Historic photos courtesy of bajabronco.com.
The Baja 500 has seen its share of incredible stories, but in 1971, Carl Jackson pulled off something truly unforgettable—towing a travel trailer through one of the toughest off-road races in the world. Driving a Stroppe-prepped Baja Bronco, Jackson and his co-driver, Jim Fricker, dragged a Sprite travel trailer through the brutal Baja terrain, creating a legendary moment in racing history.
I had the incredible opportunity to meet Carl Jackson recently and hear this story firsthand. Carl is still a vibrant man and has a way of storytelling that leaves you spell bound one second and then laughing at his hijinks the next. The story is so amazing as to be unbelievable and yet Carl remains at the center of it all, making it seem like no big deal, just having fun. Here is Carl’s story.
The year is 1971 and Stroppe was approached with an idea to pull a Sprite camping trailer in the Baja 500. At first, it seemed like just a clever marketing gimmick, but the trailer was designed with some off-road capability. “Yeah, the guy that built the trailer built it for off-road, and what the specialty was, that it had a trailing arm and a torsion bar,” Jackson recalled. “He wanted someone to pull it. Stroppe called me into his office and said, ‘Do I have a deal for you!’ And I said, ‘Let’s hear it.’”
Stroppe then laid out the offer: “We’re going to pull it with a Baja Bronco, nothing special, and when you cross the starting line with it, you’ll get X amount of dollars (he thinks it was $3,500) but if you actually finish, they’ll double it.” Jackson’s response? “Well, we can’t lose!”
An Unclassified Entry
From the beginning, there was uncertainty about where to even place them in the race. “They had no idea what class to put us in,” Jackson laughed. To avoid disrupting other racers, they volunteered to start dead last.
Once they rolled off the line, an immediate issue popped up, the mirrors were too big. “I’d look in one mirror and see the trailer in one position, then look in the other mirror, and it was in another position,” Jackson said. “So, we stopped and took them off.”
Into the Canyon—Against Steve McQueen’s Advice
Before the race, Jackson’s friend and fellow off-road racer, Steve McQueen, had some serious doubts about the plan. “Steve asked me, ‘Are you really going to take that thing through the canyon?’” Jackson recalled. “I told him, ‘I’ll either make it or break down, but I’m going through it.’”
McQueen shook his head. “I took a long-bed pickup through there once and lost both rear panels. You’ll never make it.”
The canyon, sometimes referred to as “Boulder Canyon” because of the massive rocks, loomed ahead. By the time Jackson and Fricker reached it, it was the middle of the night—around 1 or 2 a.m. Since they hadn’t tested or pre-ran the course, they were about to find out just how bad it was.
That’s when they realized the Bronco wouldn’t shift into low range. “So, we had to hit the rocks, rev the engine up, and hop over,” Jackson said. The engine temperature gauge pegged, and to make matters worse, a tire blew out on the trailer. With the rim clanging against the boulders, stopping wasn’t an option—the trail was too narrow.
Jackson looked at Fricker and finally admitted, “You know what? I think Steve was right. We shouldn’t be here.” But with no other choice, they kept going, figuring they had nothing to lose.
Running Out of Spares
By the halfway point of the race, the trailer had already suffered five flats but only had 4 spares.
The spare tires were stored inside the trailer. “They made such a racket back there,” Jackson said. “It was actually a travel trailer, you know—with a bed, a closet, a stove, and curtains and everything.”
Jackson was assured that fresh spare tires would be waiting for them at the town of Puertecitos, but when they arrived—just as the sun was rising—there were none. “So, we were out of spares,” he said.
At that moment, Jackson turned to Fricker and said, “Fricker, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to take off and race until we have nothing but the trailer tongue left.”
Luckily, they met the truck hauling the tires about 15 miles later but it was all insurance as they didn’t get another flat.
Finishing With Time to Spare While Beating Parnelli Jones
Against all odds, they not only finished the race, but they did so with time to spare. Jackson and Fricker completed the 30-hour limit race in 26 hours and two minutes, finishing 19th in their class and 105th overall. Even more remarkably, they managed to beat 121 competitors—including racing legend Parnelli Jones.
“It was amazing, we finished mid pack” Jackson said. “We were just out there for fun, not trying to make history or do anything special. We were just offered money, and we said, ‘Sounds good.’”
The Trailer Survives
The trailer company’s representative was thrilled with the outcome, but when he saw the trailer looking nearly pristine on the outside, he was stunned. “The guy that was the head of the program for the trailer company wanted to find a hammer to beat it up because it looked like new on the outside,” Jackson laughed.
The interior, however, told a different story. “It looked like an insulation blower had gone off in it—insulation everywhere. But the only thing that broke was the back curtain rod and the curtains had fallen down.”
After the race, the trailer went on a promotional tour, but Jackson never heard what happened to it afterward.
The Stroppe Bronco—Still Out There
Jackson remembered that they picked up the Bronco from a Ford dealership before the race. During the grueling competition, the hitch was ripped off three times, and they had to resort to welding it back on in San Felipe. “That’s the way to know it’s the correct Stroppe Bronco—the hitch is welded on.”
That very Bronco is still around, a rare piece of off-road racing history.
Celebrating the 500 Finish But No Baja 1000
The trailer company was so pleased with the results that they left Jackson and his team a credit card at the hotel. “They said, ‘Stay as long as you want,’ so we did—we stayed three days. We even called some friends and said, come on over,” Jackson laughed.
After the Baja 500, they tried to enter the Baja 1000, but NORRA ultimately decided against it. “They didn’t want to see a guy finishing the hardest race on Earth with a trailer in tow,” Jackson said.
Though the Baja 1000 never happened, Carl Jackson’s 1971 Baja 500 race remains one of the most unique moments in off-road history—a wild stunt that turned into a true test of endurance, skill, and determination.
Thanks for the day Carl, it’s an honor to have met you and special thanks to Wayne Schmeeckle for arranging the visit and opening his collection.
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