It was a warm March afternoon on the coast of the Sea of Cortez near the quaint fishing village of San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. Despite the throng gathered at the finish line of the 2008 Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 at around 2 p.m., there was a stillness and quietness about the place as race fans, officials and members of the racing and local media gathered to see who would appear over the horizon to claim a victory that was significant for more than just the win itself but also the return of SCORE's 250-mile event to its rightful place in San Felipe. When the quiet was finally interrupted, a man named Brian Collins, a construction worker with a passion for off-road racing, rumbled into view in a Dodge factory-backed Trophy-Truck. Practically speaking, it was a well-deserved win by a hard-working, well-prepared race team. Historically, however, it was a sonic boom that rippled back through off-road racing's rich legacy nearly 30 years, back to the last time a Dodge truck crossed the finish line to record an overall victory in a SCORE race.

The date was November 9, 1979, and a man named Walker Evans, a construction worker with a passion for off-road racing and a man destined to become an off-road icon, rolled his factory-backed Dodge Class 8 pickup–the pre-ESPN equivalent of today's Trophy-Truck–into La Paz on the Southern end of the Baja peninsula to win the Negro Modelo SCORE Baja 1000. It took Evans 20 hours, 48 minutes and 27 seconds to get the job done, but the win was even more significant in that it marked the first overall victory for a truck in Baja. It had only taken a few years, but the factory Dodge off-road effort which came to fruition, thanks to the late Dick Maxwell, a veritable legend in auto racing circles due to his tenure as Dodge's motorsports manager during the Pentastar brand's glory years between 1964 and 1991, had finally achieved the goal of winning.

As if to satisfy the needs of a world now firmly hooked on instant gratification, it took Brian Collins three races to return the Dodge brand to glory in Baja. Perhaps not surprisingly, the two men are linked by a sort of familial bond that transcends their affiliation to a certain brand.

"Walker is one of the great all-time drivers and a really good friend of mine," Collins told me. "We go on Harley rides together. When I used to have my boat, we cruised the Panama Canal together. Walker is a phenomenal friend and a great guy. You couldn't ask for a better person."

In fact, when Chrysler first announced its intention to return to world-class off-road racing with Dodge and Mopar at the 2007 SEMA show in Collins' hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, Evans was there. Collins recalls asking Evans to share in the glorious return by standing next to him. Evans politely declined the offer, not out of pride or prejudice, but out of humility and respect.

"I said, 'Walker, come on over and stand by me,'" Collins recounts. "Walker said, 'No, Brian. This isn't about me. This is about you and your team.' He didn't want to steal any of the limelight from me. I told him right then, 'Walker, you are a part of my team.' He is such a legend, a great racer and a great friend. Any time you can have someone like that around, it's a great thing."

Collins goes so far as to say that he considers Evans to be like a second father to him, and the rest of the Evans clan like family as well. "He hangs out and gives me great advice, and I also get along with Evan really well, and Randy and Phyllis," Collins says. "We've even talked a little bit about them helping us out in CORR a little bit if Mopar and Dodge were interested. I think that it would be a great program for Mopar and Dodge to get involved with."

Like Walker Evans, Collins appreciates his involvement in Dodge's legacy, the very same that includes racing immortals such as Evans, NASCAR legend Richard Petty and Top Fuel drag-racing legend "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, to name a few.

"It's an honor just to drive for them," Collins says. "There are a lot of race teams that they could have chosen to represent them. Kevin Kroyer, who does all my drivetrains and motors, helped me get the deal, and Kevin came from Walker's as well. It has been a great deal, and everyone has got to be happy to see all the manufacturers coming back to off-road racing."

If Collins gets his way, he will be able to share another milestone with Evans and Dodge at the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in November. He has the team, he has the truck and he has the spiritual support of a man who has been there before him.

Some ties are hard to break.