Dust to Glory

DUST TO GLORY captures the excitement of the Baja 1000, a largely off-road motor race along Mexico's Baja Peninsula that goes nonstop for a thousand miles through rocks, cacti, and infamous silt-dust paths. The race is open to four-wheel and two-wheel racers of all kinds, from NASCAR vets to motocross champs. The film introduces a few of the star competitors up front, like Mike "Mouse" McCoy, a cyclist trying to carry off the rare feat of doing the entire route solo. Dust also turns up human-interest material, like local charities that benefit from the race. An outcast Mexican amputee who went to live alone in the wastelands by the route is now a beloved mascot-figure to the racers. Many race organizers pitch in for free, like Bob Steinberger, who coordinates communications using his own antenna station on a nearby peak. The film captures numerous breakdowns, a couple crackups (one wipeout is caused by the filmmakers' helicopter overhead!), and a tribute to a driver who was killed in a previous race. One spectator does perish (offscreen) here, and some of the drivers who cross the finish line look like they've been through the wringer.