Conversations with Big Rich
Hear conversations with the legacy stars of rockcrawling and off-road. Big Rich interviews the leaders in rock sports.
Conversations with Big Rich
Shawn Rants, 4500 class driver running the ship on Episode 132
Our personal pit crew captain for many years, Shawn Rants shares stories of KOH, raising kids and working on high end equipment. One of our favorite because of his pure generosity of spirit. Listen up to see what makes the man.
5:26 – if it snowed 4 feet, the bus came to get us with chains on, there were no snow days
14:07– it was trying to do things differently…but a lot of times you end up drifting back
17:45 – Top Eliminator Sand Drags, that’s high horsepower, 3000 HP; 300 ft in under 2.9 seconds
23:28 – these are around $5 million , we have well over 100 of them…
28:17 – it was enjoyable, but I can’t say it was easy
32:05 – “well. I went and paid your entry fee today, so you have to go.”
39:56 – you might drive 2000 miles to make two 3 second runs
42:34 – my life long goal was to win KOH (in the 4500 class)
47:22 – we always want to do whatever it takes to finish
We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.
Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
All Automotive with Matt Clawson
Automotive related topics. Anything from owning an repair facility to racing. Anything...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
[00:00:06.370] - Big Rich Klein
Welcome to conversations with Big Rich. This is an interview style podcast. Those interviews are all involved in the offroad industry. Being involved, like all of my guests are, is a lifestyle, not just a job. I talk to competitive teams, racers, rock crawlers, business owners, employees, media and private park owners, men and women who have found their way into this exciting and addictive lifestyle. We discuss their personal history, struggles, successes, and reboots. We dive into what drives them to stay active and offroad. We all hope to shed some light on how to find a path into this world we live and love and call offroad.
[00:00:53.790] -
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.
[00:01:20.290] -
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.
[00:01:47.290] - Big Rich Klein
On today's episode of conversations with Big Rich, we have Shawn Rants. I can't remember the first time I actually met Shawn. It may have been with Dean Bulloch or Jeff Rector or Mitch Funk. Maybe in Moab before racing. But Shawn races the 4500 class at Ultra Four and King of the Hammers, and he raced with us in Dirt Riot. He was also the head of my pit crew, as I called it. Every time we'd come to one of the Dirt Riot races or into Farmington, Shawn and his guys were always there to make sure that the We Rock jeep was ready for battle. So, Shawn, thank you so much for everything you've done, and I want to say thank you for coming on and talking with us.
[00:02:38.690] - Shawn Rants
Well, yeah, it's an honor to have a conversation with Big Rich. I believe we met in eleven. I can't remember it was at Moab because you started the Dirt Riot in eleven or twelve.
[00:02:56.170] - Big Rich Klein
I think it was 11. I believe it was eleven, but it may have been. We did a test event and then we started a full season.
[00:03:07.930] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, and I didn't race the first season. I was there with Mitch Funk, but then after that I did a number of seasons, and it was some of the most enjoyable times we had in racing.
[00:03:23.390] - Big Rich Klein
Well, I sure enjoyed it. I really loved all the racers. I loved setting up the race courses and going into all the parks and everything. But that's another story. Let's start off the beginning by asking you where were you born and raised?
[00:03:43.610] - Shawn Rants
I was born in California by chance and then I was only two and moved to Grand Junction, Colorado and lived there. I lived in Colorado. My father passed away in 75 and then I moved to Utah and then I've been in Wyoming and then now in New Mexico.
[00:04:02.700] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, well, we'll get to what you do for work and everything, but where did you spend most of the time growing up? Those informative years, say up until the beginning of high school, that would have.
[00:04:19.840] - Shawn Rants
Been in Colorado, in Grand Junction and then up around Eagle, Colorado.
[00:04:23.760] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And what was it like there at that time? I know you're not as old as I am or we're really close, maybe, yeah.
[00:04:35.430] - Shawn Rants
I'm not afraid to say it because most people in my family don't live this long. I'm 62.
[00:04:40.280] - Big Rich Klein
62, okay. Yeah. You're a little younger than me.
[00:04:44.010] - Shawn Rants
Right.
[00:04:44.700] - Big Rich Klein
I grew up in the south of San Francisco in the Bay Area, so I wasn't rural. Grand Junction was pretty rural at that time.
[00:04:54.030] - Shawn Rants
It was, it was a very small town and then we moved to a Farm Dad was a farmer, we lived in town in Grand Junction early on and then we lived on the farm up in Colorado when he passed away. But we lived at 9000ft and it was an hour and a half drive to school and an hour and a half home and it was fun times, it was enjoyable.
[00:05:21.250] - Big Rich Klein
Was that hour and a half on a bus?
[00:05:24.010] - Shawn Rants
On a school bus, yeah.
[00:05:25.440] - Big Rich Klein
Wow.
[00:05:26.770] - Shawn Rants
And if we got 4ft of snow, the bus came, the bus came to us with chains on it and we went no matter what. There was no snow days. It could be three to 4ft and you still went.
[00:05:39.220] - Big Rich Klein
Right. Not like nowadays, right?
[00:05:41.800] - Shawn Rants
If it gets a skiff and gets cold, they cancel.
[00:05:44.950] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, it's kind of a shame, but it's the way life is nowadays.
[00:05:49.730] - Shawn Rants
It is.
[00:05:50.720] - Big Rich Klein
So what did you do? I mean, you were on the farm and that was an hour and a half to school, but you said you lived down in the valley first or called the valley, and then did you commute did your dad commute up to the farm at that time?
[00:06:13.090] - Shawn Rants
No, he worked in town in Grand Junction.
[00:06:15.670] - Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:06:16.190] - Shawn Rants
But until the time we moved, he was born and raised on a farm, went to the military, came out and then tried a city life and then it didn't work out, so he'd rather go back to the farming.
[00:06:30.320] - Big Rich Klein
That makes sense. And so at what age did you move up to the farm then?
[00:06:36.130] - Shawn Rants
I was 11.
[00:06:37.600] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. So you had a lot of farm duties in growing up?
[00:06:42.550] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, we had chickens and pigs and all kinds of stuff to do and then we grew the garden in the summer, that took all our time. And then in the winter when it became calving season, the farm ranch we worked on had 1500 head of cows and he taught me how to take care of cows and pull calfs and do all the not so happy stuff.
[00:07:09.000] - Big Rich Klein
Right. Kind of like Yellowstone.
[00:07:13.370] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, pretty much. We didn't have a train station, but we had a lot of the rest of it.
[00:07:21.700] - Big Rich Klein
There you go, you got to drive farm equipment. Did you have a motorcycle or bicycles?
[00:07:32.130] - Shawn Rants
I didn't when we were on the farm it was pretty much work if you weren't at school or whatever. And then of course all summer it was just they always had plenty to do. So at that time we were really poor and didn't have a whole lot, so we didn't have a whole lot. We actually got to the point I remember for the longest time you'd go to town once a month and get groceries and the rest of the time you had to make it with whatever you had.
[00:07:59.730] - Big Rich Klein
Wow, okay. That can be a rough life, but it can be motivating as well.
[00:08:08.250] - Shawn Rants
It's very fulfilling because at the end of the day you're tired and you've actually accomplished some tasks.
[00:08:15.670] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And so then what was school like for you? Was it a relief to get off of the farm there for a while?
[00:08:26.730] - Shawn Rants
You know, it was because we'd catch the bus around 630 in the morning, depending on the snow day, and get home around 536 o'clock at night. And I really longed for the education and to be a little more social because living on the farm you didn't have to get to see a lot of people but to be a little bit social. But I guess that's why I'm not the greatest of social as now, but I looked forward to school at that time.
[00:09:00.690] - Big Rich Klein
I'd like to say everybody that has met you thinks you're pretty social, a nice guy. I mean, you're not the guy that sees somebody standing there or a crowd and you're going to go over and shake everybody's hand and introduce yourself. But you're very accommodating.
[00:09:19.110] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, it is, and I really like people, I'm just a bit shy.
[00:09:25.630] - Shawn Rants
Approachable, but I don't approach a lot, I guess.
[00:09:28.640] - Big Rich Klein
Right, so then through high school, still on the farm?
[00:09:37.230] - Shawn Rants
No, I was 15 when my father passed away and I moved to Utah with some other family and lived with my aunt and uncle in Vernal, Utah, where you've had a couple of races over there. But I lived in Vernal through high school and that's where I met my first wife, had four kids there and I really enjoyed the area.
[00:10:02.610] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, I know that one of your friends, Mitch Funk, lives in that area. Did you meet him at that time.
[00:10:09.540] - Shawn Rants
Or no, I actually met Mitch in Moab through some friends of ours and my kids. But I met Mitch Funk in Moab and started wheeling with him there and that would have been 2007 somewhere. 2008.
[00:10:30.600] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. After formative years, your high school years, you were there in Vernal that's not as big as Grand Junction.
[00:10:40.650] - Shawn Rants
No, Vernal, especially in the 70s, was a very small town.
[00:10:45.870] - Big Rich Klein
Right. So then just like one high school and everybody knew each other.
[00:10:52.230] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, that was the commonality of it, that it was small enough that everybody I think our graduating class was less than 100.
[00:11:02.190] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. Yeah, that's small. Especially for an area that with that religious base where it's all about having kids.
[00:11:12.510] - Shawn Rants
Right? Yeah. While I was in high school, I think I finished the 10th grade and met with a friend, and I started doing circle tracks, helping a friend take care of a camaro on circle tracks, that's what got me started there in, like, in motor sports.
[00:11:34.480] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And were you able to drive at that point?
[00:11:38.550] - Shawn Rants
No.
[00:11:39.100] - Big Rich Klein
Through high school?
[00:11:40.770] - Shawn Rants
No, I was just a pit crew, and a friend of mine, Marvin, he was the driver.
[00:11:49.450] - Big Rich Klein
And high school, was it easy? Was it difficult?
[00:11:54.390] - Shawn Rants
Of course it was difficult, because right after my father passed away, your attitudes change and you're mad at the world. And the teachers weren't too accommodating. They like anything. They didn't have a lot of time. So my last couple of years of high school was pretty tough.
[00:12:13.350] - Big Rich Klein
So you were into the motor sports with helping your friend with a pick crew as a pit crew?
[00:12:19.010] - Shawn Rants
Yeah.
[00:12:19.810] - Big Rich Klein
How long did you do that for?
[00:12:22.590] - Shawn Rants
I probably helped him for probably just the three years through the 11th, 12th grade of high school. And then one year after, he kept racing. And then once I had children and I moved, we kind of just drifted apart and didn't help anymore.
[00:12:41.980] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And I know that you work in the oil and gas industry now. Vernal is really big for that. I don't know if it was at the time. Is that where you got started in that?
[00:12:54.790] - Shawn Rants
You know, it was where I got started, but it was later years because since I had a number of years on the farm, right after my father passed, I worked on the farm, different farms there, and I started doing the oil field. I think about the time my oldest son was born, around 80, 81.
[00:13:16.890] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. How long were you married before you had children?
[00:13:24.250] - Shawn Rants
Only a year and a half. We discussed it and wanted to have our kids early enough that we could have a later life.
[00:13:32.210] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And what was it like raising your kids? I know three, four of them.
[00:13:41.290] - Shawn Rants
I have three sons, then a daughter, and then I had my youngest later on, later. But it was a good challenge. I'm happy that it happened, and it makes you a whole different person.
[00:14:01.330] - Big Rich Klein
It does. What were your challenges as a young father?
[00:14:07.790] - Shawn Rants
It was trying to do things differently when you grow up and your father is one way, and then you didn't agree with some of it, and then you try to raise your children different, but then a lot of times you end up drifting back to the original, the way you were raised, that you would have some knowledge of. But it was tough because I had three boys and then a girl and then one more boy later. But, yeah, it was a challenge in raising children, and I really don't tend to be the people who have to raise children in today's age. It was a lot different back then.
[00:14:49.850] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I agree. We had a lot more freedoms, I think, or less concerns about our safety. If something was going to happen, it was because we were dumb and did something, not somebody doing something to us.
[00:15:08.150] - Shawn Rants
Which was quite often. Like when I grew up, we would go out on a weekend or in the summer, we would get out of the house and be gone for 810, 12 hours. Mum and dad probably didn't know where we were, but they knew we were okay unless one of us came home, because I have two brothers and one sister, but one of us had come back and tell if something bad happened, but otherwise it was just an all day deal. And so when I was raising my kids, I kept a little more eye on them, I think, but I encouraged them to be outside all the time.
[00:15:42.940] - Big Rich Klein
Right. I know that when I was a young father, it was right around the time that the Nintendo's or whatever came out.
[00:15:54.080] - Shawn Rants
Yeah.
[00:15:54.660] - Big Rich Klein
And everybody got so involved in that. And as a family, of course, we went and bought one, and I think after about three weeks or something, I put it back in the box and hid it.
[00:16:10.470] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, my boys would play with it, but then they still did everything outside.
[00:16:17.190] - Big Rich Klein
And what were the kind of things that you did with them as they were growing up?
[00:16:22.530] - Shawn Rants
We did a bit of fishing. I'm not a big fisherman, but we did fish a little bit, and then we went camping a lot. We love just being in the mountains because I didn't buy my first Jeep until 2005. All I had was a pickup and a camper, and we would just go up in the mountain and walk around and see everything.
[00:16:46.230] - Big Rich Klein
Let me guess, was the Ford pickup?
[00:16:48.640] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, everything's been ford. And then my oldest son was one when I started doing the mud drag racing. And so then we did a lot of that through the years.
[00:17:02.850] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, well, talk about that. How did you get involved? How did that happen?
[00:17:07.830] - Shawn Rants
You know, I really don't know. I probably went and saw one, and like any young man that just thinks, I can do that, and then you get out there and you can't do that unless you put a lot more effort in it than what you believe. And I started that in, I think, 82, and then it just went from our stock pick up and it went from there and then got into the high horsepower later.
[00:17:37.710] - Big Rich Klein
And besides the mud trucks, what else did you get involved with racing?
[00:17:45.870] - Shawn Rants
I've helped people do drag racing, top alcohol drag racing, and Altered drag racing. I was a crew chief on Altered and I was just one of the crew members on a top alcohol dragster. And then when I quit mud racing, I got into helping a friend of mine do top Eliminator Sand drags. And that's high horsepower 3000 HP, trying to go 300ft and under 2.9 seconds was our goal. And it's just been one. I have to have some high horsepower to do.
[00:18:34.910] - Big Rich Klein
You have a need for speed?
[00:18:37.010] - Shawn Rants
Yes, sir. You got to do it while you can because one of these days it's not going to keep going.
[00:18:45.810] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I agree. I grew up in a drag racing family. My dad drag raced. He was a car builder. He had street rods and stuff like that back in the 50s. But in the early 60s, him and his buddy ran a car. And I remember growing up around that, being in the shop, being young, and they had a shop that was like right off an alley off of the main street in our town. And it snowed one time, and it was on a day they were supposed to go drag racing. Instead they took the car and did launches up and down the main street where all the shopping, all the small shops and all the restaurants and all that kind of stuff were in the snow. And that's the one thing I remember growing up about the drag car.
[00:19:45.430] - Shawn Rants
I've never really cared for going around the circle. I tried it a little bit in the 90s, but my oldest son, we did circle track racing with him in the it's just all part of it and I know.
[00:20:04.390] - Big Rich Klein
Let's go down through the age group on who who's the oldest.
[00:20:10.210] - Shawn Rants
The oldest one is John.
[00:20:11.780] - Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:20:12.300] - Shawn Rants
And then the second one is Shawn Jr. And then Kevin, which has been my co driver from the start. And then Amy, my only daughter, of course. And then I have Lee, my youngest son. And then Dawn, my current wife. She has one daughter, Samantha.
[00:20:36.290] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, awesome. I wasn't sure who was the oldest of the three boys that I'm very familiar with, but I've never asked, so it's good to know.
[00:20:48.370] - Shawn Rants
Yeah.
[00:20:49.750] - Big Rich Klein
So then you're doing the mud racing at that time. Were you working on the farms?
[00:20:57.970] - Shawn Rants
No, when I started mud racing, that was about the time I started in the oil field in Vernon.
[00:21:05.000] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And what did you do in the oil fields?
[00:21:07.710] - Shawn Rants
I was just a roustabout which was a guy who cut and threaded pipe, cleaned up oil, shoveled, dirt. You have to start at the bottom and work your way up.
[00:21:18.050] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And that has been a pretty good career for you, has it not?
[00:21:23.170] - Shawn Rants
It has. I got into equipment maintenance, taken care of large equipment like scrapers and cats and things like that. And then I got into compression, which is what it's called now when it's natural gas compression. We gather gas out of the wells and compress it and clean it and ship it on. And I've been with the company I'm at now for 26 years.
[00:21:51.130] - Big Rich Klein
Wow. Congratulations. That's a stretch.
[00:21:54.370] - Shawn Rants
That is a milestone every year.
[00:21:57.140] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah. I mean, that's not real common anymore. No, I know that. I never had a job that lasted more than five years until I became an off road event promoter.
[00:22:10.690] - Shawn Rants
Right. So you work for yourself?
[00:22:12.380] - Big Rich Klein
Yes. And even some of those that I had that only lasted less than five years were businesses that I ran myself, my own company. I always got bored, you might say, I think, is what it was. I just needed something, and I could never find out what it was that I needed until I found rock crawling.
[00:22:36.290] - Shawn Rants
Right. The challenge that I have at the work that I do now, we work on engines that cost just the bare engine is over $2 million. What it takes to maintain them is definitely never ended being a challenge.
[00:23:01.950] - Big Rich Klein
I can imagine. $2 million on an engine. Wow.
[00:23:05.470] - Shawn Rants
Yeah. That's just the basic engine. And then by the time you add all what it takes to make a package that will run a compressor, you're getting in a five to five and a half million dollar range. And we have 100 and some of those.
[00:23:21.850] - Big Rich Klein
Really?
[00:23:23.290] - Shawn Rants
Yeah.
[00:23:25.030] - Big Rich Klein
Is that like, one engine per plant, then?
[00:23:28.030] - Shawn Rants
Well, it's one engine. It would be just like a compressor in your shop. You've got an electric motor and a compressor in a tank. But we have the engine, which is natural gas fired, and then the compressor, which compresses natural gas to ship it down the pipeline. And each one of those a compressor in your shop will cost around $2,000. These are around $5 million. And like I said, we have well over 100 of them.
[00:23:58.660] - Big Rich Klein
Wow, that's interesting. So as you started to have the kids, where were you living when the kids came along?
[00:24:08.230] - Shawn Rants
We were in Vernal because I met yeah, my wife and I graduated from high school together, but we didn't know each other at all. We met through some friends later, and so we got married a year and a half after high school and another year after that year, almost year and a half, we started having kids, and it was all internal.
[00:24:31.390] - Big Rich Klein
So you had a graduating class of less than 100 or right around 100 and you didn't know her?
[00:24:39.790] - Shawn Rants
I did not, because at that time, I would get out of school and go to work on the farm, get up in the morning, go to work on the farm, and make it to school. So I wasn't at the social functions and everything that goes through high school. So it was work and school.
[00:24:59.170] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. Yeah, I get it. You said after Vernal you've been to a few other places you want to go.
[00:25:12.290] - Shawn Rants
Well, after Vernal, I got a job offer in Grand Junction, and we went to Grand Junction for a little over two years. And I ran a water truck business. Didn't run the business. I ran the maintenance shop, repairing all of their water trucks, and then that was in then I moved to Wyoming.
[00:25:45.030] - Big Rich Klein
Where the wind always blows.
[00:25:47.190] - Shawn Rants
Yeah. The wind never stops and it's always cold.
[00:25:49.890] - Big Rich Klein
Yes.
[00:25:50.850] - Shawn Rants
We used to always say that we would go in or tubing or sledding on the 4 July. That was our we'd go up in the mountains and go sledding on snow. So it's a whole different world up there. You have to appreciate it.
[00:26:05.870] - Big Rich Klein
Yes. So then you were in Wyoming for how long?
[00:26:10.790] - Shawn Rants
For two years.
[00:26:12.170] - Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:26:12.650] - Shawn Rants
From 92 to 94. And then in 94, I moved here to Aztec, New Mexico.
[00:26:20.790] - Big Rich Klein
And was that chasing a job?
[00:26:23.070] - Shawn Rants
Yes, it was always chasing a job because back in the oil field had crashed, everything had crashed, and you just got work wherever you could. And so we just chased work for a number of years.
[00:26:38.330] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, and that's where let's see the age of your kids.
[00:26:46.330] - Shawn Rants
My youngest son was born when we were in Wyoming.
[00:26:49.190] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. So Lee was born there.
[00:26:53.470] - Shawn Rants
Lee was born there, yes.
[00:26:56.890] - Big Rich Klein
So what was it like raising kids in Farmington or Aztec? I mean, that's all kind of the same.
[00:27:05.350] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, it's a quiet community, everybody's real friendly. It's a nice place to live, and the schools were good.
[00:27:25.390] - Big Rich Klein
And that's where you've been with that company now for 26 years?
[00:27:32.470] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, I started in the summer of 96 and been here ever since. My wife passed away in 99. And so from then till six years ago, all I did was have a little fun. That's when I started. Well, I was allowed to raise my children on my own.
[00:28:02.130] - Big Rich Klein
Right.
[00:28:03.330] - Shawn Rants
Yeah. I decided that there was no sense looking for another spouse, so I just took care of my kids.
[00:28:11.670] - Big Rich Klein
I commend you on that.
[00:28:17.250] - Shawn Rants
It was very enjoyable, but I can't say it was easy.
[00:28:21.270] - Big Rich Klein
Well, even when you have a partner to help with that raising, it's not easy.
[00:28:29.910] - Shawn Rants
Right.
[00:28:30.840] - Big Rich Klein
So doing it on your own and then trying to be the breadwinner as well, I can imagine you had your hands full, because I know your kids.
[00:28:41.430] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, they're all good kids.
[00:28:42.960] - Big Rich Klein
They are.
[00:28:44.250] - Shawn Rants
And like I say, it was definitely an adventure.
[00:28:52.110] - Big Rich Klein
And did your kids get involved in sports or anything, or were they working at a young age?
[00:29:05.290] - Shawn Rants
They all played football, basketball, baseball. Baseball was a big thing because I liked baseball and they did, too. So I coached what I could. I helped coach pretty much all of the boys. And then my daughter, she did volleyball and soccer, and we had a lot of sports going on.
[00:29:27.940] - Big Rich Klein
Good. That's awesome. You said you got into your first jeep, when was it again?
[00:29:37.170] - Shawn Rants
2005.
[00:29:38.250] - Big Rich Klein
2005, okay. That's why I wrote that down.
[00:29:40.410] - Shawn Rants
Yes, go ahead. I started building it into just a rock crawler. It's my scrambler that I raced later, and I just started building it into a rock crawler. And that's when I met up with Mitch Funk and some of the other guys, you know.
[00:29:57.910] - Big Rich Klein
Did you get involved with the local clubs down there?
[00:30:03.490] - Shawn Rants
I didn't at that time. I didn't know anything about it. I got involved with the national scrambler association and met up with them in Moab in 2006. And I've been a member ever since, but not the local club till later.
[00:30:21.250] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, and you met Mitch and then after Mitch, was it Dean and Jeff or what was that altogether, or yes.
[00:30:33.040] - Shawn Rants
Mitch and Jeff and Dean and all of those guys, because in 2011 was the first time I went to see an off road race, king of the hammers. And I went down and helped Jeff and some other friends and it went from there.
[00:30:52.030] - Big Rich Klein
And then you decided, okay, that's going fast, and I've got to try it.
[00:30:56.470] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, that's the thing. 2012 was the first EMC. They decided, Dave and his people decided they were going to do a lower class. And I knew, and I still wouldn't have the money to raise in the upper class, but I thought I could race in that lower class with what I had, cause it was just to bring your trail rig, put a bunch of safety equipment in it. Basically, my scrambler at the time had everything except for fire extinguishers, fuel cell, little bit of stuff like that. And so it was pretty easy to get started.
[00:31:33.610] - Big Rich Klein
And you picked the 4500 class because of that? Because it was modified enough.
[00:31:39.010] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, it was too modified for the stock class, so I picked the and.
[00:31:46.850] - Big Rich Klein
What did you think that 1st 4500 race when you went out there? And cars that were supposedly built to the class, where I know that racing is all about if you're not cheating, you're not winning. And I don't want to say anybody cheated, but man, there was some really pushing of the gray areas.
[00:32:05.690] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, there was riding the fringe, but we went down there just to have fun. That was the thing about when we got started, and it's still nothing but fun for us anyway. But when we went the first time, we were very capable with some of the rigs that were there. And I don't know if you know the story behind me over racing down there, it's all Mitch Funk's fault because they started that class. And he called me up one afternoon, and we had been in Moab racing or playing, and he called me up and he said, what do you think about racing king of the hammers? I said, I don't know, I got to take a little bit of work to get it going and this and that, and he goes, he tells me at that time, he goes, well, I went and paid your entry fee today, so you have to go. So that's how I got entered into the very first one. So that afternoon when I got off the phone, I went on, found the website, found out how to do it, and I entered him. At that time, you just put your name in and paid the money.
[00:33:21.870] - Shawn Rants
And so he entered me, and I entered him out of trying to get back at him. The start of that was my whole career at Ultra Four. Started with Mitch Funk paying and telling me I was going, I love that.
[00:33:40.630] - Big Rich Klein
And how did you do that first year down there?
[00:33:44.180] - Shawn Rants
I believe I got fourth or fifth because I was running really good. And of course I hit a boulder that was out in the middle of nowhere, hiding behind one of those bushes and broke the steering box off. And that was when we started that we're going to complete our race no matter what. Kevin walked a mile and we didn't have a steering box, but Jeff Rector did. So Kevin walked a mile, got Jeff Rector spare steering box, we put it on and we did finish the race.
[00:34:13.870] - Big Rich Klein
Very good, very good. No time limit then.
[00:34:18.070] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, there was. There was still the time limit, but we still had plenty of time.
[00:34:25.350] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, and how is your completion record at Koh been.
[00:34:33.230] - Shawn Rants
There'S been eleven EMCs, and we've been in all of them. And I believe one year I finished after time, but Dave gave me the completion because it was a really horrendous course for us. And so I believe I finished nine out of the eleven.
[00:34:50.940] - Big Rich Klein
Nine out of eleven, that's pretty good. Yeah, there's a lot of guys that would love to have that kind of a record.
[00:34:58.670] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, we're very proud of ourselves because being all home built.
[00:35:05.150] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah. You guys aren't like no factory, no big sponsors. It comes out of your garage.
[00:35:16.010] - Shawn Rants
Yes, it comes out of our pockets and our time and even the travel and everything. It's all us.
[00:35:23.110] - Big Rich Klein
Was Kevin your first navigator copilot?
[00:35:26.350] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, he was the navigator all the way up until this last Koh, and then he had some other things he wanted to do. So this year he did Koh, and then the rest of the season he's been just helping out.
[00:35:42.570] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, and then was it John that stepped in?
[00:35:47.030] - Shawn Rants
No, actually my engine builder's name is Chuck Richardson from Rpm Automotive. He stepped in because we didn't know, like, if John could race or come with us. You don't know when they can come. And Chuck signed on for the whole year.
[00:36:06.560] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, perfect. I understand. Let's talk about your current wife and how you met her.
[00:36:19.650] - Shawn Rants
I met her through a party of some people that raced Ultra4, oh, really? Here in Farmington. And I was. Invited to a party and she was there. We were both single, of course, and it just happened to work out. And we've been married for just a little over six years.
[00:36:43.710] - Big Rich Klein
And I'm surprised with the way she cooks that you didn't gain like twice your normal weight.
[00:36:51.090] - Shawn Rants
You know, it's tough. I have to leave some on the plate every day because she loves to cook and she's very good at it. And she definitely knows how to feed people.
[00:37:03.300] - Big Rich Klein
Yes. She's a good caretaker, too. I mean, she seems to be just all on, all in.
[00:37:14.780] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, she's a fireball. I can't keep up with her.
[00:37:19.270] - Big Rich Klein
So how long did you guys know each other before you decided to tie the knot?
[00:37:26.710] - Shawn Rants
Almost two years. Right. At two years? Over two years, yeah.
[00:37:32.280] - Big Rich Klein
And was it an easy choice for you to make to get married again?
[00:37:39.310] - Shawn Rants
It wasn't because I'd been single for over 15 years and it wasn't easy, but she made it easy.
[00:37:48.790] - Big Rich Klein
That's good to hear. That's awesome. So then your racing career, the mud races again, it's not making left hand turns the whole time, like you said, making laps, and then you've done the Rock Racing Ultra Four. Was there any other racing that you were driving at that time?
[00:38:20.390] - Shawn Rants
When we were doing the sand drag racing? I don't know how to put it. The stress that's on you during the sand racing, it's pretty tough to go 150 miles an hour at 2.9 seconds. And so I drove about half the time with the sand dragster.
[00:38:44.920] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And what was that like sitting on.
[00:38:49.050] - Shawn Rants
You know, going from zero to 150 in under 3 seconds is one of the greatest feelings because in Mud racing, we would go up to about 200ft in under 2 seconds, and then in Sandrags, we were limited. Our class was 2.95 breakout, and we would go 295 to 3 seconds in 300ft run after run. And the adrenaline rush of the gforce and all that it takes is just hard to explain until you do it. And then the mud racing part, you're doing that while you're either going left, right, or once in a while you'd get to go straight, but you're always trying to go the wrong way.
[00:39:38.590] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah. Because the surface that you're running on is not necessarily consistent.
[00:39:45.850] - Shawn Rants
Right. It's very slick, depending on whether it was Sandy or just mud.
[00:39:50.080] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And did you race just kind of locally or did you race nationally?
[00:39:56.900] - Shawn Rants
No, I raced with back in the late eighty s and into the 90s with USA, United Sports of America, and we went all over as well, California and South Carolina. We did a lot of traveling to those races. But the thing about the Mud racing is the runs are two to 3 seconds long, so you might drive 2000 miles to make two, three second runs.
[00:40:28.570] - Big Rich Klein
Wow. That's kind of like the old XRRA, except that you got a couple of minutes and everybody used to say, well, we need more racing time. We need more racing time. Did you ever see any of that XRRA stuff?
[00:40:45.260] - Shawn Rants
I saw it on the videos, but I didn't get to go to one.
[00:40:50.190] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, and what is coming up for you guys? I mean, you got any special plans?
[00:41:01.140] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, this year Ford made us a smoking deal on a 21 bronco. I believe it's a pre production. We can't license it or anything like that. So we're making a 4600 class, which I'm sure everybody's seen the three that are already out there that are Ford sponsored and built. And we got a stock bronco that's just right off the showroom floor with 500 miles on it. And we've started working on it, and we've got the portals for the front end, and we're working with Loren Healey and Havoc off road to get a lot of the rest of the parts, because our contract says we're going to race that one at Koh 23. So we'll have the two vehicles there this coming. 23.
[00:41:55.790] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, really? So that's going to be a 4600 car?
[00:42:00.150] - Shawn Rants
Yes, that's a 4600. So we'll have our 4500 that we have, and then the 4600 will be new.
[00:42:08.810] - Big Rich Klein
And how are you going to drive both I'm not.
[00:42:13.060] - Shawn Rants
Okay. The 4600. I believe John and Kevin. And Andrew. John and Kevin are sons, and Andrew's son in law. And between the three of them, they'll figure out who's going to drive it and co drive it, and we'll work it all out.
[00:42:30.720] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, cool. And then you'll be still in the old car?
[00:42:34.810] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, I'll be in the $4,500. My lifelong goal I don't know that with the competition that's out there right now, my lifelong goal was to ever win Koh. But I give it my all, and I don't feel bad if I don't, but that's my goal.
[00:42:50.990] - Big Rich Klein
That's a good goal to have.
[00:42:52.920] - Shawn Rants
It is.
[00:42:54.170] - Big Rich Klein
So what was the difference in racing? Explain the difference in racing, like ultra four and dirt riot. I know there was a vast difference in how the courses were designed and.
[00:43:07.140] - Shawn Rants
That kind of stuff, but there are the ultra four. I just love Koh because of the diverse terrain that you got the monster rocks and the huge trails, and then you've got the desert and all that. And I always liked the Dirt Riott because the races were a little bit shorter, just as brutal, and it's changed over the years. Of course, Dirt Riot doesn't do them anymore, but the family aspect of the Dirt Riot, that's what kept us going through even through the early Koh years. But the Koh is a whole different animal because of the size of it. But I think if you ask any of my family and crew, the funnest times we had were dirt Riot.
[00:44:05.850] - Big Rich Klein
I agree, at least from my part of dirt Riot. The whole goal when we started that was to give people a place to start racing and to hopefully teach them how to finish races.
[00:44:23.950] - Shawn Rants
It takes us a little while to give it your all, but leave a little bit on the table so you can finish.
[00:44:31.280] - Big Rich Klein
Yes. And I got that when I started running Vora back in the Valley Off Road Racing Association up in northern Nevada. In California. One of the things there that I learned was that the guys that came out brand new to race, that had maybe seen it, decided to do it, buy a car, get it all cleaned up, they come out to race. And they were just most of them I wouldn't say panic stricken, but they were almost like they were in over their head, the first couple of races. And it was always interesting to watch how they how they learn to start relaxing and getting into the flow and being ready to race and then hopefully completing races. Desert racing is a lot different than the rock racing. You can go 300 miles or 200, 400 miles in an off road car a lot easier than you can even do. Sometimes just 50 miles or three laps. In Moab, the terrain is so much more brutal.
[00:45:45.610] - Shawn Rants
It is. When we did those Ultra four, had a couple of races there in Nevada that were 250 and 250 miles wasn't near as brutal as especially as like, Koh koh was every year there's years that when I'm done at Koh that I sat in the car for 20 minutes, drink some sodas waters and Gatorades just to try and calm down and be able to stand up right.
[00:46:18.980] - Big Rich Klein
I get it.
[00:46:21.530] - Shawn Rants
There was one time I know you'll remember that. I can't remember Vernal or somewhere, but Kevin was driving and we lost the right front wheel and we came in in reverse.
[00:46:36.530] - Big Rich Klein
Yes.
[00:46:37.290] - Shawn Rants
The finish line. We always wanted to finish.
[00:46:42.170] - Big Rich Klein
And that really surprised me when you guys came in that way, too. I remember Casey Curry, the first UTV race that was put on at Koh. I did that one, and it was like two years before they started doing them regularly, or maybe just the year before, but it was the first year and he had lost all his forward gears and he finished like the last. I don't know. I want to say eight to 10 miles, all desert in reverse, and a UTV that's much easier to do it to see.
[00:47:17.300] - Shawn Rants
Yeah.
[00:47:20.030] - Big Rich Klein
I give you guys credit for that.
[00:47:22.490] - Shawn Rants
We've always wanted to do whatever it took to finish, because once you break, generally if you break, you're not going to be on the podium, but in your own heart to be satisfy yourself, just to be able to say you fixed it and finished.
[00:47:42.110] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And the dirt riot. What I really liked about that was most races, off road races, whether it's rock racing or desert racing, you see all your friends, maybe before the race, but you're still so busy on trying to get the car ready or to qualify and the last minute checks and all that kind of stuff, because the racing is that you're going out so far away from where you're at.
[00:48:17.710] - Shawn Rants
Yes.
[00:48:18.450] - Big Rich Klein
And you got to have picked crews out there, that kind of thing. And then with Dirt Riot, we intentionally made it lapse. I remember Derek West after the first race, or before the first race, he goes, well, you know, Rich, I really like point to point races. And I said, Well, Derek, that's good, but not only is that hard to find property in the US to do that, unless we're doing it all on BLM out and even that a point to point is very difficult in the United States. I said, It doesn't help people become better racers. And he goes, what do you mean? I said, well, first of all, if you're doing the same lap, same terrain, multiple times, you start to feel like, okay, I know this part of the corner, this corner, this section, I can do this and I'm going to be faster. What that translates into, after doing that a number of times at different locations is then all of a sudden you're at a place like Koh and you come across something and you go, okay, I see it in front of me. I know how to set up for this because I did it before somewhere else.
[00:49:31.090] - Shawn Rants
Right.
[00:49:31.880] - Big Rich Klein
And it's a repetition.
[00:49:34.630] - Shawn Rants
And making the lapse actually brought you of course, it got you back towards your pitch, but it also gave the spectators more visibility. They got to see you more time, because that's some of our issue that a lot of the families don't like to go to some of the races because they'll see you and then you take off and you're gone, and in an hour you come back and you're done.
[00:49:58.610] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, exactly. Especially with the races. Dave has done a really good job of overcoming that at Koh with his live coverage, with everything that they have to overcome out there. He's got the right people to do the right things and figure it out, but it's still not perfect. And if you're on the lake bed, it's really hard to watch that live coverage because everybody's on the lake bed and reception sucks.
[00:50:30.070] - Shawn Rants
Yes. But it has come a long way for me, anyway. 2011, when I went and watched, and then 2012 when I started competing. It's 100% better in the last few years.
[00:50:45.430] - Big Rich Klein
Right, I agree. So you never thought about going slow and doing a rock crawling event?
[00:50:51.730] - Shawn Rants
You know, I have, but it just hasn't intrigued me. There's enough of these races, and it takes all my time as it is. So maybe when I actually slow down, then I can maybe try something like that.
[00:51:12.140] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I was trying to talk Lauren into it as well.
[00:51:16.330] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, that didn't go well. Me and my family as a privateer group, we can only well, we're going to have two racers this year, but the boys were paying for most of the other one. But I use it. From what it costs to run a season at Ultra Four, I could never afford to build a rock crawler.
[00:51:41.710] - Big Rich Klein
Right, I get it. So then with the two cars, you're going to campaign them both at Ultra Four? Koh and Ultra four. All the events, or are you going to select events?
[00:51:56.500] - Shawn Rants
We'll see how it goes, where the events layout and how things play out. But yeah, we're planning on Koh and at least four or five, I think, if we do just the west. There are three west, plus the Visions middle race and then the Nationals at the end. So that would be five regional races in Nkoh.
[00:52:23.720] - Big Rich Klein
Right. That's a full schedule.
[00:52:26.600] - Shawn Rants
Six races it is this year. I did Crandon just a couple of weeks ago, which was an East Coast race that wasn't part of our west. And then we did Tennessee because we just like racing. And I liked seeing the competitors that we've met through the years. I just like the get together part of it.
[00:52:51.220] - Big Rich Klein
So who do you like to mix it up with?
[00:52:58.770] - Shawn Rants
There's a number of them in our class right now. Dwayne Garretson is one of the best. And Justin Hall? He won crandon. This is his he won it two years in a row. We got Rick Leveso, that runs with us, and Jesse Oliver and then Cody. So there's a number of us here that are just neck and neck all the time. And then we've got a few newcomers that are coming in here to take over the spots.
[00:53:32.280] - Big Rich Klein
Cool. I noticed that a lot of those names I know because they started with us, Dwayne and Cody, and it's nice to see them come. In fact, Dwayne Rock crawled with us before he decided to go fast, and then Justin Rock crawled with us, and then he decided to go fast and got into the racing as well. Add on the courses. Do you guys like Koh going up through some of the Rock Canyons? How many times have you been in there where you're like wheel to wheel with guys?
[00:54:10.590] - Shawn Rants
It's all the time because someone will get hung up on a rock and you'll go around them. Some of them will have a flat or a breakdown or have to stop for a minute to get them a drink of water. So we pass each other over and over and over.
[00:54:34.990] - Big Rich Klein
Is that fun? Is it more thrilling to do that than just being an open air?
[00:54:43.630] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, it is. I really love to, like you said, get in there and mix it up and get tired of tire. Because when we were in Crandon the other day, my transfer case popped out going up the Rock Ledge and I got hit in the tail, ripped the fender off. And when we're out on the course, we're competitors when we're in the pits, we're friends and we help each other, but when we're out on the course, we wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, but we would run over each other to get where we're going.
[00:55:17.240] - Big Rich Klein
Right. I remember those early years at Koh. There was a lot of people getting run over the cars, car or rolled into that kind of thing.
[00:55:29.410] - Shawn Rants
Yeah. And that still happens. Not to the extent it used to, but it does still happen.
[00:55:34.660] - Big Rich Klein
So explain to me the best race or the funnest race that you had at Koh. Do you remember what year it was or where you just said, wow, that was one to remember?
[00:55:51.170] - Shawn Rants
The most memorable race. We'll call it that. Okay. I ran the scrambler at Koh two times, and I did finish both times. The one time was after time, but Dave gave it to me, and we weren't supposed to be out in the dark, and we had broke the steering box, and this was the second time. Broke the steering box and replaced it. And Kevin and I sat in that car. He got out a number of times to winch and things, but we sat in that car for almost 13 hours. I didn't get out at all for 13 hours, and to me, that's the most memorable because of overcoming all the adversity that it took to make it. We came in the dark, and all it had was the 1982 original headlights, and only one of them worked. And we're coming into the finish line with only one headlight, and that's the most memorable. But I think we'll just say the most stressful one was two years ago. We lost reverse at about the ten mile mark, and we finished within time. I think we finished. We were number eight, I think, that time. And every time we'd get hung up on a rock, which happened probably 100 or more times, kevin had to get out and throw the winch under the car and find something behind us to pull us back.
[00:57:22.070] - Shawn Rants
And I think by the time we got done, I don't think he could have walked, stepped, or even breathed one more inch because he was tired.
[00:57:35.850] - Big Rich Klein
I would imagine having to get out and winch like that. And when you're down there and you're working on the car and you're trying to get ready, have you ever had that feeling like the night before the race, that it isn't going to work, it's not going to happen?
[00:57:52.350] - Shawn Rants
You know, actually, I haven't I keep the upbeat attitude that we're at the peak of our game because Koh is the first race of the year and we get a couple of months to get prepped for it. And I haven't personally ever thought that we weren't going to do good. I've always thought, this is my year.
[00:58:16.170] - Big Rich Klein
Awesome. So out of those nine, the nine that you finished, that means there's two that you didn't finish. What took you out during those races.
[00:58:24.870] - Shawn Rants
The two that we didn't finish, it was the first year that we raced the Willie's truck, and we had shocks off and all that. We ended up rolling it at the top of short bus, got it back on its wheels and then made it about another, I don't know, ten or 12 miles, not that far, and rolled it again, ripped the front end clear out of it and all the shocks off of it, and there was no fix in that one. And then the second time that we didn't finish, the right front link broke and ripped the shock and everything out of it. And I walked 2 miles to pit two, and they put all the parts in the backpack, and I had a link, a lower link, shock oil and hydraulic hoses for the steering and all the parts in a backpack. And I walked back while Kevin was tearing the car apart to get it ready to put back together, and I walked back at 2 miles, and we got it put together and we made it. I think we made about three quarters of the race that year, but we did time out.
[00:59:43.430] - Big Rich Klein
That's understood. But that's a good hike carrying all those parts.
[00:59:48.130] - Shawn Rants
Yeah.
[00:59:50.450] - Big Rich Klein
And prediction this year, what do you think you'll do?
[00:59:56.610] - Shawn Rants
Like always, we tore the Crandon is an amazing race course, but it tore us to pieces, and it did a lot of other people. I'm not sure there was a lot of things happened there, but as far as mechanically, it tore us plumb to pieces. The front ends out getting straightened and re braced. The transmissions down at the shop, they're rebuilding the transmission because we had some things happen, and the engine was getting a little low on oil pressure, and we just took it out to look at it. And then the rear end is coming out just because we do it every race. So I think with all the new parts in it and everything, I'm hoping that my goal is to win it and we're just going to do the best we can. And then the stock Bronco, that's going to be, I believe, watching the other ones go, that's going to be just a hoop.
[01:00:55.830] - Big Rich Klein
Right. I know that there are some people that want to see the Broncos. I would guess it would be they don't want to see the Broncos at the top of the podium anymore, right.
[01:01:09.810] - Shawn Rants
Yeah. I think there's going to be a lot of people jockeying to knock the Broncos off the post.
[01:01:18.880] - Big Rich Klein
It's going to be tough because they've got some good backing, they've done their homework, and there's some good teams running them.
[01:01:27.410] - Shawn Rants
There are. They're excellent vehicles and they're excellent teams. And we're hoping we can step up. And of course, although we're going to be running the Bronco, we're wanting to be in front of them.
[01:01:41.950] - Big Rich Klein
Right.
[01:01:43.450] - Shawn Rants
The one thing that we have in our little bronco. And it's the only one, I think, that's out there is it's not the only one with the four cylinder EcoBoost, but I believe it is the only one with a standard.
[01:01:55.750] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, really?
[01:01:57.190] - Shawn Rants
Yeah.
[01:01:57.880] - Big Rich Klein
They run a stick. That'll be interesting.
[01:02:01.270] - Shawn Rants
Yeah. And we've talked about putting an automatic in it, but we're going to give it a shot with the stick and see if we can get a little bit of an advantage in certain places.
[01:02:14.440] - Big Rich Klein
Right. I don't know. How strong are those? Are their manual transmissions?
[01:02:25.730] - Shawn Rants
Nobody really knows, because this transmission, as far as I know, is only in this bronco, you know what I mean? And there's more of them than one out there. But it's rated, if you go on the website about it from the transmission maker, it's rated at 400 horse, and that's what we're going to be putting in it.
[01:02:46.110] - Big Rich Klein
Wow. Okay. That's interesting. That's going to be something to watch.
[01:02:52.490] - Shawn Rants
Yeah. It'll be a challenge in itself, but I think it'll be good fun.
[01:03:00.320] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And one thing is that nobody will be able to steal it.
[01:03:05.810] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, a lot of people won't be able to.
[01:03:11.990] - Big Rich Klein
So is there anything that we haven't talked about that you wanted to talk about? Anybody that you want to give a shout out to?
[01:03:20.570] - Shawn Rants
Well, if I was to thank someone, the biggest thing would be my wife and my kids, because she keeps me down to earth and keeps me sad, of course, but she keeps me in line and doesn't let me get too far south. And then my family, my boys, and then my son in law, Drew, that does our body work and helps out with what races he can. And we've got my engine builder, Chuck. He's my co driver. My engine builder, Chuck Richardson. And then we get help from a number of people. I don't know that this is the place to say it, but Milestar sponsors us with tires and rough stuff, sponsors us with a good deal on parts, and it takes a lot of people to keep the ship afloat.
[01:04:25.650] - Big Rich Klein
Yes, it does. And it's never a bad time to give a shout out to people that help you out, companies or individuals.
[01:04:34.050] - Shawn Rants
Right. Yeah.
[01:04:37.530] - Big Rich Klein
Sean, I want to say thank you so much for agreeing to come on board and discuss your life and your racing career with us. And I really hope you do win this year. I really do, because you're one of the guys that I always cheer for.
[01:04:55.350] - Shawn Rants
That's my goal. One thing that I've tried to instill in my boys and the people that I'm around is sportsmanship is a big thing. Don't let them don't let anyone comments get under your skin or don't let anyone make you be a bad person. We always help anybody we can, and if they need a part and we have it, and all we ask for is to get it returned, a new one returned when they're done, and we just go out there to have fun, and we want to be a great team.
[01:05:38.350] - Big Rich Klein
And that's one thing I have to give you credit for, is I've seen you do that for people, whether it's chasing down parts, providing the parts yourself, helping them get their stuff built and put back together in the pits or wherever. What you guys did for me, I never had time to work on my vehicle. I never had a place to work on it unless it was just the dirt. And then every time it came out of the trailer, I had a short period of time to get the race track ready.
[01:06:15.380] - Shawn Rants
Right, you had to use it.
[01:06:16.610] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I had to use it. I didn't have time to spend working on it. And you guys would show up, and I'd be going like, okay, where did my Jeep go? And somebody go one of the ranch came and grabbed it, and you guys would shake it all down and make repairs and fix things that I didn't even know were wrong. And I really appreciate that.
[01:06:36.340] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, we figured, teamwork, when you're out on the race course, unless someone's on fire or something like that, we would usually go on by because we're running up front and trying to win. But once you're off the course or in the pits, it's all family.
[01:06:59.540] - Big Rich Klein
Absolutely. Well, Sean, thank you so much, and congratulations on getting the Bronco and having a second car in the stable. I'm really happy to hear that. And I really hope that the old 4500 car gets put back together well enough to get you at the top spot.
[01:07:25.970] - Shawn Rants
Yeah, we got that one race left there in Oklahoma. That's right. Yeah, we got one left, and then we move on to the tear down again.
[01:07:37.710] - Big Rich Klein
Well, just make sure every nut and bolt is tight and marked and you're ready to go.
[01:07:43.110] - Shawn Rants
We will.
[01:07:44.080] - Big Rich Klein
All right, Sean, thank you so much.
[01:07:46.490] - Shawn Rants
Well, thanks.
[01:07:47.530] - Big Rich Klein
All right, you take care. Bye bye.
[01:07:49.210] - Shawn Rants
All right.
[01:07:51.330] - Big Rich Klein
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 text message or 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.