Big Oly is far and away most iconic Ford Bronco in history. The gold-and-white machine built by Bill Stroppe was one of desert racing’s pioneers in the 1970s, starting with Parnelli Jones, and its legacy continues to be honored today by those like Chris Greenwood, who usually races a Big Oly-styled 1972 Bronco.

For May’s Mexican 1000, however, he’ll be paying tribute to Big Oly’s predecessor.

Before Big Oly, Jones and Al Unser raced a red-and-white Bronco with a blue lightning bolt on the side. It was sponsored by Johnny Lightning, a line of die-cast cars that also backed Jones’ Indy car team. Unser won the 1970 and 1971 Indianapolis 500s for Jones—himself an Indy 500 winner in 1963—in blue Johnny Lightning cars.

The Lightning Bronco, however, predated those 500 wins. It appeared at the 1969 Mint 400 Del Webb Desert Rally. Besides being Jones’ maiden desert race, Unser and his brother Bobby competed in their own Lightning Bronco. Bobby ended up rolling down an embankment after getting stuck in the dust, so Jones brought Al on for the rest of the race. They would also DNF after Jones got cut off by another driver and tried to retaliate, hitting a chuckhole and flipping.

Big Oly was built for 1972.

“It’s been quite the prep, but well worth it,” said Greenwood. “While lesser known, the Johnny Lightning livery lived a short life off road with PJ and Al as the precursor to the famous Big Oly look, but was all the rage on the PJ Colt Indy car.”

Greenwood has run his Big Oly in races like the Baja 1000. Last June, the Bronco ran the Baja Nevada The Long Way in a special “Bring What You Built” class.

Featured image credit: Chris Greenwood