"I was the first to run a halogen headlight in the early 1970s," says the 64-year-old motorcycle racer. "I felt like a pioneer."
As Bishop prepares for his 40th consecutive Tecate Score Baja 1000, his bike is outfitted with a transponder so officials can monitor his position and a GPS unit along with dozens of other advances.
"The first one started out as just an adventure," says Rod Hall, the only other competitor who has started every Baja 1000. "There were no professional teams. Most people built the cars themselves and had no idea what they were getting themselves into."
The cast of characters who will join Bishop and Hall — who, along with Mexican businessman Nico Saad, are Grand Marshals for the race — has changed as much as the equipment.
The Baja 1000 once attracted only thrill-seeking hobbyists. And while there's still plenty of those among the record 432 entrants, pros from other motor sports disciplines like drag racing (J.R. Todd and Morgan Lucas), open-wheel (Danny Sullivan) and NASCAR (Robby Gordon and Brendan Gaughan) are scheduled to make the trek down the Baja Peninsula when the race gets underway Tuesday.
"Most of these guys don't do a very good job until they get a few races under their belts," says Bishop, who owns a motorcycle shop in Escondido, Calif.
The newcomers will be confronted with some harsh terrain, although it's softened some since the race's debut in 1967.
"It was wild west back then," says Sal Fish, President and CEO of Score International, which has sanctioned the Baja 1000 since 1974. "There were few paved roads. Nobody knew where they were going. Everything was so primitive. It was so desolate that it was like going into space, landing on another planet and saying, 'What's going on here?' "
The Baja Peninsula has since grown up around the race, which changes slightly each event. This year's course — which begins in Ensenada and ends in Cabo San Lucas — is 1,296 miles long and, unlike the early years, paved roads and a more thorough infrastructure overall are in place.
What hasn't changed a whole lot are the mischievous natives.
"About 20 years ago, I flew over a sand dune and landed in a box spring that had a fish net on top of it," says Hall, 69. says. "It stopped the truck in all of about 6 feet. We couldn't move. Some of the locals cheered. They got a big thrill out of that."
Ever since, Hall says when he sees a crowd, he slows down and "tries to figure out what they're trying to do to you."
"I don't think they do it to hurt us. They just want to have a little more excitement at the spot they're at."
The race also serves as the series finale and competition in the trophy truck division is the tightest its been since the late Mickey Thompson founded the series in 1973. Mark Post, B.J. Baldwin, Garron Cadiente and Larry Ragland are separated by 27 points, creating a scenario where each would have to win the Baja 1000 to lock up the title.
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