Mike Pearlman will be pulling double duty at the Mexican 1000 in April. After waving the green flag as the grand marshal, he will get behind the wheel of a green Meyers Manx and take part in the race.

Pearlman and his family have been synonymous with NORRA for its entire history. His father Ed ran the National Off-Road Racing Association in the late 1960s, while Mike was the series’ official photographer. After the series dissolved in 1974, the younger Pearlman resurrected it in 2009.

As the showrunner, he has turned NORRA into a desert series that balances rally and vintage racing. Pearlman is a longtime enthusiast of historic off-roading, even contesting the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb on a Triumph in the Vintage Motorcycle division. He was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2024.

Even the Meyers Manx that he’ll race in April is a replica of the buggy he raced in the 1968 Mexican 1000. The Manx is being built by JK Classic Buggies, a vintage dune buggy restoration company run by John and Sonya Kieslich. Meyers Manx donated the body. JK even wants to procure a large sombrero for Pearlman to wear as he did at the start of the 1968 race.

“Forget the traditional convertible car ride in a parade. Mike will be racing in the coolest Grand Marshal vehicle ever,” reads a statement from NORRA on Monday. “This year’s race will be a special one for Mike and everyone else who is putting this team together.”