When Judy Smith Raced The 1972 Baja 1000

A couple of women had already gone into off-road racing, but by the early 1970s, only one had driven a Class 1 Unlimited Buggy. They even finished third in the 1972 Baja 1000; something that really rocked the dirt racing world at the time. “We got started in a strange way,” said Judy Smith, a petite blonde from Playa Del Rey in California. “Someone owed my husband money, and all he could pay was with an old VW. I then picked up copy of Hot VW’s Magazine with a Baja story featuring Bud Ekins, who won one of the first Baja races in a VW. We sorta knew Bud through motorcycle racing, and I said, ‘If Bud can do this, so can I.” Judy and her a neighborhood girlfriend decided to go racing in a big way. “We called NORRA (who promoted the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 at the time), and asked if they allowed women to race, I don’t know if they had ever been asked that question, but after a moment, they said ‘Sure! Come on and enter.’” Read more >