- Two titans of cinema face off on the Devil's Playground
- In 1969 Steve McQueen, James Garner and Michael Nesmith entered an off-road race in Baja, California, Mexico. It has come to be known as the longest, toughest and most dangerous race in the world, The Mexican 1000. More than 200 people entered the race, but less than half would finish and some would pay with their lives. We tracked down the iconic cars driven by Garner and McQueen to their new owners and followed them to Mexico in the modern-day desert race, which follows roughly the same 1000 mile route from Ensenada to La Paz. This 16mm film, thought to be lost for years, shows a glimpse of a bygone era and features not only movie stars, but notable racers of the time like Parnelli Jones, Bruce Meyers and Rod Hall.
- In 1969 when two titans of cinema got behind the wheels of their iconic race cars, our cameras were rolling. On the ground, from the air and inside the vehicles our film crew captured all the thrills & spills of the Mexican Baja 1000. We have the only known film footage which shows Steve McQueen driving 'The Baja Boot'. Along with James Garner driving 'The Grabber', the two men shared a deep friendship in real life, but were fierce competitors in racing. Under the most grueling conditions they faced off in the Mexican desert. For two days the men and their machines drove non-stop for nearly 1000 miles on the punishing rugged course known as The Devil's Playground. More than 200 people entered that race, but less than half would finish and 2 paid with their lives. That same rugged course is still raced today and it has remained relatively unchanged over the years, a point-to-point race from Ensenada to La Paz.
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