Ivan Stewart Shifting Gears from Off-Road Racing to Electric Bikes

You know the times are changing when Baja racing legend Ivan "Ironman" Stewart is getting out of the off-road racing business to open an electric bicycle store in San Diego, according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“I’m simplifying my life,” Stewart said. “I’m changing to something more suited to what I want to be. I still want to be connected to off-road racing. I’ll still be at some of my favorite races. But not every day.”

Stewart won the Baja 500 17 times and was the only driver to earn both the SCORE and Unlimited Class series championships in the same year. He was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006.

In 1983, Stewart started a long-running affiliation and partnership with Toyota, racing its trucks off-road. That relationship also led to limited-edition versions of the Toyota Tundra that were built and sold by Toyota () and accessorized by Stewart directly ().

As Stewart prepares to shift gears and his attention to his newly opened electric bike shop, he’ll be auctioning off some of his most famous memorabilia, including his famous Toyota-powered Mickey Thompson stadium truck that led to the successful "Ivan Ironman Stewart's Super Off Road" video game series in the 1980s.

We’ve had the opportunity to meet Ivan and go for a drive in one of his supercharged Tundras. The man is class act, and we wish him all the best in his new endeavors.

[Source: San Diego Union-Tribune]