tires has used motorsports as a proving ground.

Success on the street begins with winning on the track and BFGoodrich Tires is involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drag, desert, rally (Paris-Dakar and WRC) and extreme rock-crawling.  With 20 consecutive Baja 1000 wins, the most wins in rock-crawling history, and an unmatched record on pavement, BFGoodrich Tires has proven the only records it breaks are its own.  Visit BFGoodrich Tires online at www.bfgoodrichtires.com.