Immediately following the completion of the estimated seven-hour race, which begins and ends in Ensenada, Gordon will re-board his plane and take an overnight flight to Dover where he will start the Neighbourhood Excellence 400 on Sunday at 2:10 p.m local time.

“This is the sort of thing that I live for,” Gordon said. “Obviously my primary focus is on our Nextel Cup effort but when I have an opportunity to compete in our Trophy Truck I take it. On paper the travel logistics look tough, but when it's over it really doesn't seem like it was all that hard.

“The only thing different from last year is that we're also driving the H3, which is the same truck we raced in the Dakar Rally in January. By running both trucks we'll be able to put a lot of development miles on the H3 in preparation for the next Dakar, and we also hope to defend our title.

“The H3 has been a very reliable truck but it was built to conform to the rules of the Dakar Rally, and that's the way we will race it in the 500, so it will be at a horsepower disadvantage to the unlimited horsepower Trophy Trucks. But my dad has still got what it takes to get the job done, and he doesn't make many mistakes, and if the H3 is as reliable as it has been in the past we could win with either truck.”

Bob Gordon is himself a former Baja 1000 winner and for many has been affectionately known as “Baja Bob.”

“I'm looking forward to having my dad back in a Team Gordon truck, and I hope that Andy gets his first win in the Trophy Truck class. He's a heck of a talent and if all goes well I expect to see him be the first to get back to Ensenada.

“The best thing about having such a long flight Saturday night back to Dover is that I'll get to sleep on the plane the entire trip and be ready for 400 more miles on Sunday. Getting our team's first win of the season there would put a topper on the whole weekend.

“This is a big weekend for us. I grew up off-road racing and I look forward to every time I get to go run the Baja. We should be a contender in both races and hopefully we can defend our title in Baja.”

Looking to Sunday's 400-mile blast around the one-mile concrete oval at Diver known as the Monster Mile Gordon will be hoping to continue a solid streak that has seen him bring his #7 Chevrolet home inside the top 20 in three of the last four races.

“Dover is an extremely physical track,” continues the always-quotable driver. “It has banking in the corners like Charlotte but most people compare it to Bristol; a high banked, concrete bull ring. We have run well here in the past and with a new sponsor this weekend we hope to put on a good show for them and the fans.”

In nine previous Cup Series starts at Dover Gordon has accumulated two top ten finishes.