Sons of Clark Gable, Bobby Darin racing Baja 500

Malibu, Calif. -- John Clark Gable, son of acting great Clark Gable, will co-pilot the ArtoftheStars.Com Ford F-150 Trophy Truck in this year's Baja 500 off-road race. Gable's co-driver is Dodd Darin, son of crooner Bobby Darin and actress Sandra Dee.

Gable and Darin met in kindergarten, grew up together and have been friends ever since. However, this is the first time the two have joined to compete in a racing event.

"It's ironic," Darin says. "My father was a huge Clark Gable fan but never had the chance to work with him. Now, I get to co-star with a Gable!"

Gable, 39, is no stranger to racing. When he was only 5 years old, Gable jumped on his first off-road motorcycle and whizzed around the Gable ranch in Encino, California. Gable's natural affinity for speed grew and at 17 years old he competed in his first organized race. Most of Gable's late teen-age years were spent racing motocross. Then, in 1983, he raced his first off-road truck in the Barstow Classic. Since then, Gable has beat legends like Parnelli Jones and Roger Mears to the finish line. He has also raced in the Russell Pro Mazda series and drove a Formula 3 for the Galicia team in Mexico. Gable's first professional off-road win came on Father's Day, 1993, and holds a special place in his heart.

"My father's second love was racing," Gable said. "He used to ride his Triumph motorcycle through the desert before dirt bikes were invented. My favorite movie of his is "To Please A Lady" where he plays a racecar driver. Even though I never knew my dad, speed and racing are things we will always have in common."

Darin, 38, has also always had a passion for speed. He raced go-karts during his early teens and later moved to motocross. Darin's real love is open-wheel road racing, which he will be doing in 2001. But this year's Baja 500 is Darin's first off-road truck event.

"This will be no Sunday drive." Darin said about piloting the 500-horsepower ArtoftheStars.Com Trophy Truck that reaches speeds of 150 mph. "This is the real deal and I have a lot of respect for the skill and endurance of these drivers."

Darin and Gable are now working on buying into a CART team in upcoming years. Gable also intends to continue off-road racing. But right now both Gable and Darin are analyzing tapes from past Baja races, training physically for the demanding event and preparing the ArtoftheStars.Com Trophy Truck.

"I have a lot of faith in the ArtoftheStars.Com team," Gable says. "There is no doubt in my mind that we will do very well in the Baja 500."

Chief mechanic and builder of the ArtoftheStars.Com Trophy Truck is former Baja winner Curt LeDuc of California Pre Fun.

ArtoftheStars.Com is an online art gallery specializing in artwork created by celebrities. Gable himself is a ceramic artist and his work is available on the site along with the work of numerous other celebrities. A portion of all ArtoftheStars.Com proceeds will be given to charity. The ArtoftheStars.Com team is also proud to be sponsored by: Global Star USA, BFGoodrich Tires, Simpson Safety, RW Automotive Design, RawspeedRacer.Com, DinkyDogs.Com, and BoatMedia.Com.

The Tecate/SCORE Baja 500 will take place June 3 in Ensenada, Mexico. The Trophy Truck division starts at approximately 7:30 a.m. and usually completes the course in a little more than 12 hours. More than 200 entries are expected in this year's race.