Ronn Bailey of All-American Team Vanguard Racing Passes NASCAR's Robby Gordon During Stage Six of Dakar 2005

ZOUERAT, Mauritania, Jan. 5, 2005 -- Amateur off-road driver Ronn Bailey and co-pilot Steve Meyers of Vanguard Racing, the only all-American team, today pulled ahead of NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, whose Volkswagen flipped over in Stage Six of the world's longest and most grueling race, the Dakar 2005.

Gordon and his German co-driver, irk von Zitzewitz, were unhurt. However their Volkswagen-Tourag sustained serious problems after the crash at KM 300.

Bailey, who is pursuing a lifelong dream to race in the Dakar, has never been in a professional race before. Following Stage Six, Team Vanguard was in 89th place in the overall standings in the third day of racing in Africa in the 16-day trek from Barcelona to Dakar, Senegal.

Historically, most who start the Dakar don't finish due to physical exhaustion or other factors. Participants may encounter "bandidos" or local wars, be kidnapped, shot at or stopped by the elements, so the U.S. team is prohibited from flying its colors. Also, this year, drivers need to avoid 20,000 legacy land mines buried beneath the racecourse.

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