THE LEGEND RETURNS WALKERS EVANS, 61, ENDS HIS RETIREMENT TO MAKE BAJA 2000.

Byline: Tim Haddock Staff Writer

For the last five years, he might as well have been a ghost.

Walkers Evans, the nine-time winner of the Baja 1000, retired from off- road desert racing in 1995. His 26-year career led the Baja California race fans to dub him ``El Leyendo,'' Spanish for The Legend.

Evans was in Baja for the first desert dash through the Mexican peninsula, the Baja 500 in 1969. From the beginning, Baja races were events that tested a driver's endurance as well as patience and adaptability.

Battling tropical storms, quicksand, jagged terrain and unstable surroundings were only some of the perils awaiting drivers of the Baja 500 and 1000.

It eventually went from a dune-buggy race to an off-road carnival, which included motorcycles, ATVs, four-wheel drive trucks, Baja Bugs and practically anything else with a motor and knobby tires. And after winning almost one in every three Baja 1000s, and six Baja 500s, Evans had conquered some of the most challenging off-road racing events in the world.

Until now.

The 61-year-old is coming out of desert-racing retirement to team with NASCAR Winston West points leader Brendan Gaughan and off-road racer Roger Gray for the SCORE Baja 2000, which starts Sunday morning and should end sometime Monday night or Tuesday morning.

The Baja 2000, the longest off-road race in North American history, is the final event of the 2000 Duralast SCORE Desert Series. The race starts in Ensenada and ends in Cabo San Lucas. The approximate total mileage is 1,679.94 miles through 23 checkpoints. Winnings include more than $500,000 plus contingency purses.

From a hotel room in La Paz, Mexico, Evans talked about preparing for the longest race in Baja's storied off-road racing history. He also talked about his relationship with Gaughan, a 25-year-old stock-car driver from Las Vegas and the son of Michael Gaughan, who helped Evans throughout his off-road racing career by providing sponsorship.

``I'll be running the first section, about 800 miles,'' said Evans, who lives in Riverside. ``It's been pouring rain and we've been hearing rumors that it's flooded and really muddy. You hear all these horror stories, but when it comes down to race day, we always make it.''

Evans, Gaughan and Gray will be driving in the Trophy Truck division, the top class in SCORE competition, in the Orleans Chevy Silverado with Goodyear tires.

The Silverado is a far cry from the Rambler sedan Evans drove for James Garner's American Motors team in the Baja 500 in 1969, his first desert race. He finished third in his first try. He then proceeded to win six of the next seven Baja 500s in his class. He added four more Baja 1000 victories in that same time span.

After 140 victories over 31 years of off-road racing, Evans wants to add one more. And he said having Gaughan as one of his co-drivers gives him his best shot at winning the Trophy Truck class, even if his young partner has some things to learn about desert racing.

``He's having a hard time keeping up with me,'' Evans said with a laugh. ``He has the biggest section. Brendan will run the last part.''

To Gaughan's credit, he has been competing in off-road events for nine years. He was a passenger in the Baja 1000 in 1991. And he competed in his first off-road event in one of Evans' Cherokees when he was 16.

``I've been up and down this thing before,'' said Gaughan, who was also in La Paz prerunning parts of the course before the race.

``I've heard all the stories, like guys getting stuck in the middle of nowhere and somebody comes out to weld his front end together so he can get back in the race. Right now, I am having as good a time as I can hanging out with the old man.''

Gaughan's running of the last leg of the race has more to do with scheduling conflicts than it does with strategy. Gaughan is entered in the Home Depot 300 at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday night. He needs to start the race if he wants to claim the series championship, which will be his first on the NASCAR Winston West Series.

Here is how Gaughan plans to compete in both events this weekend:

--Today: Gaughan competes in the Home Depot 300. Says, ``We're going out there to win it.'' The race that is. He just needs to show up and start the season finale to win the series championship. Still, he says he owes the fans the opportunity to see how the best driver on the Winston West Series stayed on top.

Evans and team have been in Baja for two days preparing for the Sunday morning start.

--Sunday: Evans and team will start at around 9 a.m. and call Gaughan on satellite phone to tell him how the start went. Barring accidents or obstacles, Evans should finish his leg of the race in about 10 hours. From there Gray will take over. Meanwhile, Gaughan will be at the Winston West Series banquet accepting his championship trophy sometime around 8 p.m.

--Monday: Gaughan will board a flight at 5 a.m. for Baja and will arrive in a town called Loreto at around 7:30 a.m. From there, he will drive out to Ciudad Constitucion, where he will take over for Gray somewhere between 10 a.m. and noon, depending on when Gray finishes his stage of the race.

--Tuesday: If there is a Tuesday race day for Gaughan and his teammates, they will probably have lost the race. Gaughan anticipates the race should be over Monday night. ``It will take about 10 hours for me to finish my section,'' Gaughan said. ``So hopefully I'll be done before Tuesday morning.''

When asked if fatigue could be a factor, Gaughan said, ``If I get any fatigue, the young guy is going to get his butt kicked. (Evans) is running me ragged. But I've raced 24 hours before. And I'm just young and dumb enough to try this.''

Apparently so is Evans. Young enough at any rate.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) EVANS

(2) GAUGHAN

Box: Baja 2000

Map: Baja California