All American racing family, we’d like to introduce you to Andy DeVercelly – numbers, 2,3,4, and 5. #2 is 93 years young and raced in the first Baja 1000; #5 just graduated to go-karts from mini-dwarf cars. It’s a fun listen of four generations of racers. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
3:14 – Andy 2 – the bullfighter is my car, I hit a bull on the highway just before LaPaz
12:48 – Andy 2 – I had no idea at all where I was, there were like three street signs down there
19:00 – Andy 3 – my grandpa was an Ironman kind of guy, no one else could drive the car
25:06 – Andy 3 – Now that I’ve retired, I get the pleasure and fun of it all to go work with my son
31:36 – Andy 4 – so as far as 4 wheels, he’s still a few years out – he’s just tall enough now to start learning
39:26 – Andy 2 – the big thing was the energy, the energy that the people have down there for the 1000 is next level
Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
All American racing family, we’d like to introduce you to Andy DeVercelly – numbers, 2,3,4, and 5. #2 is 93 years young and raced in the first Baja 1000; #5 just graduated to go-karts from mini-dwarf cars. It’s a fun listen of four generations of racers. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
3:14 – Andy 2 – the bullfighter is my car, I hit a bull on the highway just before LaPaz
12:48 – Andy 2 – I had no idea at all where I was, there were like three street signs down there
19:00 – Andy 3 – my grandpa was an Ironman kind of guy, no one else could drive the car
25:06 – Andy 3 – Now that I’ve retired, I get the pleasure and fun of it all to go work with my son
31:36 – Andy 4 – so as far as 4 wheels, he’s still a few years out – he’s just tall enough now to start learning
39:26 – Andy 2 – the big thing was the energy, the energy that the people have down there for the 1000 is next level
Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
[00:00:00.000] -
Welcome to Conversations with Big Rich. This is an interview-style podcast. Those interviewed are all involved in the off-road industry. Being involved, like all of my guests are, is a lifestyle, not just a job. I talk to past, present, and future legends, as well as business owners, employees, media, and land use warriors, men and women who have found their way into this exciting and addictive lifestyle we call off-road. We discuss their personal history, struggles, successes, and reboots. We dive into what drives them to stay active and off-road. We all hope to shed some light on how to find a path into this world that we live and love and call off-road.
[00:00:45.280] -
Whether you're crawling the Red Rocks of Moab or hauling your toys to the trail, Maxxis has the tires you can trust for performance and durability. Four wheels or two, Maxxis tires are the choice of champions because they know that whether for work or play, for fun or competition, Maxxis tires deliver. Choose Maxxis. Tread victoriously.
[00:01:13.020] -
Have you seen 4Low magazine yet? 4low magazine is a high-quality, well-written, four-wheel drive-focused magazine for the enthusiast market. If you still love the idea of a printed magazine, something to save and read at any time, 4LOW is the magazine for you. 4Low cannot be found in stores, but you can have it delivered to your home or place of business. Visit 4Lowmagazine.com to order your subscription today.
[00:01:40.180] – Big Rich Klein
On today's episode of Conversations with Big Rich, I'll be talking with four generations of off-roaders. This is the Andy DeVercelly family, and all of them are Andies. So on the air, we have Andy 2, 3, 4, and 5. And this is going to be an interesting conversation with a legendary off-road racing family. Hello, guys. Let's see how this goes with all this traffic.
[00:02:11.020] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Sounds great, Rich.
[00:02:12.310] – Big Rich Klein
All right. So we have Andy 2 I'll start with you. You're 93 years old now, lived a long off-road racing life, it sounds like. Where were you born and raised?
[00:02:25.470] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I was born and raised in New York City, in Long Island.
[00:02:30.280] – Big Rich Klein
In New York City?
[00:02:31.500] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
In Long Island, yeah.
[00:02:34.820] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. Did you spend a lot of time there, or how did you get into off-road racing?
[00:02:43.510] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I got drafted into the Marine Corps during the Korean War, and I wound up in California. And in California, that's when I got involved in going to the desert with buggies and playing in the sand. And then when the first Baha 1,000 came up, I got involved in it.
[00:03:08.980] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And that was in the bullfighter rig?
[00:03:14.160] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, the bullfighter is my car. And I got that name because in the first Baha 1,000, I hit a bull on a highway just before La Paz, and they gave me the name Bullfighter.
[00:03:32.970] - Big Rich Klein
And so you were in the race with your dad, which was actually Andy 1. Is that correct?
[00:03:41.280] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah. My dad won that race, and I finished third.
[00:03:44.440] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, So you finished third after hitting a cow?
[00:03:48.120] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah.
[00:03:49.270] - Big Rich Klein
Wow. Okay. That's pretty good. Because I've seen pictures of the buggy, and it was mostly fiber glass on a... Was it a Volkswagen the chassis?
[00:04:01.990] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yes.
[00:04:03.270] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And you must have had a pretty good stout bumper there. You had some repairs on course.
[00:04:13.600] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I didn't understand that.
[00:04:16.190] - Big Rich Klein
Did you have a lot of repairs to make to finish the car, to finish the race course after hitting the cow?
[00:04:24.250] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I'm going to help him out with this. After he hit the bull, he had They spun the car out and they flattened all the tires on the car going off the road. He broke his neck. They ended up putting him... He was not doing so well. They put him back in the car, and they crossed the finish line for a finish. The bullfighter wasn't put together until the '68, 1,000. They drove an open buggy with a single hoop car, and that's why he broke his neck as the bull came up and over the car and hit him in the head.
[00:05:04.790] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, jeez. That's a rough way to start.
[00:05:08.780] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, it certainly was.
[00:05:13.780] - Big Rich Klein
From the That happened about what? From what I read, about 80 miles from the finish?
[00:05:20.590] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
No, it was only about 30 miles from the finish line.
[00:05:24.220] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, 30 miles from the finish line?
[00:05:25.670] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah.
[00:05:27.270] - Big Rich Klein
They got you back in the car and you were able to finish with a broken neck?
[00:05:31.810] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Right.
[00:05:33.860] - Big Rich Klein
That's an Ironman right there. I can't even imagine what that would have been like.
[00:05:41.250] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Exactly. My grandfather actually Ironman that race. My dad was with a partner.
[00:05:45.960] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. Let's talk a little bit about Andy number one then. How did he get into the racing? Was it... I mean, if number two was born in the New York area, and came out to the West Coast in the Marine Corps and got into offroading. How did number one get started in that?
[00:06:08.900] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Well, number one was a midget racer. Back east, he drove a pair of midgets back there. And he even came to California one time and drove in Balboa Park.
[00:06:20.760] - Big Rich Klein
All right.
[00:06:22.600] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
With the racetrack there. And then when he come out here, when I was in a service, he'd come out here and and got the family out, and I got them involved in going to the desert, and that's what got them involved eventually in this off-road racing.
[00:06:40.650] - Big Rich Klein
And then so he moved out here full-time as well?
[00:06:44.620] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yes. Okay.
[00:06:47.390] - Big Rich Klein
How old were you when you were in '68, driving that race That Baha'1,000.
[00:07:03.270] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
What was your age?
[00:07:04.300] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
When?
[00:07:05.480] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
The first, 1967, Baha'1,000.
[00:07:08.050] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Oh, it was '67. What was my age? Was it '17?
[00:07:14.610] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
He was born in '31.
[00:07:16.290] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. All right. So he's 37. Okay, perfect. All right. Just for reference. All right. So then when did Andy, number three How did you come along?
[00:07:32.510] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I started racing in roughly around 1970.
[00:07:39.210] - Big Rich Klein
And how old were you then?
[00:07:41.480] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I was born in 54. I was 16.
[00:07:45.870] - Big Rich Klein
How about let's go to Andy number 4.
[00:07:49.240] - Speaker 3
All right. Sorry about that. I'm tooling around in the shop and working.
[00:07:53.530] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, no worries. No worries. I'm trying to get to... How old were you when you got into... When you started off road racing?
[00:08:01.950] - Speaker 3
About the same age as my dad, so 16 as well.
[00:08:05.170] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. Nice. Number 5, you're about the same then?
[00:08:12.380] - Speaker 3
No, actually, we got number 5, and he's only 12.
[00:08:16.600] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, he's only 12 right now. Okay.
[00:08:17.940] - Speaker 3
He still hasn't had his actual first off road race in the desert, but we started him in what you call mini-dwarf cars when he was 10, and he races on a dirt circle track with that for a couple of years.
[00:08:32.110] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. Excellent. Okay.
[00:08:34.180] - Speaker 3
Yeah. So that's when, as my dad referenced earlier, he just did a season of go-karts because he grew out of the mini-dwarf car.
[00:08:41.300] - Big Rich Klein
All right. Okay. So we'll go back to number two. Your career, off-road racing, '67. When was the last race that you raced?
[00:09:00.050] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
He ran with me in the Nora 1,000 in 2014. He drove the first 100 miles on that Nora rally.
[00:09:10.720] - Big Rich Klein
All right. On the multi-day stage race, right?
[00:09:14.590] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yes. That was what? Eight years ago?
[00:09:21.600] - Big Rich Klein
Almost 10 now. Yeah.
[00:09:23.620] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Wow. Yeah. Okay. Almost 10 years. Yes.
[00:09:26.330] - Big Rich Klein
Very good. That's 83 years old.
[00:09:29.460] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
That's By the way, we ended up… The whole family was involved with driving in that, from dad starting and me riding to me driving to my son flying in and he was driving to my daughter was driving and my wife was riding with me. We had a great time on that.
[00:09:47.790] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, a nice family adventure. That's awesome.
[00:09:50.820] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, it was very awesome. Then we ended up winning our class on that particular run that year. So that was a good finish for that bullfighter with its history of wins.
[00:10:01.170] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. And so from the Bullfighter being run in '68 or '67, how many years continuous did it race to begin with? Roughly.
[00:10:15.860] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
It roughly ran the Baja 1,000 consistently until '74, with multiple wins in the Baja 1,000 for '68, '69. It won the first... It's won the MIT 400. It's won the Baja 500.
[00:10:41.160] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
In the Barrego?
[00:10:42.140] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
In some of the rough Borrego races in Ocetilo Wells area in De Anza, Barrego Park.
[00:10:54.490] - Big Rich Klein
With those Volkswagen, were you guys running a 1,600 cc motor, or were running something a little more aggressive?
[00:11:03.680] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
A little more, but not much. Back then, those cars were… They weren't coming out with the big engines yet. Plus, we were enjoying what we were driving, and dad was doing a hell of a job with really running well. I've got a list of wins that go on pretty well for that car.
[00:11:30.100] - Big Rich Klein
Number three, you raced it as well?
[00:11:35.770] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I raced it for the first time in the '75 Baja 1,000.
[00:11:39.330] - Big Rich Klein
In '75, okay. What were you racing besides the Bullfighter before that, when you got started in 1970?
[00:11:48.330] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I actually drove with my grandfather at the Mit 400 in '70. All right.
[00:11:55.500] - Big Rich Klein
What car were you in then?
[00:11:58.640] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
We were in a Volkswagen Volkswagen buggy, a home-made buggy, two-seat buggy.
[00:12:05.560] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. Two-seat buggy. Has that been your primarily race vehicles all these years? Has been the Volkswagen race buggies?
[00:12:13.290] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Well, from buggies to the Baja Bug, the 5,600 class.
[00:12:18.710] - Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:12:20.430] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
And then my dad's raced Jeeps, and we've raced Class II in the two seat unlimited cars, and quite a bunch of vehicles.
[00:12:31.960] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. So let's talk about the original race, number 2. When you hit the bull, before hitting the bull, what was the race like for you?
[00:12:48.170] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
It was something else. I'd say I really wasn't down in Baja, and I had no idea at all where I was going. It was three signs down there. And how I even got to La Paz, I'll never know. It was something else.
[00:13:07.490] - Big Rich Klein
So they had just had wood stakes with arrows on them?
[00:13:12.290] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
No, they didn't have nothing.
[00:13:15.560] - Big Rich Klein
Oh. So how did you figure out from checkpoint to checkpoint?
[00:13:26.030] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Very difficult. Sometimes we were on the wrong road and we had to come and take a different road. There are no street signs and there ain't nothing but dirt all the way. Sometimes we could see the Pacific Ocean, and sometimes we could see to see a cortège.
[00:13:47.270] - Big Rich Klein
So it was just using a paper map? Yes. Yeah. Okay.
[00:13:53.790] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Actually, when I went before the race, I took a compass with me. She was Three times I took the compass out to look at it and to see which were heading in the right direction and were heading north. And happened to me three times, and I finally threw the compass away.
[00:14:16.610] - Big Rich Klein
Besides hitting the Cow, what was the most memorable part of that race? Was there something that really stood out, like a location or a view?
[00:14:28.230] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Well, down below San Ignacio, we got quick and some real bad silt and less control of the car and I ended up hitting a big cactus. When I did, the cactus branches came down and landed on my lap and my copilot shot. And we were picking out the-Cactic. We were picking out the cactus out of our body when my dad drove by. And when our mother was all right. We told him we were okay, and he took off. And we picked the cactus out and then went down the road further.
[00:15:10.500] - Big Rich Klein
That's not a comfortable feeling.
[00:15:13.190] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, that's for sure.
[00:15:15.970] - Big Rich Klein
And so at that point, you were in front of your dad?
[00:15:20.180] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Oh, yeah. We started in front of him.
[00:15:22.960] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And after the The amount of time that you were down with the broken neck and the accident with the cow, what was going through your mind at that point? I would imagine, besides the pain, did you think you'd be able to finish the race?
[00:15:48.340] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Did you think you could finish after you hit the bull?
[00:15:53.470] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Actually, when I hit the bull, it knocked me out. My copilot and some guys that we knew that were down there just checking, just helping people. They're the ones that came along and helped my copilot get me back in the car and blew the tires up and stuff and then helped my partner drive the car back into the finish line. Okay.
[00:16:28.930] - Big Rich Klein
Then once you When you finished that race, were you flown back to the States, or did you have to come back to the pavement to see doctors then? How did all that work?
[00:16:45.950] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Well, when the race was over, then everybody decided everybody had to drive their car home. But I feel at home with some people that put the race on.
[00:16:59.540] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
You got I'm playing with Ed Pearlman
[00:17:01.450] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. All right. That makes sense.
[00:17:05.110] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah.
[00:17:06.380] - Big Rich Klein
That'd be a lot better because I thought, Man, that's at least a two or three day drive back then coming back, and it wasn't paved. That would have been rough.
[00:17:17.830] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
It wasn't.
[00:17:19.780] - Big Rich Klein
What was some of the more memorable races after that? You said you did the mint, and some of the Borrego races and the Baha 500. What were what things that stood out in your mind then?
[00:17:41.140] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Well, actually, once my neck hailed up and everything. I wear a brace on my neck for about two and a half months. Then we started to build a bullfighter, the FytoGrad car, and to get ready for the next thousand. And went down for the second thousand and won it.
[00:18:08.170] - Big Rich Klein
Very good. So third place after hitting a bull, breaking your neck, and then coming back the next year and winning it in your class.
[00:18:16.540] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, we went our class in the thousand.
[00:18:19.740] - Big Rich Klein
And did you get lost as often in that first race as you did the second? No. No, you had a better idea what was going on?
[00:18:33.710] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
For the second thousand, I turned around and I went down for a pre-run, so I had an idea for the second thousand where I was going.
[00:18:43.620] - Big Rich Klein
Pre-runs are important.
[00:18:45.120] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yes.
[00:18:47.610] - Big Rich Klein
You don't have to backtrack as often.
[00:18:53.100] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah.
[00:18:55.030] - Big Rich Klein
So number three, how about you? What were some of your most memorable races?
[00:19:00.870] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Ron, and to be honest, the first I drove with my grandfather, I rode with him first, and then he was getting sick. He didn't realize that he had cancer coming upon him. And normally he's an Ironman guy, so he was driving all the races down in Mexico and everywhere else that we did. We were all over the place, but he would drive the car and he wouldn't let nobody else drive the car. He would just have passengers. That race, he got sick after the first lap, and then he let me in behind the wheel, and he stepped out of the car and let me finish the race.
[00:19:37.810] - Big Rich Klein
Wow, that was- That was memorable. I would imagine. What was the competition like back then? Was there a lot of buggies like yours in that class? That was Class II?
[00:19:54.620] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yes. There was quite a few. Back in the day, there were production and nonproduction cars, and they were classified differently. But there was always a fair share, a handful of cars that were running, and it made the competition good, and that makes for good racing.
[00:20:15.380] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And how is the... Is it just something that happened where everybody just fell into the off-road, loving it, or is it just... Like myself, the first time I went off-roading was in 1982, and I was up on the Rubicon Trail. And after that, I was just hooked. Yes. So it just was a family affair just from day one for all of you being hooked on off road?
[00:20:49.020] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Right. I used to go pre-run with my dad in the early days. We would just have just two-seat open buggies to go pre-run in the '60s. That's what we used. Once you go off road, and we went down to Mexico in those years, it was such a nice, pleasant... I mean, it still is. But back then, it was just... I think we were just blessed to have such the freedom and being in that country and all the people are so nice to be with. It's just a wonderful thing and the feeling that you get when you go down there.
[00:21:25.580] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, my first time to Baja was in 2003, the year they filmed Dust to Glory. I worked with BFG on one of their pits. I was just absolutely amazed. It was the Wild West. There was a lot less pavement than there is nowadays, but there was still pavement. It was just a thrill being down there. I haven't been down in the... Well, the 50th was the last race that I was at. I helped pit for some cars down there then. But I've always really enjoyed Baja. I've never felt unsafe there. I know that there's been all these rumors or all these stories about people being hijacked and other things. Have you guys ever come across any of that?
[00:22:20.170] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Never. Never had a problem down there.
[00:22:26.130] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
We might have had an incident or two, but We overcome and keep moving forward, but never felt in a harm or endangered at any time.
[00:22:38.600] - Big Rich Klein
I think we all have incidences.
[00:22:44.480] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
We do. Those are part of the deal. It's a challenge. You overcome what comes up, and that's what makes the sport so special.
[00:22:54.900] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, because it's not in your backyard. You got to make travel.
[00:23:01.570] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
You do.
[00:23:03.240] - Big Rich Klein
Number four, are you near the microphone?
[00:23:06.130] - Speaker 3
Yeah, I'm here.
[00:23:07.230] - Big Rich Klein
So let's talk a little bit about your racing history. You got started at 16. What was your first race?
[00:23:15.940] - Speaker 3
I think my first race was called the King of the Desert out here in the Southern California Imperial Valley Desert. All right.
[00:23:23.870] - Big Rich Klein
How did that go for you?
[00:23:26.160] - Speaker 3
Really well. I don't think we had any issues, and that's what got me hooked.
[00:23:33.040] - Big Rich Klein
You've actually made this now a career. You're building cars or at least engines. Is that correct?
[00:23:41.350] - Speaker 3
Yes, I do engines.
[00:23:42.480] - Big Rich Klein
Engines. Number three, was it a Was it a off road a career for you, too, or did you have an outside career?
[00:23:49.410] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I had an outside career. Okay.
[00:23:52.310] - Big Rich Klein
Number four, how long have you been in business building engines?
[00:23:56.790] - Speaker 3
I've actually been the business owner since 2011. I worked for the previous owner of the business, starting in high school and then off and on until I figured out something I wanted to stick with in my, I would say, my mid 20s. And then the opportunity came up to purchase it, and I did that. And it just been grinding at it ever since.
[00:24:22.520] - Big Rich Klein
And you're building Volkswagen engines or are you building other types?
[00:24:27.420] - Speaker 3
I build VWs, and Hondas are my main staple.
[00:24:31.060] - Big Rich Klein
Vws and Hondas, okay. The name of your business is?
[00:24:36.620] - Speaker 3
Major Performance.
[00:24:37.590] - Big Rich Klein
Major Performance, okay.
[00:24:40.320] - Speaker 3
Yeah, the original owner's name was Ken Major. Just a catchy name and worked out well for him, and so we're keeping it going.
[00:24:50.940] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. Number three, you're a few years older than I am, so I would imagine You're retired now?
[00:25:02.110] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yes.
[00:25:03.240] - Big Rich Klein
What did you do for a career?
[00:25:06.840] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I owned a business in Coronado, California, mechanical body shop at a tow company that I purchased from my father when he retired. Then in 2002, the property got so expensive in Coronado, I went to work for an insurance company. Well, when he said insurance company, Wellanese Insurance Company as one of their reinspectors. Now that I've retired, I get the pleasure and the fun of it all to go work with my son when I'm not busy doing other things at this point.
[00:25:42.790] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. You said your daughter has raced with you as well?
[00:25:48.960] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
In that Nora race, she did, yes. She got to drive, and I was riding with her, and she did a good job. It was fun.
[00:25:56.230] - Big Rich Klein
And your wife as well, you said?
[00:25:59.060] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
She rode with for the last 100 miles of the Nora, and she swear she loves me, but she'll never do it again.
[00:26:09.610] - Big Rich Klein
Was she trying to point out which way to go?
[00:26:13.840] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
No, she When you're racing or doing rally or whatever, I guess you change a little bit. Oh, yes. You're a little more competitive.
[00:26:26.380] - Big Rich Klein
There's a reason that I am not a racer, and there's a reason that I don't play board games. I'm not a good winner, and I'm not a good loser, and I'm a worse winner, if you know what I mean. I did. Yeah, I played darts for a while, and I was not... I would say that most of the people I played against did not like me, at least while we were playing darts. And we went and did one competition, my wife and I, under the of doing it for our magazine. We have an off-road magazine, and she wanted to try to compete once. And I said, this isn't going to work out well. She goes, we're just doing this as media. It's for fun. And I was like, yeah, okay. So this race was basically you did one lap, and then the second lap, there were stages where you had to do technical driving skills or some things like that. There's a blindfold section you had to do, just some crazy little things. Well, there was 12 of us, I think, or 13 of us in this event. I started off third to last, and when the two cars behind me went past me, the last car that went past me was a friend of mine, and I just couldn't handle knowing that I was in last place.
[00:27:54.660] - Big Rich Klein
And I got on the throttle, and my wife instantly asked me, What are you doing? I said, We're racing. And she goes, No, we're not racing. She made me stop and eat lunch.
[00:28:07.890] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
You must be hungry, huh?
[00:28:11.430] - Big Rich Klein
She definitely got got angry. I think she just figured I needed to take a break and let people get far enough out in front of me to where I didn't feel I had to catch them. But that's why I'm an event promoter instead of a racer.
[00:28:28.720] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Okay. All All right.
[00:28:30.870] - Big Rich Klein
So I can understand your wife and you in that 100 miles. I can just see it.
[00:28:37.260] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah. I'd like to mention I had a good friend of mine, too. Mike Sanford, which drove a section of the race, too, or the rally which was great because we did make it a real family affair. It was a wonderful time.
[00:28:53.870] - Big Rich Klein
It sounds like it. I've never done Nora. I've talked to Perlman about Mike Perlman about doing it, and I interviewed him as well a few months ago, and we talked about maybe doing it together even. And I'm not sure how that would go. Like I said, I think I'm better off being a promoter than a racer. But maybe we'll see.
[00:29:17.050] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
You better go with your gut.
[00:29:19.460] - Big Rich Klein
That's what I figured. So number four, are you still racing or are you just engine building?
[00:29:29.670] - Speaker 3
Yeah, actually, I am still racing. I just raced a full season of SCOR last season.
[00:29:38.230] - Big Rich Klein
And you're racing one, two, 1,600 or 12s?
[00:29:42.510] - Speaker 3
1600 is the class we raced last year.
[00:29:45.490] - Big Rich Klein
1600, okay. In a two-seater or a single-seater?
[00:29:50.130] - Speaker 3
Two-seater.
[00:29:50.900] - Big Rich Klein
Two-seater, okay. And somewhere in there, number two or number three, you said that you were racing like a five Volkswagen. Was that correct?
[00:30:06.940] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
A 5,1,00 class.
[00:30:08.660] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, 5,1,00.
[00:30:09.400] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Me and my dad wanted to build a 5,600, so we would both get into racing together back in the '80s, and we did '88, '89. We started in '85 with that car, but we ended up winning two score championships with that car and just had a blast, once again, with the family. It was just a wonderful time. Me and my dad shared a lot of good times, and we did really well.
[00:30:42.300] - Big Rich Klein
Then bringing the kids along, grandkids kids. Is it still a family thing racing? Do you get out there and able to support your son while he races?
[00:30:53.850] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Every time we go to Mexico, I'm right there with him. I'm the chase guy. I'm the old chase guy I don't think Andy mentioned they did win last year's Championship for the 126,100. It was a tough battle, but it was a challenge, and they did well and finished every race and won a few of them, but finished every one of them to get the points.
[00:31:21.530] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. That's an accomplishment. It really is.
[00:31:25.870] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
It is. I'm very proud of him.
[00:31:28.880] - Big Rich Klein
When is Who's number 5 going to start tearing it up in the dirt off-road?
[00:31:36.800] - Speaker 3
So as far as four wheels, he's still a few years out. He's just tall enough now to start learning. But obviously, his age is what will keep him from actually entering events. So we're going to try the dirt bike thing for a little bit because I believe those skills are very fundamental to being a good off-road racer. So hopefully by the time he's 15, there'll be some opportunities for him to be able to try it out.
[00:32:07.120] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. And is he riding motorcycles now?
[00:32:11.230] - Speaker 3
Yes.
[00:32:11.930] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. I don't know what the pedigree is with you guys riding motor cycles, but I got to put a shout out to Jimmy Lewis and his riding school that he does out of Perump. I know he trains Ricky Brabeck with navigation skills and stuff. So when they go to the car, are you going to be getting him any training, anything like that?
[00:32:41.500] - Speaker 3
Yeah. So we're just doing... He's still in the beginner stages, and we're just doing some more basic fundamental motocross stuff. Then we ride trails out here where I live, out in the hill. He's still very new to the sport, but we're really looking to commit and push on it and stay at it because we're not team sports, we're motor sports people. I really want to put the time in.
[00:33:10.500] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. I'm glad to hear that. I think that sports like this for young men is important, and even ladies. Young men have a tendency more to get into trouble, I think, in those younger years leading into high school. Sports like this keep Keep those activities behind one. It's harder to get in trouble if you're off road.
[00:33:38.410] - Speaker 3
Yeah, because what do they say, racing for people that love work and hate money. You're always racing, you're always broke, and you're always working, so you really don't have much time or energy to get into trouble.
[00:33:51.150] - Big Rich Klein
There you go. I guess I found things too late.
[00:33:58.000] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Well put.
[00:34:00.560] - Big Rich Klein
So what's the future for all of you? Just being with family and getting the most out of everything?
[00:34:15.480] - Speaker 3
Yeah, I would definitely say that's... But for us to be able to do this for it, we definitely have to have each other's support because it doesn't work any other way. So as long as we're staying involved racing and working at it, and then we're going to do it all together.
[00:34:36.250] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. And is there anything that... We didn't dive into stories that races. Do any of you have some really great stories besides hitting a bull? That one's pretty tough to talk, but grandpa has told us plenty of stories by the campfire when we were young. Share some of those campfire stories that you remember? What's the one you remember the most?
[00:35:10.320] - Speaker 3
Mainly just a lot of them of him going down there. Like my dad said it was a different time back then. I know he would just go, Hey, guys, I'm leaving for a few days and I'll see you when I get back. And he would just go down there, no chase crew, super and just wing it and get through it. And you're just hearing that as a young man, you're just like, wow, that's some adventure right there. And you don't do things necessarily the same way these days, but there's still a lot of that spirit that lives on with doing those kinds of trips.
[00:35:49.240] - Big Rich Klein
Number three, did you have those adventures down there on your own?
[00:35:56.900] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Oh, yeah. I used to go down in the In the early '70s when I wasn't racing. I was pitting for my father. I remember going down many a time. It was freedom back then. Dad would give me, he goes, Here's 200 bucks. I want you to go down. We'd spend a week down there going down past Portisidas or going down past the Three Sisters, the Gonzaga Bay area, Shapala, Dry Lake, even all the way down to La I saw him chasing and supporting him when he was racing pretty full-time with other people as well. There's so many races. It's a lifetime of racing that we've done. There's so many good stories from one thing to another, from me and my sister being over at the starting line for the Baja 1067 at the bull ring to going down to the starting line at Encinada and then going to the start at 711, going to the mint races. Every one of them have Nice little stories to them. Not all of them are the winning stories, but it's the ups and downs of racing that you figure out things as you go on. You learn those things.
[00:37:31.920] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I think it was Sue Mead that said that she used to like to interview not who came in first, but those that didn't finish or came in near last, because those are the ones that had stories to tell.
[00:37:46.600] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Exactly. Yeah. It's not the polished race that everybody thinks. A good example is my son just running the Baha 1,000 this year or last year. We had trials and tribulations on that run. It was good until it wasn't. But the whole objective of that was that we were leading the points and they had to finish, though it took us 48 hours to get across that finish line. But the whole point was, don't ever give up. You push forward until you get it done. That's what we did. Very proud of my son to continue to keep the car moving and make the rest of the team energized to make that happen. I mean, people, after X amount of hours and staying up all night, people start to gwindle on you. Oh, yes. You just need to keep ensuring them, No, we're going to do this. Let's go. Let's stick to the plan and finish it. So let's keep pushing forward. That's what we did. That was a big race as far as all the races I've been in. That was a good one. That was one for the books, I'd say.
[00:38:57.570] - Big Rich Klein
What did you guys think about that race starting in La Paz and finishing in Encinada?
[00:39:06.290] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
You can take that from there, Andy.
[00:39:08.030] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I thought it was awesome.
[00:39:12.210] - Speaker 3
I think they should do it just about every slow run.
[00:39:16.670] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, wow.
[00:39:17.950] - Speaker 3
Yeah, it was... And everybody I talked to said the same thing.
[00:39:23.290] - Big Rich Klein
You liked being able to finish closer to home?
[00:39:26.220] - Speaker 3
That was one of it. But the big thing was the energy The energy that the people have down there for the score and the thousand was just next level. I don't know if it's because it was something different for them because they do have a really big following for the local race series that they do down there. But the score, bottom of the 1,000 is just, it's just something else. It's not like anything else. I feel like that was a big part of the experience. It was just all the energy the locals had. I pre-ran on my dirt bike the weekend before and it felt like you were in the race. There were so many people on the course.
[00:40:04.580] - Big Rich Klein
Already precamping.
[00:40:06.720] - Speaker 3
Yeah, they were just hanging out. They wanted to stop you, take pictures, ask for stickers, just whatever. They just wanted to interact It was really cool.
[00:40:17.510] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. I hadn't heard that personal view yet of the race. I sit on the board of directors with Mark MacMillan and some others, and I can't say that everybody was in agreement before the race about starting in La Paz and coming up. I'll have to ask that question now that the race is well over and everybody's had a chance to digest it. I think that would be an interesting read to see what people think.
[00:40:52.900] - Speaker 3
Yeah. I mean, everything's got their positive and negatives, but I felt like overall, the experience was very unique And you'd like to see it done that way, what, every three years when they do a point to point? Yeah, I felt like it was definitely worthwhile doing it again. And my personal opinion is I would for sure go back and do it if they do it that way again. Okay.
[00:41:20.580] - Big Rich Klein
Did you let Roger know that?
[00:41:24.590] - Speaker 3
No, I didn't.
[00:41:26.500] - Big Rich Klein
I'll talk to him for you.
[00:41:27.810] - Speaker 3
But I do deal with their tech department a lot, being that I build engines and I got rules to deal with. I have a good relationship with them because I've been in it so long. I do it to them. I personally thought it was awesome. But I think Roger is not a very accessible guy.
[00:41:46.650] - Big Rich Klein
True. Very true. He rock-crawled in my Rock Crawling series. So we built a relationship there, and then I went in and helped him at races like when he first bought HDRA and then went down and helped with the registration in tech during the first couple of thousands that he did. But I only talk to him once a year during the galas, the Ormhoff galas. But nice guy. Very business-like, for sure.
[00:42:25.920] - Speaker 3
Yeah, I've heard the same. I think I dealt with him a little bit in the beginning when he first bought the series and he was trying to figure it all out and talking to people in the industry with different challenges. But other than that, probably the last time I talked to him was 10 years ago. Okay.
[00:42:45.130] - Big Rich Klein
Anything else that we haven't touched base on that you guys would like to talk about?
[00:42:51.120] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, I got a little story I'd like to tell you about what happened to me when we were racing the Baha 500.
[00:42:59.140] - Big Rich Klein
Absolutely.
[00:42:59.460] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
I was in the Baha bug, and I caught up with the red Baha' bug, and finally got around him and was going down the road and looking in the rear view mirror, and as his white Baha' bug right on my butt. I thought to myself, Where the hell did he come from? I eased off and let him go by. And as he went by, I noticed the back of his car was overreared.
[00:43:29.890] - Big Rich Klein
So it was the car that you had passed?
[00:43:33.130] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, it was the car I just passed.
[00:43:35.580] - Big Rich Klein
And you saw the red as you came up onto him, so he was two-toned, white front, red back?
[00:43:41.640] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yeah, you got it.
[00:43:43.060] - Big Rich Klein
So he faked you out a little bit. Did you get back around him?
[00:43:46.960] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Oh, yeah, I went back around him. In fact, I won that 500 that year.
[00:43:52.160] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. I guess that's an idea, that two-toned. So if that ever happens again, I like that. Okay. Well, anything else, guys?
[00:44:12.350] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Well, I can't really think of anything.
[00:44:14.590] - Speaker 3
I mean, There's lots of else, but what else? Any specific topics you wanted to cover still?
[00:44:22.980] - Big Rich Klein
Well, people like to hear the stories on the races, what happened, something that's very memorable during any race.
[00:44:31.070] - Speaker 3
I do have a good one that's like we talked about. It's not the one where you have the perfect day and you get the checkered first. Mine involves when I was trying to make a name for myself as an engine builder versus just an employee. I don't remember, Volkswagen was putting up quite a bit of money, and I think it was 2008, and they're putting up quite a bit of money for VW powered vehicles, and that's when they had their factory effort and everything.
[00:45:02.930] - Big Rich Klein
That was the $10,000 bonus to the first Volkswagen powered Finisher?
[00:45:11.020] - Speaker 3
Yes.
[00:45:11.600] - Big Rich Klein
I remember that race?
[00:45:14.030] - Speaker 3
So The guy that I was helping that year, we had a very, probably, I think it's the one and only time we've had this part fail inside the engine. And score of rule states, you can do anything to repair the engine, but you cannot replace it completely and you cannot replace the engine block. So we ended up, we had a spare motor and the owner said, I want to do the right thing in order to win the points and the money. We took the spare engine apart and took the primary engine apart. We put the new parts in the primary engine, had it all back together. I think it took us about six hours. We stayed up all night in San Felipe doing it in the back of a truck. When we finished, Bill Savage, who was the tech guy at the time, said, Hey, your competitors are telling us you guys had an engine failure and you must have to replace the engine in order to finish. We said, No, that's not true. He says, Okay, well, how do you prove it to me? I said, We'd have to take the motor apart to show the witness marks from the broken parts.
[00:46:20.130] - Speaker 3
He said, You guys better start working. We took the motor back out of the car at the finish line, completely disassembled it, showed him the evidence, and we shook our hands, said, Congratulations, you guys won the championship.
[00:46:31.400] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. Did you guys win that first finishing Volkswagen motor then?
[00:46:37.000] - Speaker 3
Yeah. We got the overall VW points and purse, and that was quite the experience. My dad was alongside us with that one as well.
[00:46:48.480] - Big Rich Klein
I have a story for you that works in that... That helped you guys then in that race. I was pitting and helping running communications for Pistol Pete in the number 2 trophy truck. And during that race, there was a 12 car that, I would imagine was the last 100 miles or 150 miles, was running and trying to get around and be in behind and then back in front, Pete. And he went to pass him and he break-checked Pete in this 12 car, and Pete slid up over his engine cage and sheared off the carburetor or manifolds or however it was set up and took the guy out of the race. Not on purpose. And then, Pete finished the race. It was that race when he blew a ring and pinion and barely made it back in. And, Ravi Gordon got around him for third place, I think, or second place or something. But we were just outside the big finish, but we finished. And then the guy in the 12 car found Pete like two days after the race and punched him.
[00:48:09.030] - Speaker 3
I think we've all read that story on one of the forums. That is a famous story, isn't it?
[00:48:14.050] - Big Rich Klein
Yes. I was right around the corner, me and Lance Clifford from pirate 4x4. We were loading the truck with our gear, going back and forth from the hotel. And we came around the corner, and there's Pete sitting on his butt on the ground. We were like, What's happening? He goes, I just got punched. And The guys that did it were gone. I mean, they didn't hang around. It was a sucker punch and run.
[00:48:36.840] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Oh, my God.
[00:48:38.340] - Speaker 3
He was a pretty big guy, so they probably knew we better get a good one in and get on the move.
[00:48:43.270] - Big Rich Klein
He was a big guy. He was a big guy. He was one of those guys that people love to hate, or you loved him. I have to say he was a really good friend. I miss him dearly. He was a character for sure. He wasn't afraid to tell anybody what he thought.
[00:49:02.770] - Speaker 3
Oh, yeah. I've been on the receiving end of that, just a regular conversation. I hung around Cameron Steal a lot in those days, and of course, he was in there. So he, yeah.
[00:49:15.800] - Big Rich Klein
Absolutely.
[00:49:15.860] - Speaker 3
Not to mention his unique looks, but you just knew from the dude's personality. Like, yes, he's everything everybody says about him.
[00:49:24.860] - Big Rich Klein
Absolutely. Well, guys, I want to say thank you so much for spending spending the time and talking with us. And it was interesting having everybody on the phone at once and trying to get the conversations. I hope everybody gets used to the whole one, two, three, and four or five thing. But it was an experience for me. I hope you guys enjoyed it.
[00:49:50.960] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Yes, very much. I really appreciate you taking the time. It's a pleasure.
[00:49:56.600] - Big Rich Klein
I hope to get to meet you guys all in person someday.
[00:50:00.040] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
That would be great. I'd love to meet you.
[00:50:03.310] - Speaker 3
Yeah, likewise.
[00:50:04.580] - Big Rich Klein
Well, if you guys ever get out to the Ormhoff Gala, the Induction Gala, look me up. I'm on the board of directors there and love to share some more stories with you. Thank you.
[00:50:17.360] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Sounds great. Thank you so much, Rich.
[00:50:18.860] - Big Rich Klein
All right.
[00:50:19.370] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
You take care.
[00:50:20.730] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. You all take care, Andy's. Long live, beautiful lives. How's that?
[00:50:28.510] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
That's great.
[00:50:30.020] - Big Rich Klein
You as well. Okay. Thank you so much. Have a great day.
[00:50:34.070] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Thanks, Rich. You, too. All right.
[00:50:35.390] - Andy DeVerchelly x 4
Thank you. Bye-bye.
[00:50:36.210] - Big Rich Klein
Bye-bye. Well, that's another episode of Conversations with Big Rich. I'd like to thank you all for listening. If you could do us a favor and Leave us a review on any podcast service that you happen to be listening on, or send us an email or a text message or a Facebook message, and let me know any ideas that you have, or if there's anybody that you have that you think would be a great guest, please forward the contact information to me so that we can try to get them on. And always remember, live life to the fullest. Enjoying life is a must. Follow your dreams and live life with all the gusto you can. Thank you.