'DUSTY' DAVE
CALLAHAN
THE GHOST OF THE PENINSULA
THE LEGEND UNFOLDS
Nine years that shaped the future of Baja racing
The Record Run
Set unofficial record of 48 hours, 17 minutes
Dave's legendary run that would inspire the future Baja 1000. He departed Tijuana at dawn on March 15th with nothing but a compass, a telegram form, and stubborn determination. A cracked frame at mile 400 nearly ended the attempt, but he field-welded it using a rancher's arc welder and kept riding through the night. His arrival telegram from La Paz became legendary in Southern California racing circles.
Click on any year to explore Dave's journey
THE LEGEND BEGINS
They called him "Dusty" Dave Callahan, but the old-timers, the ones who were there before the SCORE trucks and the international fame, they knew him by another name: the Ghost of the Peninsula. He wasn't the first to race across the Baja, but he was the first to do it with a style and a spirit that would come to define the very soul of off-road racing.
Dave wasn't a professional racer, not in the modern sense. He was a Hollywood stuntman, a motorcycle mechanic, and a dreamer from a dusty Southern California town. He'd seen the untamed beauty of the Baja peninsula on a film scout and became obsessed.
THE JACKRABBIT
His steed was a heavily modified Honda CL72 Scrambler he called "The Jackrabbit." It was a Frankenstein of a bike, pieced together with parts he'd scrounged, welded, and hammered into a machine that could withstand the brutal punishment of the Baja terrain.
He'd spend weeks in his garage, surrounded by maps and spare parts, planning his runs. Fuel was the biggest problem. Back then, the last gas station was in Ensenada. After that, it was just you, the desert, and whatever you could carry.
THE FIRST RUN
Dave's first run in '64 was a solo attempt from Tijuana to La Paz. He nearly didn't make it. A cracked frame, a sandstorm that blinded him for hours, and a close call with a cow nearly ended his journey. But he pushed on, fueled by a stubborn refusal to quit and the kindness of the local ranchers who shared their precious fuel and food.
He arrived in La Paz 48 hours later, exhausted, battered, but triumphant. He had conquered the peninsula.
THE LEGACY
He never sought fame or fortune. For Dave, it was always about the race, the challenge, the connection with the raw, untamed beauty of Baja. He was a pioneer, a trailblazer who paved the way for the legends who would follow.
So next time you see a dust devil dancing in the distance on the Baja plains, take a moment to remember "Dusty" Dave Callahan, the Ghost of the Peninsula, the man who raced the desert and won.