An off-road racing legend Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart has successfully tackled the toughest challenges in the sport. A 36-year relationship with Toyota, has resulted in Ivan’s unparalleled success in stadium and desert racing. His racing career began in 1973 at the Ensenada 300. He was scheduled to race in a Class 2 buggy with co-driver Bill Hrynko, but Bill broke his leg and Ivan took the wheel and drove to victory. He continued racing and winning for ten years until he joined Toyota’s factory-sponsored effort with the Precision Preparation Inc. (PPI) race team in 1983.
Ivan and several other talented Toyota teammates played an important role in Toyota’s dominance during the 12-year history of the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) stadium series. Along with Ivan’s three driver’s championships, Toyota earned 11 manufacturer’s championships and 42 main event victories. Ivan holds the record for all-time MTEG wins with 17. In 1984, Toyota and PPI expanded their racing efforts to compete in the desert. Within the first two years, Ivan drove to six class victories, including two SCORE World Championships.
Ivan claimed Toyota’s first Baja 1000 victory in 1993 and clinched his second SCORE Overall and Unlimited Class series championships, matching his 1990 record as the only driver in the series’ history to earn both titles in the same year. The 1998 season proved successful as Ivan won both the Baja 500 and Baja 1000. In his career, he has accumulated 84 career victories and 10 driver’s championships. The wins include 17 Baja 500s, eight Mint 400s, four Parker 400s, three Baja 1000s, and four SCORE World Championships. 2019, The Motorsports Hall of Fame in Daytona, Florida, announced that Ivan would be the first driver to be inducted in a newly created ‘off-road’ category.
Ivan Stewart - 1992 Toyota Off Road Truck
An off-road racing legend Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart has successfully tackled the toughest challenges in the sport. A 36-year relationship with Toyota, has resulted in Ivan’s unparalleled success in stadium and desert racing. His racing career began in 1973 at the Ensenada 300. He was scheduled to race in a Class 2 buggy with co-driver Bill Hrynko, but Bill broke his leg and Ivan took the wheel and drove to victory. He continued racing and winning for ten years until he joined Toyota’s factory-sponsored effort with the Precision Preparation Inc. (PPI) race team in 1983.
Ivan and several other talented Toyota teammates played an important role in Toyota’s dominance during the 12-year history of the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) stadium series. Along with Ivan’s three driver’s championships, Toyota earned 11 manufacturer’s championships and 42 main event victories. Ivan holds the record for all-time MTEG wins with 17. In 1984, Toyota and PPI expanded their racing efforts to compete in the desert. Within the first two years, Ivan drove to six class victories, including two SCORE World Championships.
Ivan claimed Toyota’s first Baja 1000 victory in 1993 and clinched his second SCORE Overall and Unlimited Class series championships, matching his 1990 record as the only driver in the series’ history to earn both titles in the same year. The 1998 season proved successful as Ivan won both the Baja 500 and Baja 1000. In his career, he has accumulated 84 career victories and 10 driver’s championships. The wins include 17 Baja 500s, eight Mint 400s, four Parker 400s, three Baja 1000s, and four SCORE World Championships. 2019, The Motorsports Hall of Fame in Daytona, Florida, announced that Ivan would be the first driver to be inducted in a newly created ‘off-road’ category.
1992 Toyota Off Road Truck:
This is one of three identical trucks built by Precision Preparation to campaign the Mickey Thompson Off Road Series from years 1991-1994 driven by Rod Millen and Ivan Stewart. The three trucks were identical with the exception of the driver seat. They shared the Manufacturers Championship 1992-1994 and Rod Millen drivers championship in 1992-1994. The engine is a Toyota V6 3.0 litre and about 300 hp. Transmission is a Wiseman automatic one speed. Suspension is 22” in the front and 24” in the rear and was one of the first off-road trucks where position sensitive dampers were designed for long travel suspensions. Steering is half a turn lock to lock to suit the often challenging indoor stadium off road courses. In many stadium events the truck would see the top speed of 35mph but spend 20% of its time air-born over the man made bumpy courses. The highest jump was 25 meters off the Los Angeles Coliseum.